ISPO Report 2017| Splitboards and snowboards

Since fewer and fewer snowboard manufacturers are exhibiting at ISPO - market leader Burton is no longer represented at the trade fair for the second year in a row - general information on new products will be woven into the ISPO overview here in addition to the trade fair innovations.

PS: The lighting concept in Hall B6 could be from Steve Bannon himself. Darkness!

Snowboards /Splitboards

Amplid
After the successful launches of recent years (Miligram, Morning Split), Amplid is moderately expanding its product range. On the one hand, the Milisurf (unsplit: Surfari) is a powder splitboard of the finest quality. A short-cut swallowtail is combined with a 3D nose design (raised edges from the front contact point) for absolute floatability and turning ability. Like the Miligram, it is also at home in its own weight league. (approx. 2700 grams at 161cm according to the guys from splitboarding.eu).

In addition, Amplid now also offers an all-mountain splitboard: the Lovelife Split.

Amplid is dedicated to the carving trend initiated by Korua with the so-called Centrifugal Collection and, in addition to the Surfari mentioned above, has a real carving machine in its range with the Pentaquark.

Amplid produces at Capita (Mothership) in Austria.

Arbor
At Arbor, the portfolio remains almost completely the same, there are a few new designs and, of course, the obligatory (!), small and rather wide powder board. Arbor produces mainly in Dubai at SWS.

Burton
Good old Jake was again not represented at the fair, which could be an indicator for the well-being of the snowboard industry in addition to a beer-less Pleasur booth.

Burton has repositioned its splitboard range next year except for the Antisocial. New additions include the Dump-Truck Split with classic camber, as well as the Flight Attendant Split - a tried and tested S-Rocker shape with a decent weight ratio

Jones
Jones has expanded its portfolio once again and has now extended its 3D base technology to four levels (1.0 - 4.0), which are only available on solid boards. There are three new models on show, two of which are only produced as solid boards. The Lone Wolf, a classic swallowtail shape in three sizes (162, 168, 174) and the Mind Expander, a shorter powder board with a blunt nose, both designed by surfboard shaper Chris Christenson. There is also another "women's board" called The Dream Catcher, which will be available in both solid and split versions (148, 151, 154).

Furthermore, there are two new lengths for children's boards at the lower end of the size range, the Prodigy is now also available in 115 cm and the Discovery as a solid version now starts at 132 cm. Jones produces its boards in Dubai.

Korua
The rediscoverers of carved snowboarding are taking a more leisurely approach this year. The carbon series S-One (Review at PowderGuide.com) has been discontinued and the carbon construction has been integrated into the Korua portfolio. This is why the Café Racer will now be available next year as a split version in carbon construction, which should result in a weight of well under 3 kilograms depending on the length (approx. 2.5 at 156). In order not to completely forget the dream of bottomless powder, there are also two new shapes as solid boards this year. Firstly, a rather classic, short swallowtail called Tugboat and a large, Italian ice spatula called Obelix. Korua produces in Poland at NBL.

Plum
From next year, the friends from Chamonix will have their own women's model with a clichéd choice of colors called Ertle. Other than that, they are sticking with their existing splitboard variants. Plum produces in France at Aluflex (not far from Chamonix).

Rossignol
Rossignol works in 2-year cycles, which means that the much-praised model by Xavier de le Rue will remain the same next year. What is new is the women's model called Diva, which was previously only available as a solid board. Of course, Rossignol also has a small and rather wide powder board on offer - the Sushi in 145 - but unlike many other manufacturers, they also have the guts to offer such a niche model as a split version.

Winterstick
Winterstick doesn't have any new models, if I see it correctly, but is simply making its first appearance at ISPO. That and the fact that Tom Burt is a damn good snowboarder are enough for a mention here. Winterstick produces in the USA.

Bindings / binding systems

There are two things to note about the binding systems. On the one hand, a brand-internal differentiation and fine-tuning of the existing systems (Karakoram, Spark, Plum), and on the other, the introduction of the former split-stick binding by binding manufacturer Union - and at an absolutely competitive price!

Karakoram
Karakoram has been working for years to make 'Murica great again and is stepping on the gas again this year in terms of model selection. In addition to their pure splitboard bindings, which now run under the label Alpine Primes , next year they are expanding their range of normal snowboard bindings, now called "All Mountain Primes" . Next year, there will be three Connect bindings, which are primarily normal snowboard bindings but can be upgraded to touring bindings with the Connect Split Kit. In total (without counting women-specific variants), Karakoram will have seven binding models in the 17/18 season.

When it comes to the choice of materials, it is positive to note that Karakoram is gradually trying to replace their aluminum/metal parts with plastic parts - which makes sense for both icing and weight reasons. Equally interesting in principle is their idea of dispensing with the classic ratchet solution for the heel strap and using a buckle system from the ski touring sector instead. Practice will show how well this works. The last change I noticed was the newly designed climbing aid. Last year, the climbing aid apparently caused some problems.

NOW
Not splitboard-specific, but requested by schneerudi, here is the simple way to ride a NOW binding on several boards from next year: The respective nuts are simply screwed on. Pictures say more than 1000 words.

Boots

Deeluxe
Deeluxe has redesigned its top model XVe in various ways. On the one hand, the boot has become even shorter (5 mm). On the other hand, the structure of the outer shoe has changed somewhat, both in terms of the circumferential rubber coating of the toe box and the concept of the walking function. Overall, the shoe has a more "upright" design, i.e. it is equipped with less support than comparable boots. This basically makes long strides easier, without any technical gimmicks. The familiar walking function in the form of the gap has been retained. In addition, the somewhat fragile quick lacing systems are no longer used and have been replaced by the now tried and tested Boa quick lacing systems. These are separate, with one Boa fastener closing the lower part of the boot and the other taking care of the upper part. This makes it possible to have sufficient stability in the ankle area on the ascent and leave the lacing open at the top for more comfortable walking.

Northwave
Northwave, a well-known name among boot manufacturers, has finally jumped on the bandwagon of crampon-compatible boots and is launching the Domain CR, the first snowboard boot made for fully automatic crampons (sole edge at the front and rear). Compared to Deeluxe, it is noticeably heavier and in the demo model the sole is also approx. 1 cm longer than the comparable Domain without Vibram sole (see pictures). The manufacturer stated that they are still working on the sole, so we will be able to discover what it will ultimately look like next season.

Thirtytwo
The top model from ThirtyTwo was on display at the trade fair, but I was unable to find a competent contact person on two days. Hence the reference to the instructive video from our colleagues in the USA. Changes have been made to both the inner shoe and the outer shoe.