The History of Snowboarding

THE STORY OF THE SNOWBOARD Snurfers to jib rockers and everything in between: the REAL history of snowboarding PRE-SNURFER -experimentation 1600's lazboard I Turkish villagers in the Kackar mountains have been riding sideways on the lazboard for over 400 years. 1929 MJ. “Jack" Burchett started sliding down hills on a board with clotheslines and horse reins Wicklund "bunker" Sled created-1917/ patented -1939 15 lbs. Invented by Gunnar and Harvey Burgeson and Vern Wicklund. Made of solid oak. Very similar design to the lazboard. It weighed at least 15 pounds. 2.5x (weight of Wicklund Sled) the average weight of snowboards today %3D 1960's - the true birth SNURFING! Snurfer Ad (ca. 1966) → the greatest word in downhill fun since YAHOO000000. 1965 “The Snurfer" Sherman Poppen invents The Snurfer for his daughter by bolting two skis together. He licensed the invention to Brunswick who went on to sell over 75,000 in the 60's and 70's for $15 each. 0000000! the thrills of SKIING! the skills of SURFING! Snufng is winter's newest snowtime thril Makes tobogganning tame, $$ puts sleds in the kiddie class. You don't st ride the Snurter, you puide it From the p ef the h o the b Snurfing is one long "YAHOO0oooo $15.00 Snurfer the average cost of a large pizza today (cost of The Snurfer ) BRUNSWICK Tom Sims “Skiboard" In Dec. 1963 Sims made one of the first snowboards in 7th grade woodshop class. It was made out of a three-foot piece of wood, aluminum sheeting, and a carpeted top Brunswick wW Win S Ch 1970'S - game changer Winterstick 1975 Dimitrije Milovich starts Winterstick Production in Utah and comes out with the Roundtail and Swallowtail. It had foot straps, leashes, no rope and was the first to use fiberglass, polyurethane foam core, and p-tex bottom. The Flying Yellow Banana Skiboard In 1977 Bob Weber, Tom Sims, and Chuck Barfoot invented the yellow banana. Weber designed the "yellow banana" polyethylene molded bottom and Sims added the skate deck to the top making the first "board" under the Sims name. Jake Burton Burton • 1977- Burton was founded by Jake Burton Carpenter. • He started making prototypes made of laminated maple wood out of a barn in Vermont, • The Burton Backhill, weighing 7.3 lbs. was born. • Used water skiing bindings to keep his feet attached. 1978 Chuck Barfoot develops the first fiberglass prototype snowboard. The fiberglass is sandwiched between the wood core to reinforce strength and stiffness. $38 1980's - the innovation era 1985 Metal Edges Metal edges are introduced on the Sims 1500FE and Burton Performer models. Deep Sidecuts 1985 Mike Olson's Gnu boards introduces deep sidecuts to increase edgehold and turning ability. Marketed as carving boards, turns are made on edge, not slided. First Signature Model Jake Burton •Tom Sims introduces the first signature model board in 1985, the Terry Kidwell Roundtail Pro Model. • It's the first freestyle board with rounded tail, bringing a skate-inspired style to snowboarding. BURTON $129 1985 Burton Elite 150 1990'S - design revolution К2 "FATBОВ" In 1993 K2 introduced the first wide board for big footers, also known as the "Original Fatty' variable width theory. MAGNE TRACTION Lib Tech (formed by Gnu's Mike Olson and Pete Saari) invented a serrated edge concept in 1997 that they called "magne-traction." "Before the Fat Bob, you could only chose a board by it's length to match with your height. Once the Fat Bob came out people could choose boards based on their foot size which is important because we're standing sideways... not straight like skiers. It's ironic that a ski company would be the first to come out with the variable width story." Magne-traction improves edge hold and focuses control and power where you need it. -Chris Engelsman, poster child for the FatBob 3D HOLE PATTERN In 1993 Burton rolls out with the 3D hole pattern, diverging away from the standard pattern of two rows of four holes each. 1993 OVER 50 COMPANIES were marketing snowboards to the consuming public. The 2000's - tech and prototyping make giant leaps BOARD SHAPE UP UNTIL 2006. SLIMEWALLS had followed ski design and had been cambered. IHANE IOEWALLS CAMBER RIDE SNOWBOARDS SLIMEWALLS The dampening system is built into the boards, with urethane taking the place of regular plastic sidewalls. It is extremely durable because it absorbs impact, rather than fights against it. AFTER 2006. ROCKER BOARDS PURPOSE: superior float in powder, ease of turning, and less chance of catching an edge. concave board design inspired by surf technology. The side view had the shape of a banana and was called reverse camber or rocker. Lib Tech introduced a EXAMPLES OF DIFFERENT ROCKER TYPES: ROCKER ROCKER BURTON CHANNEL SYSTEM S-ROCKER SROCKER Burton's channel system allows micro-adjusting for stance and angles as well as full board flex all the way through; getting rid of the dead spots under your feet (where inserts used to be). Works best with Burton EST bindings, but is also compatible with most competitor bindings as well. JIB ROCKER 2OCKER -FLAT ROCKER WINTER ROCKER/CAMBER COMBO ADVANCING MATERIALS PURPOSE: provides perfect combination of surfer feel from rocker and strong edgehold from the camber. "Experts also attribute the advancing quality to increasingly sophisticated computer modeling, new laminating and layering techniques and the application of ever lighter, stronger materials -- titanium, for example - and high-tech nylon fibers such as Aramid and Kevlar, and carbon. TIGNES EXAMPLES: BURTON FLYING-V: V-Rocker between your feet and outside your feet, while camber underneath your feet. Enhances playfullness and float in powder. -"Technology and design advances are making it easier to ride like a pro SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER LIGHTER, STRONGER, LIVELIER, ECO-FRIENDLY AND SOMETIMES MORE EXPENSIVE MATERIALS. MERVIN C2BTX: Allows for full edge contact with catch free tip and tail and easy to turn rocker. CARBON KEVLAR HONEYCOMB BAMBOO BASALT FIBER CAMBER ROCKER CAMBER $2,699.95 2013 Lib Tech Cygnus X1 Enhanced BTX Snowboard • Lib Tech's experimental division has fabricated a futuristic sophisticated concept construction which will help save the planet and deliver mad-pop. - http://www.lib-tech.com/snowboards/cygnus-x-V CYCNUS • Limited production • Hand made by Lib Tech founder Mike Olson in Sequim, Washington • Art by Matt French 2020 - what's next? HAS THE SNOWBOARD EVOLUTION REACHED IT'S PEAK.. OR IS IT JUST GETTING STARTED? SOURCES http://www.skimuseum.net/- snowboard archive Skiing Heritage Journal Mar 2009 "Off the Chain: An Insider's History of Snowboarding By Ross Rebagliat" KRUSH.COM K http://www.levelninesports.com/Snowboarding-History http://www.mervin.com/about/ www.burton.com k2snowboarding.com http://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/snowboard.html www.ridesnowboards.com http://www.snowboardermag.com/videos/k2-fossil-fridays-chris-englesman-full-part/ http://www.grindtv.com/brand/k2-snowboards/ http://snowboarding.transworld.net/ http://www.nytimes.com/1994/11/24/garden/snowboard-a-rosebud-for-the-90-s.html http://business.transworld.net/ http://www.hawk-media.com/stories10.html http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Technology-and-design-advances-are-making-it-1099106.php http://www.snowboard-review.com/blog/article/the_best_snowboard_technology_of_2012/ http://ussnowboarding.com/snowboarding/history-snowboarding-part-i-1960s-1970s http://ussnowboarding.com/snowboarding/history-snowboarding-part-3-1990s http://www.skinet.com/ski/mountain-life/history/2010/04/snowboarding-is-older-than-you-think Toe Edge Waving Edge Heel Edge Sems THE STORY OF THE SNOWBOARD Snurfers to jib rockers and everything in between: the REAL history of snowboarding PRE-SNURFER -experimentation 1600's lazboard I Turkish villagers in the Kackar mountains have been riding sideways on the lazboard for over 400 years. 1929 MJ. “Jack" Burchett started sliding down hills on a board with clotheslines and horse reins Wicklund "bunker" Sled created-1917/ patented -1939 15 lbs. Invented by Gunnar and Harvey Burgeson and Vern Wicklund. Made of solid oak. Very similar design to the lazboard. It weighed at least 15 pounds. 2.5x (weight of Wicklund Sled) the average weight of snowboards today %3D 1960's - the true birth SNURFING! Snurfer Ad (ca. 1966) → the greatest word in downhill fun since YAHOO000000. 1965 “The Snurfer" Sherman Poppen invents The Snurfer for his daughter by bolting two skis together. He licensed the invention to Brunswick who went on to sell over 75,000 in the 60's and 70's for $15 each. 0000000! the thrills of SKIING! the skills of SURFING! Snufng is winter's newest snowtime thril Makes tobogganning tame, $$ puts sleds in the kiddie class. You don't st ride the Snurter, you puide it From the p ef the h o the b Snurfing is one long "YAHOO0oooo $15.00 Snurfer the average cost of a large pizza today (cost of The Snurfer ) BRUNSWICK Tom Sims “Skiboard" In Dec. 1963 Sims made one of the first snowboards in 7th grade woodshop class. It was made out of a three-foot piece of wood, aluminum sheeting, and a carpeted top Brunswick wW Win S Ch 1970'S - game changer Winterstick 1975 Dimitrije Milovich starts Winterstick Production in Utah and comes out with the Roundtail and Swallowtail. It had foot straps, leashes, no rope and was the first to use fiberglass, polyurethane foam core, and p-tex bottom. The Flying Yellow Banana Skiboard In 1977 Bob Weber, Tom Sims, and Chuck Barfoot invented the yellow banana. Weber designed the "yellow banana" polyethylene molded bottom and Sims added the skate deck to the top making the first "board" under the Sims name. Jake Burton Burton • 1977- Burton was founded by Jake Burton Carpenter. • He started making prototypes made of laminated maple wood out of a barn in Vermont, • The Burton Backhill, weighing 7.3 lbs. was born. • Used water skiing bindings to keep his feet attached. 1978 Chuck Barfoot develops the first fiberglass prototype snowboard. The fiberglass is sandwiched between the wood core to reinforce strength and stiffness. $38 1980's - the innovation era 1985 Metal Edges Metal edges are introduced on the Sims 1500FE and Burton Performer models. Deep Sidecuts 1985 Mike Olson's Gnu boards introduces deep sidecuts to increase edgehold and turning ability. Marketed as carving boards, turns are made on edge, not slided. First Signature Model Jake Burton •Tom Sims introduces the first signature model board in 1985, the Terry Kidwell Roundtail Pro Model. • It's the first freestyle board with rounded tail, bringing a skate-inspired style to snowboarding. BURTON $129 1985 Burton Elite 150 1990'S - design revolution К2 "FATBОВ" In 1993 K2 introduced the first wide board for big footers, also known as the "Original Fatty' variable width theory. MAGNE TRACTION Lib Tech (formed by Gnu's Mike Olson and Pete Saari) invented a serrated edge concept in 1997 that they called "magne-traction." "Before the Fat Bob, you could only chose a board by it's length to match with your height. Once the Fat Bob came out people could choose boards based on their foot size which is important because we're standing sideways... not straight like skiers. It's ironic that a ski company would be the first to come out with the variable width story." Magne-traction improves edge hold and focuses control and power where you need it. -Chris Engelsman, poster child for the FatBob 3D HOLE PATTERN In 1993 Burton rolls out with the 3D hole pattern, diverging away from the standard pattern of two rows of four holes each. 1993 OVER 50 COMPANIES were marketing snowboards to the consuming public. The 2000's - tech and prototyping make giant leaps BOARD SHAPE UP UNTIL 2006. SLIMEWALLS had followed ski design and had been cambered. IHANE IOEWALLS CAMBER RIDE SNOWBOARDS SLIMEWALLS The dampening system is built into the boards, with urethane taking the place of regular plastic sidewalls. It is extremely durable because it absorbs impact, rather than fights against it. AFTER 2006. ROCKER BOARDS PURPOSE: superior float in powder, ease of turning, and less chance of catching an edge. concave board design inspired by surf technology. The side view had the shape of a banana and was called reverse camber or rocker. Lib Tech introduced a EXAMPLES OF DIFFERENT ROCKER TYPES: ROCKER ROCKER BURTON CHANNEL SYSTEM S-ROCKER SROCKER Burton's channel system allows micro-adjusting for stance and angles as well as full board flex all the way through; getting rid of the dead spots under your feet (where inserts used to be). Works best with Burton EST bindings, but is also compatible with most competitor bindings as well. JIB ROCKER 2OCKER -FLAT ROCKER WINTER ROCKER/CAMBER COMBO ADVANCING MATERIALS PURPOSE: provides perfect combination of surfer feel from rocker and strong edgehold from the camber. "Experts also attribute the advancing quality to increasingly sophisticated computer modeling, new laminating and layering techniques and the application of ever lighter, stronger materials -- titanium, for example - and high-tech nylon fibers such as Aramid and Kevlar, and carbon. TIGNES EXAMPLES: BURTON FLYING-V: V-Rocker between your feet and outside your feet, while camber underneath your feet. Enhances playfullness and float in powder. -"Technology and design advances are making it easier to ride like a pro SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER LIGHTER, STRONGER, LIVELIER, ECO-FRIENDLY AND SOMETIMES MORE EXPENSIVE MATERIALS. MERVIN C2BTX: Allows for full edge contact with catch free tip and tail and easy to turn rocker. CARBON KEVLAR HONEYCOMB BAMBOO BASALT FIBER CAMBER ROCKER CAMBER $2,699.95 2013 Lib Tech Cygnus X1 Enhanced BTX Snowboard • Lib Tech's experimental division has fabricated a futuristic sophisticated concept construction which will help save the planet and deliver mad-pop. - http://www.lib-tech.com/snowboards/cygnus-x-V CYCNUS • Limited production • Hand made by Lib Tech founder Mike Olson in Sequim, Washington • Art by Matt French 2020 - what's next? HAS THE SNOWBOARD EVOLUTION REACHED IT'S PEAK.. OR IS IT JUST GETTING STARTED? SOURCES http://www.skimuseum.net/- snowboard archive Skiing Heritage Journal Mar 2009 "Off the Chain: An Insider's History of Snowboarding By Ross Rebagliat" KRUSH.COM K http://www.levelninesports.com/Snowboarding-History http://www.mervin.com/about/ www.burton.com k2snowboarding.com http://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/snowboard.html www.ridesnowboards.com http://www.snowboardermag.com/videos/k2-fossil-fridays-chris-englesman-full-part/ http://www.grindtv.com/brand/k2-snowboards/ http://snowboarding.transworld.net/ http://www.nytimes.com/1994/11/24/garden/snowboard-a-rosebud-for-the-90-s.html http://business.transworld.net/ http://www.hawk-media.com/stories10.html http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Technology-and-design-advances-are-making-it-1099106.php http://www.snowboard-review.com/blog/article/the_best_snowboard_technology_of_2012/ http://ussnowboarding.com/snowboarding/history-snowboarding-part-i-1960s-1970s http://ussnowboarding.com/snowboarding/history-snowboarding-part-3-1990s http://www.skinet.com/ski/mountain-life/history/2010/04/snowboarding-is-older-than-you-think Toe Edge Waving Edge Heel Edge Sems