The 2015/2016 Gear Thread

[whistlermaverick]

Jonathan Cooper has a good run down on some new gear
https://www.wildsnow.com/15785/through-split-lens-sia-2015/

Quick thoughts, JJMTB is a good concept but the walk mode is too high to really be usefull. Slow steps to get to a great split soft boot, think I still prefer the top end Deeluxe Xavier boot.
Good for JJ combining with Pomoca on the skin front, although after getting my hands on one of the Fisher Profoil ‘skins’ yesterday I think traditional skins could be on the way out. 3 years of R & D from a company with a strong nordic background. Made of PTex, lighter, with more glide, and don’t retain any water, look forward to demoing them.

@j.memay

[FloImSchnee]

whistlermaverick wrote:

…although after getting my hands on one of the Fisher Profoil ‘skins’ yesterday I think traditional skins could be on the way out. 3 years of R & D from a company with a strong nordic background. Made of PTex, lighter, with more glide, and don’t retain any water, look forward to demoing them.

Oh yeah, really interesting stuff!
According to a first test I read, grip in soft snow was even better than with standard skins, and glide is supposed to be superb.

I’m curious concerning the Profoils’ weight. (my BD/Voile nylon skins weigh around 750g together…)

[Cbalke]

@stuka often times the women’s boards will have some combination of a softer flex, shorter length and a narrower waist width. While these changes will assist lighter females or those with smaller feet it doesn’t always work for all of them.

[Cbalke]

JJ 32 Boot

[maniacdave]

Agree with @stuka. Women specific boards support sexism, gender roles and the the patriarchy. Humyn specific snowboards please. Broaden the model range to include shorter lengths, softer flex & narrower boards if needed, but don’t label them ‘women specific’ and slap an assigned stereotypical gender wooing topsheet on it. No need for a glass ceiling in the mountains. It’s conversly negative as well when males of lesser stature would benefit from riding a board typically marketed to females but don’t out of fear of being labled ‘faggy’ and lumped in with the snowblader crowd.

That was Pontus

[Cbalke]

G3 Scapegoat Carbon 158,166,174 weighing in at 5lb 13oz

G3 Black Sheep Carbon 154,158,162,168 weighing in at 7lb 6oz

[maniacdave]

Hey G3, pack the Scapegoat’s weight and camber rocker profile in the Black Sheep’s dimensions and I’ll buy one.

More infos…. http://www.snewsnet.com/press-release/go-deep-g3-adds-powder-specific-scapegoat-carbon-to-its-2015-splitboard-line/

That was Pontus

[Cbalke]

Good video showing Spark R&D’s new single wire riser and flip n lock highback setup.

[shredgnar]

I like that Spark listened and fixed their forward lean adjustment. It looks pretty slick in person, very functional, but only time will tell how durable it is. Hopefully it can take a beating.

[Cbalke]

OZ Snowboards
All boards are full triax carbon fiber (zero fiberglass), full length poplar cores with no finger joints, textured top sheets to shed snow and increase durability. Colorado based company. Lots of graphic choices including several from Nicole Bishopp and the ability to do custom.

Shredfest- New for 2016 – True twin, elongated pow nose, early rise nose and tail, flat between the bindings and a centered stance.

GPOW- Deep pow board. Reverse sidecut to traditional sidecut, rocker, setback stance, directional with a large pow nose.

Alpenglow- General/All purpose, micro camber between the feet, taper sidecut, setback stance, early rise rockered nose.

[permnation]

Snurfer wrote:

It’s ironic to see all these shapes from my youth reemerging, guess its hip now.

I agree, and the only welcome shape re-emerging from my youth would be straight skinny skis. I hope they become hip again soon, I miss the advantage.

[bcall8]

Its interesting that Spark is already changing there tesla system so soon. Cool to see innovation. I think the new heel locker looks better, I have not been happy with my tesla heel lockers. I don’t know if i’m sold on the single wire concept. I feel like it would be trickier to get the one wire in the right position while touring rather than looking down and seeing which of the two wires needs to come down or up. Maybe its great though. the new high backs look great and the new pucks look even better. I do wish they would get better straps. I really like the look of the new Hitchhiker straps from burton. I have a pair of burton genesis bindings with those straps and they are the most comfortable bindings I have ever owned. It would be great to get the Hitchhiker but keep the new Spark high back. Maybe Burton will sell me a strap next year…???

[bcall8]

WhitePine wrote:

So I toured with my friend who had the Burton Hitchiker binding this morning. The seemed to work great for everything but adjusting the heel risers. She seemed to struggle to flip them down with the ski pole. When she got them down it was hard to flip between the short and high risers without bending down and using a hand.

It might just be a learning thing but it didn’t seem as easy as the risers that are attached to the board instead.

I have a pair of this years Hitchhikers. They work great. The straps are better than the straps that come on the Magneto or the Afterburner… the buckles seem a little nicer as well. The high back is ok. I can’t say I like it better than the standard Spark high backs…. but the forward lean adjuster is way better. Its much easier to switch between walk mode and ride mode. I guess that will change next year with the new flip system that Spark is using. I think the Hitchhiker high back is a little heavier than the Spark but its comfy. I think that the bindings are worth it for the straps…. other than that its a wash.

[powslash]

maniacdave wrote:

Agree with @stuka. Women specific boards support sexism, gender roles and the the patriarchy. Humyn specific snowboards please.

An inadvertently patriarchal thing to say. The market demands gendered products. The market shall have gendered products. When a board is made by and for women (Palace) that is economic empowerment. Venture takes the genderless approach in their marketing. They aren’t wrong. The market is diverse enough for both approaches.

Like I’m going to tell my daughter she can’t wear pink sneakers. C’mon. 🙂

[enjoy the ride]

powslash wrote:

<span class=”d4pbbc-font-color” style=”color: black”>I read the catalog and watched the video and still don’t know what a HIKE POD is you guys. Wonder why they decided to put plastic around the fixed hooks? Nice looking board.</span>

<span class=”embed-youtube” style=”text-align:center; display: block;”><div class=”cb-video-frame”><div style=”padding-top: 60.2667%;” class=”fluid-width-video-wrapper”>[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iy-Qw6sw7y0?version=3&rel=1&fs=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&wmode=transparent%5D</div></div></span&gt;

Hey Powslash, the Hike Pods are some revise curved parts (around 20 cm long) in the edge, just where the brackets hole pattern is. Should increase uphill performance, I will tell you more as soon as we have tested it. Regarding the plastic around the hooks, Nitro comes up with an insert solution to have a complete base without holes. Sames as Völkl. Since the borad is a bit to narrow ot use inserts, they just fill it up with the 3 d profile. I hope I could help. Cheers

[moridinbg]

http://www.epictv.com/media/podcast/jeremy-jones-shows-the-walk-function-on-his-new-thirtytwo-boot—ispo-2015-%7C-epic-tv-gear-geek/601247
The so much hyped walk mode for the JJ’s 32 boot is a bit underwhelming for me. It’s just the ability to release the upper 7-8cm from the back of the boot, while the ankle, which is much more important, is still locked.

[bcall8]

moridinbg wrote:

http://www.epictv.com/media/podcast/jeremy-jones-shows-the-walk-function-on-his-new-thirtytwo-boot—ispo-2015-%7C-epic-tv-gear-geek/601247

The so much hyped walk mode for the JJ’s 32 boot is a bit underwhelming for me. It’s just the ability to release the upper 7-8cm from the back of the boot, while the ankle, which is much more important, is still locked.

I agree that it is not earth shattering but I think I’m still digging it. Currently I keep my boot a little looser for the walk up so that me feet don’t go numb. I could see the boa working for that… maybe it improves stride I don’t know. But I’m glad to see a boot made with splitboarding in mind that is not a freeking huge moon boot. Looks pretty low profile like a normal boot.

[shredgnar]

moridinbg wrote:

The so much hyped walk mode for the JJ’s 32 boot is a bit underwhelming for me. It’s just the ability to release the upper 7-8cm from the back of the boot, while the ankle, which is much more important, is still locked.

Have you tried them? They actually allow quite a bit of ankle articulation I thought. I’d break that BOA in a few days though, not a fan of anything with a BOA on it. Every time I’ve tried, SNAP!

[davidr]

No new cambered boards?

Looks like the Nitro got rid of the Thunder. Is the Chimera Mace the only regular camber board still being made?

[Cbalke]

Lib Tech 2016

Rome 2016