Buyer’s Guide 2017 BY AARON BOLT
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ou can’t help but get stoked on snowboard gear and going snowboarding. When people with a passion for what they do throw equal parts of design, engineering and fashion into the mix, it always pushes the limits of creativity and possibilities. This creativity is what gives snowboarding its own identity, the ties to skateboarding and surfing, and the reason I stay motivated to keep riding. I genuinely look forward to every winter that’s rolled around for the last 29 years. This season you’ll be hard pressed to find something that doesn’t tick all the boxes. There’s amazing bang for your buck at the low end, next level tech and design at premium price end, and a whole lot of goodlooking, pro-worthy stuff in the middle. We’re spoilt for choice.
Coming from a specialty snowboard shop background, I could talk all day about snowboard gear, what the difference in tech offers, what you get for your dollars, the latest and greatest. But when someone comes into my store, mainly I’ll talk about how it feels or should feel and how a board, binding or boot will ride, and of course how you’d like to ride. Retail staff who snowboard love to talk about snowboarding, they’re stoked on it. It’s a passion that’s evolved into a job. So call them up, fire off some emails or get your hands dirty and go visit your local store. After all, there’s nothing like getting your mitts on some new product to raise the stoke factor!
Rob Mitchell puts his gear to the test in some legendary Japow! Aomori Spring Resort, Japan.
Aaron Bolt is one of New Zealand’s pioneers in snowboarding and snowboard retailing, honing his riding skills for many years since his first Queenstown winter in ’88. He opened one of the first core snowboard stores in the country – “Wideload Snowboard Shop” in Christchurch in ‘93, and has been setting snowboarders up from the other side of the counter for the better part of 25 years.