We recently returned from Boyne Mountain for the annual Midwest Reps Association Test Fest. Here we had an opportunity to scope out some of the gear that will be headed your way for the 2012 season. Similar to last year, we wandered around inside and checked out the latest and greatest in softgoods and apparel, then headed outside for some hands-on testing of all the hardgoods we could manage to ride. When it came time to ride, it was all business for the MiSkiReport crew.
This year, we were armed with notepads and a pretty in-depth rating system that focused on the midwest. If you thought rocker was in full-effect this year.. you haven’t seen anything yet. What we were most interested in was the number of manufacturers who backed off the full fledged rocker kick and went toward the more hybrid (midwest friendly) approach of rocker-camber. On the ski side of things, the freeride and all-mountain scene is getting intense, with manufacturers one-upping each other across the board. With snowboards it’s a similar situation, but you will see the different variations of rocker and variable edge sidecut profiles expand. Also noted, K2 doesn’t have a single traditional cambered board. Weird? We think so, and honestly think they are missing the boat by shying away from any camber in their boards. More on that later.
Full product reviews for both skis and snowboards are in the works. In the meantime, take a look at some of the pictures.
It was all business for us outside. Fresh 2012 skis and snowboards for demo and testing.
The lineup from Full Tilt was looking good. Check out the red and black Classic in there. Style.
Auclair’s blend of style and functionality put their Mountain Ops gloves high on our list.
It was good to see Orage tone the colors back down a touch after this past year. Everything was looking to have more style and less gangster influence.
Crazy concept from Fischer on their Watea design. Boat hull tip to assist with floating up on top of the pow.
Michigan Made Marhar Snowboards lineup was looking good for next season.
We were digging the flannel look of Under Armor’s hoodies. All the benefits of Under Armor with a touch of backwoods influence – solid!
Sneak peak at the Flow Snowboards Scotty Lago Pro Model. Nice deck!
We couldn’t get over the simple but killer graphics on the 2012 Line Sir Francis Bacon. Eric Pollard, what?
We noticed a lot of relaxed, surf-inspired tips like these found on the Nordica Patron’s.
The 2012 lineup from Michigan based Epic Planks is looking very solid!
Check out the rest of our pictures on Flickr or in the slideshow below.
Written by: J. Dodge