Snowboard Review Blog + Features (Archive)
There are plenty of old favourites and new editions alike in the 2011 Burton Snowboards line-up. From the flying-V version of the ever faithful Custom to the ‘so now’ release of the reggae styled limited edition Damien Marley Whammy Bar and the all new retro shaped soul surfing powder shredder the Steller.
There nothing like the Burton stand at Ispo. For one, it’s enormous, dwarfing the next biggest including the likes of the Ride and K2 setups. Secondly it’s right at the centre of the snowboarding hall and the main focal point of the show. And thirdly, it doesn’t half make the boards look good. Enough about the stand, I’m sure you just want to know about next years boards.. well Burton are notoriously good at keeping their boards under wraps until the start of the season. As a result, I can only talk you through the range from a broad perspective; what decks are looking tight, which 2010 boards are missing from the 2011 range and then leave you to browse through some pics of the highlights.
Posted by Rich Ewbank.
Continue reading ISPO Preview - Burton Snowboards 2011
Polish new boys Contract Snowboards have been attracting a lot of interest in their boards no doubt due to their unique Snake Transition technolgy. I managed to get hold of two of next seasons boards and caught a ride to Westendorf Austria to see if the radical designs live up to the hype.
Munich’s a fantastic city; friendly people, more pork than a pig sty, a historic Bavarian beer haus on every corner and the beautiful snow laden mountains of the Austrian alps within an hours drive. Flying into Munich on the Friday evening I had a day to kill on Saturday before the start of ISPO, Europe’s biggest winter sports trade fair. Fortunately this snowboarding lark makes you friends in all sorts of places, so I hooked up with my main man Phil, arranged to pick up some test boards from Magic at Contract Snowboards and we drove down to the Austrian border in Phil’s Chevy gas guzzler to spend the day shredding in Westendorf.
Westendorf packs a punch for a small resort, plenty of vertical, an efficient lift system some nice tree runs and a well shaped park with some nice features. Throw in some untimely whiteout conditions and enough fresh snow to close the big jumps and you’ve got a good excuse to tear of the shrink wrapping and test some new boards.
Posted by Rich Ewbank.
Continue reading Brand Test - Contract 3D Swell and Cobra Snowboards Reviewed
We just got an email from Mikee C at FBBB. He wanted Snowboard-Review readers to know that FBBB have got a few places left in their chalet for the weeks commencing Sunday 14th and Sunday 21st of March.
Posted by Rich Ewbank.
Continue reading Room at the Inn with the FBBB chalet trip 2010
Rich, the editor of Snowboard-Review.com, has always been a massive fan of Rossignol snowboards, due to their solid construction and great value for money. As a consequence, when the opportunity arose to test three of this seasons most impressive Rossi decks, Rich thought it be best that somebody without a biased opinion should put the aforementioned boards through their paces. One week in Verbier, three brand spanking new decks courtesy of Rossignol Europe, a nice dump of powder and a freshly shaped Thyon park… good times indeed!
Rossignol Angus 157
The Angus is currently Rossignol’s only freestyle specific board with an Amptek (rocker/camber) profile. Before taking the Angus out for a spin I’d heard a lot of positive things about it, including being recognised at the 2009 Transworld Goodwood awards as the best deck for under $400. So, what were my first impressions of this highly commended shred stick? Well, I’m not going to mince my words because if the truth be told ‘I absolutely loved it’.
This is a board of impossible contradictions, it shouldn’t make sense but it does; it’s playful and flexible yet poppy and powerful; it’ll press and bend like a jib specific board but carve and hold an edge like an all-mountain board. Torsionally and longitudinally it’s pretty stiff and powerful thanks to carbon/kevlar reinforcements and camber between the bindings, but because of a slightly softer nose and rockered ends this board is fun to jib.
One of the things that I loved most about this board was the ridiculous amount of pop when riding kickers, I’m sure this is thanks to the Amptek profile. The pop wasn’t particularly noticeable at low speeds but when I cranked-up the pace and started spinning off the bigger kickers in the park it seemed to send me a lot higher than I was used to.
If there is anything that this board slightly falters on its rails. Having ridden a zero camber board for the past season it seemed like the Angus didn’t lock on to rails quite as well when in a boardslide. In fairness it performed similarly on rails to any cambered board I’ve ridden but had the added bonus of allowing me to press very easily. Despite this small criticism the Angus is a great board that performs exceptionally well all over the mountain; it carves surprisingly well and is probably the best performing board I’ve ridden over red and black kickers. So, if you’re looking for a board to hit big jumps at mach 10 on this board is definitely worth a look…….I want one!
Posted by Tom Ewbank.
Continue reading Brand Test - Rossignol Angus, One and Experience snowboards reviewed
Officially credit crunched? Don’t know where your next ride is coming from? Fear not, Snowboard-Review and Contract Snowboards have teamed up to find an unsigned rider to sign to Contract’s SYS sponsorship program.
Posted by Rich Ewbank.
Continue reading Contract Snowboards Launch ‘Battle for Britain’ Sponsorship Competition
