SIA and More

Oh boy! I definitely haven't been the most prolific writer, well, ever. But recently, I've been feeling especially slow. Thank you for your patience. At times I feel like I'm losing my mind and the words are going with it. I'm sure it's temporary. Just gotta get back on the horse. What better way to remount the steed than the good ole snowsports industry tradeshow, SIA? 

Right now you might be thinking to yourself, "But you weren't that prolific after last year's SIA, what's new this year?" Well, I'm glad I'm telepathic enough to hear you ask yourself that question, so I can provide the answer. Perhaps because of last year's shortcomings, I feel I owe it to you (and to myself) to produce more this year. It's what I should have done last year anyway. It wasn't snowing enough to ride as much last year, so why didn't I write more? I had the material. I had the time. I just got lazy. Sometimes that inertia is hard to overcome. But here I am.

In a stroke of  'better late than never,' here's a brief wrap up of 2015's SIA.

• GoPro accessories everywhere. More sticks and mounts than a polo match.
• Burton didn't have a booth, they had their own venue. Seriously. They held down a three-level warehouse/rave venue for the week and ran shuttles back and forth to the convention center. They're doing the same this year.
• Mervin didn't have a booth, they had a suite next door at the Hyatt. That one was weird. Not GNU weird, just strange. It was a two-bedroom hotel suite casually decorated in Lib Tech and GNU boards, bindings and clothes. They have a small booth this year.
• Skullcandy didn't have a booth, they just ran the show at the Hyatt bar. DJs and banners included. Same deal this year.
• Highlights from the on-snow demo were the Nitro Quiver MTN - a charging, all-mountain ripper - and the GNU Zoid - a directional, asymmetrical charging ripper. Also, I was a fan of the Electric EG3.5 goggles. It may be personal preference, but they fit my face well and the tupperware-like press-and-seal was intuitive, quick and confidence inspiring.
• A lowlight from the on-snow was the Lib Tech DUH - two edges per side (one inner, one outer), so different I probably should have ridden it more to truly understand what was going on, but with the time I gave it, it seemed like a big swing and miss.
• Airblaster and Celtek (two companies that gave me walk-in meetings after I didn't schedule appointments with them) knocked it out of the park. Both of these rider-run companies are crushing the big dogs. 

Now I'm off to the current SIA show. Look for a little something from me on YoBeat in a few days. Until then, check out this bib roundup I did for Transworld (remember what I said about Airblaster?). Drop any requests you have for SIA in the comments.

Board Exam: 2012/2013 Lib Tech Jamie Lynn C3 Phoenix Classic

What the rep said: C3 is camber dominant, banana submissive. The board is based on an overall camber shape with a small amount of rocker at the waist.

Stats/Setup: I checked in at 6'1" and 165 pounds when I rode the Jamie Lynn 157 Mid-Wide with Salomon Dialogue Boots (size 9.5) and Union Force SL bindings at Mt. Hood Meadows, Oregon.

Conditions: variable groomers, some ice, some ankle deep fluff from a couple days ago off the groom

First impression: Of course, Jamie's signature graphics. The base is as curvy as the sidecut. I wonder when Lib is going to make a board with C4. That would really pop... Average weight.

Move on over to lib-tech.com for more specs and Jamie Lynn videos.

The Ride: The first thing I always do when I demo a board is get up to speed and rail some mid-radius turns. This board handled those turns well enough to put a smile on my face that didn't leave until I gave the board back. Magne-traction is the real deal, people. With less banana than C2, this Phoenix was really ripping. While we're on the subject of ripping turns, this board got edge to edge pretty well for a mid-wide, though my feet would have preferred the narrower 160. It was at home in the trees, too, but its real element was laying down deep trenches with big, fast turns.

Going from C2 to C3 also rewards you with a welcome increase in pop and stability. This board had some spring that's been missing from Lib boards since the banana takeover. It's also less likely to rotate through turns and more apt to link them up with power. It handled speed and landings like a boss with that trademark Lib Tech dampness.

You're not going to butter this board around like a full banana, but it's not plywood-stiff, either. It has a nice, all-mountain, medium-stiff flex. It won't do your nosepresses for you, but it will give you what you put into it.

As with most demo days, I didn't ride any rails or substantial pow. I think this would be a capable board in either of those avenues. It has a relatively short contact length for its overall length, giving it plenty of nose to float. It's also set a half-inch back on a twin shape. Move the bindings back more for pow and closer to the center for optimal switch riding. If you want to ride switch in the pow, well, get a bigger board.

Bottom Line: More camber means a more snowboardy, less skateboardy feel than past Lib offerings. The pop is back. The flex is right. For me, this is where it's at. This is my favorite Lib Tech board since a pre-banana TRS MTX. And I'm not the only one who likes it. Snowboard Magazine made it a Platinum Pick this year. It definitely lets you charge the whole mountain. Can you cover the bill?

Similar Boards: Salomon Man's Board

Demo-lition

Sunday's demo day had a huge turnout. The line for paperwork could have easily been confused for the line for some hot band's autograph signing, perhaps Ween. For good reason, too. This was easily the biggest demo day Meadows has hosted. About 10 snowboard companies were on hand (and as many ski brands) with boards and bindings and wait times for all but the hottest boards (GNU Impossible, Never Summer Cobra) were minuscule.

I put the screws to five new boards. Many of them were similar in the all-mountain freestyle category, but all had their pros and cons (that pun will hit you in a second here). I got on the following boards, in chronological order - all 2013 models - Lib Tech's C3 Jamie Lynn (back to camber-dominant, banana-submissive), Salomon's Man Board (camber profile, radial sidecut, how old school), Ride's Berserker (Jake Blauvelt's narrow, directional destroyer), Burton's Con Artist (152cm micro pow shredder) and Never Summer's Proto CT (twin, all-mountain freestyle, rocker-camber). Full write-ups forthwith. 

Meadows Demo Day Sunday

Ever wonder how I ride all the latest snowboards before they're even on store shelves? Seriously!? It's all about demo days at my local resorts. These days you can try out boards as fast as you can switch your bindings. All for free! This Sunday (3/18) the Northwest Demo Tour hits Mt. Hood Meadows. Get there by 9am for first shot at more boards than a lumber yard. Rapid fire you're way through a dozen boards or pick one and give it a good thrashing. Reps will be on hand from K2, Capita, Never Summer, Lib Tech, Gnu, Arbor and maybe some more if you're lucky. Be sure to bring your own boots, though. Full details at Mt. Hood Meadows' site.

27th Baker Banked: Another Legend

Yup, last one to the party, no doubt, with the 27th Annual Legendary Baker Banked Slalom info. Had to make the haul down I-5 yesterday with some stops. Then, crashed out early because today was a powder day at Meadows. Who'da thunk? That crazy ice layer is still lurking, though. Tripping heel edges you thought were going to spray powder all over the free world. Serious damage done today. In a real way. To my meat box. Not some metaphorical 'destruction.' I feel broken. Enough about me, though, things got legendary over the weekend. Let me tell you what eye saw.

Saturday. Hard to get motivated when it's been raining all week. More on that later. Managed to get down there and check out the race. Even demoed some gear: Jones Hovercraft, Yes Pick Your Line and Now IPO bindings. All good in different ways. You will hear more, but here's the teaser.

2013 Yes Pick Your Line

2013 Jones Hovercraft and Mountain Twin flanked by Yes men

JF Pelchat sets me up with the Now IPO.

Mervin boards I didn't ride. Look for C3 BTX next year.

What about the race? I watched a few folks from the top and a few from the middle. Not much middle ground as far as the race. Folks were either slaying or getting bucked. Gnarly-ass course. Makes me wonder whether I really want to get accepted to ride in it. Gwyn Howat said that for the first time ever some of the banks were over her head. And she's no pixie at six feet tall. Another first, mid-week the course was an icy mogul field and the crew was praying for rain. You read that right. They can't just power-till the course, so the only natural cure would be the four-letter word we usually curse. It came. Course softened. What could have been a bobsled track got downgraded to 'challenging.' Thank the rain. Ha. Just make sure it knows its place. For example, don't rain on the salmon feed/handplant contest. Thank you. 

Who is this, Marben? Where's the light from, God?

So much food they were giving it away at the end.

The grindage up top was looking tasty, too.

Sunday Finals. No demos as my crew again lacked motivation and the demo tents were packing up early. I did get a glimpse of some pro men's runs and some groms' after them. Let me tell you something, it's easy to appreciate video-part-quality snowboarding when it's on a screen in front of you, but it's even easier to appreciate when it's carving down a hill in front of you. Professional athletes on a closed course. Sit back and watch. If you can't watch Josh Dirksen take his LBS turns and aspire to replicate them, you're either Terje or you're numb. Not everyone films a three-minute shred-porn section every year, but, much like REM said, everybody turns. Sometime. Still, no one ever says, "I want to turn like Josh Dirksen." Well, I do. Maybe next year I'll ask all the micro-groms who their favorite riders are. I will take special note of those who respond with Dirka-Dirka-San. All that said, this is a results-based game, no one cares what you look like, you gotta WIN! Overheard in the lodge before the awards, "Dirksen has all the qualities you envy in a person except the ability to win." I should have asked that dude his name, I'd love to have an attribution for that. You know who you are, third floor of the lodge around 4pm. Of course he goes on to take second AGAIN. Maybe he just knows that silver is the only real duct tape color. Everything else is an impostor. Who would want that? Temple Cummins came in third because the only place he ever lands at this event is on the podium. Terje won because he's that good. He had to bounce to Norway and the World Snowboard Championships before the awards, though, because he's in demand. And because he's that good.

Scotty Wittlake praying

Scotty Wittlake slaying

Another special moment for me that day was Kevin Pearce's presence. What can you say? Has a time ever mattered less? Kevin looked more stoked than anyone at the awards ceremony. What an inspiration to anyone who's ever had to come back from a serious injury. Traumatic brain injury to gnarly banked turns in a couple years. Ending in Banked Slalom entries for life. See you next year, Kev. Wear your helmets, kids.

Watching Milo Malkoski race and win his first gold was pretty cool, too. You can read all about it on his proud pop's blog. What he won't tell you is that dad was pacing/racing Milo down the first half of the course. Talk about a stoked dad. Milo's time was just a little slower than the old man's, too. What does he get when he finally beats you, Johan?

Who says the groms don't take it seriously?

Hearing the crowd go nuts when someone from Glacier wins is amazing. Makes me wish I could have been there when Lucas DeBari won in 2007. Must have been off the meter. My first year was 2008, when Temple won it and I thought that crowd was nuts. I couldn't even hear Danielle Davis's name getting called this year. And this wasn't her first win. Glacier loves its own.

Sarah Taylor, "I get second every six years: 2000, 2006 and 2012."

Maelle Ricker owns the women's pro division. This year marked her sixth win in a row. And she won by almost five seconds. She also wrecked into the fence in her second finals run. Like a true pro, she unstrapped, hiked up around the gate, took a bow, buckled back in and finished her run without a DQ. Is the mark of a pro the flawless winning time or the unwillingness to give up?

That quote sums it up.

Finally, I just can't top Baker for getting together with all my shred buddies. I have quite a few that I only see there. I wish I could see them more often, and I wish I'd stop missing some even there, but as long as the Legendary Banked Slalom goes down, at least I'll know where they'll be for that one weekend in February. You guys know who you are. See you next year!

Board Exam: 2011/2012 Lib Tech Travis Rice Limited Edition Snowboard Review

What the rep said: All-mountain freestyle; mellow magnetraction; C2 power banana for better edge hold, stability and pop; true twin shape

Stats/Setup: I checked in at 6'1" (1.85m) and 170 pounds (77.3kg) when I rode the Travis Rice Limited Edition in a 157 with Salomon Dialogue Boots (size 9.5) and some old Technine MFM Pro bindings at Mt. Bachelor, Oregon. Count the prepositions in that sentence.

Conditions: Hardpack, ice, some slush

Check out Lib-Tech's site for the goods

First impression: Dig that limited edition Art of Flight graphic by Mike Parillo

The Ride: A nice deep sidecut has the T.Rice going edge-to-edge like a tweaker standing on a rocking chair. When the turns open up, the mellow magnetraction shines. It's not as aggressive as the MTX found on some of Mervin's other boards, but it will hold on even when you're carving like a Euro hardbooter. I don't know exactly which boards have which version of magnetraction, but my guess is the deeper the sidecut the less need for a deep magnetraction. It works for this board anyway. It charges hard and holds on tight.

Another shining area is the stability. Even at 157 when I'm used to something longer, I was comfortable at speed, through chop and falling off stumps and jumps. This is a damp board that likes speed and likes a challenge.

The pop was pretty good. I've found Lib's C2 poppier than full rocker (or their earlier BTX), but not as poppy as full camber. This is to be expected as it has rocker between the feet, but camber to the contact points. The C2 does give you that little bit of buttery flex advantage over camber, though, for those who like to get your press on.

Bottom Line: It's not going to get you into a helicopter followed by a helicopter all by itself, but it can do everything else. In general, a hell of a lot of fun to ride. I wish I could've ridden the 161 and ridden it in a wider variety of conditions because this seems like a great all-mountain freestyle board.

Similar Boards: My Never Summer SL-R

Bonus Package: As a bonus to the Limited Edition board, the LE package includes The Art of Flight book, DVD and Blu-Ray all in a collector's edition box. It's a rad little package that I paid $80 for. Check it.

The art of book, Field Notes for scale

What's inside

The collector's edition, pop-up box

Board Exam: Lib Tech Mark Landvik Phoenix 2010/2011 Snowboard Review

What the rep said: Stiff, wide and not much sidecut. Point it and hang on.

Stats/Setup: I'm checking in at 6'1" and 165#. I rode the Lando in a 157 Wide with 32 Focus Boa Boots (size 10.5) and Union Force SL Bindings at Mt. Hood Meadows.

Conditions: Boot-top pow and soft groomers

First impression: Two-headed cobra. Awesome!

The Ride: I only got one run. After what the rep said, I decided not to hold back. The board did just what it was meant to do: charge. High-speed, big-radius turns were made for this board. Crud? What crud? Like any assassin, it goes by two names. Those are 'stability' and 'dampness.' If it were a Mexican assassin it would have a third name, but I don't know how to say 'merciless' in Spanish.

View all the gory details over at Lib's site

Anyway, the more you put into this board, the more you get out. But you better be ready. Prepare to overshoot your everyday jumps because it pops like that. Prepare to run into lifties because you can't stop. Check that, prepare to run into waitresses. In the upstairs restaurant. That's how hard this board charges.

Don't worry about pressing, buttering, dancing or getting out of the way. Some avoid, some get avoided. When you're on this board, you'll know you're role.

Bottom Line: Charge!! Not exactly a board for beginners.

Similar Boards: Burton Supermodel X, Salomon Burner
(I kinda wish I had those reviews back. I'd charge harder...)

Board Exam: 2009/2010 Lib Tech Dark Series C2

The Rep said: Check out this stiff-ish, all-mountain freestyle board. Oh yeah, and our C2 Power Banana.

Stats/Setup: I'm around 6'1" and 170# with size 10.5 32 Focus Boa boots caged inside Union Force SL bindings. I tested the 158 board and it was a demo day, so I only rode the board for a few runs.

First Sight: What's up with that riser pad built into the board under the inserts? (I didn't get good pictures, check Lib's site) It felt pretty light swinging from my foot on the lift.

Conditions: Resort in the rain. Hard to icy groomers with slushy pockets.

The Ride: First, what I didn't ride: powder, pipe, rails. A damn shame we didn't have any powder, I've been wanting to test that C2 in the soft stuff and just haven't gotten a chance. That will have to wait. The dude-ditch and the metal features just don't attract me, so they're the last things I demo. Didn't make it there with the Dark One.

I did, however, take the jump line through a notoriously slow, beginner park to test the other freestyle aspects of the ride. The combo of this board's light weight and pop had me overshooting landings that are all too easy to fail from lack of speed. Chalk one up for the new Dark. On the icy patches, Magne-Traction shines. This is no gimmick folks. It might not turn ice into pow like they say, but at least you can keep your board under you in some hairball situations. Couple that with a camber point at the tail from the C2 and this board was powering from one turn to the next. I found that the Org Throttle 3-d Riser (mentioned under First Sight) gave this otherwise narrow-ish board the heel and toe clearance of a wider board while still retaining edge to edge quickness and most of the board-feel. Still, I wonder if it's really necessary.

Bottom Line: The Lib Tech Dark Series C2 is a high-end, all-mountain freestyle board. With the C2 upgrade over last year's model it feels stiffer, more stable, more responsive and comes with added pop at the cost of buttery softness. Then again, if you wanted that, you'd be reading my Skate Banana review. The addition of traditional camber points suited this board perfectly. Big cliffs and park jumps with potato chip ridged landings will no longer scare you. Another cool quality of Lib Tech boards is that they're made right here in the USA (near Canada) in Washington state with more environmentally friendly features than you can hug a tree at. A bio-plastic topsheet made from beans? You know it. But all this technology comes at a hefty price. That's where the 'high-end' comes in. Suggested retail price of the Dark Series with C2: $666 (how's that for dark). If you don't fear the price (nor the reaper), take a walk on the Dark side.

 

Any questions? Check out Lib's propaganda 

or peep Eric Jackson's part in Standard Films' Black Winter.  

Similar Boards: Never Summer Heritage-R

Board Exam: 2009 Lib Tech Skate Banana

The folks at Lib Tech are nice enough to support the Greasebus, which means free Banana demos for all Greasebus riders! I finally got a powder day at Meadows and it was bluebird. Let me break it down for a second: I rode a bus powered by vegetable oil up to the mountain for $10, I got to demo a hot board for free and it was a bluebird day at a notoriously cloudy spot, with 8 inches of fresh pow. I thought I fell asleep on the bus and was dreaming...

Then I found a trash bag full of gold and ice cream sandwiches on the runout...

No, really, it was real! (except for that trash bag) Let me tell you about this board. Now, you might say, "Graham, a million other people have reviewed this board already." You're probably close, give or take a few hundred thousand. But, I ask you, how many of them were riding at Mt. Hood Meadows during a freak occurence of both powder and sunshine? And how many of them were 6'1" and 170# with size 10.5 boots (DC Super Parks) and Technine MFM Pro bindings? And how many of them consumed exactly three mini Clif Bars (Oatmeal Raisin) and contemplated the writings of the Dalai Lama whilst riding? That's what I thought. Every review is a unique flower, so don't, um, de-flower me by writing off my review before it gets started. Hear me out.

My first impression with the board was that of it's average weight dangling from my foot on the lift. Upon strapping in, I immediately set off to test the flex and ollie pop power of this reverse camber shred stick. As expected, it was buttery like a French pastry with all the pop of a five-year-old in a bubble wrap factory. After a couple runs, I was reacquainted with the BTX. Going back and forth between BTX and a standard-sidecut, cambered board takes some getting used to. Most notably, the turn inputs are slightly different. Once that's accounted for, you have the longitudinally loose feel of the reverse camber. Couple that with the torsional softness of the Skate Banana and you have a board that is super-fun to play around with. I really put it to the test in a couple icy, chunky patches and it wasn't much fun there. No board would be. It was a little too soft to stand up to the chunks and a premeditated ice carve was more than it could handle. In reality, I'd never try that if I wasn't testing a board. I'd just avoid it. The test, then, is for those times when you just can't avoid it. To be fair, it's hard to lose an edge on a Magne-Traction board. They do help on ice, but they don't turn it to powder. Speaking of powder, did I mention I got to ride that, too?

After a short break, I headed to Meadows' powder haven, Heather Canyon. Freshies were still available even later in the day on a Saturday. The banana didn't make a drastic difference in pow, but I never submarined nor did my back leg go on strike due to overwork. The skate felt a little soft and unstable on some of the steeper sections where the powder gave way to more packed snow. I'd like something a little stiffer and damper for spots like that. In the trees it went edge to edge like it was in a slalom race and got me out alive when the fluff turned frozen-over.

Overall, the Skate Banana is a fun board and isn't that what it's all about? Oddly, I didn't ride it on anything manmade, but if pressing, popping and powder are your game, try it out. I can't speak to pipe or rails as I usually avoid those (my guess is that it would be better suited to the metal than the U-tube). Also, high-speed corduroy carving isn't this one's forte, so beware. Other than that, this is a board I'd be happy to own and despite the name it's well prepared for a range of terrain outside the park.

Check out Lib's site for all the tech specs