Jake Kuzyk, Spencer Schubert, Johnny O’Connor and Brandon Hobush shredding the park up at High Cascade Snowboard camp at Timberline.

Welcome to another credit card-quivvering installment of brand spanking, our section where you can feast your eyes on a selection of the finest shred gear for making your time on the hill mo’ betta.

1. K2

Fastplant

151, 154, 157, 160 WIDES 156, 159, 162

This skate-inspired, eco-friendly shred sled boasts K2’s all new Bambooyah core to give it unrivalled pop, response and toughness. In fact, they’re so confi dent in the board’s indestructibility they’ve given it a 5-year warranty against all core breaks. Being jacked up on Jib Rocker – a versatile twin rocker engineered to dominate park riding – means it’s loose enough, yet still has epic pop, and the Carbon Matrix II torsion forks add even more with stellar response to boot. It’s got killer graphics and also comes in wide. Welcome to the future.

€549.95

www.k2snowboarding.com

2. Volcom

Crack gore-Tex

The eye-popping Crack jacket uses the renowned Gore-Tex fabric to guarantee you’ll stay dry, and the renowned Volcom design slickness to guarantee you’ll look the bomb. You get the neat-o stowaway Face Tech facemask, Lycra wristgaiters and Ziptech jacket-to-pant interface for keeping you comfortable on pow days, while pit vents can be used to dump heat when it’s toasty. Recco’s built in, there’s all the pockets you need and everything’s designed for ease of use with gloves on. A banger.

€399.00

www.volcom.com

3. Thirtytwo

Ultralight

The favoured boot of our photo ed, the Ultralight has to be worn to believed – it really is just unbelievably ultrafrickin’- light. This is all great and that but it means bugger all if the boot feels like a medieval torture device to ride with. Happily this isn’t the case with the Ultralight – the fit is spot on, comfy as hell and there’s heaps of cushioning to take the sting out of stomps. Mid flex, grippy and durable sole and standard laces round out the package perfectly.

€300.00

www.thirtytwo.com

4. Pull-In

Snow sock

In the quest for the perfect kit for getting on the gnar, it’s often that the humble sock is overlooked. Sure, you can slip on any old one from C&A but chances are you’ll sweat like MJ at a kindergarden and they’ll bunch up and cause your feet to beg for mercy. These shred specific socks from Pull-In, however, are not only designed to wick sweat away as best as possible, they have padding in all the right places and an articulated snowboard specific fi t to cling to your plates as you wang out the Ingemar nosebone.

€22.00

www.pull-in.com

5. Lib tech

Travis rice C2 BTX horsepower

153, 157, 161.5, 164.5

“The beauty of C2 is that is combines the best of both worlds,” Travis says, before tearing snowboarding a new exit hole. C2 combines reverse camber ‘Banana’ between the feet with regular camber under the bindings to the nose and tail to give you the float and fun of Banana with the pop and power of camber. The Horsepower bit? It’s all eco-tech to give sustainable performance. This all-mountain true twin is Trice’s baby for hairball AK, mega Jackson booters, powder days and X-Games assaults.

€N/A

www.lib-tech.com

6. Ride

Highlife

155, 158, 159W, 161, 163W, 164, 167, 168W, 172W

When Jake Blauvelt jumped aboard the good ship Ride, this was the board he immediately took a shine to – that should tell you all you need to know about the Highlife. But if you’ve spanked your head and forgot that Blauvelt’s one of the best natural terrain freestylers in the game, it’s an all-mountain directional twin built for fun cruising or warp speed macking. With the all-new LowPro rocker shape (LowRize in the tip and tail for fun versatility and ProRize in the tail for grip) you can chill or charge depending on your mood. As they say, “You’re destined to cover more mountain on the HighLife. Enjoy!” We’d say, “The mountain is your funpark with this bad boy.”

€499.95

www.ridesnowboards.com

7. Spy

Zed

Favoured by the team for its knack of holding it down whatever’s thrown at it, the Zed is also the model DCP chose for the DCP/YES colab goggle. The tough unibody construction takes durability to the max while the patanted Scoop ventilation system ensures moisture doesn’t hang about bringing the chances of fogging up way down. Dual density face foam makes them comfy to wear, and of course the cylindrical lens keeps the death rays at bay. Comes with a free bonus lens too.

€110.00

www.spy-optic.com

8. Vans

Etienne lF

Vans’ outerwear range not only looks banging, it’s bombproof and teched out too, and the Etienne’s a good example of what they do best. With a design targeting the axe-wielding lumberjack it’s got the classic padded shirt vibe about it, but the 10K waterproof/breathable yarn dye fabric will perform in crappy mountain weather to keep you shred happy. With critically taped seams, a fi xed hood, pit vents and a removable powder skirt, it’s ready to keep you rocking both on and off the hill.

€210.00

www.vans.eu

9. Stepchild

Salaryman aka Powder sucks

149, 152, 152 MW, 155, 155 MW, 158

This true twin is built to dominate the park and pipe, but it’ll handle a couple of powder stompers too. A medium fl ex tipto-tail wood core wrapped in biax glass means the Salaryman is easy to handle, and that it’s available in both regular and reverse camber incarnations (152, 152MW, 155, 155MW) means whichever side of that fence you fall you’ll be happy. It’s one of Stepchild’s most popular boards, and for good reason. Get the
Salaryman out the offi ce and on the hill!

€N/A

www.stepchildsnowboards.com

10. Roxy

Kjersti Buaas

Just like our gal Kjersti’s riding, her jacket’s got mad steeze. Zips and studs allow you to unleash your inner S&M fantasies, but gags aside this is one slick looking shred cloak for discerning radicalistas. It’ll do the business, too – 10/10k waterproof protection takes care of the elements and keeps you comfortable, while Lycra hand gaiters, pant-to-jacket connecting system, removeable hood, powder skirt and vents are just some of the features. It looks good, fi ts good, rides good, is good.

€289.00

www.roxy.com

11. Union

Flite

Park varmints looking for a super light binder that’s Chuck Norris tough better check out the FLITE. “F***ing Light!” is how Union describe ‘em, and they achieve it with the hollowed out freestyle-focussed highback sat on the new FLITE base with EVA dampening for impact absorption. These are all about tricked out freestyle performance and even boast a lifetime warranty on the baseplates so you know these’ll take your stomps.

€149.00

www.unionbindingcompany.com

12. Protest

Helmington Wmns

Being made of softshell fabric means the Helmington is super comfy and easy to move around in, yet it still gives you all the waterproof protection and breathability (8K) that you need to shred happy for the whole season. There are pit vents for regulating your temperature, a powder skirt, zip-off hood and an array of pockets too, but we’re also digging the long cut – not only good for a bit of extra coverage on pow days, we’re reckoning chicks will look smokin’ in it to boot.

€159.95

www.protest.eu

13. Santa Cruz

Hand

This steezy number from the Brand of the Screaming Hand, though dubbed the ‘Hand’, steers clear of the inyour-face-ness the name might suggest for an altogether more subtle look. It’s a fully insulated, fully taped 5/5K beastie too, so unless you’re wanting camp in the BC this’ll look after you on park sessions and bluebird pow days. Things like a microfl eece chin liner, handwarmer pockets, brushed tricot lining and a shred-specific cut look after your comfort, while removable snow skirt, Lycra wrist gaiters and a one-cinch hood seal you in. Vents and a heap of pockets for all your clobber wrap up this neat-o jacket.

€230.00

www.santacruzeurope.com

14. Rossignol

Decoy AmpTek

152/156/157W/160

This true twin-shaped stick is aimed at freestylers who have dominating the park and pipe in their sights. Laced with Rossi’s Freestyle AmpTek, shredding is made more easy thanks to AmpTek’s combined cambers that give a stable, yet poppy, ride with awesome edge grip too. The core’s light and bolstered by carbon and Kevlar, and comes in on the stiffer end of the spectrum, plus there’s a highdensity sintered base to get you hauling ass.

€419.95

www.rossignol.com

15. Oakley

Entire jkt

This is what our man Eero Ettala was rocking when he pulled out that insane run to win last season’s X-Games slopestyle gold. While it ain’t gonna help you with your double cork 9s or switch double backies, Eero’s designed the Entire to perform whether you’re jibbing downtown, lapping the park or getting heli drops in the BC. 15/20K waterproof/breathable fabric, welded seams, wrist gaiters, powder skirt and a fi xed hood takes care of the elements, while 80g of Thinsulate will keep you nicely toasted.

€225.00

www.oakley.com

MFR’S skilla are intense. As one ofe the girls who truly pushes the limits whenever she straps in, she’s part of the pack making women’s riding legit. A couple of short but heavy parts in recent absinthe flicks, a TWS Rider of the Year award and bouncing back from a nasty back injury… Marie-France has for sure got game. Here’s what she works her magic with.

STATS:

Date of Birth: April 17, 1984
Hometown: Whistler (winter), Vancouver island (summer)
Home Mountain: Whistler
Stance: Regular, 22 inches, 21,-21
Sponsors: Rome, Oakley, Redbull, ThirtyTwo, Etnies, Cilla, Kicker, Axis, Whistler/ Blackcomb, PoM PoM

Marie-France Roy, Photo: Cole Barash

Board: Rome Lo-Fi

Word is you’ve been on the Lo-Fi for a few years. What is it about this board that makes it work so well for you and your riding?

The Lo-Fi is just the best all around board Rome have. You can do anything on it. It’s so good on jumps and in pow but you can also be confi dent to hit rails and boxes with it.

Did you have any input into the improvements they made for this year’s model?

We worked a lot on the graphic together and it’s my favorite ever. As far as technology goes, they always step it up a notch. One of the main additions they made to the Lo-Fi this year was the “Pressure POP technology”, which is basically basalt plates that transmit pop energy from under your feet to the tips of the board. They have a lotmore tech specifications that are really well explained on their website as well.

Where do you stand on the regular vs reverse camber debate?

I’ve tried both and I do enjoy riding the Lo-Fi Rocker on a mellow day doing hit runs on the mountain because of its looser feel. But if I am going to hit bigger sized jumps in the park, I like to have that extra precision on the pop and edge so I prefer the regular camber.

BOOTS: ThirtyTwo Lashed Women’s

What is it about the Lashed that you particularly dig?

I ride softer boots so the Lashed is perfect for me because it offers good support but I don’t feel all stuck like in ski boots. I have been wearing the 32 for at least 7 years, as I would always buy 32 before I started riding for them because I loved how comfortable they were.

Are you backing speedlace or are you more traditional in your boot lacing tastes?

I’m backing regular laces. Good and old fashioned.

BINDINGS: Rome Madison

They say this binding ‘meets the demands [MFR] places on the product.’ In what way do these fulfi l your needs?

I love that the binding is simply solid, easily adjustable without tools, and adapted to women. This year they have a new tech that they call VRod Baseplates, which improves the flexing of the board and is lighter.

Do you rock them straight out the box or do some tweaking?

I rock them straight out of the box and when I get on the hill it takes about a minute to adjust them perfectly to my foot – no tools needed and it’s on!

Marie-France Roy, Photo: Scott Serfas

OUTERWEAR: Oakley Jacket & Pants

Do you generally use one particular line from Oakley’s range and if so what do you dig about it?

I use pretty much the whole line because the days spent sledding in the backcountry have very different outerwear needs than riding the park or just some rail session. So they have something adapted to every style. Oakley has it dialed as far as technology goes. They always have series of field testing involving the designers and the riders to make sure everything is taken care of.

How much input do you have in the Oakley women’s range, and anything particular you’ve suggested that they’ve implemented?

The riders have a lot of input at Oakley. Two years ago I had the chance to work with designers to pretty much make my dream jacket. That program is coming back next year and we’ve already started working on it.

GLOVES: Rome Norfolk MFr

What is it you look for from a pair of gloves?

It depends on what I’m gonna be riding that day but I love the Norfolk because its not too insulated so your fingers feel really loose and  comfortable but still warm. I have worked with Rome to make a rider inspired version and I’m super stoked on how it came out. For powder days, they have the Everlast and I highly recommend it, it’s the best mitt ever.

GOGGLES: Oakley Elevate

What do you like specifi cally about your goggles?

The Elevate is a new awesome model they just put out. It offers super wide vision but it doesn’t feel as big as the Crowbar on your head. It’s not a  women’s goggle, but it’s perfect for smaller faces like mine.

EXTRAS

What other stuff do you always make sure you’re riding with?

I never go ride without my Cilla under layers. I swear for the last 3 years I haven’t spent one day on the hill without them. You can usually tell the difference in rider owned companies and this is the best example. Check it out at cillalayers.com; the stuff is so comfortable and so stylish.

What can you say about Markku Koski? He’s a rider that’s difficult pidgeonhole as hits hard wherever he rides. See his Samurai Pipe skills and you’d think he’s a U-Jump rock, but then he’ll throw a cab 9 pow stomper or hold it down on the streets and have you scratching your head trying to decide what he rides best. The answer? All of it. Here’s his rig…

Stats:

Date of Birth: 15.10.81
Hometown: Helsinki, Finland
Home Mountain: Sievi, Finland
Stance: Regular, +15 front, -9 back
SPONSORS: Quiksilver, 32, Etnies, Vivo Headwear, Stepchild

Photo: Cole Barash

BOARD

Stepchild Salary Man

When you’re able to swipe anything from the Stepchild stockroom, how come you choose the Salary Man?

I usually ride the Expat but this year the graphic on that one was something I wasn’t too stoked on so I’m riding the Salary Man. It’s a cheaper board for the entire mountain.

Do you ride one model and length for everything, or do you switch it up?

Yeah, I keep switching boards just to keep it interesting. I ride the 152 Salary Man on rails (soft reverse camber), 155 Expat in the park and pipe (stiffer normal camber) and a 158 Chi Borg in pow (medium reverse camber).

Regular or reverse camber?

Just depends, I don’t really care. I usually ride reverse camber on rails and pow and otherwise normal camber. I think normal camber is better for hardpack.

BOOTS

ThirtyTwo Team2

What model were you rocking last season? And why did you pick that model?

I usually ride the Team2 boot. Just the way they fi t my feet is perfect. I love the way the boot looks too.

Do you like your boots super stiff, soft as hell or somewhere in between?

I like them pretty soft just because I feel more loose on the board and it’s better for tweaking tricks.

Are you backing speedlace or are you more traditional in your boot lacing tastes?

I don’t care really. The Team2 comes with laces so I just use that.

BINDINGS

Ride Delta MVMT

What’s the most important criteria in terms of bindings for you, and how do those ones fit your needs?

It’s important naturally not to feel pressure points on the bindings. I like them as simple binding as possible. Most important is to have a good ankle strap I think. I don’t ride for Ride or anything but I just think that binding is the best one I ever tried so I use ’em.

Do you adjust your bindings at all before you ride them for the first time?

No, nothing special. I just try to keep it so my heels or toes don’t come too much out over the board.

OUTERWEAR

Quiksilver Utility Line

What features are you most stoked with on the Quik outerwear you’re wearing?

I’m riding the Quiksilver Utility line. I like my clothes light and the fit has to be on point.

Do you prefer your outerwear to fit gangsta big, hipster tight or just middle of the road?

I like slim fit and long jackets and semi-tight fit on pants.

GLOVES

ThirtyTwo

Is it pipe gloves for the park and thicker ones for backcountry for you, or just one pair for everywhere?

32 just made some park gloves so I’m rocking them. Again the fi t is the most important, and that the gloves don’t get too wet.

Anything special you like about your 32 gloves?

Probably the fact that I took a bunch of them so will never have to ride stinky gloves again.

GOGGLES

Quiksilver Facet Orbicular

What goggles are you wearing?

I’m wearing the Facet Orbicular goggle.

What do you specifi cally like about them?

Quiksilver has a couple of different models and they’re all pretty good but I like these ones the most. To me the look is most important. I like the bubble lens too.

EXTRAS

What other stuff do you always make sure is in your backpack when you head up to ride?

I always bring a facemask and a neckwarmer with me. Be sure to check out the new Vivo Headwear line for that.