Those pow boards don’t test themselves, you know. Photo: Stella Pentti

Testing snowboards sounds like the best job in the world – and we’re not gonna lie, there are worse ways to pay the rent – but it’s one we take seriously.

Unlike newspaper round-ups and other buyer’s guides, every single product we review for Whitelines has been in our hands. Bindings have been cranked, goggles have been lowered against the elements and, most importantly of all, snowboards have been ridden – over rails, kickers, cliffs, pistes and powder fields – by a hand-picked team of experienced testers. In short, you’ll find no regurgitated catalogue spiel here.

“The inaugural Whitelines Selection became one of the most in-depth powder tests we’ve ever undertaken”

This year’s reviews took a whole season to gather, starting in January at two major testing events: Shops 1st Try in Alpbach, Austria – attended by over 70 brands – and Avant Premiere in La Clusaz, France, where much of the snowboard industry offers up its demo fleets for the first time.

The following week, in Morzine, Whitelines held a standalone gear test of its own. Christened The Selection, we basically ram-raided the stands at Avant Premiere, taking another van-load of the hottest new kit to The Ridewell Lodge, where an assembled crew of former pros, retailers and contributors were tasked with shredding the crap out of it for five straight days..

As luck would have it, the heavens opened above Les Portes du Soleil and the inaugural Selection quickly became one of the most in-depth powder tests we’ve ever undertaken. If you’re reading a review of one of this year’s new fish shapes, you can rest assured that it was ridden in exactly the conditions for which it was designed.