Helmets Reduce the Risk of Head Injuries by 35%

Some suggest that helmets may increase the risk of neck injury in a crash or fall, particularly in children because of their greater head to body ratio.

Skiing and snowboarding are popular winter activities. Did you know that head injuries account for up to 19% and neck injuries up to 4% of all injuries reported by snow patrols and emergency departments? Traumatic brain injury is the leading cause of death and serious injury among skiers and snowboarders. I know a lot of riders don’t like helmets because they’re uncomfortable or they don’t look cool, but trust me, hospital beds are pretty uncomfortable and very uncool!

An analysis of 12 studies conducted in Europe, Asia, and North America, found that helmet use in recreational activities is beneficial. However, the authors were unable to determine the effect of the design, quality, or fit of the helmets.

“The use of helmets significantly protects against head injuries among skiers and snowboarders,” write Brent Hagel, Alberta Children’s Hospital, and coauthors. “Risks of head injury can be reduced by 35%…and between 2 and 5 of every 10 head injuries among helmet users could be prevented.”

I don’t need a study to tell me something so logical, but for those in denial or are on the fence about buying a helmet, I hope this is a good wake up call. Here’s a link to the scientific study on helmets and head injuries.

Automaton 2011 Sneak Preview

Automaton has gone through some major hardware revamping in an effort to make their 2010-2011 line up of award winning sticks even better. Now, not all revamping leads to better things but their goal is to create the world’s finest and most fun freestyle snowboards. Only time will tell but in the meantime, it’s been revealed that two new models for 2011 from Automaton, the Babble and the Manimal, have been added. With graphics and art by Alex Funderburk and Eve Duhamel, I’d keep my eyes peeled for these.

Ski and Snowboarding Goggles: Buying Guide

Ask and ye shall receive. Or something along those lines. I’ve gotten quite a few emails asking about ski and snowboarding goggles (say goggles 50 times…), what to get, what to look for, etc… So I put together this handy buying guide to help you find a good pair of snow goggles.

Generally speaking, your choice of goggles is pretty straight forward. Regardless of your riding style, how low hanging your snow pants are, or how funky your head gear is, goggles are goggles. Things to watch out for in snow goggles are:

• Fit
• Frame Features
• Lens Features
• Lens Colors Explained
• Tips
• Recommended Brands

Fit

• Just like snowboarding boots, fit is very important. In fact, so important, brands have created ‘racial’ fit types for e.g. the ‘Asian Fit’.
• Make sure there are no uncomfortable pressure points from the goggle outline pressing against your face. Generally speaking, good quality goggles use better designed foam lining that eliminate these pressure points.
• Make sure there are no gaps between your skin and the goggle foam outline. Good goggles have air vents designed into them for a reason.
• If you wear a helmet, make sure you try on the ski/snowboarding goggles with your helmet on. I didn’t do this with my first goggle purchase and ended up with goggles too big to fit with my helmet on – money down the drain.
• Same goes for riders and skiers who need to wear prescription glasses under the goggles. Though, I highly recommend contact lenses or prescription snow goggles. It’s just so much more comfortable that way.

Frame Features

• Good goggles have well designed foam outline made from good quality foam (Yes, there’s good foam and there’s bad foam!) The test: 1. Press on the foam outline with your thumb, hold for 5-7 seconds, and release. If the foam reverts back to its original shape in 2-3 seconds, then that’s good foam. If your thumb’s outline doesn’t disappear quick enough, then that’s bad quality foam.
• Make sure your goggles have well designed and enough vents. These are foam covered air portals, to let air flow through the skiing goggle to keep them fog-free. Generally speaking, the more expensive a goggle is, the better their ventilation system is.

Lens Features

• Double lenses prevent fogging and create a thermal barrier to keep you warm.
• Cylindrical double lenses provide good optics for a reasonable price.
• Spherical double lenses provide superior optics and fog-free vision.
• Polycarbonate lens material is generally the most durable.
• Look for an anti-scratch/anti-fog coating on the lenses.
• Make sure the lenses provide 100% UV and blue light protection.

Note: Look at the packaging to tell which of the above the goggles have.

Lens Colors Explained

• Clear lenses are best for extremely stormy conditions or for riding at night.
• Lemon/yellow lenses are best for stormy conditions and overcast days since they increase contrast and brighten up the landscape.
• Vermillon/pink lenses increase contrast in most conditions. This lens with a silver mirror is ideal for most riding conditions.
• Citrus/orange lenses also increase contrast and are great for bright days. Choose an option with a mirror to get a darker lens for the brightest conditions.
• Purple lenses are good in low-light conditions such as overcast and snowy days, because they bring out shadows and contours in flat light.
• Modulator or photochromic lenses change from a light pink/orange to a dark pink/orange depending upon the light conditions. They are a very light, high-contrast color for stormy weather and dark enough for the brightest days.
• Polarized lenses can cut the glare that reflects from snow or ice.

Tips

• The better quality goggles are more expensive and a good pair will run you anywhere between $100-150. But it’s a good investment. You’ll just regret getting cheaper goggles, as you’ll just pay more in the long run having to replace them more frequently.
• If you do a lot of park riding, considering investing in a cheaper goggles so you don’t worry too much about them getting knocked around.
• Always store your goggles in their protective pouch.
• Clean the outside of your goggle lenses with fresh water and a soft cloth
• Never wipe the inside of your goggle lenses; it can damage the anti-fog coating. If you get snow/ice on the inside, shake them out, put them back on and keep riding. As you ride, the lenses will air-dry.
• To keep your goggles from fogging, keep them on your face. Removing them while waiting in line for example can cause them to fog up, but don’t worry about that too much if the line is too long.
• If you’re goggles do fog up, just keep them on, and ride. The ventilation system will clear them up in seconds.
• Goggles with replacement lenses provide the benefit of being able to replace damaged lenses without having to pay for a whole new goggle.

5 Recommended Snow Goggle Brands

• Spy Optic – www.spyoptic.com
• Anon (currently using) - www.anonoptics.com
• Oakley (currently using) – www.oakley.com
• Smith Optics – www.smithoptics.com
• Bolle – www.bolle.com

Ride DH2 In-Depth Review

We’ve been getting a lot of requests for more details on the DH2 by Ride. There’s been a lot of buzz about this board among snowboarders for 2010. My friends that bought the board at the beginning of the season have fallen deeply in love with it and were hesitant to give it up for me to review it. After much negotiation, I managed to get my hands on one and really put it to the test on the slopes.

Setup: Ride DH2 155, ’08 Burton Cartel bindings, ’10 Burton Ion boots.

Location/Conditions: Mont Tremblant, Quebec, Canada. Machine groomed powder, kind of cold, North face of the mountain was a bit more on the powdery side.

Technology (worth mentioning)

• Low-Rise Rocker – The area at the center of the board running between the bindings is dead flat but the board pivots up slightly in shape just outside each of the bindings towards each tip.
• Carbon Pop Rods – Fiber-like structures in each of the tips give an added stiffness to the ends to enhance the pop of the board without adding stiffness to the core.
• Carbon Rays – A technology being adopted by a lot of manufacturers that features rods running from your bindings to the edges for quicker power transfer.
• Slimewalls – Ride’s coveted sidewall technology that features it’s own dampening system and is ultra durable for sliding on snow, metal, or wood.
• Membrain Topsheet – Ultra light topsheet to reduce board weight.

First Impression – As the bottom graphic so casually puts it… HELLSYEAH. This is one super fun board that translates really well over the mountain but finds its roots in the park. Past all the marketing and tech, pressing rails and landing jumps just felt a lot better on this board.

Flex – The board had a relaxed, fun feel to it. It’s definitely stiffer between the bindings than in the tips to give it the best of both worlds in terms of freeride/freestyle riding. Overall, a nice ride.

Feel/Turning – Although the way this board is built in a very complicated way, it all comes together for a very natural, balanced feel. My first couple of runs felt great going relatively fast and transitioning slowly on longer S-shaped turns. Transitioning into turns was easier than I expected and held onto a carve very smoothly as opposed to being aggressive. At even higher speeds the board felt stable and damp thanks to the stiffer core but would chatter if I pushed it past this point. The board felt relatively light under my feet and the base was waxy and fast.

Powder Riding – Took the board to the North face of the mountain that had significantly more powder and really enjoyed the way it floated. In deeper pow situations, I did need to ride the back seat a little to prevent it from sinking but it never really happened. In choppy areas the board did get a little bumpy but nothing to worry about too much. Pulling switches and buttering around in the pow was effortless compared to my Vapor and was definitely a lot easier to swing around.

Park Riding – This board is well equipped for the freestyle park rider. Despite being a reverse camber, it had really nice pop to it that made the entrance and exits to boxes and rails very nice. You can jib your brains out with this thing. The stiffer core wasn’t so nice for balancing the center of the board on rails but it was still very doable. The rocker made landings very smooth. This is definitely something I noticed in comparison to my regular board, a Burton Vapor. The Vapor is always shaky for the first split second or two after a big landing and I need to smooth it out. The DH2 however just felt a lot more comfortable getting back to the snow from the air. The one place I didn’t particularly enjoy this board was in the pipe. I wasn’t expecting it to perform because of the rocker tech on it. It felt a little fussy and couldn’t hold on to the walls of the pipe properly.

Stopping/Switching – I loved the way this board dug into the snow. It was effortless and did it in such a way that you would expect out of a freeride board without the aggressive grip on the ice. The board also has a twin shape to it, which made riding switch a lot more comfortable and controlled. The transition to switch was a lot easier because of the rocker. You could spend the day buttering up the slopes with this thing.

Pros

• Decent price for all the tech involved ($500).
• Park board that you can charge the mountain with.
• Natural, smooth switching.
• Durable edges will last you longer than most boards.

Cons

• Flex profile might not be suitable for everyone.
• Tailored mostly for park riders.
• Underperformer in the half pipe.

Overall Impression – Ride listened to snowboarders and tweaked the DH into this really cool all-mountain machine. If you live nearby a smaller resort and spend most of your time in the park, you’re going to love this thing. Outside the park, it will still keep up with your needs but won’t handle as well as a freeride board on very high speeds. Switching, buttering around, and just plain old fooling around just feels a lot cooler on this board. The jibbing experience on this thing is insane and to be honest, that might justify adding this stick to your arsenal. Definitely on my short list for 2010.

Top 5 Snowboarding Boots for 2010

With snowboarding season in full gear, I wanted to the time and spit out a list of the top 10 snowboarding boots for the season for both men and women. This is based on my research, reading endless numbers of (boring) reviews, comments, talking to people and my own personal experience with snowboarding boots. The list isn’t in any particular order (who can really say that one Boot is numerically better than another boot?) but you’ll notice that my personal favorite is numero uno!

1. Men’s Burton Ion - If you’re a regular reader of this blog you’ll know that the Burton Ion boots are my personal favorite. In my full Burton Ion review I only had good things to say about them. Given their balanced comfort level and stiffness, they are the ultimate snowboarding boots for the aggressive rider who likes to have fun. You’ll find yourself comfortable enough to bomb down a mountain while switching and taking jumps. Click here for full product details.

Made For: Freeriding/All-mountain

Pro’s

• Amazing build quality, thus they last quite a bit – I’ve packed over 200 riding days in them and they are just like new
• Very comfortable
• Super responsive
  
• Easy to put on and take off

Con’s

• Expensive ($400)
• Minor heel lift

2. Men’s Burton Hail Coalition - Freestyle choice for the past number of years, this boot has all the essentials for park domination, including a softer yet supportive flex and an articulating cuff to keep it consistent. It also features traditional lacing for the perfect fit, plush cushioning throughout the sole to hinder the big impacts, and just an overall comfortable design. We recommend the Hail to any serious rider that is looking for a time-tested, softer boot to abuse in the park or around the mountain. Click here for full product details.

Made for: Freestyling/Park fun

Pro’s

• Well priced ($249)
• Easy to put on and take off
• Minimal heel lift

Con’s

• A bit too flexible for non-park riding
• Uses traditional lacing system (personally, I prefer the Speed Zone lacing system)

3. Women’s Roxy Track Lace – Made for the skills levels of beginner to intermediate, these Roxy boots are developed with comfort in mind. They have a padded spine panel, low rise calf pocket, triple density ankle pads, and 3 piece padded tongue. In addition, the boot has a memory foam liner to ensure even more comfort. Click here for full product details.

Made for: Freestyle/Freeride/All around snowboarding

Pro’s:

• Well priced ($149)
• Nicely designed
• Comfortable

Con’s:

• Traditional lacing system

4. Men’s ThirtyTwo Lashed - The Lashed is ThirtyTwo’s best selling boot. I dare you to find a boot with a better price that offers what the Lashed does: outstanding response, comfort, and versatility for everyone. Click here for full product details.

Made for: Freestlye/Freeride/All around snowboarding

Pro’s

• Well priced ($199)
• Light
• Very responsive

Con’s

• Not the sexiest looking boots

5. Women’s Flow Lotus Boa Coiler - These boots offer great performance and comfort for a decent price. The BOA Coiler system is very useful for those who hate tying their boots and will amplify the close snug fit that you are always looking for. Along with that, you receive the Silver liner which is heat-moldable so you can acquire a perfect custom fit, and thus reduce heel-lift and sloppiness. Click here for full product details.

Made for: Freeriding/All-mountain snowboarding

Pro’s

• Well priced ($189)
• BOA lacing system
• Comfortable

Con’s

• None

So that sums up the top 5 snowboarding boots for 2010. Of course, boot feel and response will vary from person to person, but if you’re looking for a good pair of boots and don’t know where to start, this list is your answer.