In Defence Of The All-Mountain Snowboard - Whitelines Snowboarding

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In Defence Of The All-Mountain Snowboard

Specialist models get all the attention - but with a little help from Amplid’s Peter Bauer, we explain why the humble all-rounder deserves a reappraisal

Above @marcgross Photo: @dani.niederkofler.

What would you think of someone who says, when asked to name their favourite snowboard, answers with an all-mountain model?

 

“While most brands pour their marketing budget into new exciting, often pro-endorsed models, it’s the all-mountain options that have continued to plug away in the background, shifting more units than their flashier brethren could ever hope to”

In a world in which we’re spoiled for radical designs, head-turning powslayers, pro-endorsed park sticks and artisan oddities, you might well wonder: have they been living under a rock? Haven’t they noticed that brands have been pumping out more shapes than Boris Johnson at a wedding? Yes, in this day and age, stating a preference for a standard popsicle-stick does seem to possess a lot of ‘Alan Partridge discussing the Beatles’ energy.

Amplid rider Michail. Photo: @mediaproductionbk

Or maybe, just maybe, there’s wisdom at work. After all, upon their graduation from rental gear, scores of riders first properly got to grips with snowboarding on do-it-all models like the Burton Custom, Rome Agent, CAPiTA DOA and Slash ATV. While most brands pour their marketing budget into new exciting, often pro-endorsed models, it’s the all-mountain options that have continued to plug away in the background, shifting more units than their flashier brethren could ever hope to.

So they’re not going anywhere, then – but still, we can’t help but feel that the humble all-mountain snowboard isn’t getting its due – especially given that it’s only getting better. Exhibit A in the case for the defence is the Amplid Singular, which topped the all-rounder category in this season’s Whitelines 100. To ride it is to believe that an all-terrain vehicle can be much more than a mere gateway to specialist, ‘premium’ fare. As well as holding its own against any park, pow or carving stick you’d care to put it up against, it naturally does a far better job of unlocking the whole mountain. If you’ve not yet had the pleasure, Amplid head honcho Peter Bauer is on hand to explain why you should ignore the Singular, and all-mountain boards in general, at your peril.

Peter Bauer with the Amplid Singular. Photo: @andreas_baumann_photography

It keeps the cost down

“If you can afford a carving board and a huge swallow tail and a jib deck, AND you can always stop by your car and pull another board out the trunk, then you are a lucky bastard,” says Peter. “For all other riders, having a really good one-for-all snowboard is a pretty good choice!”

“As an added bonus, the reduced weight in your board bag will confound the vultures on the budget airline check-in desks”

This has been a central argument for getting an all-mountain snowboard since they first appeared – but it’s rarely been more pertinent. With the ‘cozzie livs’ – as at least one ill-advised person is calling it – sending bills higher than Tyler Chorlton on a down day, anyone fortunate enough to still be considering a trip to the mountains on some new gear would do well to opt for a ‘quiver killer’ rather than, erm, a quiver.

As an added bonus, the reduced weight in your board bag will confound the vultures on the budget airline check-in desks.

@marcgross Photo: @dani.niederkofler

There’s still a lot of variety

At a distance, most all-mountain snowboards appear to be roughly the same, from their cookie-cutter silhouettes to their relatively conservative graphics. However, take a closer look and you’ll still find a wealth of differences within that seemingly narrow focus. While ruling nothing out, many tend to lean towards one discipline – be it freestyle, carving or freeriding – which has a significant impact on thinks like the profile, how wide the waist should be, whether the outline should be tapered or asymmetrical…. the list goes on.

“Plus there is a cultural conformity pressure in certain groups, where a twin shape is what you have to ride”

Be aware that many don’t even call themselves all-rounders, but still are; The Ride Helix, for example, was one we always rated as an all-terrain vehicle even as Yuki Kadono was using it to raise the freestyle bar at the US Open. (NB: the reverse is also true; not everything that claims to ‘do it all’ actually can. At a board test event blessed with fresh powder, one ex-WL staffer was handed an absolute noodle by a poker-faced brand rep who declared its category as “all-mountain jib”…).

Even if you discount those and focus the search for your ideal board on just those marketed as all-mountain models, it could take you a while. Hell, even if you decide that the Amplid Singular is the one for you, you’ve still got a decision to make. Bizarrely, the ‘Singular’ actually comes in two versions: directional twin, and true twin. However, as Peter explains, there is method in the madness: “Even though most people spend 99% of their time riding forward, there is a significant amount of riders who simply feel more comfy, more safe, when riding switch on a true twin. Plus there is a cultural conformity pressure in certain groups, where a twin shape is what you have to ride. No board geometry could take that fear away from them. Perhaps that would require a psychiatrist, not a board designer!”

It’s ready for whatever happens

‘The best laid plans o’ mice and men / gang aft a-gley.’ said Robert Burns, and any descendants of his peppering the Scottish mountains in winter will hear the ring of truth. If the morning delivers an untouched powder field under a blue sky, the afternoon may well be a pea-souper that confines you to within a few feet of the snow fences. Or perhaps the park session you had in mind has been stymied by high winds, but at ground level there are rows upon rows of fresh corduroy to be had. On days like these, it’s good to have something that can turn its hand to anything and everything. And for those who have embarked on a season in Europe this winter, we hope for your sake that you’ve not just got a pow stick with you…

“And for those who have embarked on a season in Europe this winter, we hope for your sake that you’ve not just got a pow stick with you…”

The fear with only having an all-rounder to hand is that when the conditions are just what you want them to be, your ability to make the most of the day has been compromised. That, says Peter, depends on how you look at it – and just how ‘all-mountain’ the board under your feet truly is. “A ‘compromise’ is seen as something negative, like you have to sacrifice something, on some end. But you can have a good compromise, like a Swiss Army knife that you can use to change your tires and remove an appendix. There is nothing bad, when it’s done right.”

Peter Bauer with the Amplid Singular. Photo: @mediaproductionbk

It’s born of craft and graft

It may often look common-or-garden, but a ‘true’ go-anywhere model is one of the tougher tests of any board designer worth their salt. “It is a lot easier to make a powder board with a huge swallow tail, or a pure jib deck with stubby tips,” Peter explains, “because the ingredients for these recipes are a lot more obvious. It’s like, ‘you want something sweet? OK, let’s add sugar!’. It’s not as simple when you want to build a quiver killer.”

“It may often look common-or-garden, but a ‘true’ go-anywhere model is one of the tougher tests of any board designer worth their salt”

In the case of the Amplid Singular, the goal was to spend as much time as required to crack the code. With no set deadline, Peter and his team looked at where other all-mountain snowboards were falling short, and brainstormed ways to improve matters. A longer nose, for example, is ideal for powder, but tends to flap around on firmer snow leading to unwanted chatter. By making it stiffer right at the very tip, and adding the brand’s patented Antiphase vibration cancelling system, Amplid found the best of both worlds.

And so it continued, throughout what Peter describes as a rigorous period of rider feedback and data collection. “We never made more prototypes for any other board model than for the Singular. For two years we handed out new protos to our team riders, and to people who have registered for our Beta Project [Amplid’s testing programme, for which any rider can apply to be considered]. We really wanted to do it right.”

@peterbauersnow Photo: @mediaproductionbk

We’re not saying every all-mountain board will have gone through such an exhaustive process, but if you find a good one, then you can safely assume that a lot of blood, sweat and tears will have gone into its creation. If that’s not a confidence-booster, we don’t know what is.

Cred achievement unlocked

For the avoidance of doubt, true all-mountain riding means pow, piste AND park (and yes, that includes rails). Being able to turn your hand to all of it is the mark of a great rider, says Peter – and that’s got more to do with attitude than talent. “Some riders feel like they won’t look ‘pro’ enough having an all-mountain board in the lift line. But you also have that type of rider with healthy self esteem, who can say, ‘I don’t need a special board for powder, and another one for park and one for the groomer – I am happy with one board I can do everything with’…

““I feel we also cracked the nut of an all-mountain board not being uncool anymore – every single Amplid team rider has a Singular”

He’s hoping that his latest award-winning creation might help to shift more riders from the former camp to the latter. “I feel we also cracked the nut of an all-mountain board not being uncool anymore – every single Amplid team rider has a Singular!”

Peter Bauer with the Amplid Singular. Photo: @andreas_baumann_photography

And with that, the defence rests. Flash new models come and go, but the trusty all-mountain snowboard will always be there; dependable, versatile, and still just ordinary enough to prevent the development of an unhealthy Charlene-esque bond. Leave the specialists to plough their narrow furrow, while you brandish your all-mountain snowboard and roar, “Look upon my ‘works everywhere’, Ye Mighty, and despair!”

Topics:

Amplid

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