The Tour is the same overall length as my old board bag but the zipper is now on the side, rather than across the top running down the middle of the board.  It’s a lot roomier than the old bag, easily holding my Ride Machete mounted with Burton Cartel bindings (the bindings were a problem in the old bag).

Another difference between this bag and my old one is that the old one was only designed to hold a snowboard, and the new Tour bag is designed to accommodate more. There are two exterior pockets which hold your boots with room to spare.

There is still space inside the bag to fit some of your smaller soft goods, and a jacket or snow pants (I fit an XL pair of bibs in there). I prefer to carry my helmet with me when I travel, but you could fit your brain bucket in there instead of pants or a jacket if you wanted to.

Dakine makes three other board bags, I can’t give you a full-fledged review on their performance but here’s a brief rundown of the differences between them.

1. The Freestyle ($50)is a basic board bag kind of like my old one. There aren’t any pockets for boots.  This is a good storage bag, and serviceable travel bag, heck I got 7 years out of mine.
2. The Low Roller ($150)is basically the Tour only with wheels.  Real snowboarders carry their bags, but if you travel a lot I can see how you might want this, it will be easier to lug around the airport.
3. The High Roller ($190)is an upgrade from the Low Roller, made with some beefier materials that should weather frequent travel and all the abuse that airline baggage handlers can muster. It has an extra exterior pocket that can hold a tuning kit or some other items.

If you’re flying with a snowboard as I do once or twice a winter, you should probably have a decent bag to stow it in.  At $75 MSRP, the Tour is probably the best all-purpose board bag that Dakine makes for your average snowboarder who might travel a few times a year.  The Low Roller and High Roller pack in some extra features but for most of us the price differential just isn’t gonna be worth it.

• High Def capabilities with @ 60fps available.  I hear 60fps is really where you can get the benefit from slow-motion. It’s not an absolute necessity, but it’d be very nice to have.
• Removable/expandable storage; face it SD cards are dirt cheap you should spend your money getting features and then buy the appropriate memory cards later. For this reason I have ruled out Flip cameras and basically any other non-removable or HDD storage.
• Optical zoom preferable to digital zoom.  Digital zoom blows goats. I have proof.  Of course a camera can utilize both optical and digital zoom, but it should have decent optical zoom capabilities maybe 5x-10x.
• Small or small-ish because I don’t want to lug around a brick.
• A viewfinder screen would be nice for obvious reasons.
• Cheap.  Everyone has their own definition of “cheap”, mine is generally pretty stingy.

Some people have suggested the GoPro Helmet Cams. I don’t want to be that guy who rocks the helmet cam everywhere he goes so I didn’t really consider GoPro as an option. But the more I look at these sorts of things, the more inclined I am to shell out the money for a GoPro as opposed to anything else on the market.

It shoots 1080p, has much better field of vision up to 170 degrees at 720p, decent zoom capabilities, 60fps capability at 720p, super small it’s only 2.4″ wide, waterproof, etc. Honestly, nothing else even comes close to the same capabilities at the same price-point.

What camera do you use or recommend?

My opinion on this list of misfit ski areas is that Timber Ridge takes the cake, you don’t see very many 50-footers in Michigan, the park looks respectable and their season pass prices are awesome.

Anyways, here’s the ones I left out:

Apple Mountain

Located in central Michigan (Freeland), Apple Mountain is one of the smaller ski areas but daily lift tickets go for $25 or less. They haven’t posted season pass pricing for 2010-11 yet, but I would estimate something in the $300 range for early bird pricing (before October 31).

Challenge Mountain

Challenge Mountain in Boyne City is “a non-profit organization dedicated to helping the physically impaired, mentally challenged, and at risk youth achieve their maximum potential through adaptive outdoor recreation”. No season passes or general public admission, skiers/riders must make appointments in advance.

Hanson Hills Recreation Area

The first downhill ski area in Michigan, Hanson Hills is a public park in Grayling, Michigan. Open Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Christmas week, it’s not a full-service area, but they run some good deals. On Fridays all season long beginning January 7, 2011 you can get $1 lift tickets and rentals . At that price, who needs a season pass? If you want to spring for the season pass, they are $125 or $85 for residents.

They have a small terrain park that occasionally hosts comps.

Hickory Hills

Located in Traverse City, Hickory Hills is only 240′ on 8 trails serviced by rope-tow only. Part of the Traverse City Parks & Rec, it’s a public hill. The TC website doesn’t say anything about it.

Mt Zion

At only 300 feet it’s small for the UP. Located in Ironwood, dirt cheap $18 lift tickets and $175 season passes were the going fare for 2009/2010 season. Local community college students and seniors ride or ski for free.

Mulligan’s Hollow ski Bowl

On the state’s West coast in Grand Haven, at only 150 vertical feet, Mulligan’s Hollow ski bowl is a tiny (even by Midwest standards) winter park. Open Thursday-Sunday, Tuesdays for 18+ only, school holidays and snow days, prices are low enough that you probably don’t need a season pass: $10 Tuesday, $12 Thursday/Friday, $14 Saturday/Sunday/Holiday. No season pass is available, but a season discount card is available for about $65, which entitles you to $5 lift tickets. Discount cards are only available before Christmas.

Pando Winter Sports Park

The smallest park in Michigan, Pando winter park in Rockford is only 125 feet top-to-bottom so it looks like an option if you want to take your kids out for some lessons or snow-tubing. Otherwise, there are several larger alpine facilities in the Grand Rapids vicinity. Lift tickets are cheap, season passes not an option.

Timber Ridge Ski area

Midway between K-zoo and South Haven you’ll find Timber Ridge Ski area is another one of those sub-300 vertical foot hills that you find scattered across the midwest. Season passes are available beginning at $239, with progressive discounts for multiple passes, so it’s an affordable option for you west-siders.

Like many of the smaller areas, Timbe Ridge seems focused on maintaining decent terrain parks, which include features like 50′ kickers, log-slides, quarterpipes and a brand-new 28′ double kink handrail.

No matter where you live in Michigan’s lower peninsula, if you have the time (i.e., college student or high school dropout) I would go this route as opposed to staying local. The “mountains” still aren’t real mountains, but they’re bigger and they get more natural snow. I still regret that I didn’t do this when I was in college, only about 2 hours from most of these places.

Bittersweet

Like most Michigan “mountains” Bittersweet (in Otsego, MI) doesn’t have much to offer in the vertical foot department, topping out at 350 top-to-bottom.  But you can get a season pass there for about $400 which beats the annual dues you’d have to pay to join the Otsego Club’s private ski resort.  Only twenty runs and a few chairs, but the terrain park gets its own dedicated chairlift.

Boyne Mountain / Boyne Highlands

The Boyne family of resorts offers several options for their season passes. The bronze pass is $269 for adults and has the most blackout dates/restrictions, the silver pass at $429 has a few blackout dates at the Mountain, but not at Highlands and the gold pass is $699 with no blackout dates or restrictions, and the most perks.

The bronze pass is not valid during holidays or on weekend days (except night/twilight) so keep that in mind.  For most riders and skiers, the silver pass is going to be a good bargain except it’s not good during the Christmas Holiday, MLK day and President’s Day weekend, incidentally these are also the most crowded days on the mountains so it’s best to stay away.

If you’re planning on an extended trip to Boyne during one of those blackout periods (Christmas in particular) the gold pass might be more up your alley, but otherwise I don’t think it’s worth it unless you use it at participating “sister” resorts including Big Sky (MT), Brighton (UT), Crystal (WA), Cypress (BC), Loon Mountain (NH), Sugarloaf (ME), Sunday River (ME), and Snoqualmie (WA).

Crystal Mountain

Located 30-40 minutes from Traverse City or Cadillac, the family-friendly Crystal Mountain Resort & Spa is offering great early-bird pricing on season passes: buy two or more and they’re only $249 each. If you’re looking for a great bargain, buy your season pass in March (usually for about $225) and ski or ride until the end of the season and all of the following winter.

Regular pricing is $369 each, so compared to many of Michigan’s resorts, it’s still a great price either way.  Crystal boasts several peaks and terrain to accommodate all skill levels. I find the park area kind of lacking, but if weather & snowfall permits they build a 15′ halfpipe and they have gladed runs and two small “bowls”.

Crystal has a great resort atmosphere, plenty of on-site lodging and dining options but few off-site lodging/dining options.  A great place to bring the kids to learn how to ski or ride is also its downfall, tends to be very crowded with groms and gapers on weekends and holidays.

The Homestead

The Homestead Resort in Glen Arbor limits the sale of lift tickets to 95% of the designed capacity of Bay Mountain, and these are reserved for members and guests lodging at the resort. I have never been to The Homestead, but it is supposed to be a family-friendly, full-service resort.  Season passes may not be available.

Mount Holiday

Located in Traverse City, Michigan, Mount Holiday is a small “locals” ski hill. It’s not a tourist destination, but they offer the cheap season passes, at only $249 for a single pass ($169 if purchased before August 31). At only about 240 vertical feet, it’s not much of a mountain, but “Holiday Hill” doesn’t have the same ring to it. I would consider this option if I lived within a few miles of the area but not otherwise.

Nubs Nob

Nubs Nob is in Harbor Springs, just a few minutes from both Boyne Resorts.  Their season pass pricing is competitive, and they have some additional options if you’re looking to save money. All passes are subject to a 10% discount if purchased before October 1.

The unlimited pass is $585 and has no blackout dates.

The limited pass is $440 but carries more restrictions than I like to see. Standard restrictions are the week or two between Christmas and MLK weekend in February, but this pass also is not valid on Saturdays between December and mid-March.

The bargain pass is $280 and is significantly restricted.  It cannot be used on Saturdays, but otherwise is good for either one full day per week, or two 4-hour sessions per week.  This is probably the best option for the locals who have day jobs, because you can get two evening sessions in each week, all season long.

Otsego Club

The Otsego club is a private resort in Gaylord, Michigan. Unfortunately that means you have to be a member (or friends of a member) to ride there, and membership ain’t cheap ($1,000+ per winter, more for family passes).  I think the family winter membership is doable, kind of, ($2,500) if you have a few kids running around and too much money, but for an individual, it’s too expensive for most.

You do get access to a very respectable (by Michigan standards) “mountain” and because it is private, it is never crowded.  I’ve ridden there 5 or 6 times and I’ve never waited in line for a chairlift. And you get the O-Park. The O-Park is probably the best terrain park in the state.  Their superpipe was used by many of the visiting olympic athletes in the weeks preceding the Vancouver games in 2010.

If you can’t spring for a membership (and I can’t blame you!) be on the lookout because last year they opened to the public on Thursdays and Fridays, they may do something similar this year.

Schuss Mountain / Shanty Creek

Voted best downhill terrain in the midwest, at 450 vertical feet the Schuss Mountain/Shanty Creek resort is another northern LP option.  Two resorts in one with intra-resort shuttle service all day, your lift ticket is good at both!

It’s been several years since I visited, but it’s where I first learned to ski when I was 10 years old. Rates for 2010-2011 season haven’t been published yet, for more information try calling them at 866.901.3149.

Treetops

Also located in Gaylord, with 23 runs and a beginner/intermediate oriented terrain park, Treetops only has a 220′ vertical but it may be a great place to take the kids for their first lessons.  Their 2010 season pass prices have not been posted yet, but last winter adult passes went for $360, teens for $270 and kids under 11 only $190.

Stay tuned for the next installments of Michigan Season Passes!

The west side of the state isn’t my home, so I may not have everything listed.

Caberfae Peaks

I would lump Caberfae in with the northern LP resorts by geography, but since they only have a single, 36-room lodge on-site I don’t think it’s fair to compare with the Boynes.  However, Caberfae Peaks has the absolute sickest prices on season passes:

1. $99 for a weekends only
2. $99 for weekdays only
3. $198 for unlimited
4. $49 punch pass – any four days excludes Saturday & holidays
5. $99 punch pass – any four days no restrictions

I don’t know why you’d go with option 5 unless you were only going there only once this winter for 4 consecutive days, otherwise it would make more sense to get one of the other $99 options.

Caberfae used to run sweet college discounts on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, with a college ID you could buy a discounted lift ticket that got cheaper every hour, at 9am it was $19 and by 5pm for twilight only you could ride for about $11.

Cannonsburg

Cannonsburg ski area is located northeast of Grand Rapids, and about an hour west of Lansing.  At $380 per person, Cannonsburg ski area doesn’t have the most competitively-priced passes, but they do discounts if you buy multiple passes.

Snow Snake

Snow Snake is located in Harrison, Michigan so technically not on the “West Side” but I didn’t want to lump it in with the Detroit area hills, nor with the larger, northern-lower peninsula resorts…

I went to college a few miles from there and never knew it existed (except as a tubing run for little kids).  My loss, I suppose.  $25 daily lift passes and season passes available for $249 is reasonable, because the terrain in the Harrison/Clare/Mount Pleasant region is about as flat as you can possibly imagine.

Swiss Valley

At only $249 for a single, Swiss Valley located in Jones, Michigan, has some of the best deals around.  The almost impossible-to-beat deal is for parents: if you buy your kid a season pass, and you’ve never held a season pass there before, you can get one for only $42.  No, I didn’t forget the zero.  That’s forty-two dollars.  Swiss Valley season passes also have some reciprocal benefits at Schuss Mountain/Shanty Creek, Caberfae Peaks, and Crystal Mountain.

Timber Ridge

Near Kalamazoo and Western Michigan University, Timber Ridge runs 9 chairs servicing 16 trails and snow-tubing.  Topping out at only 240 vertical feet, it’s on the small side, but if it’s close to home, I guess you take what you can get.  Season passes are $239 until September 15 when they go up to $299 through November 8.  After that, full price is $379.

Stay tuned for the next installments of Michigan Season Passes!

Every winter NS produces one of these Coors custom decks, usually available in only one or two sizes, which you can buy straight from Coors, for about $180 (shipped). This particular ad isn’t bothering me because dude’s only asking like $150 for it, but I’ve actually seen them listed for $250 or $300, which just goes to show how important it is to do your homework, people!

And, if you don’t want to do your homework, I’ve done it for you: Most of the people trying to sell you one of these boards are just trying to rip you off.

NS doesn’t use their best materials or their best tech on these sticks. In fact it is probably the crappiest snowboard that NS puts their label on. That said, it’s probably still better than most department store stock and a fair amount of beginner-oriented boards from other companies that your moms might get you because she doesn’t know any better.

What you should know about this board: You are not really getting a top-of-the-line Never Summer snowboard. It’s not a “custom” board. It’s nothing special. Basically it’s a cheap rock board, possibly OK for an urban assault deck (I have no idea how it jibs), or a somewhat pricey piece of kitschy artwork you can hang from the wall in your basement.

I’m not saying it’s a lousy board, I’m just saying that I’ve seen people try to pass these off as a “steal” like they’re selling you a $450 deck for $250, when in reality they only paid less than $200 for it.

Now, if you still want one, you have the information to make an informed decision.  I still say don’t waste your time haggling with some yokel on CL or dealing with an eBay auction to save $8.  Just buy it straight from Coors.

I would’ve liked to give them a proper multi-day test, but unfortunately I only got about 4 hours to ride them, so here’s my review as best I can offer:

• The Shred Soles looked to be about twice as thick as my stock insoles. I know some of this thickness will pack-in or break down over time, but I was definitely worried that the break-in period might be painful. It wasn’t. There was no cramping, no pinching, no discomfort whatsoever.
• The arch support was more robust than any stock insole I’ve ever ridden, so I was leery about that, too because it seemed awfully stiff. Again I’ve gotta say I was pleasantly surprised. No arch discomfort at all.
• The EVA insert in the heel didn’t blow me away, but the snow was super soft last night—it would’ve been impossible to find a “hard” landing anywhere. But this feature is pretty standard, too. Most of the boot manufacturers put some sort of EVA or gel padding to absorb shock and help on icy landings.

Here’s where it get’s great… I have always had a tough time with boots, only on my left foot which is probably a little larger than my right foot. Even after I break them in, I often feel pinched in the arch, or a weird cramping feeling. This usually only lasts for the first hour or so. Sometimes I can alleviate it by loosening the inner laces on my boots, but not always. This problem has persisted through three pairs of boots and three sets of bindings.

With the Shred Soles, that was gone. No pinch. No cramping. Nada. I rode all night and never thought about my boots, my feet, my arches, etc. Honestly, with the Shred Soles, it was like they weren’t even there, which is awesome. The last thing you want when you’re snowboarding is to have sore or uncomfortable feet.

Product Specs from ShredSoles.com:

A: ShWedge™. Innovative ShWedge™ taper gives better performance by realigning ankles, knees, and hips to natural and balanced riding posture. Reduces stress on knees caused by wider stances.

B: Arch Support. DynArch is engineered specifically for snowboarding to maximize arch support and minimize strain and injury.

C: Heel Cup. Deep-well heel cup with firm high-riser sidewalls stabilizes heel and reduces friction from lateral foot movement.

D: Heel Plug. EVA heel plug absorbs shock. The plug passes through top and bottom surfaces for added support and cushioning.

E: Insole Base. Insole base is made of DuraShred™. Insole forms to your foot after extended wear. The material is odor inhibiting, anti-bacterial, and anti-fungal for better foot health and comfort.

F: Top Cover. Polyester top cover breathes to circulate air throughout boot with each foot motion. ShredTex™ fabric is odor inhibiting, anti-bacterial, and anti-fungal for better for health and comfort.

Note: I did receive a pair for free in order to demo and review them, but I am not being paid or otherwise compensated to offer an endorsement, review, or opinion of Shred Soles.

I’ve previously written about how much you should spend on a snowboard, this time I want to talk a little more detail about what type of snowboard to get if you’re just starting out.

The old problem used to be “freestyle” vs. “all mountain”, but now you’ve gotta worry about whether to go traditional camber, reverse camber, rocker, FK, v-rocker, camber+rocker etc. There’s like 10 different shapes available right now!

Freestyle vs. All Mountain

As far as board types are concerned, for beginners I normally recommend going with a “freestyle” board, as opposed to all-mountain, freeride, or powder specific. Freestyle boards tend to be a little softer/flexible and are more forgiving when you are starting out.

If you’ve gone more than a few times, and are comfortable carving and going moderately fast, you could probably get away with an “all mountain” board, too. They ride a little firmer, handle fast speeds better, but they’re a tad harder to learn on. But if you’re already doing pretty good, that might be a route to consider.

Camber vs. Reverse Camber

I’d recommend sticking with regular camber, if you’ve been renting anything other than high-end demos, you’ve been riding regular camber for now, and there’s no reason to screw with what works for you already. This is the traditional design; when flat on the ground the board’s tip and tail will touch, but the center of the board is slightly elevated. However, some people do think that reverse camber boards are easier to learn on and more forgiving in terms of avoiding the dreaded “catching an edge”. Reverse camber has the board touching the ground in the middle, whereas the tip and tail are elevated. There are many variations on this theme and I can’t cover them all.

A note about “flex” and “damp”

Two terms that you’ll see often when researching snowboards are “flex” and “damp”. “Flex” is the board’s ability to, well, flex, and “damp” refers to the board’s ability to absorb vibrations and chatter, which gives stability at higher speeds. A board that is very damp will be more stable at high speeds and in choppy conditions. Usually there is a tradeoff between flex and dampness. Most freestyle/park oriented boards will have more flex but they won’t be as damp. A free-ride/all-mountain board will have less flex and be more damp.

When to get closeout prices on snowboards

There are still some ’08-’09 boards floating around the interwebs at pretty steep discounts (40% or more). Check the clearance/closeout sections of sites like The-House.com or Dogfunk.com. There will probably be some sales later in the season.

However, I’ve been reading some interviews with a few of the board companies, in 2008 when the economy tanked, most of the companies had produced their 2008/2009 products already, not expecting the recession they overproduced. This year, they all really tried to reduce the quantity of boards they made this year so there will be fewer available on closeout at the end of the season.

If they don’t sell out of this year’s stock, from past experience, some sites will probably start discounting this year’s stuff in March, but if you’re looking to get a board and be able to use it now, that’s probably too long to wait.

Mega-props to Hoon for telling me to “jump on it!”. I don’t think I could’ve found a better deal on any board, anywhere. Ever.

I set her up with my Burton Cartel bindings and set out to meet some friends at “Mount” Holly, in all it’s 250 glorious vertical feet to put her through her maiden voyage. Weather was around 30, twilight/evening conditions on groomers & park.

Specs:

• Regular camber (’10 has the v-rocker and scoop nose/tail)
• True twin-tip
• ultra-fast sintered WFO base
• Park Fly III wood core
• Flex: soft

This was my first ride on the ICS (infinite channel system) which Burton uses on their boards. Mounting the bindings was a breeze. There’s only two screws for each binder, so setup time is cut in half. Easy to adjust them on-the-fly if you have a multi-tool.

The X8 picked up a pretty good amount of speed, but vibed a lot more than I’m used to at speed. Even though I had to “roll down the windows” to keep from bailing, the X8 stuck a few landings which otherwise would’ve been very sketchy.

It’s a tad stiffer than some freestyle boards out there, but I thought the flex was perfect for a little pressing here and there. Lighter riders might want more flex or do what I did and go down a size. Excellent pop for ollies – I could ollie this board like I’d never ollied my Legacy before.

The true twin-tip was a pleasure to ride, made switch easy-peasy.  Riding switch on this board felt almost natural, so kickers: watch out! I’m coming for you. And yes, if you’re wondering, you can “butter” on this board (honestly I’m not sure what the obsession is with butters, but whatever…).

Only a few minor quibbles with this board: It took a little while to get used to braking, I’m pretty good sized, about 210 lbs and there wasn’t as much stopping power as I’m used to. I would’ve gotten the 160cm if it had been available. Could be a little more damp, but if that’s the price I have to pay for the perfect flex, I’m willing to compromise.

If you’re looking for a 2010 Burton X8 new ones will run you about $650 but there are some remaining ’09 Burton X8s going for $419,with free shipping on orders over $50 at Dogfunk.com. The 2010 has the new v-Rocker and scoop nose/tail, but the ’09 is regular camber and doesn’t scoop.  If you need a bigger freestyle board, you might want to stick with the ’09 because it’s available in 160cm, the ’10 only up to 157cm.

They’ve been producing quality snowboards for 19 years now with an unwavering dedication to durability and quality, inspired by a need for truly bombproof snowboards. Last year, the crew at Never Summer Industries produced 13,000 hand-made snowboards — only 30 were defective (so good lucking finding a blem on closeout somewhere!). They perform quality control tests at each of the thirty steps in the production process. As a testament to their durability, since NS began using p-tex sidewalls in 1991, allegedly not a single sidewall has cracked.

As a brand, Never Summer relies little on advertising and lots on word of mouth. They let their kickass products speak for themselves. I bought my Never Summer Legacy in 2005 and since then I’ve taken it all over North America (from Tahoe to Tremblant to Whistler to Jackson Hole and then some!) and it’s still holding up almost five years later, and it still rides awesome. Ask anyone who owns one and they’ll probably have a similar story for ya.

Mike Lewis at Transworld Business got hooked up with a factory tour. If you ride NS boards and wanted to know more about where and how and why they’re built, or if you’re curious to learn about Never Summer, check out the article and the accompanying photo gallery.