Snowboard Review Blog + Features (Archive)
Technically Snowboard Review is a site for Snowboards and Snowboards only, but you need bindings to go riding so on this occasion I believe I’m justified in posting preview pictures of next years bindings. So what’s hot and what’s not? Well strap bindings are still fashionable and Switch Step-Ins won’t be making reappearance, amen. Over the years we’ve seen all sorts of reinventions of the traditional strap binding, from Flow’s original slip in binding and Apo’s rather slicker looking Expresso binding which essentially does the same job, to Beyond Snow’s fairly over engineered strap binding designed to cut down the time required to tighten your bindings from 10 seconds to 5 and only at the cost of an extra kilo…hmm.
Posted by Rich Ewbank.
Continue reading ISPO Preview - 2011 Bindings
Volkl is one of those brands that we’d always heard good things about and although they’re a highly regarded and popular ski brand their snowboard division has never really benefited from the same exposure and popularity. Nevertheless they’ve always supported a very core squad of European and Canadian riders and by all reports have made some quality decks over the years. Anyway, with this in mind, SB-R thought it about time our readers found-out whether the hype was justified and contacted snowboarding legend and Swiss distributor of Volkl Harry Gunz in the hope he’d send Tom a few boards…needless to say Tom wasn’t disappointed!
Posted by Tom Ewbank.
Continue reading Brand Test - Volkl Squad, Coal & Cashew Snowboards Reviewed
It has been eight weeks since the Contract Snowboards ‘Battle for Britain’ began. It is now the final week before the team at Contract announce the10 finalists. Selected from the ranks, the 10 riders will be asked to create a short edit video showcasing their riding skills. The rider that impresses the team at Contract the most will be awarded a place on the prestigious SYS team. For your chance to win a years sponsorship from Poland’s premier snowboard brand submit a photo of yourself laying down some skills at www.contractsnowboards.com/shredbattle . Be quick the final day for submissions is Friday the 26th of March
Posted by Rich Ewbank.
Continue reading Contract Battle for Britain Competition Update
Xavier de Le Rue is a guy you’ve got to admire, even after his disappointing fall in the Olympic Snowboardcross heats (I’d championed Xavier for the gold), Xavier has got back on the horse and is once again dominating the Freeride World Tour. If you missed Xavier’s line on the Tram Face in Squaw get on the Freeride World Tour website and check out the video… 360 drop in, a tight multiple drop cliff line followed by an enormous cliff that most people would want a parachute for. Insane! Now Xavier is g-ing up for the final event in Verbier, where fingers crossed, he will be taking his 3rd title. This is what Xavier had to say about the impending event:
Posted by Rich Ewbank.
Continue reading Xavier De Le Rue is on form for Verbier
It’s no secret that Burton has been struggling to make ends meet. The pressure of declining sales and increased material costs are causing snowboard manufacturers worldwide margins to dwindle like nobodies business, and even the biggest player in the market is having to make big cuts to stay competitive. So it’s not surprising that today Burton announced that it plans to shift premium snowboard production (think T6 and Vapor) from the BMC facility to its factory in Innsbruck Austria, where the company has been building snowboards for over 25 years. On the bright side, product design and development will still be home-grown in Vermont, where the company will relocate its snowboard prototyping resources from BMC into a new, purely R&D-driven prototype facility at its global headquarters in Burlington.
Posted by Rich Ewbank.
Continue reading Burton’s BMC factory Vermont, prepares to close it’s doors