http://www.shayboarder.com

In the meantime here is the first daily wrap.

Also stay tuned by heading to our YouTube for fresh vids and FB for up to the sec stills.

http://www.shayboarder.com

Then we were off to see the new gear and take our first turns on the 2012 preseason boards at SIA Snow Show. Colorado is an awesome state and even though it was a bitter -15 we still had a blast. We produced hundreds of videos so you could check out all the new stuff in real time. And we’ll do it all again later this month.

We quickly moved into testing mode at Stevens Pass, our home for the last 3 seasons. And if you remember, last season was the season that never ended in the NW. We boarded till the second week of July at Crystal Mountain in Washington. Never thought we’d complain about snow, but over 10" daily doesn't bode well for getting some park action -- which forced us to get creative, jibbing all the natural features in the backcountry.

With summer in full swing, we met up with our new website developers in LA. While we were there, we stopped in to say hi to some of the manufacturing companies in the area. We skated the boardwalk with Matt at Arbor and even logged some face time with Scotty Vine, we kicked it with Mark at Flow and Dave at Signal gave us a tour at one of the last snowboard factories still in the country.

We even flew over to the east coast for an unforgettable trip to Rome and Burton.  At Rome we caught up with Rome's team riders Bjorn Leines and Marie-France Roy on break from editing room for The Shred Remains.  At Burton we got Craig’s Proto Lab tour, named after Craig Kelly where they make pro boards and test models.

Not sure how we’re going to top 2011, but we think 2012 has a lot of promise. Join our adventures again from the show floors in Vegas and Colorado for all the 2012-2013 tech and snow gear. Stay connected via our Facebook page and YouTube channel where we will be posting videos throughout the season.
 
What will this year bring? Have they tried all the shapes possible or are there new things still to come? Is this going to be a “refining the technology” year or is it a year for innovation?
 
Only time will tell.

Everybody likes free stuff, right? Starting on the biggest shopping day of the year, Black Friday (11/25), and every Friday till Christmas, Board Insiders will give away a pair of 2011 Oakley Airbreaks (value: $220) and for the grand finale, winner's choice of one of 4 Rossignol snowboards (up to $500 value). 

We know that buying a snowboard is a major purchase and unless you happen to get just the right salesperson at a store, it is primarily a blind one--until now. You come to us because we ride the boards and tell you honestly what we think of them so that you can make an educated decision.

Now we'd like you to join the conversation and tell us what you think. We want to know what your favorite board is. That's right. What is your favorite board that you have ever ridden? Maybe it's your first board, maybe it's your friends board you borrowed, or maybe it's one that you rode at a demo.

What's in it for you? A chance to help out fellow snowboarders and an entry into Board Insiders Freebie Fridays contest.

How to enter:

Go right now and tell everyone your favorite board on the Board Insiders Facebook wall (https://www.facebook.com/BoardInsiders) or leave a comment on the Board Insiders YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/boardinsiders) and add #BoardInsiders so we know it's an entry. Each week, we'll select one lucky winner. Posting on both FB and YT will double your chances.

What we're giving away and when:
Friday 11/25/11 - Oakley Airbrake
Friday 12/2/11 - Oakley Airbrake
Friday  12/9/11 - Oakley Airbrake
Friday 12/16/11 - Oakley Airbrake
Friday 12/23/11 - Rossignol Snowboard

* Under 18 get your parents permission to enter.
* Will ship to the lower 48 states only.

Time to take a look at a new 2012 park and pipe twin board - the Bataleon Airobic. This board is loaded with technology and is built for the rider who loves to jib and butter and needs the confidence in your board to go big on that new trick. The patented TBT (triple base technology) allows for tons of jibbing and little to no edge catching due to its camber[AW1] . It is slightly wider and stiffer than the Disaster which allows for a little more stability going in to jumps and sticking landings. This board has loads of pop, which will come in handy in the parks and on rails.

TIGHTBOARDS.COM THOUGHTS: We took it out on firm groomers, park features, and also had a chance to take it in to some powder. Performed really well in the park and on rails but struggled a bit in the powder. The slight camber on this board helps with control in powder but doesn’t offer the same responsiveness as a full on rocker. Over all this board is very forgiving due to the TBT and flat base… once you understand that you will not catch an edge it gives you the confidence to really go for those tricks you’ve been waiting to try… taking your game to a whole new level. The best part of this board is jibbing and buttering… so much fun! Everything else holds up to other boards in its class. So we say… if you want to go for broke on trying new tricks, love to jib and butter but need a board that will hold up in big air, sticking landings and all around cruising… give the Bataloen Airobic a try this season!

SPECS:

• Jib TBT: New! The TBT starts under the bindings, the center base is a bit wider than on other boards.
• Twin Shape
• Twin Flex
• Flex rating 7-8-7
• Precise Pattern 4x2/20 Insert Pack: Enables you to put your bindings on with scientific precision
• Core Core: Popular with hardwood enforcements along the insert rows. This increases the core strength of your board and channels all energy into more pop.
• Bi Ax Laminate: Over and under the woodcore creates an easy flex with lots of feel
• Extruded Base: Easy to repair and can take a good beating. Low maintenance, still slides well with irregular waxing (but waxing is always recommended of course!)
• Lightning Edge: Thinner Lightning Edges enables you to carve with more feel and precision
• Length (cm): 148, 151, 154, 157
• Contact Length (cm): 113 (148), 116 (151), 118 (154), 120 (157)
• Tip/Tail Width (cm): 28.9 (148), 29.0 (151), 29.3 (154), 29.7 (157
• Waist Width (cm): 25.0 (148), 25.0 (151), 25.2 (154), 25.5 (157)
• Sidecut (m): 7.45 (148), 7.6 (151), 7.7 (154), 7.85 (157)

 Guest post Tightboards.com

Our website traffic is nearly 5 times over last year and we have no new reviews up.  BTW - We're working hard to get the new going.

Until it snows (here in the NW) we all just have to be content searching for footy of pillow drops and backyard rail sessions on YT while checking out new gear we want but are not quite sure about.

Here is a review of one of the most anticipated boards of the season and it rocks! We're sure. Never Summer Proto CT and Proto CTX

In the mean time make sure you subscribe to our YouTube channel to see the latest releases of our 2012 reviews. http://www.youtube.com/user/BoardInsiders

Guest post Tightboards.com

It’s that time of year yet again… the 2012 snowboard gear is already hitting the shelves and… you’ve got to start the search for a new board! It can be a daunting task when you consider the price of a quality board and the near endless offerings of the major players out there. We aren’t going to try to tackle the whole snowboard industry in this post, but we are going totry to look at one board that we are really liking made by Ride Snowboards. The Arcade UL comes in both standard width as well as a wide.

RIDE ARCADE UL

Sizes: 151, 154, 155W, 157, 158W, 160

Style: Freestyle,Park & Pipe

Shape: NEW! HybridTwin

Stance: Centered

Wide: Ride Arcade ULWide

A little about the new Hybrid Twin shape: this twin shape features micro-rocker in the tip and tail and a level micro-camber zone between the feet. This shape allows for more pop and stability giving the board a surf-like feel and tons of response which is great for the park & pipe allowing you to go big and stick the landing.

Our thoughts: When we gave it a test drive we took it out on firm groomers with some icy patches here and there. This board has a stiffer twin flex that translates well from park to mountain freestyle with a smooth ride that didn’t seem to dampen much. With the pop rods 3.0 this board didn’t disappoint and had tons of snap that really took care of the work. We weren’t all that impressed with the edge, or the butterability -- you have to work to gain some of that feel -- but overall this is a super light-weight board meant for the“go big, or go home” guy with plenty of innovation that is sure to please.

As you can see by the specs, these boards are loaded with innovation that is unique to  Ride boards and they are built specifically with the freestyle rider in mind while maintaining some versatility to allow for a total mountain experience.

Arcade UL tech features:

• Pop Rods 3.0® - Pop rods consist of flat carbon rods that wrap a urethane slime-core. Pop rods have carbon for massive pop and a slime-core to smooth out the landing. There are 3 levels of Pop Rods available 1.0, 2.0 & 3.0 increasing in the level of carbon in each level. Pop Rods load the board with pop using strategic placement in the tip and tail, adding pop with out the stiffness.
• Hempbrain – Ride eliminated the traditional plastic top completely giving you a lighter stronger top made of a renewable resource and little processing.
• 85A Slimewalls® - These are a ride exclusive made of urethane and smooths out the interaction between the board and the snow & rail. Slimewalls feature durability that cannot be touched in snowboarding today a huge advantage to your board lasting perhaps season after season… depending on how you ride.

Thanks Travis Rice, Mark Landvik, Pat Moore, and John Jackson.

Waist deep for days! 3 weeks of testing down, 4 to go!

Second week of testing. 1 broken board, over 30 inches of new snow.

Thanks Stevens Pass!

First week of testing. Anon Hawkeyes. And new snow!

- Bryan

Unveiling the 2010-2011 Shred Cred Award Winners

Now it’s easier than ever to learn about new technology and compare snowboards before making holiday purchases. Below are the 2010-2011 Shred Cred Award Winners that received the highest scores in the annual board testing and are the top recommended snowboards to buy this season.

A shout out to Stevens Pass for the generous use of their mountain and facilities during board testing and a special thanks to our supporters, including 686, Coal, Giro, GoPro, Oakley and the many volunteers that have made this possible (you know who you are).
Shred Cred is a rating system and the methodology behind it is simple. Each board tested receives a Shred Cred score from one to 100, based on performance. The testing team is comprised of real, everyday snowboarders that everyone can relate to and who vary in style and ability.

Look out for Shred Cred Award stickers identifying the award winners at local retailers and online!

Without further adieu (drum roll please…)

Gold, 95 or above                                           
Arbor Cadence 95
Bataleon Evil Twin 98
Flow Quantum 95
Lib Tech Travis Rice C2BTX 95
Never Summer Infinity 96
Never Summer Lotus 97
Never Summer Premier F1 95
Never Summer Revolver 95
Rossignol Experience 96
YES. THE BASIC. 95

Silver, 90 or above
Arbor A-Frame 90
Arbor Coda 93
Arbor Draft 92
Arbor Eden 90
Arbor Formula 93
Bataleon Goliath 92
Bataleon Violenza 94
BitchBoards Rocker 94
Burton Custom Flying V 92
Burton Restricted Easy Living Flying V 92
Burton Hero 91
Burton Joystick 93
Burton Whammy Bar 93
Burton Restricted Whammy Bar Marley 92
Flow Myriad 91
GNU Altered Genetics C2 BTX 90
GNU Billy Goat C2 BTX 92
GNU Street Series BTX 93
GNU Women's Park Pickle PTX 93
Lib Tech Banana Magic BTX 91
Lib Tech Skunk Ape C2 BTX 94
Lib Tech TRS C2 BTX 94
Never Summer EVO 92
Never Summer Heritage 93
Never Summer Raptor 92
Never Summer SL 94
Rome Artifact Rocker 94
Rome Blue 93
Rome Headline 90
Rome Postermania 91
Rossignol Angus AmpTek 90
Rossignol Diva MagTek 94
Rossignol JDub MagTek 91
Rossignol One MagTek 90
Rossignol Tesla AmpTek 94
Rossignol Trickstick AmpTek 92
Roxy Eminence C2 BTX Torah Bright Edition 90
Salomon Drift 90
Salomon Salomonder 91
Salomon Salvatore Sanchez 93
Signal Vita Rocker 93
Smokin Buck Ferton 93
Smokin Hooligan 91
Smokin M.I.P. 92
Smokin Superpark CTX 94
Smokin Vixen CTX 91
Unity Virgo 90
YES. THE DUDES. 93

As soon as I found out that one of our local resorts is opening, after a frantic morning trying to find some of my missing gear (maybe not for you, but this happens every year to me), we're finally in the canyon waiting to see the first site of snow. I always have this crazy feeling of anxiety or something, like the dang car just can't go fast enough! I wanted to be there an hour early to catch first chair, but of course when it's a family tradition to ride together opening day, everyone is slowing us down. It seemed like anything that could happen, did happen. But we kept chugging along, everyone with the same goal in site--first day of riding! Looking out the window while driving up the canyon you notice that just about every car you see is packed with people and their gear, all on the same mission!

All we want is that ever so familiar feeling of FREEDOM, that we all love when were riding, and have been deprived of for way to many months now! We finally pull up to Crystal, find a parking spot and we were gone like the wind. I remember standing in line, looking around at everyone else and thinking finally I'm amongst my kind of people again. We got our day passes for a sweet price of twenty bucks a pop (nice perk of early season riding, cheap lift passes), there was only four lifts open but we didn't care. That's all we needed!

We hit the slopes with the sun shining and and not a sole in sight that wasn't mesmerized by being back on the slopes. Everyone was in a good mood. It was classic early season riding, rock patches in some places and little tree's sticking up out of the snow. People with brand new boards that just couldn't wait for more snow to ride them (and most likely left with some deep scratches that will be needing repair, and so soon!). It's hard not to chuckle a bit because I see it every year. I think it's probably better to bring your old board opening day…haha.

Well, we charged what snow was there from the time we showed up to closing time. We walked out with some fresh scratches and new bruises but the biggest smiles ever!! What could be better than opening day? In my eyes, nothing beats it and it's that time of the year again! AI'll tell you what, after opening day, its on like Donkey Kong for the rest of the season!!!
 
So how was your first day this season? What's the perfect opening day in your book? And did ya stomp any sick tricks your first day out? (I threw down a solid backside three first try). Tell me about it on FB.

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If there is such a thing as a litmus test for the snow season ahead, it's opening day.  How early does it come, how much snow, how good are the conditions, what was the weather... all these factors are intensely scrutinized and dissected to mathematically compute an analysis of the season to come.  But is that really how it works?  Looking back at last season, things didn't quite add up that way.  It was an early open with awesome snow, but let's be honest... the overall season turned out to be pretty crappy, at least as far as conditions went (credit where credit is due, the spring shredding was in fact off the hook).

So what about this year?  The seasonal forecast is certainly better - a strong La Niña bringing lots of cold, moist air over western Washington.  And the opening day at Crystal didn't disappoint: November 19th and the snow could only be described as light, dry, blower powder.  There wasn't a whole lot by mid-season standards (and bringing a rock board might have been wise), but overall it was a two-thumbs-up day on the slopes.

But the reality is that opening day is far more than a conditions report... it's a much anticipated starting-pistol shot to the air that signals the beginning of a season of awesomeness.  Whether you crave carving endless turns in the deep, white steeps; popping off the lip into silent flight; or jibbing urban warfare against a sick army of coping-clad zombies, the fantasy for most of us can't become a reality until Opening Day.

So here's my take: we've got a good looking winter forecast.  Lifts are coming online already from Baker up north to Crystal down south.  Lots of new toys on the slopes, including Crystal's gondola & Sasquatch Jib Park, and Summit East reopening for downhill with a new backside lift.  Board manufacturers are hitting us with more choices of technology than a Fry's on steroids.  And after a '9/'10 mid-winter letdown, riders are pumped to wring every ounce of gnar out of the six-sided goodness Mother Nature has promised to drop us.  So if you're not stoked already for '10/'11, bag the next opening day you can - maybe Stevens Pass - and come back grinning.

I recently was given a chance to hold a pair of Manic bindings. Personally I’m always looking for the next best thing. I’m so used to seeing the same style bindings on the shop shelve with small variations on colors, straps, and adjustments. This binding stands alone just like the first Nike shock did with footwear. Like so many people I struggle with back pain and this feature makes my mouth water and want to take more laps in the park.  If you told me to build a binding with a suspension system I would be a little nervous about the net weight of my snowboard set-up. Made of 100% Magnesium, heal to toe these bindings are lighter and stronger then expected. I don’t know if this is the future of snowboarding, but I sure wouldn’t mind giving them a spin.

don’t know about anyone else, but I am extremely excited about the Olympics in Vancouver. If only I knew a little more about them. I recently held a gold medal as you can see; I felt a rush of patriotism flow through my body. This medal was won by swimmer Cullen Jones in the heart pounding 4X100, what a come back! The US edged out the loose-lipped French squad. Those are the rivalries I want to see in the winter of 2010. So what are the headlines where’s the drama you might ask. No longer are we in the cold war era fighting for world domination and surely it’s too cold to watch America’s hero, the amphibious Phelps, swim in the pool.

So what do we watch? I’m not saying they don’t exist; I just want to know more about them. How about Bode Miller, he’s back and time for him to live up to his potential at the ripe age of 32. Now what about snowboarding, I can’t wait to see Gretchen Bleiler attempt the Crippler 720 in the pipe or Sean White; well lets just say I route for the underdog. I live without cable so no ESPN or FUEL TV. So for all of you snowboarder living in a cave like me check out channel 5.2, Universal Sports. They seem to dig the winter sports as I do. 

 o celebrate the first week of my 2010 I participated in the Burton Super Demo. Within the first few moments at Mt. Hood Meadows the tour coordinators greeted me kindly. It was a compliment to the outstanding service provided by the Mt. Hood Meadows staff. I tend to feel lost at the larger resorts. Meadows had a resourceful staff member around every corner, which meant less time setting up and more time on the mountain.

 I was pleasantly surprised by their welcome to the day’s festivities. I’ve been to a few demos on both sides of the screw turning and I must say, Burton’s set up was legit. The triple igloo tent was like a home away from your local home shop. Whatever I needed, the B team came up with a solution. I’ve been looking for a spare lace system that enable my boots to function for a very long time. The crew not only talked to me about the problem, like so many others have, but also found a spare lace system to fix them! The helpers were friendly and kept a great attitude even at the end of the day when fingers tend to feel like icicles, trust me I know.

 Bottom line, I would recommend attending the Burton Super Demo, it was a memorable experience. Most of us don’t have the resources to feel like a snowboard insider, but everyone is on this weekend! The highlight of my weekend was the 2010 Burton Method. Lets just say riding Burton’s visionary board altered my environment and rocked my world. Some of the more icy spots felt like they were freshly groomed. I had to change my riding style and center my weight over the board to counter the ice effect. Amazingly, this ultra light board still held an edge, had a low swing weight, and I had no harsh wipeouts. If you’re looking for quality time on the mountain and would like to feel closer to the snowboard industry, mark this event on next years calendar and I hope to see you there!