Mikaela Shiffrin celebrated her first World Cup victory with it, and rides it to this day. Its record boasts more than 200 World Cup victories and 500 podiums, 40 crystal globes, 37 World Championship medals and 16 Olympic medals. What are we talking about? You’ve guessed it: the Redster.
Hard to believe, but before 2012, manufacturers weren’t in the habit of creating special brands for their racing ranges. ‘Race’ was just an umbrella term used by every manufacturer in the ski industry. But then the Atomic brains trust in Altenmarkt decided they wanted something different: a new ownable trademark for Atomic’s brand new, game-changing racing machine.
The idea was there. The speed was there. Now for the name.
Easy: start with the Porsche Speedster – a icon of speed – and mix in Atomic’s famous red brand color. The name Redster was born.
Now to win some races…
That’ll do.
The first ever Redster came equipped with our legendary Double Deck technology, and it didn’t take long before the world got used to seeing Redsters on the podium.
In fact, the super talented Kathrin Zettel, Mikaela Shiffrin and Co raced to 13 victories in Redster’s first World Cup season. They then capped it off with two gold medals at the 2013 World Championships in Schladming – not far from the Atomic factory.
Winning can get pretty addictive – and given the success of those early years and the constant pursuit for more, it's no surprise the development of the Redster didn't stop with that first ski.
First up, a completely new generation of Redster skis followed in 2017/18. These came with brand new Servotec technology (the name came from ‘Servolenkung’ – meaning power steering – as that’s basically what Servotec created: power steering for ski racers!).
That same year also saw the extension of the Redster name to a complete product line in red – from bags and helmets to XC skis, boots and poles – a big milestone in Redster history.
Since then, our Redster team have been making constant small adjustments to keep the ski moving forward – all with the name and philosophy of Redster as a red thread throughout.
The next big step for Redster has been its latest: the arrival of Revoshock technology. So closely guarded, the prototypes needed to be hidden in black boxes when on the road!
No less than 34 people have been involved in the development of what is currently the latest technology on the market, from prototype developers to designers to internal testers and World Cup athletes.
It’s also been a journey: the team here at Atomic worked on almost 50 prototypes before they were happy to launch Redster Revoshock onto the market in 2021.
But it’s been worth it. Just like the first Redster, this latest incarnation wins races – but thanks to its focus on faster, more controlled skiing, it’s a ski that also works for any ambitious amateur skier in search of the ultimate on the slopes, not just world-class ski racers.
We’re super excited to see what comes next for Redster.
Unlike ski races, there is no finish line in ski development. Faster, higher, further is the motto. Or to use the language of the piste ski: faster, more dynamic, more stable!
Of course, the driving force behind the development of the Redster is, and has always been, the Atomic racing department.
Our World Cup stars such as Mikaela Shiffrin, Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, Sofia Goggia, Manuel Feller, Lucas Braathen and Marco Schwarz have all had a major influence on the technology of the current model, the Redster Revoshock.
These top athletes help with every step: from testing prototypes to telling us how the finished products feel on race day. Our racers need stability, power, easy turn initiation and control – and with their help, our team of race technicians and engineers can work to deliver it.
Anyone who has had the Redster Revoshock under their ski boots will tell you so.
In the words of world champion Marco Schwarz, "It makes it easier to concentrate on racing! If you make a mistake, you're back on track quicker. It makes skiing on rough slopes even smoother."
"It makes it easier to concentrate on racing! If you make a mistake, you're back on track quicker. It makes skiing on rough slopes even smoother."
To this day, the Redster ski is the true heart of the product family.
But now together with ski boots, poles, goggles, helmets and apparel, Redster provides the perfect set-up for every skier – complete with World Cup-technologies proven at the very highest level.
That makes Redster pretty darned unique. Happy Birthday, Redster!
