I love big companies in the snowboard world as everyone knows. They do a lot for this industry and keep companies that would probably crap out and disappear around longer. They also buy up failing big companies and breathes life back into them.
So I found it a bit interesting when I got home from work today while doing my daily catch up on snowboard news that Quiksilver Continue Reading »
Wondering when your favorite snowboard brand will have all their new gear online? Stay tuned for updates on the latest snowboard companies to make their 08/09 sites live. Right now, sites that have their 2008-2009 gear online are:
The most recently added sites are bolded
Academy (Flash Preview) www.academysnowboards.com (added wed 8/6)
Bitch Boards www.bitchboards.com (added 8/6)
Betty Rides www.bettyrides.com(added wed 8/27)
Burton www.burton.com(added 8/4)
Celsius www.celsiussnow.com DC Snow www.dcshoes.com Drake Bindings www.northwave.com Dinosaurs Will Die www.dinosaurswilldie.com (Added d 7/30) Electric www.electricvisual.com Endeavor www.endeavorsnowboards.com Forecast (catalog): www.forecastsnowboards.com (added 7/30) Illuminati www.illuminatisnowboards.com (added wed 8/6) Lib Tech www.lib-tech.com (added 8/15) Neff www.neffheadwear.com (added 7/22) Nitro www.nitrousa.com (added 8/6) Nomis Design www.nomisdesign.com www.nomisgirls.com Northwave www.northwave.com Option www.optionsnowboards.com (added 8/15) Ride www.ridesnowboards.com Rome SDS www.romesnowboards.com(added 8/19) Sessions www.sessions.com Signal www.signalsnowboards.com Stepchild (PDF Catalog available) www.stepchildsnowboards.com ThirtyTwo www.thirtytwo.com(added wed 8/27) Unity www.unitysnowboards.com (added wed 8/6) Vans www.vanssnow.com Von Zipper www.vonzipper.com If you know of a site that has 08/09 live and it’s not listed here, please email sara@shredbetties.com
(New Ladies Ride site:www.ridesnowboards.com/ladies)
So I’m walking around the bar tonight handing out cheaply made t-shirts and baseball caps for a beer that shall remain nameless (I’m a liquor promoter. I don’t just randomly cheer lead for alcohol companies.) Anyway, I come to a table, give them my spiel on why they should order said beer, and somehow we got on the topic of winter. This doesn’t surprise me, as I have a one track mind.
So the snotty skiers ask me if I ski. I reply, “Why no, good sir, I snowboard! And it’s swell!” He scoffs at me and says, “Ha. I should have KNOWN!”
Um. What the HELL is that supposed to mean? So of course I ask him. “Golly gee whiz! Whatever could you mean by that? Is it because I’m young and full of life? Do tell!”
So of course the skier plays the sitting card. “You PEOPLE are loud and you stop to sit down in the middle of OUR trails and that annoys us.”
Again, ever so nicely, I reply, “Oh you’ve got yourself a great sense of humor there, whippersnapper! Perhaps those that get in your way are learning, and you might be so kind to realize that we don’t have poles to keep us from falling down. But it’s funny that should bother you, since skiers get their onesie in a bunch when us ‘crazy hooligans’ pass you going mach 10. And it’s not exactly fun for us when one skier after another decides to stop and take in the scenery on the lip of the jump… because the view is so much better up there.”
*Skiers look dumbfounded*
I continue. “Oh, and in case you were wondering, snowboarding rejuvenated the ski industry in the tri-state area. None of your little tikes were impressed by two planks anymore. Snowboarding made winter sports ‘cool’ again, thus pumping much-needed money back into our local resorts and shops. So you can thank us loud folk for the snow you constantly push off the trail on us. Enjoy your free t-shirt, sucka!”
Today I flipped the channel to MSNBC to see if any Olympic events that were worth watching were getting air time. Well, instead they had Tiki Barber and some chick commenting on highlights of the previous day’s events. This just happens to include BMX racing (is it just me, or did anybody else not know BMX racing was in the Olympics now?). This was hands down the most amusing commentary I’ve EVER heard. They kept talking about how you were more likely to hear “Dude” and “Radical” at the BMX track, and trying to throw in “Rad speak” like that. Pretty much, they could not have made bigger fools of themselves. Just thought I’d share this tidbit.
So, for the second installment of my bitchy column, I thought I might bring up that bigger companies also have some WTF moments. Case in point: the Burton Modern Boot, which is possibly the ugliest boot on the market this season (though I can’t be sure, I think we also have a contender in the Vans Omni).
For the low low price of $199, not only do you get a boot, you get some lovely chains and jewels drawn right on your boot. With a Sharpie, I think. You no longer have to worry about adding any new items of flair to your outfit. Assuming you’re willing to tuck your pants into your boots, and go without bindings, you’ve got like 12 items of flair right on these boots. I you’re unwilling to tuck your boots into your pants, you can always hang out in the lodge with your feet up on the table. If you hike your pant leg up, people should get a nice view.
If you’ve read the interviews in the Betties section of our site, you’ve seen that most people stated that the worst trend in snowboarding has been tight pants on the hill. I hate to admit it, but I’ve almost gotten so used to seeing this that it’s not such a big deal to me anymore. Now something else has taken its place.. Unzipped Jackets. Why are so many shredders rocking the open jacket…I don’t really get it? It’s one thing to have your jacket/hoodie zipped up half-way, but another to have it flapping around in the wind and wing-like when you jump. Sometimes, at least to me, it makes tricks look sloppier. And, when you eat it there’s way more snow down your pants/sleeves/shirt than normal.
It takes relatively little time to zip the jacket up half-way, or take it off.
Do you know what the deal is? Comment.
As of late, most of us on the Shred Betties staff have gotten sick…with Olympic fever. It’s not that we’re die hard sports fanatics, or routinely follow unusual events like synchronized diving, the triple jump, table tennis, or trampoline (which actually may be the sickest sport ever). It’s not even that we’re following the games because it’s what’s expected in our culture because of all the hype. There’s just something captivating about watching your country go all out, shattering world records or making history, in the pursuit of a medal that comes once every four years. Even if it’s watching sports that normally you don’t care to watch like swimming, volleyball, gymnastics, and the list goes on.
While I’m sure you’ve seen the headlines surrounding Phelps inhuman accomplishments in the pool, you might have overlooked, or just been fed up with, the amount of media attention surrounding the age of the female Chinese gymnasts. If you’ve watched them in competition, most of them look 12-14, not 16 as their passports state. Their teeth are tiny as if they still have baby teeth, their bodies look like they haven’t hit puberty, and their faces look mighty young. These gymnasts have been allowed to compete (the governing bodies at the Olympics refuse to investigate their ages further) and took home the gold in the women’s team competition, placing the US team in 2nd. This got me thinking. What if snowboarding had age minimums?
Groms these days in snowboarding have been on the major up-and-up. Continue Reading »
Through the wonderful world of Myspace, we get all kinds of requests from companies trying to make a mark in the snowboard industry, so I thought I’d start sharing some of them with you. This week, we got a friend request from a new company called “Glowboardz.”
We’ve seen the glow-in-the dark topsheet paint on the 2008-2009 80’s inspired designs, but this company has taken it a step farther. They’ve come up with snowboarder’s answer to neon under-car lights, adding a strip of lights to your snowboard. Their myspace says that they manufacture boards, or do the glowing lights as a retrofit to your existing board. They don’t really explain how they do this, but we would be curious about how the process might harm the structure, and we find the strip of bolts alongside the lights a bit disconcerting.
Although their Myspace page says they make their own snowboards, the snowboards they picture come from Chinese manufacturer Freesport, a maker of low end price-point boards, with the amusing motto: “for the skaters and the snowboarders, we are not only making funs, but also health and happiness.”
Here’s a photo from their myspace:
I thought I’d just let you all know about the Evogear Outlet’s sale right now. The women’s clothing department has some nice stuff for sale. Some that’s even marked at 80% off, some that’s priced at $6 dollars! Hoodies for $20, nice jackets for $20. Go check it out! Evogear Outlet Sale
Yes, I know it’s not tuesday, but it’s summer and you don’t see many people wearing hoodies so hoodie tuesday has taken a hiatus. However, good ‘ol Wednesday (or hump day as it’s sometimes called) is a little lonely. So we’re giving it some love (get it? Hump day, love? I crack myself up sometimes).
As a little pick-me-up treat for the summer we bring to you a cool hoodie to buy before it’s sold out. Burton recently sent out their catalog, and, if you remember last year’s airplane decorated hoodie for men, they have put out the sleeper hoodie for women this year. It’s called the sleeper hoodie because it has everything included so you can take a nap in a plane.. or at work, or school, or in the car (though not while driving).. or whatever. You can find this hoodie available in their flagship store and online.
Seriously, read more.
Continue Reading »
