Colorado grass roots snowboard manufacturer Venture have just announced a partnership with Jeremy Jones’s non-profit environmental organisation Protect Our Winters (POW). For the 2009/2010 winter season, Venture will emblazon all its Euphoria powder boards - both solid and split - with the POW logo, and donate a portion of sales from these boards to POW.

Continue reading Venture Snowboards announce support for POW

So as we all know the pound isn’t particularly strong at the moment, which means those days spent buying cheap boards from European online retailers are over. To save our readers a bit of time this coming season we’ve done our own price comparison to see where the best country to buy a board is at the moment.

Continue reading When it’s Best to Buy British

On October 1st just as Rossignol were due to release the most innovative high-end freeride snowboard they’ve ever produced it seems their wonder boy Jeremy Jones has had a change of heart. Mr Jones, not to be confused with the Forum/Burton rider, who has been at the forefront of Freeride Snowboarding for the past decade finally decided to leave Rossignol, after 19 years, to begin his own company ‘Jones Snowboards’. In a statement on Jeremy’s blog site he thanked Rossignol for their years of support but stated he needed to make this move to take his involvement in product development to the next level.

Continue reading Jeremy Jones leaves Rossignol to start Jones Snowboards

Designed and made in the Eastern European country of Poland, there can’t be a fresher or more ground breaking snowboard brand on the planet than Contract. In their first season, despite a miniscule marketing budget and a pro team consisting of little know Polish rippers, people in the snowboard industry all over Europe are starting to hear good things about this small brand coming out of Poland, mostly because they’re producing some really tight gear, but also because it’s a really intriguing story. Snowboard-Review.com caught up with Maciej aka Magic, head of marketing at Contract Snowboards to discuss all things Poland and Contract.

Continue reading Brand Focus - Contract Snowboards

Overshadowed by the huge boom in reverse camber snowboards, heavily tapered powder snowboards or Fish shapes as they’re known to most, are rising steeply in popularity. 5 years ago Fish shapes were confined to the Burton Fish a legendary piece of snowboard design courtesy of JG and Terje. Spurred on by snowboarder’s insatiable appetite for new technology and specialist equipment, Fish stocks are booming and now feature in most manufacturers’ line-ups. The iconic Fish shape is discernable from other snowboard designs because of its heavy taper (more surface area in-front of the front foot), a short tail and a multi-radii sidecut which usually features a tighter radius at the tail of the board. Fish boards offer tons of float in powder and a responsive edge-to-edge feel, perfect for picking lines between tight trees and slashing lips on epic powder days. With Stepchild, Capita, Option and Nitro joining the party for 2010, Snowboard Review had a look at some of the finest specimens for the 2009/10 season.

Continue reading 2010 - The Year of the Fish?

The cynical amongst you might think Ride’s plan to release 3 limited edition graphics on their DH2 is another way of cashing in on one of their best sellers. However, I’m betting the majority of you are excited about the new designs…. at least you should be! The Snowboard Review crew think Michael J Zepada’s efforts on the first edition are pretty tight and put the original graphics on the standard DH2 to shame.

Continue reading Ride Release 1st of Three Limited Edition DH2 Graphics

Endeavor Snowboards celebrate their 7 year birthday this year. In that time, Endeavor have forged themselves a reputation as the brand at the forefront of the snowboard artwork movement, and as a brand that creates a product that rides great. Started by Max Jenke, an ex-pro rider and Whistler Wildcat, turned business man with a team that reads like a who’s who of BC snowboarding royalty, Endeavor was always going to succeed. Snowboard Review spoke to Max about this years range, the ever changing challenges of manufacturing snowboards in 2009 and the Whistler Winter Olympics.

Continue reading Brand Focus - Endeavor Snowboards

If there’s one binding manufacturer that’s been hot on the heels of Burton since it’s conception it’s Union. Now with 5 years under their belts they’re taking binding design to the next level. With Magnesium injected construction and partnerships with some of the most high tech materials manufacturers on the planet like Dupont and Zytel, you know the guys at Union are producing some serious gear. There are tons of standouts in the 09/10 range, like the Force-MC binding with it’s carbon highback, injected Magnesium heelcup and machine cored base plate, we’re talking about an incredibly light binding or the Re-Union binding with it’s recycled off-cut materials. However, in my opinion the most ground breaking binding of the 09/10 season is the Union Contact.

Continue reading Union Build Bonkers Banana Binding

Organic Snowboards is an exciting snowboard brand coming out of Quebec Canada. At the forefront of the green movement, Organic’s snowboards are using the latest technologies, from non toxic inks to Hemp fibres and Bamboo sidewalls. Organic are leading the way in an eco-concious revolution, with big brands like Burton and K2 hot on their heels, it’s fresh to hear that Organic don’t care that their niche market is being attacked by the big boys, they’re all too happy to be influencing the market and ultimately reducing the impact of snowboarding on the planet. We caught up with Organic’s general manager and Whistler local JP Boulais to find out a bit more about Organic and their dreams of a greener future.

Continue reading Brand Focus - Organic Snowboards

Burton dominated the binding market for years. The release of the Burton Custom binding with it’s revolutionary ‘Sky-back’ (designed by Terje Haakonsen for riding pipe) in the mid 90s cemented Burton bindings as the go-to equipment for the majority of pros on the planet, even if they were sponsored by another binding manufacturer! Over the last five years other brands have been getting their act together; Union hit the market running with some great products, K2 released the Auto binding a bonkers binding that tightens the toe strap as you crank down the ankle strap saving you valuable milliseconds and Ride dropped the Contraband toe strap system last year. Silently in the background Nitro have been badgering away creating a killer binding range under the Raiden brand. Although we don’t have many details on the range, the pictures speak for themselves!

Continue reading Nitro - 2010 Raiden Binding Preview