MSP has outdone themselves yet again with the latest add to their repertoire, “Push”.  I don’t know about you, but I have a love-hate relationship with this time of year.  Some of the sickest video premiers roll into town from some of the most amazing production companies.  It’s this time of year when every morning when you’re out the door you’re debating whether you should bust out your new jacket already or if its too early, all the while thinking to yourself, “Nah, it’ll get warm later this afternoon”… but you bring it anyway.  It’s this time of year when temperatures drop and the first snowfall across the country teases us intermittently… then the next week it feels like the summer again.  This time of year, all your friends and industry folk alike amass in one place to share the one undying passion for the VP.  That’s the love. 

On Friday, September 29, 2006, Seattle, Washington was lucky enough to experience an evening of emotional highs from what can easily be dubbed as one of the season’s most epic films.  I hadn’t even seen the trailer, and all I was going off of was friends saying, “Oh dude, I know some guy in a different time zone who just got out and said it was siiiiick”.  Yeah, thanks.  Anyhow, Fremont Studios was gracious enough to open its doors and roll out the red carpet for an evening of what I was soon to find out to be a night of awesomeness.  Pre-show, the mood was super chill, people slowly started to trickle in as the doors opened.  I actually looked away for a bit, then turned the corner and all of a sudden, mobs!  Lines ceased to mean anything and everyone was so stoked to get inside.  How can you blame them? Ingrid Backstrom herself was present and accounted for signing autographs and kickin’ it with co-star Sammy Carlson.  Eric Pollard?  Don’t think that I wasn’t keeping my eyes open for the Line Team Shredder, but he was no where to be seen that night except for on the screen droppin’ it hot as usual.

I don’t need to sit here and tell you how rad the flick was.  Okay, it was sick.  Before you run out to buy it though, I’ll giver a go at ranting about the After Party.  Following the movie, I was swept away with the masses as we took a short trek down the street to the nerve center of evo (www.evogear.com) a Seattle based retail and online lifestyle and apparel shop.  So at this point, we’ve got a mob of stoked skiers, an open bar, Vancouver Hip Hop legends Sweatshop Union, and well, you guessed it, from there the night transitions to non-stop ski talk, break battles, pulling out all the stops , and 6 empty kegs… and that was only night 2 of a 3 night movie weekend for evo!  Let the pictures do the talking! 
Photos
http://homepage.mac.com/wenarto/patch/

New to the Armada Skis website for the 06/07 season is a section showcasing the actual artists that have contributed content for this year’s product offering. This is really good to see, especially because this year’s Armada graphics are better than ever, and most of the competition is still producing the same mediocre images as past years. Admittedly K2 is doing a great job with graphics as well, but I was unable to find on their site a prominent call out to the actual artist.

Featured Artists on the site include:
Mark Paul Deren
Matty Thompson
Sabastian Larose
Mike Parillo

Each artist has there own portfolio with images, and a brief bio. In addition to the major contributor’s the artist page has a public gallery where all a free to post their own work, just as long as it’s in JPEG format and less than 250K.
Check which pieces ended up on the 07 Armada Skis…

Seth Morrison on the Seth, on the AK Enemy
Shane McConkey on the Pontoon
Pep Fujas on the Fujative
Michelle Parker on the Nancy, on the Missdemeanor

Check out these same athletes at K2

Don’t hesitate on this one. I’m very serious about this. If you want a ski to truly change your life and the sport as you curently know it, you have to ride the Pontoon this coming year. Don’t let the shape and size scare you. Think about it. In hindsight, would you have skiied on a wider model earlier? Would you go back 10 years and not use a fat ski? Of course not. The Pontoon is the future. Shape as we know it isn’t changing, it has changed and for all mountain skis, things will never be the same. I received my Pontoons middle of last year. I skiied it every day in almost every condition. This ski allows you to carve with a bit of sidecut under the foot (not reverse like the Spatula) but it floats and is the smoothest turning ski that I’ve ever been on. You can smeer and butter a turn or carve one. You can ski it straight, sideways or switch. You don’t have to be a big mountain legend like McConkey to handle it either. When I first saw the 189, at only 150lbs I was leery and thought I’d wait until the 179’s landed. The first run on the skis I couldn’t believe how user friendly they were. McConkey took a revolutionary concept with the Spatula and worked out the kinks. This thing is incredible and we all owe it to him and the crew at K2 for changing the sport…again. If I could say there was one tough thing about the ski, it would be that it’s hard to completely stomp airs above 40 feet. The platform is pretty big and you don’t get the give that you’d get with a 100-110mm waisted ski like the AK Maiden or Chief. If you want a ski to make you better and the sport a lot more fun, get these, now. Don’t wait for your buddy to blow you away when he/she gets a pair first. […]

See All of K2’s 07 Lineup

Vans Slip on, Vans.com,            Billabong Checkmate Tee, evogear.com

Tiffany Alana Scarf, testimoboutique.com,
Billabong de la rosa Tee, buckle.com or evogear.com (late fall),
Thomas Wylde Purse, brownsfashion.com
 

Paul Frank Bikini, paulfrank.com or Nordstrom stores

Citizens of Humanity Skull and Bunny Jeans, revolveclothing.com

shop for Billabong Men’s Clothing

shop for Billabong Women’s Clothing

Tapered Tail – the Pontoon’s dimensions are 160/130/120. Powder skis have become wider every season, but with a tip width of 160 the pontoon is the biggest. The Pontoon also has a narrower tail than waist. This allows the tail to sink in deep snow enabling the rider to maintain better body position and stay balanced regardless.

Powder Rocker Design – Deep snow is completely different than hardpack. Why should your powder ski have the same flex pattern, camber and construction as carving ski? With a rocker design the Pontoon has much more in common with surf boards and wakeboards than skis and snowboards. In order for a ski to work in powder it has to be bent into reverse camber (the tip and the tail are both bent up). The Pontoon is already in reverse camber, making it amazingly easy to ski despite its overwhelming size.

K2 is setting all the trends in freeride skiing. It is likely we’ll see similar constructions from two or three other manufactures in the coming seasons.

Bern was new to the snow helmet scene last winter. Despite not being widely available I saw the Bern signature model “The Baker” almost every time I went to the mountain. The Baker is especially unique among other snow helmets because of its integrated visor. I’m not sure how functional the visor is, but it looks pretty dam cool.

The key differentiator between Bern and the other major helmet brands, this being Red and Giro, is that Bern helmets are built to be four season. This means the skate version of the Baker is identical to the snow version, just minus a beanie or optional liner. The one exception to this is there water series. Bern water series helmets come with a different water liner.

This coming winter Bern helmets will be widely available both in retail store and online. Check out http://www.bernunlimited.com/ for more specifics on models, online dealer locator and updates on there team.
Shop for Bern Products

Both the Parks board and the Wakesetter I am very familiar with and knew the high level of performance they provide. However, I didn’t know what to expect from these new “Hinge-Tech” boots from CWB. While I knew CWB’s reputation for quality was very high, and I had faith that they wouldn’t put out a product until it was ready to go, I also had the struggles of the snowboard binding company Flow during their first few seasons with similar technology in the back of my mind. With the weekend behind me I would say it definitely appears that CWB has side-stepped all of the problems that affected those early Flow bindings and the end result is a solid, high-end binding.

There are the obvious advantages that come along with this new technology: the ease of use, no more need for binding slime or soap (though you’re never sorry if you have some handy). Also, the Zeus can accommodate a wider range of foot shapes and sizes while still maintaining enough support to remain in the high performance category.

The best parts of the boots are the intangibles that you can’t rate until you have used the boot yourself. The biggest one for me is heel hold down. My feet measure in the middle of the sizing range for the large Zeus and my heel was completely locked down while riding. I didn’t have a single instance of slippage during three days of hard riding. Another area that the Zeus excels in is the surprising comfort. In the past I’ve forced myself to ride with some really uncomfortable boots to get the performance I’ve wanted. It was a great bonus to find that these boots on the front line of the cushy new footbeds now found in the competition level bindings from the major manufacturers. Cutting down on “waffle foot” and heel bruises from hard landings is a great perk.

While maybe not quite as stiff as the 3DS from Hyperlite the Zeus definitely belongs with the big dogs in wakeboarding. With its ease of use, and versatility in the range of foot sizes it can accommodate, the Zeus is one of the top choices on the market for a high end boot this year. This boot comes highly recommended by the Evo Staff.

Ryan Madison
Evo Grunt

Smith sunglasses are divided into three categories the first being Interchangeable, (used to be slider). These glasses have interchangeable lenses are often more sport oriented especially cycling. Interchangeable series glasses use nylon injected frames. These frames are super lightweight, maintain their shape well and have good memory. This series uses are poly-carbonate lenses. Polychromic lenses are lightweight and shatter resistant. Basic interchangeable series glasses come with; dark, rose, and clear mirror lenses, totaling 3. Polarized edition comes with; polarized dark, rose, clear mirror, and yellow, totaling 4 lenses.
 
Street series glasses are much more fashion oriented, many of the new models are oversized, and available in either wire or shield styles. Styles change fast and stay current in this category. Street series glasses come with either nylon or handmade frames. Handmade frames are slightly heavier and are distinguishable by wire core in the arm. They do not have as much memory as nylon, but can be slightly modified to fit better (heated and bent). Polycarbonate and CR39 (gradient) lenses are both used in this category. Both are lightweight and shatter resistant. Polycarbonate has historically been the standard. The CR39 was introduced solely to allow for a gradient in the lens, (the top is darker than the bottom allowing for better performance in differing amounts of light to enter).
 
 
Polarized (used to be lifestyle) series glasses use basic and classic styles. Just like street series glasses polarized series glasses are available with either nylon or handmade constructions. Both polycarbonate and glass lenses are used in this series. Glass provides the most optical correctness of any lens material, however they are more shatter prone and slightly heavier so they are not recommended for sport usage. Polycarbonate lens are much more versatile but have a higher tendency to scratch than glass.

Technology:

100% UV Protection from all lenses (including clear interchangeable lenses).
 
Tapered lens creates less optical distortion (glass tapers depending on distance from the eye)
 
Polarization is in a film inside the lens. It will never scratch or wear off. All polarization is not equal with smith it is Inherent to lens. Polarization is like Venetian blinds; blocks glare, keeps eyes from becoming fatigued. CON: blocks glare off ice- can be bad for snowsports/driving.

Photochromic lenses are UV light sensitive and darken dependant on amount of light, (they will not darken with your lights inside your house.

RX. Smith can create prescription lenses to fit their frames. More information is available at the smith website. (http://www.smithsport.com/technology/sunglasstechnology_rxtech.html) The consumer should print out the needed forms and correspond with Smith directly. Smith cannot bill through insurance, $225 is the base price.