Winter 2010/11 - New stuff for riding a snowboard

[Schneewurm]

Yes starikashka, differences can be really interesting, we have a lot of foreign peoples here, from every where of the world - also from Russia (*). But I hope You can understand I wouln't discuss this isue on a snowboard-forum. Even there are too many people which can not handle such disussions.
Situation and changes in Russia, the biggest country of the world, can be realy a hard thing for many persons to understand there, I think so. Things like that needs not only 1 or 2 decades for to be understood by all on the whole nation.
(* Did You know for e.g. about Prince Hans-George Yourievsky ? He is great-grandson of Alexander II. Prince Yourievsky growth up in Flims Switzerland, Flims-Laax = ski-area)

But let us now turn back to snowboarding! Everybody is very happy here in Switzerland and I think also in Russia. Last weekend Iouri Podladtchikov won the first season snowboard event on TTR in New-Zealand and he is now World No. 2 on snowboards!

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APO swallowtail? The one like on the picture below?
Yes, the board is also great for carving and carving like flat on slope. But as I remember me well, the APO 185 was for me at tricky and small areas and snow-conditions also not the tool for highest fun. If You like big powdersnow fields, if You ride them with speed and if You are on the heavier side and You like the wide stance, it must be a good choice.
There are many big powdersnow fields in Soelden too. For to ride them, please book a freeride-guide for a day. Tours on springtime, like from Rettenbach to Pitztal with staying for one night at Braunschweiger Hütte (hut on 2759m, right below Schwarze-Schneid-1 gondola), riding then snowboard for a day in Pitztal and traveling back by bus, can be also a nice experience. (see also Freeride-Center Sölden. They have one-day trips to 5-day trips).
Keep in mind: mountains can be wonderfull, but without a lot of experience and respect, mountains can be the death.

Fish shape boards are easyer to ride, but both Pogo's are long - not as easy to handle like a Burton Fish. For have fun on Your small areas of fresh snow out of prepared ski runs in Sölden, a Burton Fish or similar can be a good joice too. But instead to switch to an other new board, some days or some hours of snowboard-school can help You to improve Your ride on the Apo swallow.

[Schneewurm]

Swallow powdersnow board at good price

Since last season Rome Snowboard Design Syndicate is presenting the Rome Notch also as a Swallowtail in 2 length (164 cm / 172 cm / S-Rocker shape like the Burton Fish), see:

http://www.romesnowboards.com/product/boards/notch/

Rome was upcomming the last Years and is well known by freestylers. Rome boards can be found e.g. in Switzerland in many stores over all the country. I have to ride by bicyle less than one houre for to enter a least 4 shops presenting Rome snowboards. Unfortunatly they don't have the Swallow-Notch on stock (Import CH: DAC SPORT Import SA, Aclens, ?just next buildings to where Hot/Hammer was?). France: see e.g. @ Addicted Lyon, @ La Glisse Grenoble, @ Montaz Chambéry, @ Zero-G Chamonix and so on.

Prices: USD 549.- / SFr. 800.- to 980.- / Euro 550.- to 649.-

[Zanci]

This just arrived today !

[Schneewurm]

Nice Zanci, it seems Rad-Air boards are deliverd this season much earlier then last season - they have been then very late in stores! But, some vew weeks after, many lenght have been totaly sold out.
So let us know Zanci, You will ride Your new board also in the forests of Krvavec, or is it Your weapon for crossing the powderfields and slopes above/beside the trees?

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Recently and on my travel back from the mountains Tuesday I visited some stores. Just for touching the new 2010/11 stuff like e.g. Salomon Sick Stick (bamboo top), NS Raptor and so on. Even Rome snowboards as I wrote above, are now available in more and more stores. For my misfortune the Nidecker PAM, showing Pamela Anderson, I couln't find anywhere. Perhaps they hide it, for to prevent men are driving crazy just some month before wintertime.

There was also realy a bad news. Stöckli Swiss ( www.stoeckli.ch tiny ski producer *) didn't sell anymore raceboards and alpinboard equipments. They took no more equipment on stock for their retailer chain. No more carving boards items on the Winter 2010/2011 catalogue. Stuff like that can now only be get on demand (like on any other sporting good store). Thats a shrinking of 9 stores at once, spreaded from the west to northeast of Switzerland.

(* Stöckli won 5 medals on skis at Vancouver 2010 Olympics, all gold-medalls for skicross diszipline! - what can be resumed: 2 Swiss producers for ski & snowboard took 50 % of all medals (man+woman) on new snowsports boardercross and skicross on Olympic games. 3 medals for Stöckli & 3 medals for Kessler)

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F2: (yyzcanuck / Jerry)
On alpin raceboard events, where about 8 of 10 racers all over the world are now on Kessler, it's hard to re-enter for F2. Kessler, now State-Of-The-Art, was the first brand which adopted the demand of FIS races to the riders. Please remember: Schoch bros have been riden once F2, this was at the snowboarding-sphere of ISF!

We will see! HTSG announced to produce 120'000 units this Year. That's about 500 units a day - as user Jerry wrote, this are not all F2 raceboards (what else?) - just on a market which goes downhill (shrinking figures for ski & snowboards).

Well, Skiing and Snowboaring becommes more and more an exclusiv sports, even driven by the change of world-clima. How can You verify this:
On the good old mountaineering & wintersports conqueror nation, the United Kingdom, figures of trips felt last two winters each by 12%. Before 2008/09 there was an annualy increasing of about 4.3%. Great snow on Richmond Park, London doesn't help to stop down-going market.
You can watch e.g. also to the east coast of the US. A whole iconic Ski & Snowboard retailer chain went early 2010 to bankruptcy. That's after nearly 40 Years of operation!

So let us shift now some hundred miles westward to the court of yyzcanuck. Beside the now available CAD 1100.- improvment for snowboards (Apex race plate / with the incredible 129 mm measure design for symmetrical things), are there any further news?

[Zanci]

This is the 2010 version of the 182, not the 2011.
It's rockered, and was really cheap on blue tomato so I just took it
I will probably ride this on deep molltal powder. I'll also ride it in the forests, since it's 182 and not too long. I usually ride in Austria, since it's cheaper and better

[joshdi27]

That is great for the Country of Iouri Podladtchikov who won the first season. It is great that he is now the World number two on snowboards. He is a genius in snowboarding. Great job, keep it up.


Burton snowboards

[Schneewurm]

I was waiting since month for it! Now informations are online.

www.goodboards.de i-net adress was open since many month, but without any content.

Pragma Sportartikel from Neuss, activ here as user
Grossvater, announced his new brand last springtime. He was comming from LTB Snoboards Czech Republic.

I asked here on this thread from further news from other users (first post). So I was realy disappointed than all this orginal ski-hall-carvers never have talking about, what happend on their indoor-slope. I think riders on Good boards must been seen many times during summer on Germans Jever skihall at Neuss (testing and refineing the boards). It seems horizon of carvers ends realy often right at the edge of their carving-tool.

Well, there is still remaining the question if Good boards can be used also by hardboots.
LTB Snoboards have not been constructed for hardboots, as You can see here.

[WinterGold]

This is from the goodboards website -

goodboards sind nur für den Einsatz von Softbindung konstruiert. Keine Plattenbindung.

So goodboards are only made for softboots.

I´m not sure why carvers should be drooling over those boards ...

Although they might be nice freeride boards. Time will tell.

[Schneewurm]

So no plate bindings. That sounds strange.

WinterGold, why not riding on those Good boards?

There is a scene of riders which are on longboards with hardboots or skitouring-boots - the soul-surfers. For sure with the most flexible hardboots on market. This group of riders couldn't be found on the high-performance resorts of mass tourism. On small resorts they can be on Weekends very nummerous, even more then alpine boarders.

Watch also to the target group for Good boards!
And it seems Josef knows very well what for a kind of customer can be found at/around home on Northern Germany. Older than 20 Years and realy heavy people!
Well, 10-15 Years ago typical buyers of raceboards have been at about 65-75 kg. Then the past decade many of them sit on the job, they sit before a computer for to be active on carving-forums, they sit on a comfortable car and they sit for eating and drinking a lot. Wasn't it just today 03.October 2010 a good date for to eat bratwursts and drinking beer too? Well, this way men and women can became havier and havier. Mister Holub, comming from another cultur, made the right observance (like also here)! Keep Your eyes to the board specifications - most of his boards are comming for people on 80-110 kg weight - thats a realy heavy weight. This couln't be found on any other brand from such board-types!

This way I think, the brand Good boards can be a realy exciting unique and good chance for many carvers, which like to ride sommething else then a pure carving-board. They should be happy to have such a board-builder on their neighbourhood.

[WinterGold]

Don´t get me wrong. I think some of these boards really look nice and the specs are also not bad .

They are just not especially interesting for hardboot riders (as the boards are not made for hardboots ...).

Longboards with hardboots - to each his/her own, but when it comes to riding offpiste and/or powder I personally have no need for hardboots.

Just as hardboots do a pretty good job on slopes, softboots are way nicer when you leave the slopes behind.

[Schneewurm]

Longboards with hardboots - for sure, and for sure on slopes. You never saw riders like them?

... as the boards are not made for hardboots ...
Muss leider so aktzeptiert werden. Ich denke, dass Pragma Sportartikel mit Hardbooteren schlechte Erfahrungen gemacht hat, anders kann ich mir so etwas nicht erklären. Vielleicht gerade mit Leuten welche ihre Intec Titanium mit den härtest möglichen Schuhen auf die LTB's geschraubt haben. Vielleicht hat Pragma aber auch sonstige Abneigungen gegen Hartschalenschuh-Fahrer.

Dennoch gibt es noch einige Leute, welche mit Plattenbindungen auf ihren "Nicht-Raceboards" unterwegs sind. Gerade Longboards (= ab 170cm) in Verbindung mit sehr weichen Bindungen und Schuhen sind immer beliebt. Da gibt es einen Kern, ähnlich z.B. den Telemark Fahrern, welche sich der Masse verweigern.

Insbesondere vorwiegend bei denjenigen, welche Morgens früh einen Aufstieg (Ski/Behelfs-Ski oder Schneeschuhe) unternehmen und anschliessend an die Abfahrt im nahen Skigebiet noch ein wenig Pisten fahren wollen, sieht man oft noch Plattenbindungen. Softboots sind halt im Aufstieg mit Ski/Behelfs-Ski immer noch eher ungeeignet (*). Solche Soul-Rider wechseln dazu sicher nicht noch ihre Schuhe aus! Diese Phänomen betrifft natürlich vor allem auch Skifahrer. Mittlerweile sind gewisse Tiefschneehänge, welche nur zu Fuss erreichbar sind, am ersten Schönwettertag nach Schneefällen stärker zerfurcht, als die Hänge im nahen Liftgebiet.
Logisch, in Hochleistungs-Resorts findet man diese Leute nicht, und wenn doch, dann verschwinden sie in der puren Masse der Touristen.

(* In den Berg-Regionen gibt es u.a. Leute welche das Material, welches sie im Laden verkaufen, auch gerne mal auch angemessen benutzen. Die ziehen dann Morgens um 2:00 Uhr los und schieben um 10 Uhr wieder pünktlich zur Ladenöffnungszeit den Rollladen des Geschäfts hoch. Dazwischen waren sie mal kurz zu Fuss über 3000 Höhenmeter weiter oben auf einem Berg.
Klar ist es möglich, z.B. ein Zelt auch auf dem Rasen vor dem Haus testweise zu benutzen. Die Bedingungen könnten aber oben am Berg leicht anderst ausfallen (Wind/Untergrund/Heeringe). Es testet ja schliesslich auch niemand ein Snowboard auf einer Gletscher-Skipiste, um anschliessend aussagekräftike Schlüsse ziehen zu können. [Vielleicht mal abgesehen von einigen wenigen Leuten. Aber dies ist wiederum eine ganz andere Sache, da geht es ja dann auch gar nicht ums Snowboard fahren, da sind dann andere Dinge viel wichtiger.])

[WinterGold]

Ok, Schneewurm, I see your point.
I personally would still prefer softboots for this kind of riding. And certain softboots also work very well on slopes. But then I never use snow shoes or similar aids. So I can´t comment on this aspect.

[Schneewurm]

@WinterGold
I ride sometimes also softboots. Actual I have softer-flex ones (Northwave), medium ones (Burton SL's) and stiff ones (HeelSide, brand doesnt' exist anymore). The stiffer I don't like compared to soft hardboots, because the HB's give more freeness of moving at a good support.

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Völkl Speedwall

Recent skis, like e.g. Voelkl Racetiger Speedwall SL, comes this Year with side-walls which are designed for to be waxed. Thats just for to get more speed. Similar issue can be found also at recommendations of Swoard for standart sidewalls, see Preparation of the side-walls "extremecarving special".

Service-centers are forced now to modify their wax-machines for waxing the sidewalls.
People who wax their sidewalls by hand since longtime know it: Additional work and all the white sidewalls aren't white anymore. (collecting of dust)

http://www.volkl.com/ski/tech_speed.php

Against this, freestyle snowboard makers, like e.g. Ride comes with Urethane sidewalls at 85A or 90A for to absorbe impacts on edges. The translucent sidewalls (full-size, from tip-to-tail) e.g. of Ride Promise (SFr. 699.-) have gripp, even if they are wet. So if You write often at office with lead-pencils, You can take the snowboard to the office, because it can be used for to do rub-outs (approved!). I think such a massive Urethane component will give, carving a icy slope, a more silence and smooth ride.

Ride Snowboards offers also "Wedgie" footbeds at 1.5°/2.5°/3°/4° on their freestyle bindings, what we know as cantings on plate-bindings.