Ride Kink

It's finally been getting chilly up here and everybody is getting stoked for the upcoming season. Premieres have been going on for the past few weekends starting off with Absinthe's "Neverland", Sandbox Films' "Shine On" and finally the ski flick "Wild Stallions" from Meathead Films (props to my fellow Champlain student Ian Compton on his part in that vid!). So now with all this hype about the '09/'10 season I have only one option; get into the good stuff and start reviewing some hardgoods!

I figured I'd start things off with a board that was/is near and dear to my heart: the Ride "Kink". I had originally walked into my local Eastern Boarder to pick up a new Rome "Artifact". Now don't get me wrong, one of my friends had an Artifact and he loved it, plus I think the bronze edges are a really cool idea, but after thinking about it, I wondered: "Do I really need that much flex?". I checked out some other rail/jib boards and talked to Earl about it and he pointed me in the direction of the Kink. It was love at first sight.

This board became my freestyle weapon of choice. It was a true twin, making it great for riders who like to switch things up a lot. With nice snap in the tip, it made popping up onto rails a breeze and giving the board a nice and fun feel when just buttering around. One of the things I liked most about the board's flex was that it still felt solid underfoot. Personally, I don't want a board to feel like rubber between my feet. With the Kink, it had enough flex when jibbing around but felt nice and solid on boardslides with a true skate feel. Another feature that I liked about the board was the urethane Slimewalls. They really dampened landing impact and softened contact with rails. Basically, this board was a total rail and jib slayer.

My only gripe with this board is its base. Its pretty obvious that this is a cheap rail board meant to be used, abused, and eventually replaced. Mine held up decently through the first season with a few nicks and scratches in the base, but into my second season with the board it really started to get beat up. It seemed like even the softest tree jib or other rough surface would put a core shot in my base. On top of this, the various colors of p-tex were not sealed well, creating a seam along the designs and lettering on the base. All it took was one good core shot to open that seam, which then continued to split all along the edge of a letter on my base. This crack in my base allowed moisture to enter and freeze, causing my wood core to splinter. I now have an irreparable crack/bump in my base, making regular mountain riding pointless. This board still works great for pre- and post-season rail jams (as long I don't catch on that bump while doing a boardslide) and I think it's a great board for its price range (around $330-$350, usually $200 for the previous year model).

The Bottom Line:

Pros

• Good board for a reasonable price
• Nice and flexible but still feels solid underfoot

Cons

• Poor base construction
• Slightly heavier board

Rating: 7/10

Raffle!

Alright, so who wants free gear?

I've got a Rome "Roadie" snowboard bag up for grabs. It's a pretty standard board bag: main compartment for a board, adjustable padded shoulder strap, handle at the nose of the bag, and a small clear pocket for an info card. Another small feature this bag includes that my own Burton "Space Sack" snowboard bag does not is the addition of a small zippered pocket. Though it may not sound like a big deal, I love the idea of extra space for all those random things my snowboarding ensemble requires (wax, a tool, extra bandanas, hand warmers, etc.). This one is gray with yellow-orange accents, is brand new, and still has all the manufacturers tags. Now, what would one have to do to acquire such a prime specimen of snowboard gear that would normally retail for about $50? Well, let me tell you...

Starting now and ending midnight on Saturday, October 10th I will be holding a raffle for this awesome board bag. To enter, simply subscribe to my blog. All "followers" will be entered in this raffle and at the end of the contest I'll pick one lucky winner. Now bear with me here, I'm just a college student so I don't have the means to assure some kind of totally random electronic selection process, so I'll probably have to resort to making a ton (hopefully!) of little slips of paper and tossing them into my beloved green Neff "Form" beanie and pulling one out. That's right, we do things the ol' fashioned way up here in the sticks. I'll contact the winner shortly after I select one and figure out how to go about getting this bag to you.

So there you have it, a $50 value, yours free with a subscription to my blog (which is free as well!). What a steal! All you have to do is make an account (if you don't have one already) and follow my blog (if you don't already...you should) and then you've just entered yourself to win a sweet Rome "Roadie" board bag. Good luck!

Grenade Schizoid Glove

So its still early in the season, meaning everything but resorts in NZ and South America are closed up till at least November around here (hopefully earlier?!), and there's no way I'm demoing anything new at a preseason rail jam. 08/09 gear it is then!

Now I don't care what some people might say about price or quality: I love and swear by Grenade Gloves. Back in the day I used to rock a pair of Burton gloves made with Gore-Tex® (the "Burton Gore-Tex® Gloves" perhaps?) and they held up ok, but they weren't that warm and for all you locals, you know what our winters can get like. Not to mention I felt like I had total sausage fingers; working zippers, adjusting bindings, using a camera-nearly impossible. Then I stepped it up to some Grendies.

I originally bought the Grenade Reign in Flood (Shane Flood pro model) gloves, expecting them to be nice and big gloves that would actually keep my hands warm. When I finally picked them up at Eastern Boarder I found they were not at all what I expected: they were small, lightweight gloves and they were wicked warm. They were lined with Thinsulate™ and had a soft leather outer. For those extra-cold days I could just throw a hand warmer in the top zippered pocket. Best of all, the lightweight design of these gloves didn't leave me pawing at small things like zippers or buttons.

Sadly, these gloves (along with a lot of other gear...) were stolen from me early last season. To combat my depression, I self-medicated with some retail therapy and treated myself to a new pair of the Grenade Schizoid gloves. These are pretty much the updated version of the old Reign in Flood gloves minus the sweet studs on the knuckles and the straight-jacket straps on the wrists. Though slightly less bad ass, these gloves fill the void in my heart for those beloved gloves that were stolen. They're nice and easy to move your fingers around in, yet they're nice and warm at the same time. Another plus is that these are under gloves for all of you out there who also like tucking gloves into your sleeves. If you like to rock your gloves over your sleeves...well, more power to ya I guess...

The bottom line:
Pros

• Warm despite minimalist design
  
• Lightweight and easy to move in

Cons

• The leather is not very waterproof in spring/rainy conditions
  
• The leather is soft, so constant contact will cause it to wear away

Testing, Testing, 1-2-3

Hey everyone,
So yeah, first blog? I'm kinda new to this but I figured I'd give it a shot. I'm thinking about starting a snowboarding gear review for the 09-10 season just for the hell of it. If any of you out there are like me, you like to hear from real people what a product is like from a real person. Sure, you can read company and shop descriptions but are those truly unbiased? If I like a board, I'll say it. If I use a pair of gloves and they fall apart in a week, you'll hear about it.

I'm still new to the whole blogging fad going on now, so give me a break on figuring it out right away. I'm also unsure of the frequency of my reviews, but I think one a week sounds reasonable(?). I'm open to new ideas, so leave me feedback and I'll listen. Expect me to start cranking out reviews this weekend, so check back soon.
Peace!