A New Addition To Our Sunglasses And Goggles: Welcome Native!

Posted on February 18, 2012 by becca

We’re all about sunglasses and goggles here and Hibiscus iWear is happy to announce it’s expanding with the addition of Native Eyewear! This performance eyewear brand combines fun fashion with state of the art technology for features that will blow you out of the water! Phrases like Anti-Ocular Intrusion System and Mastoid Temple Grip may be a mouth full but you’ll be happy you did your homework (or rather I did it for you) when you see just how much these shades bring to the table.

Looking for straight up performance? Peep the Native Hardtop and Hardtop XP (XP denotes Polarized). This super sleek style lends itself to serious speed and efficiency. With their interchangeable lens system and additional SportFlex lenses, these shades make it easier than ever to replace lenses.

{Native Eyewear Hardtop XP in Platinum/Polarized Blue Reflex}

One of my favs is easily the Native Apres. Maybe I’m just in winter ski mode but I see these (or see their name) and think how perfectly these pair with some apres-ski festivities. Slip these on post ski and you’ve got the perfect combination of “I’m sporty yet chillin.” Chillin in the way that you won’t be worrying about these shades being uncomfortable given their Cushinol Template Boots (anyone else think it’s funny that sunglasses wear boots?) that provide a no-slip grip during any activity. Concerned things might get too rowdy? Not to worry- Native’s Rhyno-Tuff Air Frames are made to withstand high velocity collisions and extreme temperatures.

{Native Apres in Black Lime Burst}

Need something with a woman’s touch? The Native Chonga hits a home run. While looking good you’ll be virtually fog free with their advanced ventilation system which is the only one on the market that allows maximum ventilation while stopping any extraneous light from coming in. Talk about a match made in heaven!

{Native Chonga in Pearl Swirl}

With even more performance options and others to keep you looking good be sure to browse through the entire collection on our site so you don’t miss a thing!

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Where In The World Is Dotsie…

Posted on February 10, 2012 by becca

For those who haven’t been following our favorite cyclist as of late I’m here to give you a little update. Dotsie took off for beautiful Mallorca, Spain for a 2 week long training camp in preparation for the UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics event in London next week. This event is the first in the qualification process for the upcoming Olympic Games.

When talking with Dotsie this weekend to gather some information on how her trip has been going, I quickly learned it has not turned out exactly as they expected. Mallorca is a beautiful island off of Spain known as a popular vacation destination. With it being a tropical beach locale, naturally they are also known for the incredibly mild climate. However, upon arrival, Dotsie and hubby Kirk were greeted with freezing cold temps and threatening snow storms.

The snow storm quickly rolled in, covered the island and completely shut things down. As Dotsie mentioned to me, it was 80 degrees there on Christmas Day and now the town is completely shut down because they have never seen snow! So in my attempt to coerce some great training shots from Dots this is what I got instead:

{The snowman outside their villa that was photographed by locals for over 2 hours because of what an anomaly it was.}

{All bundled up checking out LaGranga while they waited for the town to open back up}

We hope she packed her snow goggles and helmet instead of her bikini on this trip! Good luck next week Dotsie!!

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Snow Show Madness!

Posted on January 31, 2012 by becca

Hibiscus iWear finished exploring the 2012 SIA Snow Show in Denver, CO this weekend after having an absolute blast! It was wildly successful and we couldn’t be happier with all of the info we got, sights we saw and people we met. This always super fun show resulted in us brushing up on the hottest new trends in the sun and snow world and even some new brands. (Who knows, you might even be seeing a few in the Hibiscus line up in the VERY near future!) To really bring the excitment of this rockin show to life I feel it best to let some pictures do the talking.

{The Red by Burton booth. I dont know whats better- their stacked line up of helmets or their endless line up of athletes!}

{Display at Dragon. Got a sneak peek of their new sunglasses and goggle line- super sleek! Plus their APX snow goggle won Goggle of the Year! Talk about a well deserved good year!}

{Loved the new additions from Smith. Meg is rocking the Brooklyn and Sean is sporting the Terrace. Both new for spring so keep an eye for these.}

{Very impressed with Zeal Optics…one of the newbies (to us) that really caught our eye! With a hot display like this how could you not be? Anyone familiar with this radical brand?}

{Saved the best for last ;) }

After a jam packed weekend we’re off to Copper Mountain for some well deserved R & R on the moutain!

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The Journey To Olympic Greatness…

Posted on January 25, 2012 by becca

Thought this would be a good time to give some updates on our resident rockstar Dotsie Bausch as she’s been doing some serious movin, shakin, and cyclin! The beginning of this month marked the last training camp in L.A. for Dotsie and the rest of the USA Cycling Olympic Track Team. From here they head overseas for the remainder of their training camps in the months leading up to 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

Last week was an exciting one for Dotsie with an incredibly successful trip to the San Diego Low Speed Wind Tunnel for a fun filled day of testing tons of positions, speed suits and much more for final output at the Olympics! The wind tunnel is somewhere racers go to find “free speed” which, when done properly can be outrageously effective. However finding this free speed is no easy task! The wind tunnel has to be approached with a well thought out plan with ideas and tweaks that can ultimately be applied to the real world (aka the track surface for Dots).

{Speed suit #1- look at those legs!}

{Speed suit #2- who knew your suit could make such a difference in performance!?}

The key components the engineers (that’s right, they have engineers there) at the wind tunnel look at are Drag and CDA aka Drag Coefficient. For those of you (like me) that this is a little foreign to- the drag is what happens when the wind hits you and the CDA is how the air flows over you. So to give you an idea of just how successful this effort was for Dotsie: upon entering the tunnel her CDA was .247. She left with a CDA of .202 which is an energy saving of almost 80 watts!

I’m no expert here but I’m thinking that’s the difference between silver and GOLD! Way to go Dots!

{The whole team at the San Diego Low Speed Wind Tunnel making this possible!}

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The Snow Is Coming In HOT!

Posted on January 20, 2012 by becca

FINALLY… winter has arrived! The snow is coming in hot… well cold and I have been hearing the excitement everywhere I turn. Just check out the homepage of Weather.com and you’ll see the likes of some glorious terms such as “storms brewing”, “subzero temps” and “frozen solid”. Generally this would send me into a tailspin and force me to run for cover but this year not so much. Being that I am in California this weather could not be more welcomed! We haven’t seen a drop of precipitation in months and believe you me, that is one of the major reasons I live here. However, that lack of precipitation means no snow for our beloved mountain towns like Lake Tahoe and Mammoth. So yes finally it has arrived and its taking the entire country by storm! Literally.

{A boarder shredding in the freshly packed snow with his helmet and Smith goggles}

All this hype has to bring me to some point right? Absolutely! My point today is strictly to tell you that it is time to get prepared for winter ski season! The REAL ski season. No more of this man-made crap, I’m talking honest to goodness real snow! So with that being said- Is your helmet up to date? Fitting properly? Do you even have a helmet!? In any of those cases its time to get online and update! I stumbled upon this article this week and I could not agree more with the importance of wearing a helmet. Same goes for your snow goggles. Ok, maybe goggles aren’t going to save your life but they sure are going to make your day on the mountain a heck of a lot better. Other than your ski or snowboard itself these two items are top on the list of importance. And lucky for you we are stacked with any brand you could hope for with top of the line gear!

{Helmet. Done. Goggles. Done. Bunny Hill. DONE!}

We’re here to help outfit you properly for the winter season. First by providing you with the brands you want and secondly by making sure you find exactly what you are looking for. If you have any doubts or questions at all don’t hesitate to contact us! Email support@hibiscusiwear.com or hop on Facebook and shoot us a question on our page and same goes for our Twitter account (@hibiscus_iwear)! And don’t forget- all snow goggle and helmet purchases made through the end of January receive a FREE beanie! Happy shopping, skiing and snowboarding!

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Hibiscus iWear Partners With…

Posted on January 16, 2012 by becca

We are so excited to announce that Hibiscus iWear and Wattie Ink are teaming up for an exclusive partnership! This will bring the Wattie Ink Elite Triathlon team athletes the biggest selection in performance and casual eyewear ever assembled for a sports team in the history of well… the world! Hibiscus iWear is so excited to be the latest addition to the top of the line list of sponsors for one of the hottest teams to hit the Tri world this year. The formation of this exciting duo means not just eyewear from one specific brand but any of the extensive list of top brands Hibiscus iWear carries. We are so excited to not only represent these athletes in the realm of eyewear but throughout the race season as well. We will be keeping close tabs (in a good way!) on the success of this team and bringing you the latest results and photos- rocking their eyewear of course!- of these elite athletes.

{Peter Leavitt- one of the 50 Wattie Ink Elite Triathlon Team members rocking some Oakley Jawbones during a Cyclocross race}

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Attention Snowboarders!

Posted on January 12, 2012 by becca

I have spent my last few blogs focusing on general snow gear info, failing to give any specific attention to ski or snowboard specific elements. And while many brands and gear can be interchangeable (ok, most can) there are still certain differences one should look for. Especially with the unspoken (or very outspoken?) rivalry between skiers and snowboarders, I wouldn’t want to confuse the two! So today, sorry skiers but this blog is all for the boarders!

Like I said before, almost all snow gear out there works for both skier and snowboarders but its the specific features that make some gear more desirable for one sport or the other. One very specific, technical and heavily researched aspect of snowboard gear that especially stands out to me is the stylish steeze that takes over the snowboarding world. Boarders LOVE to keep it as flashy as possible, with neon colors dominating the mountains. With that being said its easy to see which brands really cater to riders- Anon, Dragon and Spy to name a new. You see a flo orange strap and you know you’ll be successfully stomping the mountain all season long. Spy Optics is especially dialed into this and many other desired features. The Zed goggle is a smorgasbord of color and performance coming stock with a high performance lens AND a contrasting bonus lens to keep you stoked on the mountain no matter what the conditions.

{Spy Optics Zed snow goggle in Unite/Bronze Red Spectra}

Anon keeps you covered with fierce fashion statements and even bolder innovations. Their Solar Shield Technology cooks up a scratch resistant coating delivering extreme protection without distortion. Thus, keeping you safeguarded no matter how gnarly your runs get.

{All of our Anon goggles are on sale right now! Including the Anon Figment}

One last tidbit I’m going to really hit home and not discriminate between skiers or snowboarders is find a goggle that is helmet compatible! This day in age nearly all goggles come standard with this ability but you don’t want to take that chance so be sure to take note before buying. All of Dragon Alliance snow goggles are helmet compatible making them a no brainer. Like this one.

{Loving the Dragon DX in Lucky T’s/Green Ionized}

Hope this helps to keep you sparkling on the mouton. Not to mention- with any snow goggle or helmet purchase through the month of January you’ll receive a FREE beanie! Did I mention those never go out of style?!

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Learn to Ski & Snowboard With FREE Swag!

Posted on January 7, 2012 by becca

Not only is January a great month because it is a fresh start to a new year, it is extra special to us because it’s National Learn to Ski and Snowboard Month! There’s no better time than January to get out there and learn how to ski or snowboard. No matter your age or physical ability- anyone can learn in some capacity! So to start things off on the right foot (or wrong?) I don’t want to hear any excuses as to why you can’t. Make it a New Year’s Resolution, a personal goal or even a one time thing but now is your chance to get our there a give it a try.

Learn to Ski and Snowboard Month has an entire website dedicated to getting you out on the mountain successfully! From where to go, how to rent, what to expect and most importantly, what to wear they’ve got it all.

Oh did someone mention what to wear while skiing or snowboarding? The gear masters are here for you! If you’re just learning, my best advice is to keep it simple all around. Start slow and progress from there. When it comes to gear your best bet is to keep it simple as to not hinder or complicate the learning process.

Smith has some fantastic options that are perfectly basic while maintaining all the important safety features you want. I’m talking ultra-lightweight models, extreme ventilation to prevent fogging and super secure goggle locks to keep everything where it should be. In the realm of lightweight, Smith has won that battle. Their helmet collection includes the Maze- the world’s lightest certified snow helmet. So simple and lightweight you won’t even know its there.

In the area of goggles you can’t go wrong with the tried and true form of Oakley. With unbeatable price points like the O Frame and A Frame, you’re getting a serious bang for your buck. Oakley’s specially formulated anti-fog treatment and High Definition Optics come together to make these a first choice for anyone. The cherry on top? Oakley’s super accessible replacement lenses keep these goggles in action longer than most.

Now that you’re equipped while on the mountain, how about a little apres ski gear? We’ve got you covered there. Through the month of January with any snow goggle or helmet purchase you’ll receive a FREE beanie! Now you have nothing holding you back- get out there and hit those slopes!

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Happy New Year!

Posted on January 2, 2012 by becca

We had a fantastic 2011 year and couldn’t be more happy with the continuing growth of Hibiscus iWear! With lots of changes and additions to our company over the past year we are looking to fully embrace those and many more throughout 2012. Some of our favorites included:

The launch of our new site! This was easily our most exciting change in 2011. We hope the creation and launch of our eye pleasing, user friendly new website- HibiscusiWear.com was as exciting for you as it was us!  We can only hope this makes for some happy browsing (and buying) in the new year.

Along with a new website came our new logo! This was one of our more fun projects in 2011. As time consuming as this can be, designing  and choosing a new logo is a fun as it sounds! Especially when your fans get to be part of the action.

As wild and crazy as this past year was for us… things are only getting better! Hibiscus iWear has got a lot on tap for 2012 and my only hope is that you can keep up:

Last year brought plenty of new additions to our iWear collection (like this one) and this coming year will bring even more. We just received our first shipment of one of the hottest active sunglass brands out there and will be announcing this new addition THIS WEEK. I can’t lay everything out on the table with this one blog so stay tuned for a big announcement any day now.

{One of our favorite new additions: the 2012 Scott snow goggle line}

Probably the most exciting and anticipated event in 2012 will be our very own Dotsie Bausch hopping the pond this summer as she heads to London for the 2012 Olympic Games! Keep your eyes and ears glued to Hibiscus iWear this summer to follow Dotsie on her journey to Olympic greatness.

{Dotsie (front of the pack) and her teammates kicking butt on the track. Stay tuned for big things from dynamic trio in 2012!}

 

Thank you for such a fabulous 2011 and stay tuned for more exciting news throughout the new year!

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Holiday Hints Part 2

Posted on December 19, 2011 by becca

With just 2 days(!!) left to get your orders placed in time for Christmas I’m going to throw one last article at you with more of my favorite holiday gift ideas. And by 2 days I mean today and tomorrow. That’s it people! So with that being said most of today’s gift ideas come from the tried and true brand- Scott. Hibiscus iWear is dialed in with all of the latest and greatest offerings from the 2012 Scott snow goggle collection and there are a couple that especially stand and are a MUST share.

To really start this off with a bang I’m going to point you in the direction of the Scott USA Notice OTG with No-Fog Fan. Hard to believe but this goggle is more eye catching than that fully equipped title. Let’s break it down. This high performer comes with, just as the title expresses, a
no fog fan! Why every goggle doesn’t come stocked with one of these is lost on me but here it is. Plus, the top mounted fan is removable if you feel it’s not absolutely necessary on any given day. Talk about flexibility. On top of the fan, the lenses are already applied with their trademarked No Fog Anti-Fog lens treatment. Curious about the cryptic OTG feature? The Scott Notice is
specifically engineered to fit comfortably over prescription eyewear. See where all the anti-fog features are coming into play? With your Rx eyewear sitting happily on your face, the anti-fog fan is gently blowing any remnants of fog away so no vision is compromised and all your focus is on performance.

{Scott USA Notice}

The other option from Scott that I am dying over right now is the Scott USA Aura in Rockette Black White. Ok, this choice might be a little biased simply because as I was paroozing our awesome new site and saw these I was instantly obsessed! They are so cute and any other girl that gives even an inkling of interest in fashion will agree. Luckily with Scott you can rest assured you’re getting top of the line quality with any item because it is all about the looks with these goggles! The contrasting polka dots are timelessly fashionable and the simple black and white leaves room to rock one of our wild and crazy colored helmets!

{Scott USA Rockette}

Oh did someone mention a wild and crazy collection of helmets? Hands down that would be POC. Their candy colored helmets keep you effortlessly protected all while standing out in the crowd.

{POC Frontal Snow Helmet in Yellow/Pink}

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