equipment

ISPO NEWS 2019 | Snowboards & Splitboards

Splitboards and co. - mainly model maintenance and incremental improvements

by Patrick Wehowsky • 02/10/2019

"ISPO is not dead, yet," I wrote last year. This is still true, but the patient is already in intensive care. More and more brands are starting to present their products outside of ISPO, which was also discussed here last year. The snowboard industry was once again a pioneer, as this trend now also seems to have arrived in the ski sector, as our ski article makes clear.

Snowboards /Splitboards

When it comes to splitboards and snowboards, there have been few changes compared to recent years. This is hardly surprising, as the product range is already very large and the market as such is not that huge.

After Amplid has served the high-end sector in recent years and set one weight record after another, next year's "Tour-Operator" will be a rather inexpensive splitboard, which should also score points with an extra-stable base and a very robust, white topsheet. We will find out here in a test how this looks in terms of weight. Amplid now also offers its own hooks and nose/tail connectors.

In addition, Amplid remains true to its rather unusual shapes and is launching one or two mini-series. Currently, for example, the J.N., limited to 31 pieces, as a tribute to the late Jean Nerva.

BuddyBuddy was already presented here last year. There will now be a split version of the Woodruff model for the new season. However, they didn't have one on display at ISPO. We'll be surprised.

Borealis will also be offering their popular powder board, the Koi, as a splitboard next year.

At Capita everything stays the same. That means: Springbreak in the freeride sector and the Neoslasher in the splitboard sector.

The Norwegian brand Furberg, of which we have already tested two generations of the Freeride model here at PowderGuide.com (review of the current Freeride here), brings a third shape with the Allmountain model. It has a slightly shorter radius and is therefore designed even more for on-piste performance. What's really new at Furberg is a patented technology called "Seam Seal Tech". On the inner sidewalls, there is a recess on one side and a small metal edge on the other, based on the groove and bung principle. This is intended to reduce the play between the board halves and bring the boards even closer to the feel of a solid board. To avoid any problems with possible icing, Furberg produces a suitable cleaning tool at the same time.

There are two key aspects to note about the tenth anniversary of Jones . Firstly, they are striving to be significantly more environmentally friendly by using appropriate materials (biodegradable epoxy, recycled side panels, steel edges, etc.). Secondly, the already very large "Mindexpander" model range is being expanded to include the "Ultra-Mindexpander" model, which will be available in four lengths (50, 54, 58, 62).

In addition, the flagship has undergone a complete redesign, which should also be available in the Solution in the 20/21 season.

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At Konvoi the two boards Kantar (more all-mountain) and Nevado (more powder-heavy) will be available in both split and solid versions for the foreseeable future, as they have proven themselves and are very well received.

At K2 there is a completely new splitboard, the "Marauder", which is advertised as an all-round splitboard and also looks like one. No special gimmicks, but a solid shape. It comes in 5 normal sizes and 3 wide versions to suit as many people as possible. K2 now also has its own hooks and a base without inserted P-Tex pieces. This is technically old hat, as Völkl was the first to offer this a few years ago. The board is sold including skins and pucks. As with the skis, the proven K2 skin attachment system is used.

Nitro remains true to its line with its splitboards and has three splits on the market with the more affordable Nomad as well as the tried and tested Doppleganger and the Squash-Split

A new splitboard called The Transition will be available from Plum in cooperation with Rip Curl. Lightweight taper, a small swallowtail and an 11-meter radius are an interesting combination.

Rome SDS and Salomon were both not represented at ISPO, but as far as we know should keep their product line.

Rossignol remains the same in terms of splitboards, but has a new board in the line with the Sashimi, which is supposed to be a mixture of the Sushi and the XV. In addition, the Sushi is now also available in a width of 26.5 cm (instead of 28), which may make the transition a little easier for skeptical people. Changing edges in difficult conditions will probably also be a little easier, although the board - to be honest - was not designed for this.

Telos Snowboards is a new brand from the USA, which has its split and solid boards manufactured in China. At least the splitboard was clearly in the lighter league. Let's see what develops here.

Bindings / binding systems

Karakoram has not made any major changes to its product range apart from the "Nomad" binding, which replaces the Prime SL. Some of the plastics are slightly different with the aim of further reducing weight, otherwise the new "Ride Mode 2.0" binding system introduced last year remains unchanged.

At PLUM there are also no new features, only model updates. The new features introduced last year remain in place.

The situation with Spark R&D is similar to Karakoram. New color combinations for the bindings, otherwise the innovations introduced last year have proven themselves. The pure plastic touring bracket presented last year was not used this year due to durability problems and will not be used next season either. The tried and tested aluminum brackets will therefore remain.

The Heel-Lock was on display at ISPO this time and made a convincing impression at the trade fair stand. We will take a look at it in the field and then report back.

There have been various small improvements to the bindings at Union. However, I wasn't really convinced by the cotter pin lock in ascent mode, as it was very stiff. This may not be the case later, but the basic idea is good. We also found the new safety catch in downhill mode to be fiddly; we think it could be better designed. The puck play seems to be a thing of the past and the overall experience over the last season seems to have been positive.

Boots

When it comes to boots, most manufacturers have kept everything the same and made minor improvements. For example, Northwave has once again tried to reduce the boot volume of the Domain CR and has now used ball bearings for the laces in the foot area. At K2, the tried and tested Aspect (test on PowderGuide here) only has new colors.

ThirtyTwo has given its top model a slightly larger cut-out walking mode, as well as a few minimal changes.

Deeluxe has a new boot for splitboarders in its range with the Explorer. The Explorer is a classic boot with normal lacing plus Boa for heel hold as well as Vibram sole and heelwelt.

Phantom, the small high-tech hard boot binding company from the USA, has an upgrade kit for Atomic Backlands on offer. A spring-loaded lever, which is used instead of the normal lever (walk/downhill function), is said to make significantly better flex behavior and different angles possible.

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