End of Season Sales and What to Wait it Out For
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If you are in California, it has been a brutal winter. Spring is always the best time to buy new gear and stores seemed to drop prices far earlier this year than usual. After viewing the products coming up for next year, I'd love to give a little insight on what sale stuff to buy now and what might actually be worth waiting until next season (or maybe next spring).
Outerwear: Buy now or wait until October. The only better time to buy "last season's gear" is when shops put it back on the floor pre-winter. The only problem with waiting it out for a better discount is that a lot of outerwear either gets sent back to the companies or the sizes get picked over. When it comes to next year's outerwear, the prints and colorways are looking pretty awesome, but tech wise, nothing has really changed, with maybe the exception of better looking Gortex and high performance gears for ladies.
Boards: My take on boards is about the same as it is on outerwear right now. Not much difference in the tech aspect of things, but if you are going for graphics, there's some awesome stuff coming up. Tech wise, over the last few years it seems to be going a bit full circle back to camber, but in the ladies boards, the only camber dominant ones you will really find are the Burton Feelgood camber, the GNU B-Pro C-3, probably a few from Jones, and Bataleons are always in a league of their own. My biggest recommendation is if you see a good price on a Never Summer, just go for it. All of these women's boards are amazing and Never Summer's were one of the first companies shops were sending back to this year. (Generally sending back from shops is just based on deals with the manufacturers and because Never Summer is small and high end, they were probably able to ship them to other dealers in places like Colorado or Utah that had better seasons then California.) The only catch is as usual, Never Summer has been stepping up their game in ladies graphics and this year was solid, but next year's are looking even better.
Next year's Never Summer Womens Line Up
Bindings: It's a toss up. If you're happy with what you've got then skip them, but if you are on the market for some new Burton's, you might want to wait it out. The only one changing is the Escapade and I mentioned it in my previous blog on bindings, but they changed the ankle strap to have a hinge it in that just stays open. It sounds simple, but I swear, it's one of the best ideas I have seen in bindings in ages. It is definitely one of those things you will see and just go, "How the hell has no one thought of this until now?!" In the world of wonderful Rome bindings, next year's colorways are epic and might be worth waiting for as well.
Boots: Coming from a DC girl, I hate to say it, but Burton is changing the game next year. Nothing innovative or new for most, but they are finally putting Boa's on their boots. For the mainstream weekend warrior audience or actual Burton boot users, this is kind of a big deal. I still believe people who already wear Burton might stick to the speed lace system, but life just got a bit easier for the people less familiar with boots or who are fitting their kids for them. I have always been a Boa (preferably a double Boa) fan. And now with the most popular boot company utilizing them, we might see a big shift in boot sales. My recommendation- if Burton boots are the fit for you, hold out until next year and get your hands on some double Boa's. (and for the record, I don't think anything bad of Burton boots, I just prefer DC. Everybody's feet are different.)
Outerwear: Buy now or wait until October. The only better time to buy "last season's gear" is when shops put it back on the floor pre-winter. The only problem with waiting it out for a better discount is that a lot of outerwear either gets sent back to the companies or the sizes get picked over. When it comes to next year's outerwear, the prints and colorways are looking pretty awesome, but tech wise, nothing has really changed, with maybe the exception of better looking Gortex and high performance gears for ladies.
Burton Aurora Jacket 2014
Boards: My take on boards is about the same as it is on outerwear right now. Not much difference in the tech aspect of things, but if you are going for graphics, there's some awesome stuff coming up. Tech wise, over the last few years it seems to be going a bit full circle back to camber, but in the ladies boards, the only camber dominant ones you will really find are the Burton Feelgood camber, the GNU B-Pro C-3, probably a few from Jones, and Bataleons are always in a league of their own. My biggest recommendation is if you see a good price on a Never Summer, just go for it. All of these women's boards are amazing and Never Summer's were one of the first companies shops were sending back to this year. (Generally sending back from shops is just based on deals with the manufacturers and because Never Summer is small and high end, they were probably able to ship them to other dealers in places like Colorado or Utah that had better seasons then California.) The only catch is as usual, Never Summer has been stepping up their game in ladies graphics and this year was solid, but next year's are looking even better.
Next year's Never Summer Womens Line Up
pic from white lines
Bindings: It's a toss up. If you're happy with what you've got then skip them, but if you are on the market for some new Burton's, you might want to wait it out. The only one changing is the Escapade and I mentioned it in my previous blog on bindings, but they changed the ankle strap to have a hinge it in that just stays open. It sounds simple, but I swear, it's one of the best ideas I have seen in bindings in ages. It is definitely one of those things you will see and just go, "How the hell has no one thought of this until now?!" In the world of wonderful Rome bindings, next year's colorways are epic and might be worth waiting for as well.
This seasons's Madison (until I upload a pic of my new ones)
Boots: Coming from a DC girl, I hate to say it, but Burton is changing the game next year. Nothing innovative or new for most, but they are finally putting Boa's on their boots. For the mainstream weekend warrior audience or actual Burton boot users, this is kind of a big deal. I still believe people who already wear Burton might stick to the speed lace system, but life just got a bit easier for the people less familiar with boots or who are fitting their kids for them. I have always been a Boa (preferably a double Boa) fan. And now with the most popular boot company utilizing them, we might see a big shift in boot sales. My recommendation- if Burton boots are the fit for you, hold out until next year and get your hands on some double Boa's. (and for the record, I don't think anything bad of Burton boots, I just prefer DC. Everybody's feet are different.)
Burton Speedzone Lacing
DC Mora with Double Boa