Bomber Needs Your Help - Update 6/29/06

[GeoffV]

I agree with your comments Jack. I couldn't imagine who on this forum wouldn't order a kit I don't know what our little alpine community would do with out the Bomber crew. I really hope the whole community can help Fin out and we can get past this ordeal. :(

[ARCrider]

sign me up for one but don't ship it. I'll pick it up in person. looking forward to seeing everyone again on our December road trip.

see you then

Rob (and Monique is coming too)

[ncermak]

Sign me up for one, and you can include a 1 hr. lesson with me at bousquet for folks who might be in the area as added bonus (for some of you this will turn into a 1 hour ride with me, and give me some pointers, but we'll have fun anyway...)

and for anyone who is reading this...

Fin runs a top shelf business, incredible customer service and trust in their clients, and products...I have used his products for years, and am looking foward to riding his product more this season, and continuing to work with Bomber for all of my alpine snowboarding needs.

Noah Cermak

Head Snowboard Coach, Bousquet Freeride Team

Assistant Director, Bousquet Snowboard School

AASI level 1 Instructor (should get level 2 this year)

USASA Level 2 Coach

USSA Club level Coach

[Ray]

Just placed my order...

100% behind you Fin! I wish you only the best!

Thank you for supporting the sport we all love so much with all your heart!

Hope to see you soon

Ray

[Art]

Im in. Thanks to Fin and Michelle for all of their hard work and support over the years. I have been riding alpine for 12 years but untill I found this "forum" I was pretty much in the dark and unable to aquire equipement or knowledge on the sport. Always had top notch service from Bomber and other riders, even in the classifieds. Thanks to all who support our sport. Art

[Mike T]

Hearing about this whole situation breaks my heart. Fin and Michelle are two of the most helpful people on the planet. Without Bomber's products and services, I would not enjoy snowboarding anywhere near as much as I do. Bomber is part of a small group of small companies whose commitment to supportig and enhancing alpine snowboarding is second to none. Losing any one of the companies would be a fatal blow to our sport. It would be a shame if our legal system causes undue harm to such an upstanding leader in the alpine snowboarding community. I am behind Bomber 100%. Kit ordered!

[willywhit]

628 views in less than 24 hours,that's gotta be a new record !Count me in. Fin's great karma and dedication to the sport will surely survive any potential BS lawsuits.Gotta quote Sean here: "The plaintiff's accident is a terrible tragedy. Hopefully he will recover fully and be back on snow some day. When we engage in dangerous activities such as sliding on snow at excessive speeds, we do so with full knowledge that we are risking life and limb. I hope we all remember this fact and approach the maintenance and assembly of our equipment accordingly.

"~Hang in there Fin

[tex1230]

For years and years I thought I was one of the last of a dying breed...I'd walk into a snowboard shop and ask about hardboots, carving boards, and plate bindings and get the weirdest looks from the kids working there...I was stuck in my hot pink Koflachs/rainbow colored Raichles and (now) ancient fritschi bindings and rode the hills my way... every once in a while I'd see someone on a carving board and feel a breath of life...but these sightings were few & far between. Then, late last year, I found a shop in Vermont that actually stocked carving boards and the guys working there directed me here. I felt like I had found a new group of good friends who understood what I was feeling. The advice and information on the forums has been priceless, and I no longer feel like an outsider on the mountain.

Many thanks to Fin and all of the members here - every time I come here I feel refreshed (helps fight off the summer boredom too).

As I have stated in the past, we all need to take responsibility for our own actions. I feel for those who get injured...as I have been in the past...but we must all remember that nobody is forcing us onto the slopes...nobody forces us to go a particular speed...and if we crash due to loss of control or equipment failure, we must accept that as part of the experience.

I sincerely hope that this lawsuit goes away and everything goes back to normal.

Best of Luck & you'll have my order shortly.

-Matt Roth

[D-Sub]

bomber rocks. Fin and michelle are some of the most incredibly helpful, patient, giving people I have ever had the pleasure of dealing with.

laws need changing. period.

off to buy my butta

[Dave Winters]

Two lawyers are carrying their skis in Aspen and pass by the Bomber demo tent.

They both see lovely Michelle, and one says, "Wow did you see her? I'd love to %$#@ her!!!"

The other one says, "Out of what?"

Sorry, guys, couldn't resist. Count me in and keep up the good work.

[kamran]

Just saw this thread and placed my order. Never understood the whole lawsuit culture in this part of the world. Best of luck to you guys!

[NateW]

The only sane judgement against Bomber in this case would be to require a refund. It totally sucks that Joel got hurt so bad, but there's no reason Bomber should be held liable for his injuries. Bomber's only mistake was providing Joel with exactly what he asked for - a product made by someone else. (They've graciously delivered a couple sets to me as well, and I don't fault them for it one bit.) That product failed, Bomber owes Joel his money back, and Joel can have my blessing should he choose to press on with his suit against the manufacturer.

I started snowboarding in 1988 or 1989, and started breaking bindings almost immediately. Softboot bindings, hardboot bindings, different brands, different failure modes... I tried a bunch and couldn't find anything that held up to the way I ride (and yes I ruined a few boards, too). Then one day I stumbled on the Bomber web site and found bindings that looked much stronger than anything else I had ever tried before - strong than anything else I had ever seen.

They cost twice as much as everything else on the market, but I figured that if they didn't break, they were worth it, not just because they last longer but because - as Joel's case so gruesomely demonstrated - a snowboarder with one leg detached from the board is at great risk of serious injury. I was VERY HAPPY to find that Bomber bindings are indeed far stronger than anything else. In fact, they're so strong, I have yet to break one. My first pair is still in great shape (and so is my second pair, and my third pair). That's a huge step forward from the days when I kep a second pair of my favorite bindings (the strongest I could find, at the time) in the trunk of my car just so I could swap parts as needed.

Now I own three pairs of Bomber Trench Diggers, and I wish I had switched to them sooner. I'm also using Intec heels, and have never had them let go (not counting operator error (read: my own damn fault)). Even in flight of Joel's incident, I still consider Trench Digger + Intec to be the most reliable combination available. (When something better comes on the market, I'll buy three pair.)

Bomber's bindings set a new standard for strength and reliability. Nobody else in America makes a binding I trust as much. Heck, nobody else in America makes a binding I trust enough to use at all. And now they're in court because, in addition to making and selling the most reliable bindings available, they also retailed a part - made by someone else - that failed. I'd call that ironic, if it wasn't so tragic.

If the hardboot snowboarding community is really fortunate, Fin & Co. will exit this lawsuit with little or no penalty, and start making an Intec-compatible heel of the quality and reliability we've all come to expect from Bomber products. I'll buy a pair for every boot I ride. On the other hand, if America's "justice" system puts Bomber out of business, we'll lose the team responsible for more improvement in snowboard binding design and manufacture than any other company in the world, bar none.

I didn't realize until now that the F2 heels could fail like this - I don't think any of us did. So now I'm waiting for Bomber to do for heels what they've already done for bindings: give me something I cannot break. In the meantime, I'll be riding TD SIs and Intec heels, same as last year... with home-brew ultra-heavy-duty leashes on each foot. There's no point replacing the Intec heels I already have, because there's nothing else on the market that is more deserving of my trust.

P.S. With regard to "First thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers..." I came across a stack of those t-shirts last week. In light of recent events, how could I not buy one?

[Jim]

What a nightmare, so sad. Count me in.

[ar(angel]

"Defaults" latest hit has been burning up my CD player for about the past month, I swear I'm going deaf from cranking it up so loud! This song gets me stoked for the up-coming season and reminds me of the fact that we all need someone to lean on from time to time. When I hear this song my minds eye plays out the scene I'm anticipating of me and my 3 kids making our first runs of the season down our local hill and the stupid ear to ear grin on my face as another season starts full of good times, great runs, and precious memories that will last a lifetime. None of this would be possible if it wasn't for Bomber and the people who make it happen. This forum and company have allowed me to participate in something that has given me more joy and happiness than just about anything else I've ever done in my life. My meager contribution to your cause is a small price to pay for the priceless things you've given me over the last 4 years. I'd like to think I speak for alot of us here when I say Fin, you can count on us buddy, we're here for you.

The glass is half full,

Paul, Zach, Jordan, & Shelby

[Steve Dold]

This is bad news for small business.

Given that the Intec heel has a long history of reliability, it is not reasonable to expect that Fin could have known, or should have known, that this heel was likely to fail.

Bomber provided that part in good faith, as a convenience to the customer, believing that it was in good condition. It is unfair to hold Bomber liable for what is either a manufacturing defect, a design deficiency, a misuse of the product, or any combination of those.

I hope Bomber is released from this suit quickly.

[Randy T.]

I can’t say enough about how great Fin, Bomber and crew have been. That fact is obvious from all of these posts. Carving is a small niche in the sport of snowboarding and that can be hard to get into but Fin made it possible for me. I lurked on this forum for over a year reading and learning about carving until I heard that Fin would be at Sugar Bowl for a demo day. I showed up that morning Fin set me up with the gear and with some pointers from him and Mark Anderson I was off to carve (or at least try at that point). After setting me up with another board to try Fin even took some runs with me and gave me some more pointers. Needless to say I was hooked and because of the excellent customer service and opportunity that Fin gave me I purchased my first carving board, Stratus Pro’s and TD 2’s from Bomber.

Thanks guys you totally rock and I’ll be buying my butter.

[Miguel]

After conferring with my woman (that would be my wife of course) we conluded that at our age we could put some "butter" to very good use. :lol: She was even more psyched when I informed her it was not your everyday run of the mill butter but the legendary "Bomber Butter"! Bombs away! Count us in!

Miguel

[astrokel]

Guys, don't want to be patronizing or nothin' like that but really be careful of the statements you make regarding this matter (making assumptions like this broke or that broke or whatever...) because you know the parties involved will be harvesting comments that help or hurt whomevers' case and using it in the proceedings. I have NO idea what they could be but the imagination runs wild about the possibilities.

Like I wrote to the Bomber crew in private I just hope it doesn't go further than how far it's gone. Good luck in the proceedings... and I can't wait for the Buttah... :) (well I can actually, but Michelle, you know what I mean :o )

[pm_wizard]

Good luck Fin, I hope this accumulates enough to help!

As a small business owner I know how much at risk we all are, and how important it is to have friends.

John

[Skully]

Good Luck Fin & co. We're all pulling for you.

Anyone who has ever met or done business with Fin / Michelle / Bomber knows that they would do pretty much anything for anyone. This "Fund-raiser" proves that once again.

If there is anything else any of us can do to help, besides the "Kit," let us know...

P.S. Just like you can never have too many carving decks, you can never have too much "Buttah"

[dano]

It's the least I can do. Thanks for everything Fin and Michelle.

Good luck with this bullsh*t, Fin. I'm sure you'll need it.

Nothing like lining bloodsucking lawyers' pockets. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

Hopefully it will go to Joel instead...

[Ernie00]

I've been a membre for a while here, not writing a lot but reading and learning a lot over the years. Thanks a lot to bomber and its crew (Fin and Michelle and all the other involved)

I ordered my stared kit today and it was a good excuse to get a set of TD2 in the same time. My old burton race needed replacement anyways !

Thanks a lot for your help and development in our sport. I really wish things go back to normal very soon.

Eric

[Zcarver]

Okay, my waiting is over...just made an order! I hope for the best! Good Luck! :)

AZ

[Galen]

Yup, I'm in. "Get the butter" M.Brando

[tilledog]

Even if the **** did go down, you could always reform as Bomberr or Bombster or something, couldn’t you Fin?

Bomber has been a household name at the Tille’s for a long time and within Hardbooter since inception. Of course, Bill Mike and I take this very seriously as we retail the same heelpiece from F2. We appreciate all you have done for us as customers and as mates in the biz trying to spread the good word. You do a magnificent job and that is obvious by all the support you have already generated within this thread. Thanks for being there for us and we are here, also, for you.

Now send me one of my stickers back!!

Dave