Each season it seems like it’ll get more difficult for manufacturers to come up with new gear. But each season, with a tweak here and a gimmick there, they find ways to get you to open your wallet. With the arrival of earphone beanies and wavy-edged snowboards, 2006-07 is no exception.
LIB TECH TRAVIS RICE • Price: $489
• This new snowboard is getting rave reviews. This is one of several new boards Sequim-based Lib Tech is making with Magne-Traction. In addition to the traditional fat hourglass snowboard shape, Magne-Traction boards have a waving edge, giving the board more control and making it easier to use for intermediate boarders.
LIB TECH NARROW ASS SNOWBOARDS
• Price: $589
• So you want to try Magne-Traction, but you’re a skier. Lib Tech anticipated this and made skis with the same wavy-edged technology. Of course, Lib Tech is too cool to admit they are actually making skis.
BURTON FEELGOOD
• Price: $500
• This snowboard is one of the best-designed for women. The board has a softer flex and is smaller than men’s boards. Olympic gold medalists Kelly Clark and Hannah Teter ride the Feelgood.
K2 CINCH
• Price: $219
• Boarders loved Flow’s high-back, step-in bindings when they were introduced last year but didn’t like how difficult it was to tighten the binding across the top of their feet. K2 thinks it has perfected the design with the first high-back, step-in binding with traditional side straps.
VANS FARGO FOCUS
• Price: $260
• Responding to complaints about the Vans Boa, the new Focus system has two dials for boarders to tighten their boots – one at the top and one for the bottom of the boot.
BURTON AUDEX HEADPHONE BEANIE
• Price: $45
• This beanie has built-in headphones and cord so you can plug it into your MP3 player. Although, if you’re going to board or ski with headphones, you might want to shell out an extra $30 for a helmet with headphones.
JOIN THE DISCUSSION | Register here
We welcome comments. Please keep them civil, short and to the point. ALL CAPS, spam, obscene, profane, abusive and off topic comments will be deleted. Repeat offenders will be blocked. Thanks for taking part — and abiding by these simple rules. A thorough explanation of rules of conduct can be found in our Terms of Service. If you have any questions, including why your comment may not be showing immediately after you submit it, be sure to visit the commenting FAQ.