Borealis Splitboarding 2024/25 Preview

Retail Buyers Guide: Splitboarding 2024/25 Retail Buyer’s Guide
Brand: Borealis
Interviewee: Ben Hall, Owner

How would you describe the current state of the snowboard market? What big developments, changes, challenges, and/or opportunities are you seeing and how is your brand navigating them?
The Snowboard market seems relatively stable, except for some specific areas like France where less snow fell last season.

Following overall price increase, any positive developments with regards to manufacturing, sourcing, or logistics and the changes you’ve made? Are there any examples you can share of how your business pivoted effectively? What developments are you seeing with regards to product pricing?
Yes absolutely! After moving to our new factory for 2023-24, our whole line has seen very positive development. We shifter from a premium to an ultra-premium brand, focusing only on quality, durability and performance.

Is e-commerce sales still strong since most brands have been put a lot of effort in physical retail?
Yes both are strong.

After last winter and the lack of snow in Europe, what’s your overall sales and production/inventory strategy for 24/25?
We’ve always produced our boards based on the quantities we’ve managed to secure via our reps and distributors + an extra 10-15% of our own stock. We will continue to follow this strategy for 2024-25.

Does your brand have any new developments concerning sustainability and/or how you are positioning any environmental messaging?
Yes this has been our way of doing since the very beginning back in 2013. Implementing eco-friendly materials in our gear seems to us like a logical thing to do to reduce our reliance on harmful substances and reduce our carbon emissions. And perhaps even more importantly, the durability of our gear has improved so much that we are now offering a 4-year guarantee on all our snowboards and splitboards.

What are your top product marketing stories for next season?
The Alpine Pro split continues to gather more and more aficionados. New awards every season. The versatile big mountain dominator designed in collaboration with FWT veteran, the Chamoniard Clément Bochatay.

SPLITBOARD SPECIFIC

What about new board construction, innovation, or shape trends? Any big advancements in functionality? Skinning, transitions, etc, as well as riding? Any specific effort on ranges for 24/25? If yes, where and why?
For 2024-25 our 3 splitboard models are carry overs from 2023-24. We tend to keep our models unchanged for 2 seasons unless we change something in the construction, for better performance.

Are you using any new materials in your splitboard for 24/25? If so, what, and why? We’re interested in anything new in inserts / edges / cores / sidewalls / glue / resin/ wood types / base material, top sheet here.
What makes our splitboards quite unique is their durability, sustainability and performance. DURABILITY: Bullet-proof DNA bioplastic topsheets, impact-resistant PU Liquid Sidewalls, flax or glass impacts plates.. these are a few of the technologies and materials we use to make our splitboards the most resistant on the market. All this backed with a 4-year guarantee. SUSTAINABILITY: We focus on using eco-friendly or less polluting materials wherever we can. Our splitboards also contain the eco-solutions. Bioplastic topsheet, flax, Zero-COV resins (no toxic vapours), recycled steel edges, biodegradable fluorine-free wax are some of them. Choose wisely, choose sustainably! PERFORMANCE: With ex FWT rider Clément Bochatay by your side, and seasoned riders who spend their lives riding powder and climbing up dodgy couloirs, the experience is there to make great gear with incredible performance. Add to this the 30+ years of board shaping and crafting experience of our partner Dan Agundes the near-legend shaper, and you get the most qualitative, highly-performant and perhaps most importantly, the most fun to ride gear out there!

Key products

Alpine Pro Split:
Award-winning big mountain splitboard which cannot be categorized only as a big mountain board. Its special design and advanced technology make it probably the most versatile splitboard out there. Ride steep icy couloirs, drop off big cliffs, ride and land switch, slash powder and all this without breaking your knees thanks to a carefully-tuned flex and adapted sidecut radius. Twice awarded Best Big Mountain Splitboard by Splitboard Mag (21-22 & 22-23) but also 100 Award by Whitelines and 2024 Gear Guide Select by Backcountry Mag (USA).

Alpine Pro Split

Koi Split:
The fish-shaped Koi Split, is our solution for waist-deep powder slashing and forest adventures. Created as a tribute to Hokkaido’s unique snow conditions, this tapered directional splitboard turns on a pin head and holds an edge like a Japanese sushi chef slicing sashimi. Foorest runs, open freeriding, steep couloirs, it handles pretty much any terrain. As on all our splitboards, it comes with a sturdy DNA Bioplastic Topsheet, FSC-Certified wood core, Zero-VOC resin, recycled steel edges and many more perks. 2024 Ace of ACT: Best Splitboards of the Year by ACT Snowboarding Magazine (FRA).

Koi Split

Ramen Express:
Launched two years ago, the Ramen Express is our entry-priced all-mountain splitboard with a taste for backcountry-freestyle. This slightly set-back twin split comes with a medium flex and smaller sidecut radius than other splits in our line, making super lively, responsive and poppy. It was designed for those who enjoy playing with natural features, riding and landing switch and sending tricks in the backcountry.

Ramen Express