Venture Euphoria Wins Backcountry Mag Award

Colorado based freeride snowboard manufacturer Venture Snowboards’ recently announced “Shape Shack” appears to be off to a good start with its craziest shape to date, the Euphoria, taking an award in Backcountry Magazine’s annual test.  Developed by Venture’s co-founder Klemens Branner and snowboarding uber legend Johan Olofsson, the Euphoria has such a surf-board inspired shape with almost 100% reverse sidecut that you can bet that conditions during the test were deep and fresh. Anyway, here’s the press release:

“We are proud to announce that Venture’s new Euphoria Splitboard has received the prestigious Editors’ Choice Award from Backcountry Magazine!   

As the premier backcountry skiing and snowboarding publication in North America, Backcountry Magazine’s endorsement is highly coveted within the snow sports industry. This year’s annual product test was held at Crested Butte Mountain Resort, where a selection of boards from top manufacturers were put through their paces both on piste and off by a crew of more than 30 independent testers. When the powder cloud settled, Venture’s Euphoria Splitboard emerged as a top choice.

According to Backcountry, “this board merges snowboarding and surfing more than any other model,” a fact that contributed to their selection of the Euphoria as a 2013 Gear Guide Editors’ Choice. Additionally, testers commented that the board “surfs like a dream in the pow” and found it “incredibly nimble.” One reviewer even dubbed the Euphoria “Floatilla the Hun.”

The Euphoria is the result of a close collaboration between pow surfing pioneer Johan Olofsson and Venture’s founder and design engineer, Klemens Branner, and emerged as part of the company’s experimental Shape Shack division.  “The idea is to take a bit of a mad scientist kind of approach, experimenting with designs that might normally be considered too wacky, and then testing those concepts by offering small batch releases to the public,” says Branner.

Olofsson was visiting the Venture factory working on other board designs when he spotted a board tucked away in the corner. It was a shape that Branner had created several years prior, inspired by classic surfboard design. “I had tinkered with a few different reverse sidecut designs but had put the project on the back burner. When Johan saw that prototype he got all fired up.” With a few modifications Olofsson thought Branner’s experimental shape would make a perfect pow surfer. They decided to resurrect a previous powder specific model, the Euphoria.

After several new prototypes were built and ridden, Olofsson and Branner settled on the final shape. It includes rocker, reverse sidecut and a swallowtail for unsinkable performance on bottomless days. A full insert pack allows it to be ridden with traditional bindings, though it is designed to excel when surfed bindingless. When asked what it is about bindingless riding that appeals to him, Olofsson explains: “Everything is kind of new, and you have all these new spices. It takes me to a level of snowboarding where I don’t even care what anyone thinks about how I ride. I’m having fun.”

The Euphoria is the fourth board in the Venture quiver to receive an Editors’ Choice Award, following close on the heels of victories by the Odin Splitboard in 2012, the Zephyr Splitboard in 2011 and the Storm Splitboard in 2010. “Four Editors’ Choice awards don’t lie,” says Branner. “To receive such an incredible honor four years running is a huge statement about the quality and performance of our boards. Clearly the backcountry community feels we’re doing it right.”

For the 12/13 winter season the Euphoria is available through select Venture dealers, as well as the Venture webstore. Like all Venture’s boards, it will be offered in both solid and split versions, which will retail for $595 and $895 respectively.  Available lengths are 156, 162 and 168 cm.”

Posted by Rich Ewbank in Blog & News.

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