Snowboards FW16/17 Trend Report

Jones

After a somewhat chaotic eighteen months of pull-outs, closures, reshuffles and factory changes, the dust is settling and the snowboards of tomorrow are looking brighter, shinier and better than ever before. Read on as our snowboard writer Tom Wilson-North has a look at the best of the bunch.

KEY NEW MODELS – FREERIDE
Directional big mountain and freeride boards are receiving a lot of the R&D dollars next year. A key release is Capita’s Warpspeed, which integrates shaping attributes (read: sidecut and camber) from the Supernova and The Black Snowboard of Death. Under the hood of this wide chassis you’ll feel forged carbon tips for chatter reduction and a refined Omega Mark II base for high speed. Over at Rome, their new Blur has been built for “freeriding big European mountains, whether you are on piste or off piste, according to their Sales Manager Philipp Kämmerer. “It’s an evolution of our Hybrid Positive camber design, and is a highly responsive board for precision, power and speed”.

We found the same adjectives on the label of the Burton Gatekeeper, which will be the latest addition to the relooked Family Tree capsule. “We reached out to guides all over the globe and worked with them to develop the best board to use when guiding. It was really interesting to know what needs they had. The board that came out is pretty unique and we definitely wouldn’t have come up with it by ourselves”, Burton’s VP of Hardgoods Equipment, Chris Cunningham told us.

Burton

The Jones Flagship gets a re-tool and upgrade with new SPOON nose and tail bevel, and new basalt and flax fibres reinforcing its already burly core. Goodboards are using basalt too – volcanoes beware, there won’t be much of it around at this rate. There’s a new Iikka Backstrom freeride model from DC – a first for them – and a fully redesigned Optimistic from Yes, which will sit between the PYL and 420.

KEY NEW MODELS – POWDER BOARDS
An older demographic is a wealthier demographic, and a wealthier demographic loves chucking Euros at avoiding back leg burn. Hence the continued prevalence of innovative powder shapes. Marhar’s lightweight Lumberjack sounds rad, with a 3D base for funnelling the snow outward, like the hull of a boat. There’s a sick looking shape from Dinosaurs Will Die called the Pow Reaper, and Kazu Kokubo gets a pro model pow shred from Capita with bamboo core, powder nose and tapered tail.

KEY NEW MODELS – SOFTBOOT CARVING
Say what? Softboot carving is an important sub trend we identified which has driven development of some fairly unique sticks. “It’s a riding style we personally enjoy, the riding you would do on an average day in the resort when there is no good snow off piste”, says Nicholas Wolken from Korua – the runaway success story from last year. Their all new Yoloracer 156 and Trenchdigger 165 are designed for groomer riding and high-speed sidecut jibbing.

Lib Tech

We are stoked to see a full new program from Nidecker called Snow Surf. The concept is in a similar vein – narrower stances, more angle on the front foot and optional canting on the back foot to nail down that surfy feeling on and off piste. The shapes are all hand drafted, with no computers. There’s also a new deck from Völkl plugging into the same trend. It’s called the Pace and excels on freshly groomed pistes. The tapered core and fishtail mean it’ll work off-piste just as well, and could prove a pivotal release for the brand.

KEY NEW MODELS – OLD SCHOOL
New is old, old is new. Burton’s Backyard project sees another reissue along the lines of the uber-limited Craig Kelly from this year – they wouldn’t confirm it, but my money is on a Brushie Trout. You’ll find retro un…inc graphics from Yes on the Optimistic, and Ride have delved into their back catalogue and come back with an all-new Timeless, this time with aluminium core and topsheet.

“It seems like the new generation of riders is looking way back for inspiration”, says Rossignol’s Arnaud Repa. “So it’s no surprise to see asym boards coming back. We’re introducing Asym LITE on our Trickstick with a pressure-sensitive sidecut radius on toe and heel sides”. We are stoked on this setup and can’t wait to try the construction out and decode the science behind it.

KEY NEW MODELS – WOMEN’S
In women’s boards there’s a 20th Anniversary B-Pro from Gnu – has it really been that long, Barrett? This deck is a sure seller with all the Mervin knowhow and eco philosophy, C3 camber and Magne-Traction. The graphic story delves into the history of the board, in what can only be described as an explosion of flying pigs and unicorns. Over at Salomon there’s a cool looking deck called the Rumble Fish, which is a mix between the Gypsy and the Sickstick, and Smokin’s future freeride platform called the Judy Jetson is aimed at experienced shredders. At the lower end, Roxy have two new price point packages made in Austria and Asia respectively called the Wahine and the Poppy.

KEY NEW MODELS – KIDS
I’m not sure what took us so long, but it’s great to finally see boards for kids from a wide spread of brands instead of just the industry’s biggest players. Wi-me are offering kids boards as a bundle with the purchase of any adult board. They’re calling it the Rad Dad and Bomb Mom project. “We want to help grow our sport back. People in the millennial age group got jobs, started families, bought houses…life happened. We’d like to extend the olive branch and invite them back”, explains Wi-Me’s Jeff Lavin. Good job guys.

As part of their 25th anniversary, Never Summer are doing a line of mini Protos from 80cm to 110cm, and Jones are showcasing a high performance deck called the Prodigy aimed at young freeriders. DC have a Ply Mini, and Flow have a pretty special new product called the Micron Snowday. It’s a full EVA wrap deck with retractable pull cord, generous sidecut and Optix 200 Base; they’re calling it the “first noboard for kids”. Exciting times for ankle biters.

KEY NEW MODELS – FREESTYLE
If all mountain freestyle is your thing, you can’t miss the big inline release of the Gnu Mullair, Nicolas Muller’s Mervin pro model with directional C3 and mild taper. Nico swears it’s the best board he’s ever ridden and whilst your demands of the deck may be somewhat lower than his, the recycled UHMW sidewalls, clear topsheet and FSC core will lift your spirits while you’re underperforming. Swiss artist and long time pal of Nico’s, Alain ‘lain’ Schibli is on graphic duties. Elsewhere, Head have an intriguing deck called the Pilot aimed at the mature rider in search of side hits, and Verdad are bringing back a Demir Julia pro model called the DJXIII. There’s a refinement to Amplid’s Paradigma with greater surface area under the tips and an additional insert pack out back for pow days. And finally there’s a new model from Borealis called the Glyph, which is produced using all-eco, non-chemical processes.

Burton

In park boards, Ride’s Warpig eschews sizing convention and is either Small or Large. Over to their Global Brand Director Sean Tedore: “Warpig is an aggressive slashing, skier spraying, park lapping machine. The compact size and quick sidecut will destroy a derby course, or outrun ski patrol. This board will do anything you want to do, and freak out all the squares while you are doing it”. Palmer’s Burn is a real beauty with wood veneers, and Arbor have a limited edition Franck April Westmark, but it’s Salomon’s Ultimate Ride which is floating our boat the most; it’s a pinnacle top-end product by Bode Merrill with asym twin shape, a quadratic Equalizer sidecut and a layer of carbon along the sidewalls.

CAMBER, PLEASE
Base contours, still, remain very much a point of contention. “Rocker is dead. No seriously, rocker and flat contours are lifeless boards. They make learning and pushing snow around easy, but the demand is for traditional camber or some variation of a hybrid camber profile”, says DC’s David Appel. The pro-camber trend is global and universal; some brands are even going for extended mega-camber – just check out the high arcs of the Wi-Me Get Awesome 25mm, the Lobster Sender or the Rossignol Retox. “We’re taking it slowly with just one board though,” say Rossi, “because riders’ demands usually only make it to the general public after two or three years”.

Lago Snowboards by pro Scotty Lago are coming out of the GP87 factory: “I wanted a factory that was as passionate as I am about boards,” says Scotty as he confirms his brand is also on the camber train: “We are camber dominated with parts being flat and early rise so we get power, control and just a better ride.”

Conversely, rockers still sell, no question. Lib celebrate ten years of the Skate Banana revolution with a special graphic treatment on this seminal model, and Marhar report strong continuing demand for their reverse camber decks. But we are pretty sure that the pointy end of the market is going to be asking for hybrid or full camber next year.

Nitro

KEY NEW TECHNOLOGIES
Nowadays, with clients feeling like experts after a twenty-minute Google session, it’s important to showcase key technologies on the boardwall and have your staff ready to geek it up.

ABS sidewalls become a thing of the past at Signal – they are replacing them with a urethane-wrapped core. “ABS plastics can be unpredictable and if not treated right in its production, it can crack or delaminate. Our process takes that out of the equation and allows us to have a beautiful, bomb proof sidewall”, explains Dave Lee. They’ve also got a retake on old school cap construction called NCC, which is worth a look.

Lib Tech’s Climax Construction, which is showcased on the new Travis Rice model, is new too. It’s light, environmentally nicer and has a lively feel, combining Bio Beans topsheet, glass magnesium fibres and extra carbon. Stablemates Gnu take things a step further with the addition of 6061 T6 Aircraft Aluminium metal fins (yes, fins) on the retro Finsanity. Rocker Trucks provide the hardware.

Elsewhere, Flow’s Kush Control dampening goes all internal, Nitro optimize their Koroyd Highlander model and there’s a full retool at Bataleon. Drake add new die-cut sidewalls which look killer, and DC do away with their plastic topsheets entirely for significant weight savings.

FACTORY STORIES
There’s been a consolidation in snowboard factories over the last few years. The vast majority of branded snowboards are now made at SWS, Keil, Mervin, NBL, Meditec and Capita, with various Asian factories and independent outfits making up the remainder. Now there aren’t that many places to make decent boards, brands cited sustainability, longevity, and reliable ship dates as important factors when selecting a manufacturing partner.

Changes abound this year; Jones have moved from the now-defunct GST to SWS, Amplid go to Capita, Drake go to Meditec and Korua & Fanatic are moving to NBL in Poland. Stepchild relocate production to China’s SBF with Cliff & Austin Lee. Flow are building here too, with extra production requirements going to Taiwan’s Playmaker.

Triaaa maintain their own production facility in Davos, whilst West are doing a 100% Swiss Made model called La Suprême which will be built in Reto Niger’s Zen Factory in Interlaken.

“We want to offer our most discerning clients something unique and never done before, which will never be done again in the same style,” explains West’s David Lambert.

PRICE POINTS
The snowboard market is a bit of a funny one at the moment; nearly all the brands that we spoke to sell direct to client in one form or another, which has naturally led to increases in margin. So public prices don’t need to rise so sharply (despite unfavourable currency pairs and rising raw materials costs), so many prices are staying constant. “Our entire line is under $399 (363€) says Academy’s Jeff Baughn. “We believe in making a quality snowboard that will last for years but at an affordable price.” Amongst the major brands, peak demand is primarily between 449€ and 600€, with a demand spike around premium models which can be hard to get hold of. “We get emails all day from people asking where they can find our top-end Clout Series because the local shops didn’t get that board in stock”, confirms Endeavor’s Rob Dow.

SPLITBOARDING
Splitboarding continues to display steady growth despite shops having trouble making money from it; there’s always a lot of discounted product about and the compatibility issues are well documented. But the gear is looking better than ever. Amplid’s Tanga Tech protects their Milligram’s carbon laminate from chipping and rubbing in tour mode. Borealis are showing an eco-friendly splitboard, and Rossignol’s XV Split sees a new evolution. Arbor have a Brian Iguchi split and there’s a new Travis Rice uphill snowboard from Lib with a directional, tapered notch swallow and Firepower construction.

As the world leaders in splitboarding and with a new manufacturing partner, Jones have upped the game again; Boltless Bridge tech covers ugly exposed hardware in the board base, bio-plastic topsheets provide greater durability, one piece steel edges make everything look tidier and new Karakoram hardware keeps it tight. There’s also a Storm Chaser split in the pipeline.

Salomon upgrade their two and four part splits with Plum hooks and custom Pomoca skins and their four part gets a new binding interface for global compatibility, even with ski touring toepieces. Völkl add a Split-Stabilizer to their boards for increased torsional stiffness, and Smokin’ are ramping up their split game with the addition of Prowder hardware and a new Judy Split for girls.

GRAPHICS
Like it or hate it, graphic stories are a big part of any board buy. And there are some corkers coming up. Santa Cruz have topsheet art from Jimbo Phillips and Slash are showing collabs with Pleasure Magazine and High Cascade. Loaded continue on their cork and bamboo journey, Lobster collaborate with Taka Okawa’s Death Label snowboard microbrand and we’re liking Light’s coloured look through a gloss finish, which reminds us of resin tints on surfboards. Vimana have clean cut Scandinavian design courtesy of TheShallowTree, and Stepchild are using new guy Henry Jones out of Westchester, plus some stuff that “will probably lead to a cease and desist”, according to their legal department. Buddybuddy keep things simple with a clear topsheet showing off the technical core details, and Nikita’s Expression model uses a coffee berry print that coordinates with their outerwear collection.

CONCLUSION
So middle finger to the naysayers – the business of peddling snowboards is alive and well, and so long as you’re keeping up with what the customer wants, hustling decks isn’t too hard nowadays. The brands that you want in your boardroom are the ones that your clients are asking for; the ones built in decent factories, and distributed by honest people with a long-term vision for growth. Buy plenty of camber, buy midline with a scattering of premium, buy some boards for softboot carving if you think it’ll be cool for longer than a month, and you won’t go far wrong.