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!