German snowboard manufacturers Amplid have been in touch, claiming that they have produced “the lightest splitboard in the world”. That would be impressive enough in itself, but after doing a bit of research we reckon this might actually be the lightest snowboard ever made. Weighing in at an impressive 2.3kg, it’s certainly up there. And apparently the LAB Carbon Split beats the previous splitboard record holder by a substantial 200g.
Given its weight, the board comes packed with technology, including a birch, balsa and paulownia core and an aerospace grade low viscosity epoxy. Despite shaving off huge weight, Amplid claim to have retained durability.
Company founder and owner, Peter Bauer, started the project as more of an experiement, and the result seems to have taken even him by surprise, telling us, “we really didn’t expect to reach such a new weight-benchmark. Cutting weight is easy, losing grams and keeping durability is really tough”.
The crew at Amplid are clearly very proud of their achievement, and given the carbon fibre aesthetics, they’ve gone so far as to claim it adds “batmobile looks to blistering performance”.
The board was designed with all-mountain freestyle in mind, combining an S-rocker camber-line with conservative freeride geometry, giving it the potential to go anywhere and do anything.
In an industry where touring is becoming ever more popular, as riders push themselves further and harder into the wilderness, is this what the splitboarding industry needs to really get touring into 2nd gear? A lightweight, easy to use, all-terrain splitboard? If the splitboard handles as well as a regular snowboard, I don’t see why not.
Given that Amplid have only produced 25 Carbon Split boards, it seems they’re just testing the water this year, though it hints that this may be a sign of things to come.
Despite splitboards generally being heavier than snowboards, we had a glance across the world wide interweb to see how it stacks up against some of the other light boards out there. Be warned, the results may surprise you.
k2 zero
The 156 K2 Zero sits at 2.7kg. One of the lightest all mountain boards on the market, but still heavier than the Amplid.
Elan inverse
Weighing in at an obese 2.49kg is the Elan Inverse 155, a board that was supposedly the lightest on the planet for 8 years running.
burton method
Slimming down for summer is the world-renowned Burton Method 155, sitting at a comfortable 2.4kg. Using exotic materials and new construction methods, this board revolutionised the way snowboard construction was approached.
burton vapor
Just shaving 10g off the Method is it’s distant, and slimmer cousin, the Burton Vapor 157, weighing 2.39kg. The Vapor is an all-mountain favourite, with the build process being rider-driven to produce a top quality product.
amplid carbon split
Despite these insanely light boards, the Amplid Carbon Split still shaves 90g off the Vapor. This could well be the lightest snowboard on the planet.
Interested? Got a spare £1000 down the back of the sofa? Take a look at amplid.com and treat yourself this Christmas.
If you think there is a lighter snowboard out there, drop us a comment and we’ll do our homework.
