equipment

Stores 1st Try / ISPO NEWS 2020 | Snowboards & Splitboards

It feels like all major manufacturers now offer the full range of splitboard products (board, bindings, boots).

by Patrick Wehowsky • 02/03/2020

In terms of snowboarding, ISPO is stagnating at a low level as far as the number of stands is concerned. It hasn't actually become completely insignificant, but young brands are often at ISPO once, but then give it a miss and only go to the industry meetings such as rock on snow or Shops 1st Try. That's why we were at the Shops 1st Try in Alpbachtal again this year in addition to ISPO, to capture as much news as possible in the splitboard and snowboard sector for you.

Snowboards /Splitboards

When it comes to splitboards and snowboards, there have been few changes on the whole compared to recent years. This is hardly surprising, as the product range is already very large and the market as such is not huge. 3D shapes are slowly becoming more and more fashionable and the so-called "volume shift boards", i.e. shorter boards with large buoyancy, continue to be a major topic. In addition, almost every manufacturer is now building their own connectors, for whatever reason.

At Amplid the new "bareknuckle-construction" has obviously proven its worth, because next year two more boards will be launched alongside the introduced Tour-Operator (test at PowderGuide.com) in this very stable construction. The Surf Shuttle is now available for purchase as a late release. Amplid has also addressed a small but relevant problem and claims to have finally solved it: Snow accumulations on touring skis or splitboards, which melt and then freeze there as a result of the warm topsheet. Everyone knows it, everyone is annoyed by it - except those who see it as training... Amplids "stratospheric topsheet" solves the problem by enriching the topsheet with pigments that filter certain light wave ranges and thus prevent the topsheet from heating up. More details on how it works here.

Burton comes with a completely new splitboard line, but the splitboards were not on display at Shops1stTry at the weekend. I will add information here when it is available.

The Norwegian brand Furberg is obviously very satisfied with their now Floorboard technology, for the next season their Pow-Split will also come with this technology. They are also bringing their own connectors to their splits

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Shops1stTry - Alpbachtal

Jones product range was already large and remains so. The central innovation is the new Solution, which now enables a 3D spoon base for the first time on a splitboard. The Ultra Indexpander, added last year as a late release, has established itself and is here to stay.

Korua brings the Escalator Split +, a lightweight splitboard with a skin attachment system in three sizes (52,57,62)

K2 continues its line with the Marauder in many sizes this season. It comes in 5 regular sizes and 3 wide versions to suit as many people as possible. Their powder board Simple Pleasures will be available in a Niseko version with own graphics and a softer tuning.

mr.splitboards is the own brand of splitboards.eu, the biggest and oldest splitboard store in Germany. Since this year they produce their three shapes at PRIOR in Canada. Simon Graf - Mr. Splitboards himself - has distilled three shapes from his decades of experience. Two of the three shapes are rather longer and therefore contrary to the trend towards shorter powder boards (high mountain shape 165, powder mountain shape 172). In terms of the data, they promise an interesting combination of larger radii, smoothness and a rather light weight for this length. As older snowboarders and surfers know, length works!

Nitro remains true to its line with its splitboards. However, they are now also getting serious in other areas of splitboarding. With the Incline they have their own splitboard boot with Vibram sole and sole edge in the lineup and also their own binding called Vertical, which is based on the Spark T1 system, will be available next season. In addition, they now have their own skin attachment system, which allows the board to be skinned up when assembled.

Plum is tweaking the Transition introduced last year and the outline of their old shape Prems, otherwise there is no news to report.

Salomon is keeping its 4-piece Split Premiere (PowderGuide Test) and the Segway-Split and brings out the HPS Taka another Powderboard from their solid range as a splitboard.

Rossignol now also brings out the Sashimi, introduced last year, as a splitboard version. Otherwise, the lineup remains the same.

Binding systems

A Czech start-up by the name of Enfuse is about to add another system to the already very broad binding market for splitboards. A prototype was on display at ISPO. Video on how it works.

The entry-level price will be 720 euros (without crampons).

Karakoram has worked on many small details for the coming year. For example, they have updated their Connect range a little and paid particular attention to making the women's bindings significantly shorter and narrower.

They have also introduced a so-called Surf Sidewall. This means that the inner sidewall is lower on the Free Ranger and Prime X models, for example, while the outer sidewall (towards the nose and tail) is higher. This should make tweakability on the descent compatible with good touring characteristics.

In addition, Karakoram have developed new ratchets, which are of course lighter but above all less bulky, which should lead to fewer unwanted strap openings in deep skin tracks. They also come with new Kohla skins and new tip and tail clips.

There are no new features at PLUM , only model updates. The innovations introduced last year remain in place.

The situation with Spark R&D is similar to Karakoram. New color combinations for the bindings, otherwise the new bindings introduced last year have proven themselves. New are the skins plus the corresponding universal clips, slight improvements to their Dynafit toe piece and new connectors that look quite reliable.

The main improvements at Union were made last year. The cotter pin now runs very well, and there is now (since this winter) a stop when "screwing on" the binding. For next year, the Union bindings will come with crampons and discs for mounting on normal boards.

Boots

With the boots, everything has remained the same for most manufacturers and there have been minor improvements or new color combinations

Deeluxe remains true to its lineup. New is a rather soft sidecountry boot called Areth Rin, which is currently only available on the Japanese market and will also be available in Europe next year.

Nitro is launching the Incline a real splitboard boot with a vibram sole, sole edge and walking function. The boot is quite compact at first glance and could actually be another alternative.

Thirtytwo brings an update to its Jones boot, mainly changing the lacing and lacing cover.

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ISPO News 2020 | Ski

Tobias Huber • 01/29/2020

There are a few new developments in the ski sector that should be of interest to PowderGuide readers. In addition to a few new touring models, most companies have tidied up their freeride portfolios. Roughly summarized, most of the new top models come in medium widths around 105mm, with Titanal for lift-assisted skiing, as well as without Titanal and in similar, lighter versions as touring models.
ISPO News 2020 | Apparel and Miscellaneous

Johannes Wolf • 01/28/2020

As in previous years, sustainability was an important topic in the clothing segment. Almost every manufacturer has now realized this. There were no major technical highlights, but there were still one or two interesting products. Generally speaking, it can be said that things are becoming a little more colorful again, albeit with more classic colors.
ISPO News 2020 | Avalanche safety equipment

Lea Hartl • 01/26/2020

BCA and ARVA will each be launching a new avalanche transceiver next season, although these are more likely to be overhauled versions of familiar models than fundamentally new inventions. The various airbag systems remain unchanged and are merely packaged in new colors. The only completely new feature appears to be a microwave scanner that records "snow profiles".