Guns, mini-guns, the main thing is powder. From A for Arbor to V for Venture, no, I'm not talking about the new Mexican mafia series on Netflix or Donald Trump's personal preferences, but about the strongest product trend of the coming winter. Powder guns - split and one piece - in all shapes and colors are the hot shit, but the biggest gun is still doing pogo, and has been for 32 years! The experimentation department of the designers/manufacturers obviously had merciless 'underpowder' this year. In addition to the often encountered swallowtails, a further differentiation can be observed in the splitboard market. There are more shapes (women's models) and the segment of specific splitboard boots has also grown once again. As the loss of importance of ISPO outlined by our colleagues here can also be felt in the snowboard sector, other products that didn't make it to ISPO are also presented in this article alongside the ISPO innovations. Furthermore, asymmetrical snowboards - i.e. different sidecut for back/frontside - are on the rise again. Last year they were almost exclusively available from korua, a small label of the WSC Collective, but this year a few other companies are jumping on the trend. Carving is back!
Snowboards/Splitboards
Arbor has completely revamped its splitboard collection and the freeride boards are also all about powder. In addition to the old acquaintances Cosa Nostra and Shreddy Krueger, there is now another partner for the deep days with the Clovis, a "non-symmetrical mountain twin". It's a little reminiscent of the winger guns from Pogo, but that's just a side note. The Steepwater, which slipped through my fingers last year, is also still there - hence the explicit mention here. After all, legend Steve Klassen drew the outlines here and they are quite something. A commanding 23 meter radius (if the information is correct) is quite something. Paired with a rather harder flex, this thing should be an absolute rocket; small turns are rather "not available".
In addition to the new Bryan Iguchi Split (with classic pretension), there is also the successor to the tried and tested Abacus called Coda and the smaller version called Swoon for smaller people. (Officially for women, of course, but that's so yesterday's news...) As always, beautiful wood veneers, well made, within the weight limit, but not the lightest. Blackhole, a fairly new Italian brand, sends two splitboards into the race: A classic shape and a shape with a long surf nose and shorter tail including taper. Reminiscent of a smaller version of the Jester Element, or the Pogo longboards or, or... They look nice and feel quite light. You might find one of the boards in a test here on PowderGuide.
While we're on the subject of B. Borrealis, a new label from France, is also sending some very nice-looking snowboards into the race. The post-materialistic eco-message comes on top as dressing for the Cayenne driver ;). The boards look high quality, the shapes make sense (all quite tried and tested). Whether it's the Koi as a hovercraft brother or the Drakkar or Arcane - it should fit, just by looking at it. The Arcane and the Viking are available here as a split version.
Capita stays with its powder experiment series called Spring Break and expands it with an asymmetrical board called "Spring Break Twin" - a model of a moving toilet door and a clone of the hovercraft/fish called Slush Slasher. They are always nice to look at and in powder - hence the reference - you can also ride off with a Klotür. The Rider Type description in the catalog fits the bill: "Party Boy who snowboards, too!" [sic!] That's what I say....
Elan is back on the market with two boards. No big experiments here, but they are quite light: The Wavestrider as a light fish shape with a rocker profile and in a wide range of lengths (54,48,62,72) and the Strider with a classic freeride shape and camber.
Jones cannot be missing from the powder toys and is now bringing the Stormchaser as a split in addition to the solid version. Otherwise, the motto here is: never change a running system. The Hovercraft and the Solution will appear in long-term gear reviews at PowderGuide this season.
K2 is also fully jumping on the powder gun bandwagon. In addition to the Cool Bean, which was already available this year, the Party Platter and the Carve Air will be added next season.
In short, the idea behind the boards is the same as that behind fishboards for surfing. With these significantly shorter and therefore more maneuverable boards, the same buoyancy/surface area (or volume) as larger boards is achieved by widening the board shape. This is old hat, but it doesn't change the fact that it probably works halfway. They look cool in any case and in Japan they are apparently in high demand - not the worst sign when it comes to deep powder snow. K2 is also expanding its portfolio in the splitboard sector with the Cool Bean as a split version and the Joydriver - a classic freeride shape with camber. Overall, K2 is therefore very broadly positioned.
Korua stays with his shapes from last year. Asymmetrical powder shapes, plus two splitboards. Soon to be tested by PowderGuide, we're looking forward to it. Nidecker still has no splitboards on offer. But the classic powdershapes they have been building for years are suddenly back in the mainstream. So here's a little mention for this traditional Swiss company.
With Nitro everything stays the same in terms of splits. But of course Nitro also needs the key features of asymmetry and a powder-experimenting shape. Here it all comes in the guise of the so-called "Quiver Series".
Pogo At Pogo, everything is as it was before, which is a very good sign in this case. Since last year (or the year before last), Pogo has also been offering splitboards. At ISPO the split version of the Manana was there, depending on the length Pogo comes here to 2.7 to 2.9 kilos. Of course, Pogo is a little more expensive than the entry-level boards, but you get the finest craftsmanship and a lifetime repair guarantee.
Radical was not at ISPO, but has also recently added two splitboards to its range, which, as is typical for Radical, feature a lot of carbon and are therefore very light. Salomon remains true to its 4-piece and uses the plum connectors here, just as with its two-piece.Stompede is a new brand from Austria, which, similar to Canyon in the bike sector, tries to offer customers lower prices for the same level of quality through direct marketing. Since this winter, the Dawn Patrol has been available in both solid and split versions. It incorporates some more modern shape ideas (taper nose, longer radius). The board will be presented extensively here on PowderGuide, the initial feedback is positive. S-One is the premium product in the WSC Collective and builds high-priced, super-light carbon splitboards. According to the manufacturer, it should be in the range of the Amplid Miligram and thus compete for the unofficial crown of the lightest splitboard on the market.
Splitsticks There was nothing to see from the Austrian specialist manufacturer Splitsticks with its own binding system at ISPO. However, there are rumors that there will be news in spring - stay tuned! After Venture was no longer on the market this year, it is now certain that they will be back next year.
Yes is also fully on the powder snow track and has installed a so-called powder channel in two of its boards. Should provide more flotation.
Bindings/Systems
After the major innovations of recent years, Spark R&D has made improvements to the details. It doesn't matter, the system is quite mature and we would like to take this opportunity to congratulate it on its 10th anniversary. The changes: A small lever now makes it easier to fold out the climbing aid, simple and solid - fits. Likewise the idea of the Zip Strip. This is a thin plastic strip that is placed over the skin to reduce friction and thus glide better on the flat. It's a nice idea, but ultimately it's the handling that will decide whether it catches on.
Karakoram has given some thought to how they can expand their market segment and the result is the Karakoram Connect. The Connect is a plastic binding that can be used on various solid boards by means of a plate. This idea originally comes from Burton's rental business (Q-Disc), but is now also available for Spark bindings (One Binding System). Karakoram thus offers a high-priced solid binding that can be converted into a fully-fledged touring binding with an upgrade kit. This, in turn, is priced far below the current Karakoram bindings (with kit allegedly around 600 euros).
There are also: New board connectors - "Ultraclips" 2; the Flex-Lock system, which is designed to offer more lateral support on the ascent.
The likeable French company Plum have improved their binding in minor details (attachment point binding - pivot axis, lever).
Unfortunately, it has to be said, it remains fiddly. In addition, they may have rummaged through the erstepur archive and come up with overlapping, stabilizing aluminium elements called "D-Pucks". Jogi did this over 10 years ago and is still annoyed about not having patented it ;)
Voilé was also not at ISPO, but apparently now also has a pinless binding on offer. The principle of the Spark binding simply turned 180 degrees. The front connection seems to be in cooperation with K2. At least another binding offer.
Boots:
Deeluxe stays true to itself and once again produces some shoes with a Vibram sole and sole edge. This year's "walking function" was apparently a bit fiddly, so they have now simply "enlarged" the edge radius. The proof of the pudding is in the eating. Otherwise, the sole length is significantly shorter compared to 2 years ago. Something is happening here. Experiences will appear in the form of a test here on PowderGuide.
Fitwell: The Italian mountain boot manufacturer has been on the market for a few years now with the Backcountry model, which will finally be put through the PowderGuide wringer this season. Since this year, there is also a slightly softer model called Freeride with BOA lacing. Thirtytwo remains true to the splitboard boot line. In addition to the top model Jones Backcountry with the Walk function, there is now the Jones Intuition Boot. Features include a Vibram sole and normal lacing. There is no lace protection.
Burton has also been offering a splitboard boot called "Tourist" since this season. This is slightly softer than the other boots and has something of a walk function thanks to a soft rear edge. Otherwise, there are the standard features (Vibram with sole edge).
K2 is launching new boards as well as a new boot (Aspect), which was developed in collaboration with Lucas Debari. The result is a beautiful, crampon-compatible boot with classic lacing on the outside and BOA lacing on the inside. This means that the boot market is significantly broader than in the past.
If the new ski touring model from Arcteryx delivers what it promises, a new hard boot for snowboarders could also be within reach.
