S P L I T B OA R D S 2022/23
retail buyer’s guide
RETAIL BUYER’S GUIDE
SLASH BY GIGI
Former SOURCE Editor Trey Cook’s dusted off the quill & ink to take a measure of the booming splitboarding market.
It’s safe to say nobody knows what the fuck’s going on with the economy right now. As for last season? As SP Bindings’ Bernhard Altmanninger puts it, “The ‘20/21 season triggered a massive run on splitboard products.” West Snowboarding’s David Lambert: “There were so many shops, which had never worked with us, calling us to order splitboards. At least now they know we make them.” And the future? Dupraz Snowboards’ Sébastien Lozat: “Last season’s craze for touring equipment has probably saturated the more casual rider market. The vast majority of these users will remain very occasional and will not renew their gear for several years. It is mainly the experienced user who will be ready to buy new equipment with better performance and improved hardware and is ready to spend more than they did on their previous splitboard setup.” BOARDS With that in mind, let’s take a gander at some of the new hype that’s waiting for you in 22/23, starting with totally new splitboard models. GARA Splitboards’ Rasmus Ostergaard: “We are adding a new swallowtail splitboard this season called the Antihero.” Amplid’s Peter Bauer: “Two new models ¬– the Milligram and the Millisurf – with ‘Stick Wall’ along the board centre, which prevents the unnerving creaking sound when descending, and provides additional stability between the two board halves.” Rossignol‘s Arnaud Repa: “New Escaper Split directional twin series featuring FSC woodcores, twin tips for switch landing, a balanced flex that is slightly stiffer under the front foot for added control and softer under the rear foot for smoother turns, RadCut for playful turn variations and seamless edge-to-edge transitions, a 4.4k sintered base and our most versatile AmpTek All-Mountain 50% rocker-50% camber
“There were so many shops, which had never worked with us, calling us to order splitboards. At least now they know we make them.” David Lambert, West Snowboarding
profile.” Salomon‘s Baptiste Chaussignand: “We are introducing new shapes with a focus on the pleasure of riding while maximizing touring efficiency.” GNU’s Barrett Cummins: “The Banked Country and Barrett splits have the same advanced tech features as their solid counterparts. Progressive Magne-Traction edges are a proprietary Gnu technology currently only used in these boards.” Following a season of extraordinary uphill effort, many brands are focusing on weight. Stranda‘s Mats Drougge: “We’re launching a Descender Fjäderlättm split (2890gram @ 161cm) with a full carbon construction. To counteract the nervousness often associated with carbon splitboards we added double aluminium stringers in the core.” Head‘s Katharina Acham: “We are using our LYT Board Architecture in the VOY splitboard including a new lightweight wood core design with poplar wood. This weight reduction results in boards that are light, yet long-lasting and full of power.” Telos’ Ben Schwitz & Kolja Grischa Keetman: “We are still in final testing of some new sustainable materials for our award-winning carbon construction splitboards that could make them not only lighter but actually more durable than our current construction.” 53
