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PartnerNews | Effectively test splitboard material

Try before you buy!

by Eliane Droemer 12/23/2022
Splitboard equipment is an expensive affair. To be sure that the equipment is satisfactory and fun both on the ascent and the descent, a test festival offers the ideal conditions. As you are spoiled for choice at a test festival, here are a few valuable tips from mr.splitboards Simon Graf on how to find the best equipment for you personally.

Advertising // This article is part of an advertising partnership between mr.splitboards and PowderGuide // Advertising

Testivals usually only take place on one or two days and many different manufacturers offer their equipment. This means you are faced with the big challenge of finding the perfect splitboard and binding in the shortest possible time. mr.splitboards reveals a few tips and tricks for using test festivals as effectively as possible and keeping an overview:

It is important that the splitboard should be slightly larger than your normal snowboard. Don't shy away from this, just try it out! Another important filter is which shape you like and which boards are within your budget. Once these decisions have been made, you should test the board for at least two runs and not change the material after every lap.

After the test runs, you can divide the splitboard into the categories "super", "good" and "ok" to get an idea and come to a decimated selection. Now you can take a closer look at your favorite shape and find out about length, cost and weight.

What is important for the splitboard and binding?

mr.splitboards: The splitboard should be tested on the piste and not in powder, as the core of the riding characteristics should be experienced on the hard piste. If you get along well with the shape and length here, you will also like the board off-piste!

Splitboard bindings can be divided into three categories:

  • Plastic (recommendation from mr.splitboards: Union binding)

  • Aluminum with puck system (recommendation from mr.splitboards: Spark or Voilé)

  • Aluminum with its own mechanical system (recommendation from mr.splitboards: Plum, Rossignol or Karakoram)

The plastic bindings are slightly cheaper and have a good ride. The aluminum bindings are more durable and offer more direct power transmission, even on the ascent. The aluminum bindings differ only minimally from one another. Puck-based aluminum bindings are all built to the exact same pattern, so it doesn't matter which type of binding you try on your test splitboard. What is essential is that you try out the conversion procedure with the binding of your choice. It's best to get a few tips from the manufacturer on site.

What should I bring/know before the Testival?

It is important to bring your own boots, to know your stance and to assess your backcountry skills correctly.

What is not as important as generally thought?

The ascent is actually not decisive, as most splitboards are very similar when converted into skis. Especially if you are new to the splitboard business, you will only notice a minimal difference in the board and binding on the ascent. To get started, it's enough if you feel comfortable with the conversion and can switch the board safely and easily from riding mode to ascent mode. Of course, you should also be able to do it the other way round, both with and without skins. Once the splitboard has been converted, i.e. the binding-specific conversion has been completed and it is in front of you as a ski, they are all very similar. You hardly notice that. It's the ascent technique, which is usually not yet available, that is the limiting factor. You can climb better with a Plum than with a Union, but you need experience to feel it. And you only get that after a few years.

Recommendation from Mr. Splitboards: If you are unsure about snowboard bindings: you can't go wrong with a puck-based binding like the new Voilé light speed or the Spark models (puck-based bindings are always made of aluminum). If you want a cheaper option, you can fall back on the Union binding.

Simon Graf has been organizing splitboard camps and the Climb the Mountain event on the Bielerhöhe for over 20 years. With over 100 test splitboards, the test festival is one of the largest in the field and will take place next year from 27 - 29.1.2023 on the Silvretta-Bielerhöhe/Austria. Day tickets for the CTM Testival are available from 29 euros.

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This article has been automatically translated by DeepL with subsequent editing. If you notice any spelling or grammatical errors or if the translation has lost its meaning, please write an e-mail to the editors.

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