signal snowboards 09.10 season
signal snowboards Dream it, Build it, Ride it! Signal Snowboards continues to evolve both as a brand and a philosophy. We’ve spent this last year hard at work at our Southern Californian factory, which we call the Lodge. We refined how we operate by taking advantage of the traits that set us apart from the competition and we believe you will appreciate our efforts. The end result— we can design, build and ride a new board—all in a single day. As you flip through this catalog you will learn about our materials and our newest technologies such as Signal’s own Three-Stage Rocker and the Wavelength that can be found in the Omni and Hammer series. As well, you will learn about the process each Signal board goes through. You will also read about our in house initiatives like the Flotsam and Jetsam Rescue Project that keeps base material out of landfills and on the snow. And finally, you will see that we have the utmost pride and love for what we do here at Signal. US made snowboards are rare and owning our own factory is a commitment to both the snowboarding community as well as to the larger community. We continue on this path because we’ve connected with snowboarders like you— by building a brand that builds its own boards. Join us in celebrating our 5-year anniversary. We’ve come along way and would like to thank you for helping us get there.
core values Stand up for what you believe in! It is equally important that we build quality US made snowboards while also building a community of like-minded individuals. This is where we start—the heart of the board. Our wood comes from the Great Lakes region. Because of their cold winters, the trees grow slowly producing a very tight grain, which in turn gives the wood in our cores increased strength. Of the three species of Great Lakes trees that we use, Aspen is the lightest and most flexible because it has the least amount of density. Poplar is stiffer and has more density, while Maple is the stiffest and is the densest. We bring this Great Lakes Poplar, Aspen and Maple to our own Core Shop where we glue the wood into large blocks, alternating the grains within the block to give each core even more strength. We use only full-length pieces of wood, which means there are no finger joints in our cores. Finger joints create stress concentration points when two shorter pieces of wood are glued together. Other manufacturers do this. The Lodge does not. Each block then gets planed into blank snowboard cores. Next, the blank core is run through our CNC (Computer Numeric Controller) machine, where it is profiled and tailored specifically to each model and size in the Signal line. We don’t just shorten cores to fit different size boards. Each series utilizes one of our three core profiles: The “Standard Profile” for boards with Three-Stage Rocker and Wavelength, the “Park Profile” for soft noses and tails, and the “Mountain Profile” for edge control. Every board has its own specific core within each style of core profile. This makes our cores aligned with the sidecut and centered so that you get the most out of your geometry and even pressure on your board.
park series This best seller is built for today’s terrain parks and city streets. With its signature look and soft flex, this board crushed the competition and won High Cascade Snowboard Camp’s prestigious “Top Board Model of the Summer” award this year. The Park is built to take a beating. The base material is a polyethylene ISTT 1500. This extruded base material allows high-speeds yet requires only minimum maintenance and it’s easier to mend than sintered base material. The Magnum ABS sidewalls provide flexibility as well as high impact resistance. The Park Series is built with a “Park Profile” core, which is thinner on the nose and tail but has a standard thickness between your feet. This equals a softer nose and tail and a perfect flex for riding the park. The alternating grain structure of the Aspen core provides maximum strength and maximum pop, but still gives a core weight of only 1.4 pounds. The soft flex, mid-wide waist and radial side cut combine to make the Park one of the best boards for any riding level. Biaxial glass gives the Park its soft tip to tail flex and combined with the urethane top material, Exel PMU 4060, the Park also has a softer torsion flex. Again, the core is sized specifically for each board providing a perfect stance for the park shredder. The Park Series is available in eight sizes: a 134, 142, 148, 150, 152, 154, 156 and 158. Each one of these boards has a silkscreened top, an individually placed muslin piece beneath the top sheet and, of course, the signature beacon die cut base in rotating color ways.
“Signal won the prestigious top board model of the summer award, with the Park Series. The Demo Center could not keep these boards in stock with many campers requesting them as soon as they showed up at camp. This evaluation shows that Signal has the highest brand utility by a large percentage. It was often that Signal boards were completely out of stock. The recurring demo of these soft, easy to ride, boards, kept campers coming back, telling their friends to get on some Signal too.” - HCSC 2008 Demo Report
park limited color ways We like to mix things up. And since we have our own factory, we can print whatever we want to whenever we want to. We just mix up a new color! Throughout the year we run small amounts of unique color ways in addition to the Park’s production model. It’s a fun way to supply riders and retailers with a specialized product. These Limited color ways are posted to our website as they are released. Then they are shipped to shops around the country and around the world. The Limited Parks have become quite sought after. It’s not uncommon to come across riders on a quest for their favorite color way. In this seasonal industry, these Limited Parks give riders fresh options and unique boards that aren’t to be found in every store.
glass weaves Different glass weaves will enhance the flex, stability and durability of your ride. Fiberglass, along with resin and the core, is one of the ingredients that affect the stiffness of a board. Fiberglass has tension strength, but does not have compression strength—meaning that you can pull on the fiberglass, but that you cannot push it. We use two specific types of fiberglass: Biaxial and Triaxial. Biaxial glass has fibers that run on two angles and Triaxial has fibers that run on three angles. Fiberglass also affects the two ways that a board flexes: torsionally and tip to tail flex. Torsion is the flex, or twist, from one end of your board to its diagonal opposite. Because Triaxial glass has weaves that run on three angles—one of those angles being diagonal— Triaxial glass adds torsional strength to your board. Because Biaxial glass weaves run in only two directions with no diagonal weave the torsion is much softer and so is the tip to tail flex. Carbon and Kevlar stringers can also be added to a board to decrease the tip to tail flex. Glass configuration combined with resin amount and a different core profile can endlessly change the flex pattern of a board. Having our own factory allows us the ability to use all these options and that gives us the home court advantage!
Signal’s own Three-Stage Park Rocker was introduced as a late release in 2008. Its unique design offers the latest technology for more fluid control under a variety of shred circumstances, making even the most technical tricks feel effortlessly smooth. You want this board! Stage One is continuous contact. This creates a level board through the bindings. It allows you to hold an edge without catching one. Stage One acts as a small board when you stand flat over this section. Stage Two rolls up ten degrees into Stage Three, the ‘flat spot’. Stage Two creates a pivot point when transferring from the level— or flat— area between the bindings and the ‘flat spot’ of Stage Three. Stage Two also acts as a secondary contact point when you are carving. These stages are engineered to give you more confidence when hitting rails and boxes. You will sit on presses like never before! The Park Rocker is built with a “Standard Profile” Aspen core. This profile is thicker between the feet and tapers out as it reaches the nose and tail. There is no need for extra tapering as the nose and tail are already in the air because of the Rocker that starts at your feet. The Park Rocker also has an Exel PMU 4060 urethane top, an IS4400 extruded base and biaxial glass. This year, the Rocker comes in five sizes— a 148, 152, 154, 156 and 158— and three color ways—black, red and alpine white. Rock on!
park rocker
park rocker color ways
resin
Resin is a key feature in a board’s durability. Our resin —Araldite— is a US product by Huntsman. Riders commonly believe that most cracks and breaks are due to the fiberglass or wood core in their board. These compression breaks, however, are usually due to dry spots, thin spots, or weak, inexpensive resins. Resin is also one of the three main ingredients that affect the stiffness of your board. As we mentioned, fiberglass has tension strength, but does not have compression strength, meaning that you can pull on the fiberglass, but that you cannot push it. Resin acts jointly with the fiberglass to provide the compression strength. Different combinations of fiberglass and resin create stiffer or softer flexes in boards. Under pressure and heat, the chemicals in resin become cross-linked and form a durable yet flexible bonding agent throughout all of the materials within a board. This is a crucial detail that will keep a Signal board full of pop, camber, or 3 Stages of Rocker. There are many choices out there when it comes to resin. Make sure the boards you ride are built with good stuff. We do.
vita park Brand new for 2009 is the women’s park board, the Vita Park. Built with the same ingredients as our Park Series, the Vita Park has all the technical features of its male counterpart, but the narrower waist widths and proportional geometry are tailored to fit the technical snowboarding needs of women. The Vita comes in a 135, 143, 147, 151, and a 153. The soft flex and narrow waist combine to make the Vita one of the best women’s boards for any riding level. A Biaxial glass weave gives the Vita Park its soft flex. Combined with the urethane top material, Exel PMU 4060, these ingredients provide the Park with a softer torsion flex. The base material is a polyethylene ISTT 1500. This extruded base material allows high-speeds yet requires only minimum maintenance and it’s easier to mend than sintered base material. The Magnum ABS sidewalls provide flexibility as well as high impact resistance. The Vita Park is built with a “Park Profile” core, which is thinner on the nose and tail but standard thickness between your feet. This equals a softer nose and tail and a perfect flex for riding the park. The alternating grain structure of the Aspen core provides maximum strength and maximum pop, but still weighs only 1.4 pounds. The core is sized specifically for each board providing the perfect stance. Vivi la dolce vita!
edges Our factory has given us an edge! We use a ‘profile 129 edge’ of hardened steel that is run through our own CNC edge bender to create all of our edges in house. Each full wrapped steel edge has only one weld. After the edges are bent to the shape of the board, they are carefully secured in place by hand in preparation for lay up. During the lay up process a thin layer of rubber dampening foil is placed along the edge. This protective layer cushions the edge and absorbs impact.
calliope series The Calliope is built as a woman’s board for all-mountain riding, but that hasn’t stopped the guys from riding it too. Its narrower waist accommodates a smaller boot size while its proportionately profiled core delivers exceptional stability when riding. The Calliope is a directional snowboard. With a medium flex, a tapered tail and inserts back of center, this board is built for deep snow and carving.
We’ve added more sizes to the Calliope Series this year. It is now available in a 142, 144,148, 152 and a 154. The Calliope has Biaxial glass top and bottom, Durasurf sintered base material, and Transilwrap top material. It is built with a “Mountain Profile” full-length Aspen core with a maple stringer. The “Mountain Profile” is thinner between your feet but has a standard taper out to the tip and tail. This gives you a more flexible board without sacrificing any edge control.
Creativity knows no limits in our printing department. We mix our own colors. We make our own screens. We sublimate, silkscreen and hand paint all our tops and bases in house. Sublimation is a process of baking the art into the base or top material. Ink is embedded into the top material fusing the two together. Sublimation is a digital four-color process that allows us to create continuous tones similar to a painting or photograph. Silk screening is a process of layering color on top of color, one coat at a time. We screen the art on the underside of our clear material. This protects the ink from any scratching. We separate the layers of colors, mix the inks and pull one color at a time. This process allows us to leave windows open to the core, create one-of-a-kind color ways, and produce graphics with rich, saturated color. Hand painting is by far the most exclusive process that we offer. We can hand paint our top sheets because we do them ourselves—in house. You can’t do that if your boards are produced overseas. We start with the same process as silk screening. Then we grab our brushes and mix up our inks. We paint underneath our top sheets— which means that we paint backwards—with brushes rather than pulling ink through screens with squeegees. The result yields a top sheet unlike any other produced. You won’t find two of the same. Hand painted top sheets are truly original.
silkscreening sublimating hand painting
og series The OG Series is Signal’s original all-mountain freestyle board. These boards are lightweight, directional, and torsionally responsive. All OG boards are built with Triaxial glass on the top and bottom of the core. The core is made from 100% Poplar and weighs only 1.6 pounds. All OG boards are built with a “Mountain Profile”, meaning that the core is thinner between your feet but has a standard taper out to the tip and tail. This gives you a more flexible board without sacrificing any edge control. Stance options for each OG — 151, 153, 155, 155W, 157, 159, 159W, 163 and 163W—are set back one half-inch. The dual independent sidecut is centered off the inserts and meets at the waist. We hand paint each OG top sheet. No two are the same. All OG bases are built using the Flotsam and Jetsam Rescue Project. We utilize reconstituted base material for new manufacture. This, too, allows each board to be oneof-a-kind with many different base combinations. A portion of every OG board sold goes to The Snowrider Project at Surfrider.org.
FLOTSAM & JETSAM RESCUE PROJECT
The Flotsam & Jetsam Rescue Project utilizes reconstituted base material for new manufacture. We work with our suppliers to locate and purchase all base materials that may be discontinued, have less than minimum yardage, or are over-runs that would otherwise be discarded and end up in a land fill. These Flotsam and Jetsam bases are all made from high-end sintered base material— the fastest base material available and the exact same grade material as all other sintered bases. We find great joy in creatively repurposing the remnants to create genuinely unique, eco-friendly boards. A portion of every Flotsam and Jetsam Rescue Project board sold goes to The Snowrider Project at Surfrider.org. Besides the obvious health of our planet, it’s all about innovation and evolution. It’s our duty as human beings to use our intellect and ingenuity to manufacture in more progressive, creative and healthy ways. The Lodge allows us to be more inventive and creative with materials and board building. We get to make the rules, break the rules, and take creative left turns into new designs and manufacturing techniques each and every day. We are the world around us. In our own small way we want to do our part to build a better tomorrow.
lay up The lay up process brings a board to life! Presses, forms, and temperatures all contribute to the durability, longevity, and feel of your Signal board. Wood, plastic, and metal are all laminated with resin to create a new composite. These parts are sandwiched together for seventeen minutes at 195 degrees in a compression mold until the thermoset resin is cured. Nuance comes from a brand’s lay up process: The perfect temperature, the perfect amount of resin spread by hand. Snowboarders building snowboards makes all the difference. Feel it for yourself.
This board is all things to all mountain riders! Rocker and camber blended together create Wavelength technology, exclusive to Signal. You will never bury your nose in powder again. The Omni has camber between your feet and rocker from your feet out to the tip and tail. The rocker keeps your nose up in powder while the camber provides edge control while you carve. The two meet at a transition point, providing an additional contact point that engages even before the edge. And the fact that the rocker starts at your bindings means that you have less surface area on the snow and, therefore, a faster board! The Omni is both a directional and a twin board. It’s directional in the sense that the nose is longer than the tail. And it’s twin in the sense that the tip and tail widths are identical as well as the fact that the radial sidecut meets at the center of the board. These boards — a 152, 156, 159 and 162— are built with Triaxial glass on top and Biaxial glass on the bottom, Durasurf sintered base material, matte urethane 4160 tops, and carbon torsion bars. The Omni has a “Standard Profile” PoplarAspen blend core. The “Standard Profile” is a regularly tapered core that is thicker between the feet and tapers out as it reaches the nose and tail. There is no need for extra tapering as the nose and tail are already in the air because of the Rocker. Ride the Wavelength!
omni series
finishing Craftsmanship is key in this final detailing process. Drill bits, countersinkers, sidesanders, band saws, basegrinders and waxers are all tools of the trade. Signal boards go through a vigorous process before they pass through quality control. Sidewall bevels, countersinking, a fine tune or detune and a glassy smooth waxed base are all done by hand at the Lodge. Let the sparks fly!
hammer series
“I’m really excited about these three new snowboards. Each board is a brand new shape for me as well as Signal. The 151 is available in two forms of construction: One in a three stage rocker for the ultimate jibbing around the park, and the other in a traditional camber for high-speed, quick reactions, and with pop and stiffness to launch off the biggest park jumps. The 155 is available with Signal’s newest technology, the Wavelength. This board has camber in the center out to your feet with rocker from the bindings out to the tip and tail. It allows you the stability of a stiffer board as well as the float and fun of the Park Rocker. I’m really excited to be able to ride a board that’s small and has the same width of my park board, but that can float in the deepest of snowy fields. On snowy days I need a board that can ride deep snow, but still react quickly on hardpack. My 155 Wavelength is perfect for that! This is the first year that I have had a tip to tail graphic and it is by far my most favorite to date. Every piece of the graphic is part of a story that begins on the tail and leads up to the nose. For the final touch, I’ve squared off the tip and tail that adds a whole new dimension to my pro series.” — Matt Hammer All Hammer Pro Models— both 151s and a 155— are built with the same ingredients. They all have Crown sintered base material, full length Poplar cores, PBT top material and Biaxial glass on both the top and bottom of the core. Additionally, the 155 has carbon torsion bars. Though all of the boards are built with the same ingredients, they have different flexes because of the of the tailored core profiles— one “Standard Profile”, one “Park Profile” and one “Mountain Profile”— that are unique to each board.
dream it build it ride it
It all starts here. This is our foundation. The ability to design, build and ride a board all in a day at our factory has been long-time dream of ours. It became a reality this summer when we constructed our first ramp and threw the first annual DBR— or Dream it, Build it, Ride it— event. The DBR is a chance for us to open up our factory and share our operation with our retailers, friends and riders. Everything is open. So if you are a Signal dealer please make it a point to come to this summer’s DBR event and see how your Signal board is made. You may even find yourself building your own board that day!
Build it yourself, build a community, and build a ramp! Our rail set up allows us to ride our boards as soon as they come of the press. There’s no better way to get quick feedback and have a lot of fun doing it. Our ramp has a ledge with pool coping on the left side, a round rail down the center and a square rail down the right side. Some of our best testing comes from our late night sessions on warm eighty-degree California nights.
From left to right: Jake Olson-Elm, Iris Lazzareschi, Dave Lee, Matt Hammer, Peter Benchetler, Chris Dufficy and Spencer Link.
After all is said and done, the essence of Signal is a labor of love. It comes down to the simple fact that we have to keep doing what we think is right— in business, with snowboards, as humans. We have committed our efforts to more than building great boards for like-minded riders. We choose to make a concerted effort to the future riders through our Street Team Program. We choose to have our own brand of coffee— as well as Coffee of the Month Club. These two divisions provide all of us here at Signal with many hours of pure, honest and refreshing happiness. Do what you love and the rest will follow. That’s what they always say. Another commitment that we have at Signal is to be better at making less of an impact on this earth. We like nature and let’s face it—we couldn’t do what we do without those beautiful mountains and trees to ride. Because of that, we are endlessly researching ways to lessen our carbon footprint. While there are many great products and vendors in the world, we buy as much of our materials as we can from within the US. That means less shipping and it helps to lower the carbon footprint on the manufacturer’s side before our product even reaches the consumer. At the same time, we are supporting our communities as an American brand building domestically. We would like to give a special thanks to our artists this year— Brian Cairns, Jon Estrella and our friends at Monster Pilot, Brian and Liz. Another big thanks to our talented photographer, Pat Wright and our commercial director, Jason Farrell. And of course, a big thanks goes out to all of you for all of your support. We hope that you can drop by someday and see all of this for yourself! Please feel free to contact us with any questions or comments. All our best, Signal 206.621.7465 ( SGNL )
www.signalsnowboards.com
www.signalsnowboards.com