The BC Surf & Sport Blog: Snow. Skate. Surf.

An X Games superstar has passes away at age 29 due to head trauma.
On January 10th 6 time X Game metalist Canadian Sarah Burke dies from a dramatic crash on the Super Pipe in Utah. She was training for an event and took a hard fall at the bottom of the pipe. Just 9 days after her fall she passed away from her injuries.
Sarah is one of the greatest women’s athletes and earned an ESPY award in 2007. She is also the first girl to land the 720, 900, and the 1080. Sarah fought to have her sport added to the winter Olympics and won the battle. Because of Sarah the ski super pipe and slope style events will be added to the roster for the 2014 winter games. This accomplishment was one of her proudest moments. The winter X Games will be in memory of Sarah and all she did for the sport she loved. Our thought and prayers go out to her friends and family.
~Tune in to ESPN on Thursday for day 1 of the 2012 Winter X Games.

Share/Bookmark

As the snow finally begins to fly out here in the Rocky Mountains, we have come to a crucial piece of equipment that is essential for riding long into those snowy afternoons and snagging some fresh pow.  A great face mask can do wonders to keep you warm and windburn-free when it gets a little blustery; and keep your face from getting sunburned while slashing those day-after bluebird freshies.

Coal represents the most stylish of the functional accessory pieces that snowboarders tend to identify themselves by: the beanie.  Whether cuffed or slouched, brimmed or beret’ed ( I tried it), Coal is known to present a line of understated, comfortable, and fashionable pieces to kit up with on-hill and off.

Now into face masks…long past are the days of the burglar-style masks from the crime and horror flicks.   Have you seen the serial-killer looking guy rocking the leather face mask?  (Leather face pun intended)  We can update our style without compromising warmth or performance.  Lots of riders aren’t fond of the full over the head style of mask, finding it claustrophobic.  Coal provides more than a reasonable solution with the over sized neck gaiter styling in the NWAs series.

The V Neck Gator has bandana points in the front and back, that keep it from twisting as you get aggressive out there.  Made from buttery soft double-sided tech fleece in an array of colors, this one is great to keep you happy longer on cold days.

The M.T.N, or micro-tech warmer, is made from a more athletic, moisture-wicking polyester that, like the V Neck Gator, is convertible.  You can pull it all the way up to your goggles and tuck it in to seal out wind and the elements from your cheeks and nose to your neck and top of your jacket zipper.  This one is more appropriate for a variety of weather conditions, and will keep you from getting burned on those sunny spring days in the park or the backcountry.

Coal makes the Frena NWA in the same colors and soft knit rib as  your Frena beanie.  The Nichols NW is made from a cashmere-like acrylic that is super soft and styling that is obviously Coal.  Of course, Coal also makes some great looking option for that rider who likes a full coverage mask, such as the U.H.B., or under-helmet beanie.  Seamless coverage like that is also available in a rib knit as seen in the Knit Clava, and made from the same soft cashmere-like acrylic in the Nichols NW. Coal makes the Frena NWA in the same colors and soft knit rib as  your Frena beanie.

Avoid frostbite.  Look cool, not scary.  Be fashionable.  Skin cancer is lame.  Keep that face covered and keep that rider out there making turns long after the gapers had to call it a day.

February face mask of the month:  Airhole.

Share/Bookmark

The final round of our Firewire surfboard preview is here, tackling the TJ Pro, TJ Everyday, and the JacKnife models. Let’s kick it off with the longboards!

TJ Pro and Everyday

Firewire is welcoming World Champ Tyler Jensen to their Pro squad and this is his signature offering. This board has more agressive bottom contours and tail rocker than the Flexflight series, giving you a board that can go vertical but keeps the fun of cruising around on a longer board.

The TJ Everyday model strikes a balance between performance longboarding and nose riding. The Everyday model has a thicker foil, lower entry rocker, and flatter bottom concaves so it’s more conducive to a cruising, nose riding style.

Both the TJ Pro and TJ Everyday are available February 2012.

JacKnife

Sit in the pocket, and slice it up. The Jacknife is the newest offering to Firewire’s performance hybrid lineup. A fuller nose and wide swallow tail give you the flotation to ride in mushier waves, and the contemporary foil and rocker let you get vertical. The winged swallow tail also develops a straighter rail line so you can generate speed. Coupled with the rocker and foil and you’ve got a board that “un-weights” with ease for longer airtime. Versatility is the name of the game here, as this board will excel in a variety of conditions. Ride it 2″ shorter than a Flexfire/Taj, or 2″ to 4″ longer than a Dominator/Spitfire.

The JacKnife is available 8/15/2012.

Share/Bookmark

Check out this amazing new concept by Signal Snowboards. These wacky guys have developed a prototype snowboard/surfboard. A total hybrid that works just as well in the waves as it does in some sick powder. To test the surfing aspect of it they brought in pro surfer and legend Rob Machado. He was totally Stoked on the board and ripped it up as if it was his every day board.

Next it was time to test the shed capability on the mountain.
It seemed to work just as good and even have a bit of a surf feel on the snow. Big props to these guys for designing a board that was actually rideable in water and on the mountin. Nice work fellas!! Enjoy the video BC fans.

Share/Bookmark

Muller / Nike Zoom Kaiju Boot- Now Available at BC Surf and Sport“I love the Kaiju, it’s the best Boot I ever had. Comfortable, light and safe are just surnames. Once I’m laced up I start to smile and from here it is nothing but good times!” That quote came from Nicolas Müller Pro snowboarder and free ride legend. Recently Nike and Muller teamed up with Artists ‘Ites’ to make a one of a kind snowboarding boot. Nike truly outdid themselves on this one. A boot that has it all from a webbed lace system , to a heat molded liner for a custom fit. If you’re on the lookout for a boot that’s screams comfort, and defines steez then lace them up and butter the gnar. Tired of those huge off axis 720′s coming down harder than they should? Wait till you feel the support of the Internal Flywire Ankle Harness. It will keep your feet and legs locked into place for an ultra smooth landing.

Not to stiff and not to flexy, just right. The Muller and Nike Zoom Kaiju boot is the perfect boot for shredders on the afternoon street session to the guys taking heli trips in Japan. At the end of the day a good boot consists of flexibility, support, comfort, and warmth. Nike took note of all these things and packed it into one. The thin flexible outsole keeps you low to the board giving you more control than ever before. It truely gives you the ability to plan the amount of flex going into your grinds and presses. Frost bite on your toes, Forget about it! The Muller boots keep your toes toasty with the Space blanket strobal technology in liner and shell. From the sound of it you would think Nike had to take down the whole rainforest to create such a boot. You thought wrong buddy, with environmentally preferred materials going through the whole liner, you could say your feet are saving the world one trick at a time.

Enough about how comfortable and supportive these snowboarding hove covers are. Let’s talk about the visual aspect of these steez employers. The Muller and Nike Zoom Kaiju boot has artwork by Ites. It is an inventive tribal style that flows freely throughout the whole boot. Ites was going for a look and vibe that truly represented Mullers lifestyle. With a Nike swoosh on the side, checking off the first thing on the list, style. It’s a guarantee that it’s at the top of the food chain. With all the bases covered from giving more board control, to locking in the perfect foot position. We have to say this is the most epic boot of 2012 so far.

Share/Bookmark

Surfboards incoming! The new 2012 Firewire models have been unleashed, and we are giving you the details on all the upcoming models. In this post we are taking a glance at two of their performance oriented shortboards, the Michel Bourez model and the Hell Razor.

Michel Bourez

Ready to attack in any situation, the Michel Bourez pro model is designed for powerful maneuvers. An evenly distributed rocker lets this board turn tightly on a wave, and the 4mm single concave helps generate speed. The thicker foil and wider shape also let you ride this board a bit shorter than your normal performance shortboard (1″ to 2″ shorter).  It’s a bit meatier than the Flexfire and Alternator in terms of overall volume, but less so than a Hellfire. If you’re looking for a well balanced shortboard that will rip in a variety of waves, but still retains some volume, check out the new Michel Bourez model.

Available March 2012

Hell Razor

The grandchild of the Spitfire, this new shortboard has a solid performance hybrid heritage. The Hell Razor retains many of the features that made the Spitfire and Hellfire successful, and refines a few to crank out some extra mojo. The super deep concaves have been flattened out a bit, and the nose and tail have been shaved down to a narrower look. This board still keeps the width though, so you won’t bog out on flat sections. Overall it will give you a bit more maneuverability at the cost of overall volume, and is a solid refinement of the Hellfire series. The Hell Razor fits well into the 3′ to 6′ wave category, and is a great compliment to a hybrid like the Dominator/Spitfire. Use your hybrid on windy or smaller days, but when it cleans up or gets a bit larger pull out the Hell Razor to cause some havoc. Ride this one 1″ shorter than your performance shortboard. Available 2/15/12.

I’ll be back a little later in the week to tackle 3 more models, the TJ Pro, TJ Everyday, and the JacKnife. Check out the first installment covering the PotatoNator, Baked Potato, and Activator here.

Share/Bookmark

The good people at Real Skateboards were kind enough to send us a board with the new Low-Pro construction. So far the responses have been nothing but positive.

The new Low-Pro decks are center pressed with a slight nose to tail rocker. This lowers the decks center of gravity for more control, and provides an additional axis point for quicker pop. The decks also have added strength and reduced weight. This is done by adding two custom milled thinner x-bands that reduce wight without reducing strength. Check here for more info on Real’s Low-Pro construction.

The new Low-Pro construction can be found in the Real Lock Up series decks. These decks can be found at all BC locations. Check the graphics here.

Share/Bookmark

New boards always make my heart light up. Whether it’s a re-imagined favorite or a total new direction, there’s always the hope for better equipment and new lines. The new Firewire 2012 surfboard lineup delivers both refined versions of their most popular boards along with a few new models.

Over the next week we’ll be showing off the goods. Strap in and start frothing. Today we’re delivering the details on the PotatoNator, Baked Potato, and Activator.

PotatoNator

Let the splicing begin! A Frankenstein creation, this board slams together the Dominator and the Sweet Potato to create a board aimed to ride 2′-4′ waves that can also handle 3′-5′ as well. The changes from the Sweet Potato include less girth, a slightly increased rocker, softer double concave, and a pulled in nose similar to the Dominator. This board fits nicely into the “small, and mushy” wave category, helping you make the most of smaller conditions, while still retaining enough performance characteristics to keep you active. You’ll still get the paddling power (should we say superpower?) of the Sweet Potato, but with a small dose of adrenaline to keep turns fun. The diamond tail and longer rail line will also help squeak out some speed from gutless waves. If the total volume of the Sweet Potato was looking like a bit too much, this board could be the call for you.  Ride this board 4-6″ longer than a Sweet Potato, or about 2″ shorter than a Dominator. Available 2/15/12.

Baked Potato

The Sweet Potato was one of more popular boards in 2011, and this revamp gives it a few refinements to keep it cooking. The nose has been pulled in a bit, and the rail volume has been thinned out so you can sink it more easily. The Baked Potato keeps the large double concave and spine that runs down the center. These features combined with the smaller rail volume help to quicken rail to rail transitions on such a large board. The quad fin setup is set a bit farther back and closer to the rail to let the board hold without sliding. Like its predecessor, this one is designed to turn small days into fun sessions, and this version will let you perform a bit as well.   Available 6/15/12.

Activator

Next level Domination, welcome the Dominator 2.0.  The Activator keeps the wave catching ability of the Dominator, while spicing up its performance. It keeps the same nose and middle sections, but changes up the caboose with a double wing swallow tail. This tail takes away some of the bulk from the Dominator’s thumb tail allowing the board to turn sharper and retain the “pivot point” feel of a swallow tail design. A single concave keeps you moving fast and will help to generate speed in smaller waves as well as ride over flat spots. The Dominator has been my go-to board for South Florida and I’m really stoked to see this one coming out. Ride this one at the same height as your Dominator, or 4-6″ shorter than your standard performance shortboard. Available 4/15/12.

Stay tuned for more boards coming up!

Share/Bookmark

B.C. Surf and Sport is helping sponsor a best trick contest Jan 21st @ Rocketown sk8park in Pompano Beach. The event is called Artheart art/skate fundraiser.
Artheart has been helping out kids for a while now. They thought it would be a great idea to give back and throw the art event at the local skatepark. BC Miami team manager and local skateboard guy Blair Hess is not only helping run the skate part of the event, he will also be showing his art as well. Pro skateboard legends Alan “Ollie” Gelfand and Mark Lake will be in attendance as well. Limited Lance Mountain paintings and many other artists paintings will be on display as well. All the proceeds made will be donated to a few charities that are listed on the flyer.

Share/Bookmark

Mike Vallely has officialy left his long time sponsor Powell Peralta for the 3rd time and moved on to creating his own line of skateboards.
“Elephant Brand Skateboards: Weapons Of Mass Creation
100% Skateboarding for love — For fun.
No rules, no divisions, no schools…
Just a skateboard as a paintbrush and the world as an empty canvas
‘Elephant Brand Skateboards’” ~ Mike V.

Share/Bookmark