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ONCE you've been to Japan a couple of times in long lace up boots, you tend to get over the ‘please remove your shoes before entering’ part of the culture...
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LET’S face it. Ski technology has been copying snowboarding technology since the mid-‘90s. If it hadn’t, we’d still be skiing on 220cm pencils...
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JEREMY Jones is a true snowboarding legend who has set out on his own to launch Jones Snowboards.
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IF you're more into backcountry than 'slackcountry' you should be packing a saw, and the G3 Bonesaw is a cut above the rest.
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WHAT don't Black Diamond do well? Best shovel on the market – check. Best backpacks around – check. Pioneer of the Avalung – check...
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YOU drive a Japanese car. Ride in a Japanese ski resort. But you've only ever ridden an American snowboard. Why? It's not because of quality.
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IT’S lucky there are no speed cameras in the backcountry, because the Apo Apocalypse would cost you a fortune in fines. This stick is so fast it’s scary.
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CHRIS Benchetler is one of the top free skiers in the world now and this ski drips with his hard-charging style. The rocker at the tip and tail keep it floating through the powder.
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DON'T make the schoolboy error of buying a down parka with extra room for a fleece. Layering is for on the mountain – on the street you want a down coat that you don’t need anything else u...
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VECTOR Glide is one of those brands that most people walk by without a second glance. But those few in the know will give you an acknowledging nod while they think, 'he knows his stuff, I bet he...
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THE Lib-Tech Skate Banana ruffled a lot of feathers on its release last year, outselling Burton in the US by a reported 10:1.
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THE Pulse Barryvox is a great leap in avalanche technology, using a 360-degree direction arrow that leads you along the shortest path to the victim, and eliminates the need for a final grid search.
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THIS is my kind of board. In fact, this is Niseko's kind of board. A directional shape to make sure you can't stop at a '180' and a swallow tail to help the tail bite...
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The S7 have a massive reverse-camber tip and tail, a regular-camber midsection and short-radius side-cut under-foot making them possibly the quickest, most versatile, and most intuitive rockered ski o...
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WHEN it comes to touring bindings, most will plump for the Marker Dukes or Black Diamond Diamir – but the Dynafits are the dark horse, and have gained No.1 billing amongst the European hardcore.
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The Lobes are my favourite of the POC line-up, with a cutting-edge spherical lens to eliminate optical distortion, and futuristic look that’ll be the envy of your mates.
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FOR Niseko, you’ll be wanting to eschew the American skateboard/park-designed cambered twins that the marketing guys thrust upon you, and get something directional with some rocker – like...
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THE 2010 Nordica Girish is the updated, re-painted version of the 2009 version called the Blower.
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CONFUSED whether to go for a natural fibre or synthetic fleece? Join the queue.
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THE Blizzard IQ-Max is your one-ski, multiple-binding solution to the backcountry/frontside dilemma.
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Gentemstick and Dupraz have been making boards with rocker for years, while Burton and the rest made snow/skate cambered boards that don’t perform well in the pow. What redeems Burton is their V...
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BEACON, probe, shovel. If you spend more time hiking for fresh lines than you do in lift queues the B-P-S should be your A-B-C.
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THE Hellbent is fast becoming a design icon for hardcore backcountry skiers. New-school skis tie themselves up trying to think of new shapes, cambers and side cuts, but they are playing catch up on th...
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STEPCHILD is a snowboard brand that oozes street cred. Of course, for serious Niseko rippers we’re looking for powder-specific numbers, and the OG nails it!
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NOW the big companies are starting to realise what the smaller snow surfing companies knew a long time ago: when making a board to ride camber it's all about camber/rocker. K2 is one of the first of t...
