Next up in the look at 2011-2012 splitboards are the offerings from Voile. Voile took what I think is a surprising twist and are again only offering one board, but in four different lengths. I find it surprising as a few years back they had a deeper product line, and I know there are old OEM and newer one-off Voile swallowtails out there, I guess they decided the Mojo RX does everything well and there’s not enough demand for the others. UPDATE: Voile dropped me a line and they are actually offering two boards this year, the Mojo RX, and the limited release V-Tail (aka swallowtail)
2011-2012 Voile Mojo RX splitboard
The 2011-2012 Voile Mojo RX is the same wide nose/slight taper and setback shape as last year’s Mojo RX with a different topsheet. Yes, I know their website says ‘New shape, new profile…’ but I reached out to Voile to confirm before pushing this. However, one thing their website won’t tell you is that the topsheet’s difference is more than just visual. This year Voile is using a Carbonium topsheet (as does Never Summer), which Voile claims is not only more durable but also less likely to accumulate snow when touring. The Voile Mojo RX is available in four sizes (154, 161, 166 and 171) and a few configurations – board only (note that their definition of board only isn’t the same as others and actually comes with touring brackets, climbing heels and pucks/gaskets) for $695, board with all hardwear (aka just add bindings and go) and skins for $895, and the Light Rail package which includes everything plus their Light Rail splitboard bindings for $1095.
Mojo RX and Light Rail binding
Voile knew the world was clamoring for another topo themed splitboard and delivered
If your local shop doesn’t carry the Mojo, or is sold out of them, you can pick them up online here, here and here.
2011-2012 Voile V-Tail splitboard
Voile is offering a limited production swallowtail splitboard they are calling the V-Tail. It’s not currently on their site (yet IS available on REI’s site) and looks like it’s going to be hen’s teeth like the Jones line, so if you want one get ‘er now. Hoping to get some specs and info on this in a minute, if so will update.
Can’t find Voile at your favorite local retailer? You can pick them up online here, here and here.
Next in line at our look at 2011-2012 splitboards is the offering from K2, who is a newcomer to the factory splitboard game. Given the resources K2 has been pouring into their massively expanding backcountry ski line, and the fact that slack and backcountry riding is becoming more mainstream, it should be of no surprise to see K2 not just release a splitboard but also matching skins and other backcountry tools.
2011-2012 K2 Panoramic splitboard
The K2 Panoramic is K2′s first foray into factory splitboards but is far from a half-assed freshman effort, taking home an Editor’s Choice award from Backcountry Magazine. The Panoramic comes equipped with many of their high end technologies, including a strong ‘Bambooyah Blended’ core (which is just partial Bambooyah and doesn’t appear to carry the same 5 year warranty the other Bambooyah boards do) and their Carbon Web, which is essentially a slimmed down, less visually intrusive (sorry marketing department) 2012 version of the old school Zeppelin torsion forks to give you a little extra pop and feel.
K2 Carbon Web in their own words
The Panoramic is sporting a directional shape with a 1″ setback stance and a slightly wider nose than tail. K2′s All-Terrain Rocker, which is flat between the feet with a medium rise nose and low rise tail. work in tandem with the stance setback and slightest oftaper to help you slay whatever gets thrown your way without being intrusive.
*devil horns*
One thing you’ll quickly notice on the K2 Panoramic are the integrated tip and tail connectors (aka ‘hey, that board has holes in the front and back’ – think old school K2 Eldorado), which work in tandem with the new K2 skins to keep your skins securely attached to your board (aka no more tails coming loose because your glue is a little old and you’re too lazy to reglue your skins). I always thought it was odd that Voile never patented some tip/tail holes and connectors as part of their splitboard patent portfolio.
Photo courtesy of shayboarder.com, so click the image, check out her site and show her some love! She gets more days on snow than you, fact.
Available in four lengths (154, 158, 162 and 168), the Panoramic will be sold in a few configurations. For $599 you’ll get just the deck, which is a nice option if you’ve got newer skins and the Voile kit already. For $899 K2 is selling the whole enchilada – board, skins and Voile kit – which is a screaming deal courtesy of offshore manufacturing and the economies of scale that K2′s production volume allows.
If your local shop doesn’t carry the K2 Panoramic splitboard you can pick it up online from amazing Seattle retailer evo (and get free shipping) in board only or with hardware and skins. It’s also available online through backcountry.com.
Wow…seriously? Between the bikes and now this Shaun has gone Shaquille O’neal circa-1993 on us (or Spaceballs. Shaun White the lunchbox!) and is putting his name towards any and everything. ‘Sallgood though, make your money kid! This stuff better keep it real though and be pasty white with red flakes and ginger flavor.
The timing on seeing this was impeccable, especially after reading this interview with Farmer earlier. To liberally paraphrase: selling out happens because people want to get paid, haters gonna hate, you just have to recognize that you keep snowboarding because it’s fun and f* the rest.
Nothing is cooler than snowboarding down big mountains in powder on natural terrain.
Next in line for our 2011-2012 splitboard overview are the offerings from the Never Summer and the super Blaho bros. What started as a labor of love, custom built after hours by the Blaho brothers, the Never Summer splits are now done during the regular 9-5 (I think…will doublecheck with them to confirm) with the Blaho’s design input. Designed and made in the USA, if you ask 9 out 10 snowboarders about NS boards you’ll get a response along the lines of ‘bombproof…high quality’. The 10th guy doesn’t know there are companies outside of Burton, but if you ask him again in a few years he’ll say the same. Long story short: they make the goods, and if there’s a board in their line that fits your style it’s worth checking out.
Never Summer only has two boards in their splitboard lineup this year, but I’d bet a beer if you contacted them you can still get any of their other boards factory split (with inner edge) for you. Both of the boards utilize their patented R.C. (Rocker/Camber) Technology (read about the back and forth patent dick wagging between NS and Mervin) in tandem with their Vario Power Grip sidecut to give the boards that rocker feel and float without losing the ability to hold an edge and power out of turns. The best way I can describe VPG is it’s a progressive sidecut board without the smooth blending of the various radii – basically, the sidecut is straight right in the center, switching to a moderate radius sidecut underfoot to a deeper radius just outside the bindings. To put it in better marketed terms (that will likely raise hackles at NS), it’s Never Summer’s take on a multi-contact point edge aka Magnetraction – though when you see it in real-life it’s far more subtle than MTX. Anyways, on to the boards.
Never Summer Summit splitboard
The Summit is the big mountain pow/freeride board in the NS split lineup. Sporting a long wide nose and shorter tail, directional shape and flex, heavy taper and a damp (aka help avoid all those annoying stress fractures that build up and turn your feet purple after day in/day out riding in chopped up conditions) ride, the NS will help you slay whatever the mountain throws at you from pow to crud, then let you skin back up to get the goods again. MSRP $999. If your local shop doesn’t carry Never Summer you can pick one up online at backcountry.com.
Click the image to go to their site and click 'detail' - SIIIIICK!
A split version of Never’s all mountain freestyle board. Less quiver board than the Summit, more of a one board wonder. Less damp and more lively than the Summit, sporting a twin shape for backcountry spinjibbonking but a slightly setback stance to give your back leg less of a workout in the deep. MSRP $999. If you can’t find the SL locally you can get it online at backcountry.com.
Note that all Never Summer boards come with a 3 year warranty. At $999 they (like most manufacturers) include just the Voile tip/tail clips and hooks. Tack on another $300 if you want the full Voile splitboard hardware kit (touring brackets, pucks, slider tracks, pins, etc.) and climbing skins.
If you missed ‘em don’t forget to check out the rest of the 2011-2012 splitboards, and keep checking back as more get featured.
Up next in the 2011-2012 splitboard looksee are the offerings from Prior. Designed and built in Whistler, Prior takes a slightly different approach from most and sells custom boards direct to the consumer, as well as have a network of dealers so you can touch/feel/fondle locally. If your local shops don’t carry Prior splitboards you can pick them up online at REI.
Prior has two levels of customization. The first is their standard that you can order online – choose a topsheet, base graphic, core layup (a $200 XTC Carbon option in lieu of their standard Quadglass construction) and tune (optional $50 ‘Pro Tune’). But, you can get as wild as you want and unleash your inner control freak on your board with the ability to modify flex, width, taper – hell you can provide your own art for your topsheet and base graphic if you want to pay for it! Pretty insane when you think about it. A list of the price additions you can expect to see are below.
Description C$ surcharge
Custom flex (softer or stiffer) $70
Narrowing waist $70
Widening waist $150
Taper changes $70
Custom templates $200
Single topsheet $300
Custom base $300
Quadglass in their own words
XTC Carbon verbed and nouned for ya
Prior Fissile Splitboard
New to the Prior lineup this year is the Fissile. To me the shape of the Fissile is reminiscent of a good ol’ fashioned snowboard and wouldn’t look out of place with a nose rope, but in this day and age sounds like a quiver board. This is a powder whore’s weapon of choice – huge rockered nose, cambered tail and short radius sidecut – tree slalom to bowl slaying, the Fissile will get ‘er done for you. MSRP of $999, but depending on options can go up from there.
Prior Brandywine Splitboard
Next up is the Brandywine, an all ’rounder with Prior’s Hybrid Rocker construction which puts camber between your feet and rocker on the nose/tail. Prior designed the Brandywine for those smaller in stature (remember, the board doesn’t know your gender). Winner of a Backcountry Magazine Editor’s Choice award for 2012, where they said “If you want to ride harder and faster, this is your board. Quiver of one!” MSRP $899 and up
Prior AMF Splitboard
AMF stands for All Mountain Freestyle, the hybrid rockered/twin shaped BAMF in the Prior linup. Unchanged for 2012 this two-time BC Mag Editor’s Choice winner could be your savior if you’re a backcountry/sidecountry rider with spinjibbonking skills that I sadly lack. MSRP $899 and up
Prior Swallowtail Splitboard
What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think swallowtail splitboard? Beardos in earflap hats grinning ear to ear with snow walrus tusks at the bottom of a big, fluffy bowl, obviously. ‘Nuff said. MSRP $999 and up
Prior Backcountry Splitboard
A classic (especially in the old black totem topsheet), the Prior Backcountry utilizes their hybrid rocker construction in a board built to take on whatever the mountain brings. Pow in the AM, crud in the PM? Check. A quiver board for those with a quiver of one. MSRP $899 and up
Prior Khyber Splitboard
A pow focused board with a traditional look to it, on first glance it doesn’t look much difference than the rest of their lineup. The Khyber has a long, fat nose and massive amounts of taper (25mm in the 165 board vs. 4mm in the Backcountry of the same size) to keep you on top of the fluff. MSRP $899 on up
Don’t forget to check out the rest of the 2011-2012 splitboards, and keep checking back a we’re adding more daily!
So next up in our peek at 2011-2012 splitboard offerings are the offerings by the newer kid on the block, Jones Snowboards. In case you’ve been living under a rock (or are just new to the sport), Jones was started by self-powered backcountry line slayer Jeremy Jones (note: there are two Jeremy Jones – one the jibbonker you’ve likely seen on the Xgames, one self-powered backcountry line slayer that you may have seen on My Own Two Feet, Deeper, and coming ‘soon’ Further). Started “to develop the highest performance all-mountain weapons on the market – freeride boards that reflect everything I’ve learned both on the snow and in the factory. Every snowboard we produce will be born of my passion and our designs will mirror the performance demands of my riding matched with the environmental demands of my conscience“, Jeremy chose the highly skilled folks at Nidecker (they don’t get much love here in the US – marketing fail? – but they crank out HIGH END boards) to bring his ideas to life. Between his experience riding them, and their experience making them, you’re getting a high-quality product.
All of the Jones splitboards also use ‘mellow Magnetraction’, aka a less hooky version of the kiddie crinkle cut french fry sidecut the folks at Mervin made famous, and like Venture every board Jones makes is available as a solid board or a split and use a FSC certified wood core.
Jones Solution Splitboard
This is the board that had everyone jonesin’ long before it was released last year as it was the first OEM board to hit the market with a few of the features that had been dreamt about for years – outer AND inner magnetraction edges. After a few early manufacturing issues related to perfecting the inner edge the Jones Solution sold out as fast as it hit stores last year. Camber between the feet with nose rocker starting midway under front foot. Conflicting details on the tail rocker, I reached out to them to clarify if it starts midway under rearfoot as shown on the website or is setback as shown in the catalog. MSRP $799. If your local shop doesn’t carry Jones Snowboards you can pick up the Solution online at evo, a great shop in Seattle, Portland based US Outdoor Store.or a few other shops listed below.
Jones Solution rocker profile....maybe
Jones Solution splitboard shown with optional big brass balls
Jones Hovercraft splitboard
I’ve heard this one described as a magic carpet for snow, this is your snow going Skip Frye keel fish/surfy surf pow slashing G-ride. With directional rocker (aka camber underfoot and nose rocker only) and a stiffer tail this board won’t leave you flopping like a fish out of water (see what I did there?) when the pow turns to mank down low. While it comes in a 160 standard board the only size available split is a 156. MSRP $699
Jones Mountain Twin splitboard
Called a “freestyle board with a freeride heart“, the Jones Mountain Twin has a true twin shape with a directional flex pattern. Using what Jones calls CAMROCK (think a less aggressive Rollie Fingers mustache), the Mountain Twin has camber between the feet and a a rockered nose/tail. MSRP $749
CAMROLLIE
CAMROCK
If your local retailer carries the Jones aline and you even THINK you want one I’d advise buying it if you see one cuz last year these were like hen’s teeth. If they don’t carry them you can get the Solution Splitboard here, here and here and the Mountain Twin here (and I’ll update this post as more online retailers update their sites with winter gear).
The paradigm changing boys over at Spark R&D just dropped their new site with their new products on it. Take a gander at the the new Burner, the Burner LT ($380, ruck me funnin’) and the long overdue Deeluxe/Spark collabo Boot. Siiiick. However, I’ve got to say the Ken Burns effect on every product makes me want to steal a kid’s lunch money and kick a puppy. I won’t say it’s flash intro on a real estate or restaurant site bad…I’d say holy shit it’s actually worse. They’ll work it out though, hopefully before too many puppies get injured and kids go without lunch.
I say vibe-rum you say vibb-rum
While on their site note the Strappy Strap. OG freestyles/Elfgen/Torque influenced.
Been doing some last minute dehydrating to add some extra oomph to my Enchantments meal list. Wild huckleberries for oatmeal and dessert topping, lemons to use for cooking trout we catch, orange peel for making rye old fashioneds (note: Old Overholt makes a good, cheap, flask filling rye), pasta (if you pre-cook your pasta and dehydrate you save on fuel as you don’t have to boil when you want to eat it, just add water and let sit 5-10 minutes), bananas, etc. Good stuff!
If you want a great resource for trail recipes and dehydrating check out trailcooking.com.
Little known fact: Steve Jobs and Travis Rice ride park together when T.Rice is in the Bay.
The Art of FLIGHT is now available on iTunes in both standard def (aka time to get rid of the Betamax and wood box TV) and HD. Get them…and then host them online somewhere where I can download. OK, kidding* on that last part.
By now you’ve seen the trailers and are jonesin’ to get together with some buddies, sneak in a few beers, and hoot and holler at the full length. The Art of FLIGHT tour dates are below, if it’s not coming to your town or a town nearby you likely live in a crappy place that no fun loving human should be inhabiting. There are a lot of TBDs in there right now, mostly for you Euro folk, so stay tuned here or The Art of FLIGHT website for updates.
SAY WUT?