shredding gnar snowboarding blog

I got hooked up with a pair of Shred Soles performance snowboarding insoles ($45) a few weeks ago, intending to try them last Saturday but I forgot to trim them. With warm weather and rain in the forecast, I got out for probably my last shred day of the season last night. I made sure to trim the soles to fit my ThirtyTwo TM2 boots the night before.

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.

Last week in Utah we rode seven days in a row. In. A. Row.  That will really put your gear through the paces.  And it’ll do your body, too; I feel like I’m still recovering. Anyways, now that it’s all been thoroughly field-tested, here’s a few notes on how all my gear held up.

I rode 4 days on the Ride Machete: 2 days at PCMR, 1 day at Brighton, and 1 very warm (almost 50 degrees!) day at Sundance. It held up really well. The rocker design helped it float through the powder in the glades. It wasn’t awesome on ice, but I never expected it to be. The Machete is still a solid board, it’s just not a quiver killer, that’s all.

I rode my old Never Summer Legacy 3 days: Friday at PCMR, Saturday at The Canyons, and Sunday at Snowbird. It’s six years old but it still rocks! Still sharp as ginsu on the ice, and despite its beefiness (163W) it swings well on the steep-and-deeps, no problems hop-turning it when I found myself in a “Danger: Cliff Area” and had to negotiate some icy steeps and that was the only way down that didn’t involve breaking bones. I switched over to this board for a few reasons… Fatigue was setting in and I felt like I had better edge control on this board; it holds an edge like none other when you need it most.  Also for sentimental reasons: the very first time I rode this board was at The Canyons in Park City in January 2005. If I pick up another deck, I’m going to retire this NS and I wanted to take her out in a most gnartastic manner.

I used my 2009 Burton Cartel bindings, which I adjusted just a little bit after the second day of riding. On the lead binding (my left) I moved the heel-strap to its upper-most position, but left the corresponding ladder-strap in the middle setting. This way, the strap traverses my ankle a little bit, and I thought it reduced a little bit of pinch.

My pants smell like ass. I attribute this to seven consecutive days of riding, and seven consecutive days of eating bacon for breakfast and lunch.

My helmet saved my noggin when that 9-year old kamikazed me at PCMR on Thursday.

My Dakine gloves did great except on the warmer days. If they were waterproofed (and I think they were) they are no longer waterproof. This usually doesn’t bother me until towards the end of the day.

My Dakine Poacher Backpack made it out to The Canyons and to Snowbird, where I carried some extra layers (it was colder), some snack food like Clif Bars and bacon, a few bottles of water, and on Sunday, our last two beers for the obligatory après-riding tailgate while we were packing up the ‘Burban.

I was able to fit all my clothes for a week (actually I had some extra) and my helmet into the Poacher backpack. If you’re doubting the capacity: two pair of pants, two button-down camp shirts/flannels, 4 cotton t-shirts, 1 long sleeve thermal shirt, 3 pair of men’s boxer briefs, 3 pair of athletic socks, 2 pair of long Under Armour socks, 1 pair wool hiking socks, 1 pair of goggles, 1 snowboard helmet, 1 pair of Drop pipe/park gloves, 1 pair Dakine Mustang gloves, 1 pair of board shorts, 1 pair of Spy Goggles.

The State liquor store is closed on Sundays and holidays. Weak. Also, the only beer you can buy at groceries or convenience stores is 3.2% max. Drinking 3.2% beer is like running on a treadmill. You keep going, and going, and going, but you never get anywhere. One waitress tried to explain that 3.2% in Utah is really like 4% anywhere else because of the elevation (which might be plausible) and because they measure alcohol content differently (ABV vs. ABW, I think) which Germaine, our resident chemist, dismissed as nonsense. Even if the 3.2=4 thing is true, that still doesn’t compute fully. Many beers are more than 4%, so no matter what the State of Utah tells you, you’re getting some dilution of beer + water. They don’t water down their liquor, so your 80pf Absolute is still 80pf Absolute. If you’re buying booze to take back to your room/condo/house etc., go with liquor. It’s relatively cheaper than beer (they wanted almost $50 for a case of Kokanee and nearly $40 for a case of Labatt) and the selection of liquor or wine dwarfed the paltry selection of beers (a few of the bigger name imports like Heineken, Guinness, Spaten, etc.) only available in bottles.