Hows, whats, wheres, whens, and whys...

Bindings!

I've tried Union, Burton, Ride, and numerous other brands, and I always come back to Rome Madisons. I just can't help myself. I love the auto cant that helps align your knees (especially when your knees are as toast as mine). I love the look of all the models. I love the tooless microadjustment. I love the comfortable straps. And I love the durability- I beat the shit out of my bindings and my last pair of Madison's is still killing it (after about 6 years, including my time in Tahoe). I just caved and got new ones because I got a good price and they are the Marie France Roy edition. 

Protect Your Dome: Wear a Helmet!

After cracking my head open 3 or 4 times and having at least a couple concussions, I should probably wear a helmet just to walk outside. Even though that idea might not be realistic, the least I could do is wear one when I’m snowboarding…and you should too! 

The nicest thing about purchasing helmets is that the companies don’t seem to compete with each other the way they do with all other hard goods and accessories. Most brands helmets are compatible with just about any goggle. When it comes to purchasing a helmet, it’s not a bad idea to bring your goggles with you to try them on as a set. If you get up to the hill and you’re getting a wind gap, try putting the goggle strap under your helmet instead of over. From personal experience with Oakley goggles and a Smith helmet, A Frames need to be worn with the strap under the helmet, vs a larger goggle like the Airbrake or Crowbar, where the strap is fine being on the outside of the helmet.  What it really comes down to with helmets is that it’s all about just finding something that fits and feels good, so you will actually wear it.

The difference between men's and women's helmets you ask? Not much. Generally the actually sizing is the same. The biggest differences are usually just the colorways and the ear pads in women's helmets are softer. Depending on the company and the helmet, sometimes the forehead coverage on a women's helmet is a bit more shallow. I have always worn a "men's" helmet and I've got no complaints!

My Favorite Helmet: Smith Maze

It’s the lightest and most comfortable helmet I have ever worn. It’s low profile, has nice ventilation, removable ear pads, and only retails for about $80. I wore a Smith Holt for a long time(because it only costs $60) and it’s a great helmet, but it feels bulkier and heavier, which usually led to me not wearing it very often.

Killin' it in colorways: Anon Griffon
Anon "released" helmets this past season, but they are actually just rebranded from the RED company (nothing wrong with that). Burton owns Anon and RED and converted them over for marketing and goggle purposes, which actually makes a lot of sense. I am a Smith girl for sure, but they did a very nice job this year with colors and designs. The Griffon women's specific helmet, amongst others, have been looking good. Nice feminine touches in the colors and graphics, but still using matte finishes and not making them look too girly.

Useful thinking: Bern
Bern helmets are cool for two reasons. One-they're straight out of Compton or at least the closest where house to me is (they even have a model called the Watts). Two-they make multiple removable liners, so you can use your helmet all year round! You purchase your helmet for whatever season you're going for, then just go online and check out the rest of the liners you might want as well!

According to Wikipedia.com, out of 188 skiing/snowboarding deaths in the last 10 years, 108 have been related to head injuries! Yikes!

Goggles Goggles Goggles

The one thing I tell snow customers at Surfside is that if your feet hurt or you can't see, your day is over. Drop cash on boots and drop cash on goggles. But you walk into a store or look online and there are soooo many goggles. Where do you even start? Everyone's faces are different, but here is a little guide of my favorites and what I consider to be the best per company...

Smith:

Personal fave: I/O

The I/O is the original "easy change" goggle, making it quick and simple to change lenses due to varying weather conditions. Each model runs around $175, but comes with a high light and low light lens (which makes the price much more reasonable). My favorite lens is the red sensor mirror. It is dark enough for sunny days and bright enough for tree runs, clouds, or end of the day shade. The vaporator feature in the lens helps with fogging by increasing air flow. The size of the I/O is the perfect fit for my face, but they make the I/Os for smaller faces and the I/Ox for the fan of oversized goggles. Next year they are releasing the I/O7 which I was lucky enough to demo in Mammoth and I loved it as well. It seems to be somewhere between the I/O and I/Ox.

Oakley:

Personal fave: Airbrake

I got hooked up when I worked at Oakley and it is the only reason I was ever able to afford these goggles. For a whopping $220-240 price range, the Airbrake is one of the most expensive goggles on the shelf. It is their take on the easy change lens and has every bell and whistle Oakley offers. I definitely would say that their eay change tech is by far the easiest and most secure. All you do is pull a little lever on the side to unpop the lens and then snap it closed when you have the other lens in. It has the skeletal nose bridge, which I find to be the most comfortable on the market. This nose bridge works like a breath right strip where it opens up your nose to allow for easier breathing in the altitude. My favorite Oakley lens is hands down the black iridium. They also make the best storm lens, high intensity yellow.

Von Zipper:

Personal fave: Feenom

Although each company has an easy change goggle options, the El Kabong from Von Zipper seems to be the least easy. I prefer the Feenom and just sticking to one lens from these guys. The Feenom offers an array of lenses and colors and has a good overall fit for most people. Von Zipper offers great goggles for a pretty good price compared to a lot of other companies. I have been a life long fan of their sunglasses and I have worn a few of their goggles as well. All of their lenses and tech features are high quality, but I think if you are going for a pair of Von Zippers you should be going for the flair factor. They definitely have the most fun color ways and prints. They even have a colab with Stance socks!

Electric:

Personal fave: EG2.5

Oversized goggles were and are quite a popular trend, but there is good reason behind it; comfort, protection, and ultimate peripheral vision. The EG2's are for sure the most popular of all oversized goggles, but I lean a bit towards the EG2.5's these days. They are still big, but a bit more practical and fit most girls' faces better then the EG2's. This past season Electric massively stepped up their game in the color ways department with all sorts of toned down colors and matte finishes. And even though they look and feel large, the EG2's and EG2.5's are compatible with almost all helmets.

Zeal:

Personal fave: The Level

Zeal is a smaller company based in Boulder, definitely starting to gain some momentum over the last few years. They are known more for their technical goggles that feature cameras and GPS, but after getting to demo the Level model in Mammoth, I realized what nice quality they have in their more basic models as well. The lens quality was great and the prints for next year are awesome! And they are based in Boulder, so how can you not love them?

I know I have left out some of the other goggles companies. Anon, Spy, Sabre, and all the others are great as well, these are just the best of the best in my eyes and I hope you get to try some of them out!

Lesser Known Board Technologies

In a world of a million camber profiles, what else has been happening in the last few years to set certain boards apart from the norm? Here are some interesting technologies in boards that you might not have heard of or maybe just haven't had a chance to try yet.

Asymmetric: Known as "Asymm" by GNU or "Off Axis" by Burton, the idea behind asymmetric boards is that while you are standing with you toes angled out on your board, your feet and body are not symmetric, so why should your edges be? In GNU boards, there is a visual difference in the side cut with an elongated toe side edge. They are true twins, but there is a notation on the board of what side your heels and toes should be on. When Burton does off axis, it is not quite as noticeable to the eye, but they lay the wood to a different angle in the core of the board. The cut or wood lay in these boards should allow for easier turning and transitions. Asymmetric boards are best for people who stand pretty duck footed (like myself) and have equal or close to equal angles on each foot. If your front foot drastically angles out further than your back, you should probably avoid these boards.

Girls Asymm Boards:

GNU Ladies Choice (my personal fave and you saw Jamie Anderson killing it on this in the Olympics)

GNU Pickle

GNU Smart Pickle

GNU Pickle Stallion

(Burton only puts it in a couple guys boards, but who knows, maybe one day in the girls stuff)

Nug Reduction: Burton released Nug Reduction tech a season or two ago. The idea behind it is elongating your effective edges and shortening the actual board. Your effective edges are from about where your boots are to the end of the sidewalls, before they angle to the tip and tail. Real Nug Reduction allows you to down size your board 8-10cm. There are also some boards with nug reduction where you would only downsize around 4-6cm. Although, I find these boards a little more beneficial for big guys, they still allow for some aggressive and playfulness in the ladies boards as well. You will see a lot of these in the park and they ride like big boards, but I see the biggest advantage for most people riding them in trees or tight terrain.

Full Nug Reduction: Burton Nugget

Semi Reduction: Burton Sweet Tooth

Magne-traction: Most of us know what this is already, but I am surprised how many people come into the shop I work at and are not familiar with it. To make a long story short, if you look at the edges of Mervin boards (Lib Tech, Roxy, Gnu), the edges look wavy. What this is is extra contact points (7 extra on most boards) to add extra grip in crappy conditions like ice. It sounds like a bit of a gimmick to some, and doesn't look extremely crazy, but I swear by it. You can find magnetraction on all GNU boards and every Roxy board except the Sugar.

How to Wax a Snowboard

Tired of paying shops to wax your board? Owner of Surfside Sports (and my boss, Duke) has the most popular How to Wax a Snowboard video on youtube.com. The man's been in the game a long time and definitely knows his stuff. I find it easiest to set your board on top of a couple of chairs in the kitchen if you feel like doing this at home. It's cheap, it's easy, and it's fast! Once the spring weather turns the snow to glue, I find myself waxing my board almost every time I hit the slopes!