Jonathan Tollefson

In just a few days Kelly and I will be flying to Boston to meet up with a couple of long time snowboard friends.  From there we will get a few hours of sleep, wake early in the morning, and start our journey to Vermont for some snowboarding.

Snowboarding in Vermont

We took trips to Boston the past three years, and every year we found a way to hit the slopes at least once.  To make a long story short, after our first time riding out east, our trips to Boston soon became snowboard trips.

The first year… we traveled north to New Hampshire.  The day after Thanksgiving we decided to snowboard at Loon Mountain.  Loon got us hooked on snowboarding in the east so we had to keep it going.

Last year… we met up with Adam and Jessica again and decided we needed to spend a few nights in Vermont.  We rented a small cabin in the woodlands of Vermont and it turned into an epic trip.  The first day we hit up Okemo Mountain.  For our second day of riding gnarly we took a quick road trip to Killington Mountain.  I don’t know if we got lucky or what happened, but we had great snow at both places and I would go back to either mountain again.

This year… we are headed back to Vermont where we again found a nice little cabin in the woods.  From this location we will have easy access to Stratton Mountain and to Mt. Snow.  We’re Pumped!

This is going to be a sweet trip, Adam and Jess. have some killer activities lined up for us, and we will spend our last night and few hours touring the great city of Boston.  So far the east has treated us well and I have a good feeling this trip will do the same.  Kelly and I are both super excited to hang out with Jessica and Adam and Board the World All Day, Everyday.

Where will you be boarding next?

Where do you suggest we go next or if we decide to stay in Vermont forever?

Please subscribe if you love Boarding the Midwest All Day, Everyday and to see reviews of both mountains in the near future!

From the beginning of the snowboard season, I have been trying to find a pair of snowboard bindings to buy.  The bindings I ride now are busted and need to be thrown in the trash.  The only problem I have is that I cannot find a binding that is worth my time or money.

Good thing I went to Test Fest because I found the binding that I am going to buy.

The Republic by Forum

Comfort: The republic is the only binding I put on that I didn’t feel.  It’s the best part about the binding.  This means the comfort of the binding is a 10 in my book.  I could buy them based on this fact alone, but I know you want more.

Lets go with appearance next. I think the binding looks sweet.  The 2011/2012 is coming out in a few different colors.  I rode mustard and black Republics at the show, and who knows they might have a few more colors up their sleeve.  They also look tough, like they won’t take sh!t from anyone.

Flex: I think this is a good all around flexing binding.  Right in the middle for flex.  It was sturdy when I bombed the hill.  It allowed me to poke out grabs and tweak tail and nose presses on the rails.  It didn’t dig into my calves at anytime, and I didn’t feel any restriction from this binding.

The Tech Side: Forum has a new hinge plate that allows the binding to flex with the board.  I think it is a brilliant idea.  The plate doesn’t change other than the hinge, and it attaches to the board like a standard base plate.

The Republic comes with a full foot bed that snaps into place which makes it super easy to adjust.  Forum added some techy foams to the foot bed to help with the comfort of your stance and make riding easier on your feet.

All in all every snowboard binding should have a full foot bed.  Forum is one binding that does, and I won’t buy a binding without a full foot bed.

The Straps: The Republic has a toe cup that fits perfectly.  It has a super comfy heal strap that takes all pressure points off of your foot.  The buckles are super smooth and super easy to get on and off of your boot.  If I don’t feel the straps and they work well.  I give them a ten!

Price: The Republic is going to retail for around $225, and I know you can buy last years version for around $200.  I think it is a perfect price for a binding that works great and one that you will be able to ride anywhere on the hill.

My overall Impression: I know I don’t get as detailed as some might want, but when I find something that works well, I am going to talk about it.  I can’t get over this binding, and I can’t wait to get a pair.

To me the comfort is the biggest when it comes to buying a binding.  The Republic hit the spot, and I didn’t even want to test another binding because I knew what I was going to buy after I rode the Republic.  I’m getting it, and if you are looking for a killer binding you have to check out the republic.  I promise that Boarding the Midwest All Day, Everyday will be a lot easier if you pick up a pair of forum Republics.

For the past months of my snowboard life, I have been helping the Michigan Boarder Cross League every Tuesday and Thursday, and I have been out with Middle Earth Snowboard Crew helping them put on weekend events in northern Michigan.  Needless to say, with these two organizations I have been out in the cold at least four days out of the week.  This doesn’t take in account my personal riding days.  Want to know what has saved my life in all of these cold conditions??  Hand Warmers.

Hand Warmers

Growing up in the Midwest, I have put up with sub-zero temperatures almost all of my snowboard life.  Sometimes it is down right brutal to be outside, but when you have to be out on the snow, you just have to be out on the snow.  For me it is a way of life, and now that I have found hand warmers, my snowboard life has improved big time.

I don’t know why more people don’t use hand warmers. Is it not manly?  Are they too expensive?  Do people actually hide the fact that they are warm so they are not looked at as weak?

Whatever it is, I am here to say that I love hand warmers, and that I will use them almost every time I am on the hill.  Having warm hands makes snowboarding so much better.  They make running events for a day in the cold bearable.   I never knew.  It seems so simple, and it seems like everyone would use hand warmers.

I have told a few people about my new finding and they have mentioned that their hands do not get cold.  Bonus to you. You either work your butt off on the hill, or you have killer gloves that do not let the cold in.  So far in my experience, there is always a time throughout the day where I will have cold hands, and cold hands is something that I will no longer have.  So Pumped!

Whoever came up with the idea of hand warmers, I have to give it up to you.  I only wish I would have caught on a long time ago.  I should probably buy stock in your company because I will be buying hand warmers for the rest of my life.  You have also made my girlfriend Kelly’s life on the hill 100% more enjoyable.  The number of people who use the excuse “it’s too cold out to go snowboarding” can now stop.  Thank you!

For all of my readers and everyone around the world, I would like to personally thank the person who made Hand Warmers, you have now made it a lot easier to Board the Midwest All Day, Everyday.

…IN HISTORY.

The Worst Snowboard Jump…

I can’t get this out of my head, and if you are a resort I beg you to never build a snowboard jump like this.  I took this picture while I was riding with some friends at my home town resort.  Everything about this jump is wrong and dangerous.

Do you want to know where injuries come from? Do you want to know why the insurance is high?  Do you know having a kicker that is 5 feet wide, 30 feet long, with a sketchy take off and a landing that mimics the sinking titanic is a bad idea?  Well it is time to wake up and move into the 20th century.

Lets face it.  If you are a resort in the Midwest, and you don’t have a killer park; you are falling behind.  People can only slide down the 500 feet of vertical on the same blown snow for so long before they look for something else to do.  I don’t even want to talk about the absolute increase in park type riding that has been taking place in the last 5 years.  How can’t you see it?  Did you see the Olyimpics?  Have you watched commercials?  Have you ever rode through your own park?

Alright maybe I shouldn’t be upset or thinking about this as much as I am.  Maybe I should have made it into a fun obstacle no matter what?  Maybe I should have stopped and fixed it.  All I know is that this article is not about me.  It’s about our kids, our families, our friends, it’s about having fun, and it’s about providing a safe environment to those who come and love to ride.  That’s what keeps you open.

So home town resort, thank you for taking a stab at a park.  But if you are going to have this type of terrain please shut it down, fix it, or get rid of it.  I only wish I would have taken pictures of the flat to down box that I backside board slid.  I guess I had to find out the hard way that the beginning of the down box was higher than the end of the flat box.  Thanks for that!

Get your heads out of the gutter.  If you are going to build something, build it.  Don’t half ass it and then give me the excuse that you don’t have a park crew that day.  You were open.  You had people working, and if you are going to have a terrain park you better have someone from your park crew there.  The only thing that I can hope for is that your crew was out riding at another resort learning how to build a jump and maintain it.

Midwest resorts, and resorts around the world… let this be your wake up call.  If you need help building your parks, I know some guys who can help you out.  Check out people like Board Sport Terrain Design or Planet Snow.  They will both hook you up.  For those who have sketchy obstacles, please give your park a makeover.  The people will be happier, more of them will come, and your wallet will plump.  For my home town resort, Coffee Mill, you know this is your jump, your lucky I have been coming there for years and that I will be back again.

You can check out more pics of the jump below, and I warn everyone to scope out the jumps before you hit them.  It will save you from injury, guarantee you more days on your board, and if you don’t like something about the obstacles, please let someone at the resort know so the next person doesn’t get hurt.

Has anyone else witnessed something like this?  If so, lets get it fixed so we can all have fun and Board the Midwest All Day, Everyday safely.

Over the holiday, I had the chance to get out and snowboard in Minnesota with family and friends a few different times.  Before the season really got under way, my Brother-In-Law needed a new board so I helped him out.  After a long search, we ended up finding a killer deal on the Ride Kink from The-House.com, so he snagged it up.  Lucky for me, my bro came with me two of the days, so I had the chance to take some turns on his new board.

Review of the Ride Kink

Board: 155 Ride Kink

Shape: Twin

Stance: Goofy

Bindings: Burton Custom

Snow Conditions: Midwest hard packed groomers

My thoughts before I rode the board… After talking with many different people about the Kink, I was a little nervous that the board was going to be a wet noodle on the snow.  The Kink is Ride’s premier indestructible park board.  It is designed to slay the rails and rule the park.  Every shop I talked to said it was crazy flexible and that it might not be good for the whole mountain.  Every owner of the Kink I talked to said that they thought the board was going to be more flexible than it was.  My buddy even told be he wished it was a bit more flexible.  All of the owners also use their kinks for the whole mountain (if you can call them mountains in the Midwest).  Overall I was not sure that I put my brother-in-law on the right board.

My Thoughts of the Kink

Lets start off with the flex of the board seeing that is what I was most worried about.  I don’t think the board is as flexible as everyone thinks.  It is soft, but I still had to work to get the tips of the board off of the ground.  Once you did get the board into a press it seemed to hold pretty well.  I thought the flex of the board was smooth from the tip to the tail.  I like a board that I can press and hold.  The kink fits that description well.  Overall I thought it was going to be easier to flex, but I did like the consistant flex throughout the whole board.

As I rode the Kink… I was impressed.  It transitioned from edge to edge very well, and it held up a high speeds.  As I pointed the board down the hill it felt stable the whole time.  The board did not chatter on the hard snow, and it held an edge well.  What I noticed most as I rode the Kink was the pop of the board.  It felt like I could ollie 6 inches higher than I could on other boards.  This pumped up my tires.  The pop of the kink is the board’s biggest attribute if you ask me.  The pop is the one thing that stands out in my mind the most.  I instantly forgot about the flex once I popped off the tail for the first time.  Unreal!

My Overall Thoughts:  For a rider in the Midwest where most of the hills are becoming snowboard park wonderlands, I would say that anyone who picks up a Kink has made a good decision.  If you are just starting in the sport of snowboarding the Kink is a good board to learn on and it is a very versatile board for the whole hill.  It provides a smooth flex to learn butters and presses, and you will be able to fly off off jumps if that is your cup of tea.  If you want to take your park riding to the next level, the Kink is going to be a good board for you.

All in all, I would buy a Ride Kink in a heart beat.  The pop is something I love and will never forget.  It turned well and it’s not going to fold up on you when you hit a rail or point it down the hill.  If you are looking for a good all around board, I would consider the Kink 100%.  It’s going to hold up, and be a board that will last you a long time if you take care of it.

If you want to learn more about the Kink and hear what others are saying about the board, check it out on Ride’s Website.  Enjoy your winter, and if you have a chance to get on a Kink while your Boarding the Midwest All Day, Everyday, DO IT!!