Construction and Materials

The shape is ace, obviously, but it’s in the construction that Amplid’s strengths really get time to shine. It all starts with what’s called the ‘Stratospheric topsheet’. Inspired by greenhouses in hot Mediterranean countries, the material reflects the sun’s rays back in such a way that prevents snow sticking to the top of your board. That makes every step on the skin track that much lighter, which ranks as one of the biggest benefits a splitboard can have.

Also adding value on the way up are the rightly rounded edges at the extremities. The effective edge (and therefore the ride down) aren’t affected, but it means you’re less likely to ding one half of your board with the other half as you ascend.

Although weight savings aren’t the be-all and end-all here, the core of the Amplid Surf Shuttle is still among one of the lightest you’ll find. Thanks to the addition of basalt strips running from the inserts out to the nose and tail in a ‘V’ formation, it’ll also stay stable and reactive at speed.

“It’s in the construction that Amplid’s strengths really get time to shine”

Roundup

If the Whitelines 100 were all about which products are pushing tech to the absolute limits, then you’d undoubtedly find the Amplid Millisurf (and perhaps the Milligram) here. However, the Amplid Surf Shuttle is the undisputed pound-for-pound champion, so the choice was simple.

The compromises made to the Millisurf’s tech specs haven’t had a major impact – at least not a negative one. The resultant extra durability is not to be sniffed at, especially if the backcountry at your local patch is often a bit sharky. On the mountain, you’re far less likely to treat this with kid gloves – and that can only be a good thing.

Pros:

• When you consider the downgrade in tech from the Millisurf as well as the drop in price, this definitely looks like the better deal
• Few splitboard producers put as much thought into the ascent (you know, that thing that takes up about 90% of your day) as Amplid does

Cons:

• If you spend hours hiking to a zone and find it littered with natural hits and spines, you might wish you were on something less singular of purpose

“I loved this split – in fact it didn’t feel like a split, it felt like a solid! We set off on dawn patrol touring up pre-sunrise, with snow in the forecast for later that morning. The temps were warm at the base, however the snow was firm on the uphill. I used the Kohla Skins for the up – pre-cut – which made it super easy for testing and were ready to go straight out the bag.

I liked the white top sheet. Whatever Amplid have treated it with, it seemed to do a good job of preventing snow from sticking to it, keeping the grams low on each foot on the uphill.

The surf shuttle’s construction felt like it could take a beating, when it comes to split boarding you don’t really want something you are going to be too precious about, there’s always going to be sharks lurking under the snowpack especially in Spring and over time the transitions will start to take its toll on the edges and top sheet so having a board that will stand up to the test of time is really important to me.

The shape of this board was really fun, the setback stance and fishtail meant you could be really playful on the down. Heel-side slashes were the one, the deeper the pocket of snow, the better!”

“This award winning shape is for Splitboarders who want a buoyant shape and the quick-turning, rooster-kicking goodness of the Millisurf, yet with a focus more on bombproof construction than shaving off every last microgram, will be pumped to ferry themselves around the backcountry on the new Surf Shuttle. Fish tailed and with the kind of 3-D nose a Mandril would be proud of, the Surf Shuttle is built to float effortlessly over powder, chop and crud. Our Knuckle Sandwich construction is reinforced in areas prone to damage when splitboarding, while our homegrown Amplid hardware makes for hassle-free transitions to have you quickly back to getting pitted in the whiteroom. Thanks to our patented STRATOSPHERIC topsheet light also means light while skinning out there.”