Comments on: Shay’s take on the 2012 Best of Test

By: kc

kc — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 15:51:31 +0000

kimi. i think you nailed this. I myself am an amateur and knew very little when starting out in snowboarding & even to this day i am still learning so much more about the tech specs of snowboards & my ride ability- and find like shay said ride your own board to test out what you like best for yourself!

phil- i dont know where to start. but whilst i hear you say your not slamming anybody i still can’t help feel that snowboarder elitism mentality coming from within. this is one of the things that makes me annoyed in the snowboard industry. yes. some people want to ride for fun and see it as a pastime activity but what is wrong with this? all peoples needs are different as i the market for which these companies try to cater for. i just want to see people having fun & keeping the industry alive!

i myself get annoyed that i can only get 5-10days a year on the snow (hopefully not this year as i’m doing a snow season in banff!) but the industry has always been noted for its high price entry right? not everyone can afford to go to mountains across the world & become devoutly rooted into snowboarding- its expensive sh*t! i will whole heartedly admit i have much to learn about the industry & mechanics of the boards i ride, do my own waxing etc
you also have to remember that yes its all about business- but the people who have founded these companies did so out of a passion for their love for snowboarding etc so in order to keep this dream alive i’m sorry but they have to keep making profit somewhere to sustain a future in keeping their company alive. how else do you propose this? like you said if only the hard core shredders stuck to buying boards i doubt there would be a future in the industry i’m afraid but i see nothing wrong with this @ all!

more importantly as kimi said its just opinions- i love capita & not one of their boards entered the list but i don’t think this means there is a concern that smaller companies are not on the list- i’m pretty sure they are faring well on their own way- capita again as my example- 10 yrs in the industry- enough said! 🙂

By: Shay

Shay — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 22:59:33 +0000

Interesting comments on the Best of Test!

Frank, it says the twin version.

Brek, usually there is the NW demo that’s part of the test but not this year. The demo did happen but maybe they didn’t get any feedback from it.

By: Frank

Frank — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 20:03:11 +0000

Is that the Nug Directional or Twin that wond?

By: Brek Leines

Brek Leines — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 05:10:52 +0000

there needs to be a nw location for the test. seems like everywhere on the list either doesnt get snow or its really light stuff…

By: Keither

Keither — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 23:05:55 +0000

Snoboarder Magazine is a joke and these results reflect that.

By: Frank

Frank — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 19:06:59 +0000

Me I am not surprise that Burton Nug is popular… It is very different ride…. plus it is fun… Surprising Versatile and Original from Burton (good R&D here)… May not be my daily choice board for 2012 for ME but I had fun with the Nug… Burton now just have to find a butter Edges Grip than Frostbite and I may be a fan again… 😉 But I am agree with L.E.D. they or not Fad and we need to respect there approach of R&D and so on in the Industry.

By: L.E.D.

L.E.D. — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 17:26:13 +0000

Burton isn’t a fad. They are the Nike of snowboarding. You can’t argue with their history in the sport and the money they put into their product.

By: Phil

Phil — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 16:05:16 +0000

I agree with “Kimi”. The results just reflect what you see at the mountain. Easily 70% of the people on snowboards, don’t know how to ride, have never bothered to take any ongoing lessons, and can’t even maintain their own gear. I’m not slamming anybody, it’s great to see people out there but it’s more an activity or pastime for them like “show me how to ride this wake board” than it is people really deeply into it as a sport the way kids might practice with a swim coach or golf coach etc.

Once you get to a certain level of riding you know exactly what length, width, sidecut, flex, and base work for you and you stop wasting time trying every novelty board manufacturers toss out there for a sales bump. And they know that. They know most core shreds still ride camber or something close hybrid, but they’re trying to make fun, easy, entry level boards that they can sell to weekenders and newcomers. Otherwise they’re screwed as there is only something like 200,000 in the whole country who ride more than 20 days a year and have been riding for more than 5 years.

It’s all about business.

By: Kimi

Kimi — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 15:33:31 +0000

I think the results are pretty skewed towards the more popular easy to attain boards, than actual best ride boards. Before I started snow boarding the only brands I new where burton, solomon, K2, and roxy and I didn’t even know roxy made snowboards. Anywho burton was the one the rich kids had and the one the every one “wants” burton is definitely a fad right now and I think it gets a lot of interest and attention. I think that has a lot(not all) to do with their boards rankings. I think some other manufacturers on the list may be a similar situation.
On the other hand I read your best of, and my personal three top women’s picks were your top three as well. That being said, its all personal preference and a lot of opinion. Over all I’d say I find this top picks list just okay, nothing exciting and sounds like a list of all around easy to handle versatile and easily available boards. A good list for the masses. Maybe not quite as good for the fanatic. Thanx Shay!