This splitboard is due to its shape a real powder device. With a long broad nose, early rising Rocker, conservative taper and short tail, it has an enormous boost in powder and is ready to play with changing snow conditions. Ascending, it has enough edge hold and when ridden it is very agile, very suitable for treeruns, chutes and other runs with every kind of obstacles.
Splitboarding back to the future 2013
May 29, 2013, 60th aniversary of the first ascent to the Mount Everest and actually 60 cm fresh snow at the Alpine ridge is a good day to review the passed season and give you a new preview for 2014.
Looking back to the past few weeks and months it is a deserved result and a worthy occasion to consider the most interesting happenings since the beginning and recall it into our minds.
At the same time we would like to thank our readers and active members, thank you. For reading our articles, sharing and linking them on Facebook. While we still expect one or the other test session in summer snow or powder if it continues like that, we also look forward with you to the next winter. For the summer we have some interesting stuff for you in the newsline. Of course we welcome your comments and forum posts, in the tour database or on the material sides. Thanks to you!
But enough of the kind words, here is our season review 2013 and preview 2014.
November 2012
Get ready for the winter. An autumn foehn storm in early November characterizes our first Splitboard Freeride course at Hintertux Glacier. Fantastic impressions, exciting situations, a lot of fun and many information to survive in the glaciers.
Well prepared we keep loyal to the glaciers due to the lack of Snow and test eg. at Stubai Glacier a selection of current splitboards of the 2012/13 season for our splitboard test beeing published in December. Exclusive for the test we try the brand new Splitsticks that will later win the ISPO Brand New Award and inspire lots of people in the snowboard industry.
December 2012
Finally, in the second week of December, it’s snowing, even in the Bavarian Alps. Our little tour video Deep & White sets the mood for more. And there is more, such as we do an exciting crossing at Dream Powder through the Zillertal Valley, with the guys from Backyard Austria and then unfortunately we have a very avalanche active time, which we pass doing a raffle ;-)
January 2013
The avalanche activity decreases slowly, but there is always the possibility for beautiful splitboard touring and our tour database increases. By the way, now in summer it might be a nice chance to have one or the other tour mentally reminisced and publish it with us.
Powder weekend in the Alps or splitboarding in Hamburg? The splitboard workshop in Hamburg proves even in the far north of Germany there are interested splitboarders. Anyway, the big sports fairs come closer and the more frequent is the talk about splitboarding.
Even before the ISPO we have the opportunity to gain a first impression of most new splitboards 2013/14.
First Impression Splitboard Tests 2014:
In our First Impression Session the boards are tested on the slopes and in the backcountry at different conditions. This year prepared slopes, wind pressed crust and powder. Apart from some little slope-tricks we purely focused our testing on the riding performance (carving, speed, stability, maneuverability, …) and summarized it in a statement for each board. Since a splitboard can not be assessed without testing the skinning performance, we went to a relatively steep (>35°) backcountry area with demanding snow conditions (wind pressed crust) to hike a few hundred meters, with and without crampons.
Splitboards 2014 Tested:
With the Abacus Splitboard, Arbor just changed the Sidewalls to ABS, to make it more durable. Shape, Flex and Tech will be remained.
This combination of shape and sidecut gives good flotation in powder and playful agility in tree runs. Also on the piste, the Waverider is agile with easily controllable edge changes, but fast large radii require fairly pressure on the edge. On ascent, we liked the light weight of the board and with the flat camber the skins have sufficient bearing surface which ensures good grip.
“Aesthetic boards for adults,” the Legends lives up to what the slogan of goodboards promises. Visually pleasing to the eye, under the feet a traditional camber board for high speeds. In the backcountry, fast floating in powder and razor sharp on the slopes. Traditionally this requires appropriate riding skills and enough strength, so for me (Martin) at the end of a long day of testing and on the final narrow Tree Run the 164er would have been the ideal choice. On ascent, a 175cm long splitboard logically requires a skilled technique for kickturns, for the rest it goes up easily with the Legends.
The tougher the conditions, the more the “solution” of Jones pleased us. The directional rocker profile with traditional camber in the binding area enables fast powder runs and gives, supported by the Magne-Traction, excellent edge grip on hard or icy passages. The solution provides security and is easy to control, even though the turn initiation, especially at lower speeds requires some experience. With the Karakoram interface and binding, the Solution carving on the slopes, can not be distinguished in the least by a solid board. In the ascent not as lightweight as expected, cause the carbon is in use in the first place because of the stiffness and not for weight reasons. Therefore the solution plows unimpressed through windpressed snow and is safely on the edge.
Cool old school surf style wood finishing (Bamboo Top Sheet). I have had a lot of fun riding this board in powder, wind press and on icy slopes. Equipped with the Karakoram binding system, it rides like a solid board. The hovercraft keeps the nose up. Either in challenging wind pressed snow in the backcountry or in the Powder, as well as on icy slopes. It is stable on the edge and you can ride carved turns even when the shape is really pow-oriented. Through the short-tail it is extremely agile. So it is also suitable for treeruns, chutes, and whatever else is fun to ride. Ascending, it has enough grip, but the hovercraft split enjoys most in fresh powder.
As the name suggests, it is based on the “new” binding technology and is very light weight, so this splitboard brings benefits at the ascent. Even with the performance ascending (edgehold) we have not noticed anything negative. To assemble the crampons it requires some practice, but it should be possible to mount the crampons with the board halves on your feet in any terrain. The Kwicker boot is much better than expected. A little heavier than a normal splitboard boat the Kwicker boot has enough support and comfort while riding. Nevertheless, it is not the same as a “normal” combination of binding and boot. The Boot is quite stiff to the sideways, so it is not that sensitive as a usual splitboard boot, which ends up in less control. Nevertheless the stiffness suports the edge hold while ascending. The board is very agile, but it was not easy for us to carve the full edge radius.
Völkl has upgraded it`s Cashew range with the 155 cm Split (due to its softer tuning it is perfectly suitable for girls as well) The unique Skinpin System is applied to the tail as well and now you can mount your skins with even less efort than before. Cool upgrade! Shape, Flex and Tech will be the same, due to highly satisfied customers. The Design is rivised completely, check it out on the picture. Check out the full review of the 12/13 Model for more info.
First Impression: Good fun, but sometimes it felt a bit rough while carving, due to the Magnet Traction and the edge radius. Compared to the Billy Goat by Gnu, the BG rides smoother. If you really press the T Rice it also rides smooth. Ascending the edge Grip is good, supported by the Magnet Traction.
There will be a change in Design. The Shape, Flex and Tech remain the same.
Because it just fits thematically, of course, we have been testing even more models during the winter on the slopes and in the backcountry, check it out:
3 Videos zum How to use the Channel System, the Magneto Changeover and Riding Fun.
On the ascent it has relatively good edge grip by the S-Rocker as well as traction. In combination with the Spark Magneto it’s pretty light weight. Riding, it is very agile and keeps the nose usually above the powder. Its maneuverability makes it fun in open terrain and treeruns. The relatively soft flex makes it very smooth in riding POW. First Impression Spark R & D Tesla Magneto: Super easy to use, good connection to the board, very light weight.
On the ascent it has relatively good edge grip by the S-Rocker as well as traction. In combination with the Spark Magneto it’s pretty light weight. Riding, it is very agile and keeps the nose usually above the powder. Its maneuverability makes it fun in open terrain and treeruns. The relatively soft flex makes it very smooth in riding POW. First Impression Spark R & D Tesla Magneto: Super easy to use, good connection to the board, very light weight.
Good traction on the ascent, well balanced and also the edge holds well, thanks to the Burton S-rocker shape. The Flex is compared to the Freebird much harder, which has a positive effect in rough conditions and for heavier riders.
Here is our First Impression in powder, powder and powder. On the uphill we had to deal as well with a challenging ascent track in the woods (steep and hard). With 156cm, the Jones Ultracraft seems very short for someone who usually rides boards over 165cm. However, the performance has totally convinced me. Massive floatation, incredibly agile and good grip on the edge while riding or ascending. The weight is verly low compared to other boards, but the Ultracraft keeps stable even at high speeds. Regarding the riding characteristics under different conditions, it behaves similar to the Hovercraft splitboard.
February 2013
Meanwhile, our audience increased to hundreds of readers daily, and every day the interest of splitboarding rises. No question that we give our best at the ISPO Munich, in the sense to present you all the new splitboard stuff, being available in the shops the season 13/14. As for the rest of the material, we will of course update our site over the summer.
The purpose of a fair is the presentation of the latest material, but just as exciting and interesting are also the people who are behind the products. One of the most striking personalities of the splitboard scene that we have met there is Jeremy Jones. After the show we were able to enjoy two amazing after ISPO Split Together tour days with Jeremy so we could try the Jones Ultracraft on this occasion. Also on board were Mitch and Bibi Tölderer, the Karakoram brothers and many more nice people.
Picture by Hansi Heckmair
March 2013
Mmmm, now it gets steep and narrow. The Alps are covered with snow above-average, it is well connected so we can do some exciting, more challenging routes. We stayed for a long weekend in the Dolomites enjoying splitboard pizza with colouirs. In the report you will find an overview of the tour options with valuable tips for the Dolomites.
A bit more challenging, directly in our hometown Innsbruck, Mitch Tölderer und Max Zipser had been touring as well. Splitboard Extreme, the most beautiful places can be discovered just in front of our door.
April 2013
In the valleys Springtime comes but in the mountains there is still the glistening snow of winter and promise us splitboarding pleasure at its best. With a “First Level Survival in the Mountains Session” we spend the Easter Weekend. Then it continues with a huge abseiling and having fun at the Stubai Glacier with the Völkl International Team at a splitboard Spring Action with Völkl.
And because it is just so beautiful, we head straight on to the splitboard touring with the Goodboards team. Visiting the incredibly cool BackYard Austria in Zillertal.
Mai 2013
A never ending winter :-) At Pitztal we test the Burton Landlord Split at high alpine terrain. The experience with the board and impressive glaciers images you see here. .
Needless to say, this were not all the news and stories of the season, simply rummage through the tags or look on our Facebook page. For our touring database we do the update over the summer. We need to agree what is still top secret and what we can tell. If you want to support us with some route descriptions, we would be very pleased.
Stay tuned and active.