Dan

Haha, I dropped that name for a reason I love mine, though I admit I haven't ridden it since I got into modern shapes and construction. I always have good intentions of taking it out for a spin though -- interested to see how much I'll notice the difference.

There's a balance - if everyone bought new gear just to get this season's graphics, manufacturers would have no incentive to make meaningful improvements. Knowing that they need to come out with something that is a genuine step forward, or people will keep riding their 1998 Oxygen Protons, is probably a positive influence that keeps manufacturers focused on improvement.

I did a winter trip to Europe about 5 years ago that combined some visits to my wife's family with 5 days of snowboarding. I definitely didn't want to carry a board, and I couldn't arrange a demo even though there was an alpine board maker pretty close to where I was going to be riding in the Dolomites. In the end, I solved the problem by buying a board on German eBay and having it shipped to my hotel in Frankfurt where I stayed my first night in Europe. It was an Oxygen Proton with some cheapie F2 binding clones, and I paid something like 150 euros shipped. It was so cheap that I felt pretty good about selling it to the staff in a base area ski shop for like 25 euros when I left town. I did bring my own boots and bindings...I thought it was worth it for those pieces, but YMMV. So that's one possibility if you can't get the demo that you're looking for. Seems like there's lots of old alpine gear floating around in Europe, and popularity has declined to where there isn't that much demand for it.

That's great! I'll hope to see you this winter - it has been a looooong time! Hope you can make it to Libby for the Montucky Clearcut too.

Yes! Another vote for Boots and more - if I recall correctly, that's where Tinkler boards got their initial tune post-manufacturing. I went in for some bootfitting help last winter and he charged me basically nothing for a 30 minute chat and some foam pads that he customized on the spot. Also, I just noticed he has Jasey Jay listed as one of his clients (!)

Wait, where did you buy a season pass? I need to pull the trigger on something tomorrow, I guess, and haven't figured out what I want yet. Might go 10-pack at Meadows...

Here's the deal, the board is definitely cracked longitudinally due to, um, operator error but still seems to ride OK. I've ridden it many times since I cracked it, and I think edge hold when carving may be compromised but it still seems fine in pow. Having said that, I think it's best suited for a wall hanger or snowboard bench, I'm making no claim that it's usable for riding. I finally got a replacement, so the cracked board is up for grabs for the cost of shipping from 97214. Free to someone who can pick it up, and preference given to anyone who can pick it up so I don't have to pack it.

It can't be good form, if it was, I'd be able to do it, right?

I have shipped boards ahead before on Whitefish trips, and once in Europe where I had a German eBay seller ship to my hotel. Definitely worth looking into whether you can ship it to your hotel and have them hold it. A Sporttube would give you the greatest peace of mind, but I've had no issues with just burrito wrapping my boards in cardboard, possibly with an extra layer of cardboard on the tip and tail. The post office sums the height+width+length and has a limit on the total - I don't recall ever running into it though, I definitely shipped a 185 cm Undertaker through the post office with no issues. Just remember to bring some duct tape so you can pack up your board again at the end of the trip. Also, it's been a while since I shipped / received a lot of boards, but the last time I priced everything out, the post office had the best prices.

FA Designs would be great, especially if you can get closeouts. You might also want to check out Montbell - they're a Japanese brand that seems to be targeted at the Japanese build (i.e., skinny). I'm 5' 11" and around #155, and I've been happy with my rain jacket from them - it's a Japanese L. At 6' 2" you would probably be an XL in their Japanese sizes. If you order from their Japanese site, it's a little cheaper and ships for free for anything over about $185. https://en.montbell.jp/products/goods/list.php?category=142000 Or you can use their US site which would make any potential returns a lot easier: www.montbell.us Either way, some of their products come in both Japanese and US sizing - make sure which one you're getting.

That's awesome, a big day of riding! There was a lot more walking on the Zoobomb route than I had hoped for, that's for sure.

I have an old Burton softy board that a roommate left behind something like 15 years ago. It's my go-to board for stuff like this, or times we get enough snow in Portland to ride on the street (I totally made the Zoobomb descent on a snowboard one year). Having said that, I think I'd rather wait for more snow : )

Nice! I didn't know that was in the works. That means faster laps on lower K, right?

I'm interested in the other pair that rjnakata isn't taking. What cant disks do you have? I'd be looking for 3 and 3.

Awww, c'mon, take it all off! Thanks to everyone for posting their new gear and kicking off the stoke for the new season!

Nice! I would love to ride out there, but I can't commit quite yet. Let's see how things are looking in January.

Not yet...but I can't deny the thought has crossed my mind

The looping, I get, though the approach to this one seems tricky. It's the prospect of what you could do off the top of it, and those tempting/scary rails that piqued my interest. Speaking of skate tricks on a loop, did you guys see this?

Great - happy birthday to Becki! I'll shoot you the code via pm.

Anyone need some Columbia, Mt. Hardwear, Prana or Sorel stuff? I have a few passes to the employee store that expire on August 7. The passes also have discount codes for the websites: columbia.com, mountainhardwear.com, prana.com and Sorel.com that give about a 45% discount from MSRP. I think the discount codes also need to be used by August 7. I have 3 to get rid of, will give them (or send the codes if you just want to hit the websites) to the first three posters.

My last two jackets have both been Orage Alaskan jackets - I bought a new one after my old one gave up the ghost. There have been both insulated and shell versions in the past, I've used the insulated one. Very warm (my current one uses Primaloft Gold, which I've found is noticeably warmer than vanilla Primaloft even with less volume of insulation), fully-featured, and I got my last one at Evo.com in late spring / early summer for something like $100 (MSRP is $400).

Awesome! Your video is cool too

Someone posted this on Reddit - I'm not usually into hip hop, but I really like this sound and the fusion with Native American music. Cool video too. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAEmjW9J3_o

A wrist would be getting off easy! My wife said "they couldn't build this in Portland because we have too many lawyers there".

I was on vacation on the southern Oregon coast last week, and while eating pie in Reedsport saw a skate park across the street. I wandered over to take a look and found this tiny coastal town has what may be the gnarliest feature I've seen in a skate park. I guess those rails are to keep you from going over the edge, not for grinding on...right? Sadly, the only person riding when I was there was on a Razor scooter and didn't hit this feature.