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Snowboards
Do you ever get tired of only hearing about snowboarding equipment from the big companies?
Well, we do, so we got in touch with some small manufactures to check out their equipment.
Our tester for snow boards was Chris Courtois who rides for Aloe Up sunblock, Ripcurl clothing and Rainbow fin company.
Courtois is a pro windsurfer as well.
The boot chosen for our tests was
the Joystick by Drake. This boot has a neoprene and rubber inner boot and is very warm. There are no inner laces and no inner
or outer ankle strap so the boot just slips on very easily. We spent a lot of time in this boot, and it really performed and
held up well to whatever we could dish out.
We also went to Drake for their
Blazer binding. This is a standard strap-in style binding instead of the step-in style. Nothing in particular stood out about
the bindings. They look average, construction is better than average, but they worked without freezing up. Stance adjustment
is real easy and didn’t slip. The binding also stood up to real big airs and wasn’t leaving a trail of nuts and
bolts down the hill like so many bindings seem to do. Overall we like this binding.
Johl Freeride 153
This board performed great and it was easy to just
get on and go. The 12 pack (binding holes) made binding adjustment easy. Switch riding was also a breeze - swinging from regular
to fakie was no sweat. Jumping was great, the board seemed to land and not chatter on speedy run-offs. The graphics were impressive
as well. This board has a soft tip and tail and is wide enough to take big boots with no problem. We found no flaws with this
board.
Johl Freeride Extreme 167
Next
we rode a bigger board. The Extreme 167 is an excellent board for powder, but it isn’t as quick as its smaller brother
or sister. If you are of average size and want a board for parks and pipes, this isn’t it. This board does really well
with longer radius turns and open slope riding. If you are not as interested in tricks but more into turns and steep chutes,
then this board is hard to beat. The quality of construction from Johl can take whatever beat you’ve got. These are
well built boards.
Fate 148
Freestyle
dream! This was a fun, light and lively board. Sometimes it got a little nervous under foot, and it would just track to whatever
hit you could see! Swing weight was very light and the board just liked to be in the air. If you are going to stay in the
parks this is the board. If you are into cruisin’ with some speed you might want more length.
INsider November Winter Issue
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