The 2012 Ride Kink is the brand  version of a park monster… this snowboard is made for the park rate that want to go big and hard all day long.   What makes the Ride Kink 2012 a really good park board is stability the boards gives you on the landings a long with the pop needed to go big off all jumps.

Top Tech Features of 2012 Ride Kink:

Prorize – This is the shape of the snowboard and is based off the popular twin tip.   The shape of the board includes the rocker, but unlike other rocker designs it has a long flat section that extends into the tip and tail to drive even more stability.

85A Slimewalls –  The slimewalls are all about being forgiving, this technology helps reduce the  impact from a jump, rail or box.  The analogy Ride provides is this is similar to skate wheels in how they interact with all different surface conditions.

Overal take on the Ride Kink 2012:  This is a board that comes back year over year as on of the top Ride Snowboards.  This board is 100% geared to park riders, so if you are an all mountain rider you are probably better to try another deck.

Check out the Ride Kink 2012 at the following reatailers:

Proboardshop from $359.95

The-House from 359.95

Dogfunk from $359.95

The Burton Custom X is one of Burton Snowboards most popular boards and in my opinion one of the best snowboards for those all mountain freestyle riders like myself.    The Burton Custom X 2012 like year past is all about the fast response time and the amazing edge control, so for the riders of the North East who always have to deal with the ice…. this is a board you will love.

What’s new with the Burton Custom X 2012?   The big addition to the 2012 Custom X is the Squeeze Box Core, which will give you more snap through your turns and also give you more over stability and control of your deck with a little less effort.

What other tech makes 2012 Burton Custom X special?  The Burton Custom X 2012 brings back everything from the 2011 board, but some of our favorites are the Frostbite Edges, Infinite Ride, Dragonfly Core and The Channel.

Frostbite Edges  - make you feel even more in control on the ice.

Infinite Ride – helps you maintain the flex, pop and feel.

Dragonfly Core – Light, Responsive and Strong

The Channel – Ride the setup you want anytime any ride… easy to change for all conditions.

What sizes are available for the Burton Custom X 2012 : 152, 156, 158, 160, 164, 159W, 162W, 164W

Features of the Burton Custom X 2012 Snowboard:

• Tram Package
• The Channel
• Camber
• SHAPE: Directional
• FLEX: Twin
• CORE: Dragonfly™ with Multizone EGD™
• FIBERGLASS: Vaporskin™ with Triax™ Fiberglass, Lightning Bolts Hi-Voltage and Carbon I-Beam™
• BASE: Sintered WFO
• SIDEWALLS: Slantwall
• EXTRAS: NEW Squeezebox, Frostbite Edges, Pro-Tip™ and Infinite Ride™
• Graphic Info: Let the X speak for itself. This board sees a lot of time in front of the lens, so we kept the graphic bold.
• Length (cm): 156
• Effective Edge (cm): 121.25
• Tip/Tail Width (cm): 29.1
• Waist Width (cm): 24.8
• Sidecut (m): 7.97

 Buy a 2012 Burton Custom X from these top retails:

The-House from $649.95

Proboardshop from $649.95

Evo from $649.95

Boston – The 2012 Ride Snowboard line has come a long way from when they launched some 10 years ago.  Ride Snowboards is no longer a small boutique snowboard company, but one of the top players in the industry making snowboards for riders who like All Mountain, FreeStyle or Park & Pipe.

The Ride Snowboards 2012 line includes 2 hot new shapes with the Hybrid Twin Tip and rhe Hybrid All-Mountain.

The Hybrid Twin Tip includes a micro rocker in the tip and tail and then a micro camber between the feet, unlike a traditional rocker this  gives you more of a loose fun riding feel while also providing the control between you feet for landings.

2012 Ride Snowboard that have the Hybrid Twin Tip:

• Ride DH 2.7
• Ride DH 2.6
• Ride Arcade UL
• Ride DH2
• Ride OMG

The Hybrid All-Mountain shape is all about having rocking in the nose of the board and then a nice camber from you front foot through the tail.  This type of design is perfect from all riders and conditions as the board will float nice in the powder and it will traverse and hold nicely on pack.

2012 Ride Snowboards with the Hybrid All-Mountain Shape:

• Ride Berzerker
• Ride Highlife UL
• Ride Farah

Ride has done a nice job upping their game in 2012, so make sure you check out their boards.

Check Out Ride’s Board’s Today:

2012 Ride Snowboards at The-House

2012 Ride Snowboard at Proboardshop

Boston – The 2012 Burton Snowboard line has been out for a little over a month and like any big brand they came out with a bang.  They launched an event around a winter storm during the summer…. there was a lot of hype ”Winter Storm is Coming” in August campaign.   The follow this up with the Big Dump, where they gave away a full Burton setup from Board to Jacket and then a season pass to a mountain of your choice.   So Burton was not holding back with their 2012 line, they where going out with the mantra of “Go Big or Go Home”.   Like most other snowboarders I was chilling finish out the summer, and then good old Burton was actually able to get me to step away from the sun and start thinking winter on my 201o Burton Custom….  or could the per-sway me to go out and get a new snowboard for the 2012 season.

The 2012 Burton snowboards are as hot as even and include a new board that is getting a lot of attention by the name of the Nug.   The 2012 Burton Nug snowboard is a smaller style board that is supposed to ride like the big boys and ok for the big boys to ride.   The idea for this board is that it is smaller than 150 cm and can handle a 200 lb person, rides like a skateboard.

The rest of the 2012 Burton snowboard line bring back all your favorite from 2011 with some new twists and turns.  One of the cooler things you will see with the 2012 line is that now you can look at the boards based on their core:  Chamber (Precise & Snappy), Springload (Hybrid – Chamber/Rocker) and then Rocker (Loose and Agile).

Overall if you like Burton you are going to want to test out some of the 2012 Burton Snowboards.

The Hottest 2012 Burton Snowboards per Burton:

Burton Sherlock

Burton Custom X

Burton Custom Flying V

Burton Blunt

Burton Process Flying V

Burton The White College Pro

Burton Hero

Burton Restricted Nug Directional

Burton Custom

Burton Clash

Burton Process

Burton Bullet

Burton Joystick

Burton Whammy Bar

Burton Fish

If you have not seen The Art of Flight yet ,you have no clue what you are missing.   I am a fan of Lib Tech on Facebook and I kept seeing them talk about the movie and the upcoming premiers all over the country.  Then this past friday Lib posted that you could buy the DVD pack online or you could download the movie on itunes for $7.   After reading a few reviews I decided I needed to see it now, so 20 minutes later I  loaded it up to the ipad and with a beer in hand the adventure began.

Hands-down The Art of Flight  is one of the coolest documentaries I have seen on snowboarding or skiing in a long time.   The movie follows Red Bull and Lib Tech snowboarder Travis Rice travel around North and South American to some of the gnarliest backcountry boarding.  For those of you who have never seen Travis ride before, it will take 1 scene to show you how nasty this kid is…. this is nothing too steep or crazy that will hold him back.

My favorite part of The Art of Flight was when they decided to go back to Travis’ home town of Jackson Wyoming.  Travis and his boys jump on some snowmobiles and travel out to some of Jackson Holes best backcountry riding spots.    In these scenes you get to catch Scotty Lago and Travis launch off a jump they made that sends them over and through some trees.   You will also catching an ugly scene where you see that even the pros take some bad spills.

Overall The Art of Flight is a must see before the 2011-2012 season starts.   If this movie does not pump you up to get riding this year you might as well retire from boarding and start skiing .

What’s new with the Ride Kink 2011?
The Ride Kink 2011 is all about the new rocker shape technology call ProRize™, giving this board even more stability and pop for the park or just free riding.  The rocker shape was a feature that per Ride the team riders where demanding on one of their boards, so they added it to the Ride Kink & DH.   When you hear companies talk about a rocker shape most have a very similar approach and here is the exact way that Ride explains it “this new shape has a long, stable flat zone for landing stability and pop. Built for going big and locking in landings without the fear of rocker washout.”  So those boarders who like to hit the park or just off anything, the ProRize is really going to help you with those landing and give you more confidence to go bigger.

What else will riders like with the 2011 Ride Kink?
The Kink brings back some of its top technology like the Cleve Edge, Thin Con Construction, 85a Slimewalls and then the super fast Fusion 1500 Base.    The Cleve Edge is usually one of the features that riders like best as it is the type of edge that really bits and reduces the chatter than you will see with other boards when you are holding an edge at good speeds.

Overall take of the 2011 Ride Kink:
This is the snowboard for riders who love the park or just love to go big.  Even though it is a great all mountain board, this board is made to help riders who bigger and feel better with their jumps… when you have less worries about holding those landings your confidence is going to grow.

Check out the Ride Kink 2011 at:
The-House from $297.75
ProboardShop from $297.95

Boston – The 2011 K2 Believer snowboard is turning out to be one of the best snowboards from the K2 lineup and it has only been around for 3 years.  For the riders who want to rip up the park all day long, then you need to give this board a shot as it combines the right mix of flex to make it a park machine.  But don’t let make you think this is just a park board, this snowboard has a ton of versatility and is great for the whole mouton.

What’s new with the 2011 K2 Believer?
The 2011 K2 Believer adds two new key features for 2011, the New Flatline profile and Hybritaper.  The FLATLINE technology is made to give you stability and versatility while delivering a ton of pop.  The Hybritaper Construction basically tapers out the core of the board at tip and tail and then blends it into the sidewalls for reduced swing weight for easier transitions.

What do I like about the K2 Believer:
The Flatline construction and the Hybritaper are great additions that anyone will love, but the first thing I need in a board is the twin tip shape.  The K2 Believer has a true twin tip shape and that coupled with the flatline construction give you a board that feels real sturdy and you will feel really comfortable making turning.  Overall I want a light board that transitions nicely from edge to edge and can handle riding both directions and the K2 Believer has all this and then some.

Features of the K2 Brigade Snowboard:
•    CONSTRUCTION: Hybritaper™
•    SHAPE: Twin Tip, Hyper Progressive
•    STANCE: Centered
•    CORE: WH3™
•    GLASS: Triax Top / ICG 10 Base
•    TORSION FORKS: Carbon Matrix I
•    BASE: 4000 Sintered
•    BASE BEVEL: 1°
•    BASELINE: Flatline™
•    Length (cm): 154
•    Effective Edge (cm): 119.3
•    Tip/Tail Width (cm): 29.2
•    Waist Width (cm): 24.9
•    Sidecut (m): 8

Check out the K2 Believer 2011 at:

The-House from $449.95
Proboardshop from $449.95

Boston – The 2011 Burton Custom snowboard is board that will never die and hopefully Burton is smart enough to keep bringing it back.   The one thing you will learn about Burton and the Burton Custom X is that not only do they bring it back, but they are always pushing to make this board even better.

What’s new with the 2011 Burton Custom X?

The 2011 Burton Custom X is all about feel and control; the two major features that make this reality are the Chamber and the New Burton Technology of the Lightning Bolts Hi-Voltage.

The Chamber of the board is that part of the snowboard that is between the tip and tail, think about it like the suspension of a car.  The chamber on the Custom X works to evenly distribute the weight throughout the board so that you will have ultimate control to be able to truly tear up the mountain.

The New Lightning Bolts Hi-Voltage is the addition to the Custom X for 2011 that any rider is going to love.  The old Lightning Bolts where all about transferring energy from the core of the board to the edge so that almost as soon as your brain is thinking turn it happens.  The New Hi-Voltage take this to a whole new level, basically they have added strands above and below the core that pushed the energy out to the edges to give you dual action, increasing the response and control of the board.

The final take of the 2011 Burton Custom X:
This is the ultimate riders board, once you get on it you are going to love it.  The true wood core of this board along with its Chambers is going to give you that type of snap and control to take it to the next level.

Check out the Burton Custom X 2011 at:

The-House from $649.95

ProboardShop from $649.95

The 2010 K2 Jibpan snowboard was created because they wanted to create a board that would just crush the park.   k2 says this is the ultimate park snowboard for the rider who has been hitting the WWW hard and wants to take the next step in the park.

The K2 Jibpan is a twin tip, high performance, jibbing machine that K2 loves to take to the next level.   One of the big differences you are going to see in the 2010 Jibpan from the 2009 is the addition of the K2 Jib Rocker.  Per K2 Snowboards the jib rocker is “JIB ROCKER allows for a loose, buttery feel while jibbing around the park or slaughtering the streets. Whether you’re pressing boxes or just playing around on the flats, JIB ROCKER has a forgiving no-catch feel that allows you to pull off even the most wild combinations. The flat mid-section allows you to lock into rails like you were on a skateboard.”.

Another feature of the K2 Jibpan that the riders are going to love is the use of Harshmellow.  Harshmellow is a thin layer of polymer added to the board to reduce that annoying vibration that comes when riding at fast speeds.

Overall park riders are going to love this board and have a ton of fun with it, myself I am more of an all mountain rider so this is not the best board for me.

Features of The K2 Jibpan Snowboard:

• Harshmellow
• Jib Tech Tip Tech
• Twin Tip Hyper Progressive Shape
• Wh4 Core
• Triax Top, ICG 20 Base Glass
• Carbon Matrix ll Torsion Fork
• Sintered 4000 Base
• New Jib Rocker Baseline

Check this Board out:

Proboardshop from $499.99

The-House from $499.99

The 2010 Ride Fleetwood snowboard is a freestyle board that is made for the tall guys with big feet.  This is a wide directional shape snowboard that Ride created with the bigger rider in mind.  Before you continue to read my review you need to know I am not a tall guy with big feet, so this board is not in my sweet spot.  I am actually not a fan of wide board as I find them harder to go edge to edge.

The Ride Fleetwood 2010 features some of Ride’s top technology like the 90a Slimewalls, Radial Sidecut and Linear Carbon Laminate.  The 90a Slimewalls is some of Ride’s top sidewall construction that is going to give you that smooth feel and quick response.  You will notice as you are riding this board that it will notice that when you want it to respond to a quick turn or landing that it will come through.  The Radial Sidecut is what makes this snowboard turn on a dime, it basically has a a sidecut that is one radius throughout the board which makes it super  smooth on turns.  Lastly the Fleetwood features the Linear Carbon laminate, this laminate give the board that extra snap for when you are pushing off the job or just trying to do a ollie off the ground.

Overall if you are a big rider you will probably like this board.  For me personally I am not a fan of wide snowboard and it was a little stiff, so this is not a great board for me.   Some positives about this board are that it is pretty inexpensive, lightweight, smooth and has some pop.

Features:
Thin Con
90A Slimewalls®
Foundation Tuned Core™
Biaxial Glass
Linear Carbon
Fusion 1500 Base

Buy this Board:
Proboardshop from $359.99
The-House from $359.99