Things are changing on the snowboard scene making rental more of a priority than it has ever been. From Airwalk to Rossignol, snowboard engineers are building rental-specific products rather than just adapting retail products, which is producing a very competitive rental market. As ski areas become more aggressive in demo and rental programs, the push to be a part of those programs is gaining ground among manufacturers.
“Intrawest is looking to buy $20 million worth of products,” said Paul Alden, Airwalk’s snowboard category manager. “There’s a lot of volume out there.” A strong rental presence can benefit companies in the long run because, according to Alden, “A rental customer becomes a retail customer.”
In general, alpine ski companies with snowboard lines are becoming stronger players making a big push into the snowboard rental market, while snowboard-only companies have been a bit slower to respond.
“Our plan is to aggressively own the rental market in order to boost our retail sales, much like we’ve done with skis— own rental and the skis will sell,” said Marc Bujold, Rossignol product manager, who added that the company has done extensive rental testing.
As manufacturers struggle to keep up with rapidly changing equipment technology, they are paying attention to rental by offering more merchandise at lower prices and by developing better and faster boot-binding systems to streamline the snowboard rental process—some operations estimate that a board setup has a 15 minute hook-up compared to five minutes or less for a ski setup.
In an effort to make it easier for newcomers to progress, boards continue to get more versatile and easier to turn and there are an expanded number of all-mountain boards. Step-in systems are more important than ever, with several brands offering their own versions next season.
As for boots, the thinking is split between linerless and lined boots. Lined boots, though more comfortable, are also more expensive. Linerless boots are less expensive and less comfortable, but the main problem for retail customers—slow drying because the liner can’t be removed—is not one faced by rental shops with air-dry systems.
Here is a rundown on what some of the snowboard companies are offering in rental for the 1998-99 season and a glimpse into what will be available for testing at upcoming trade shows.
Airwalk
Snowboard category manager Paul Alden describes Airwalk’s program as “products built for rental use.” Airwalk has two directional freeride boards (145 and 155 cm lengths) in the rental program that feature all-wood cores, black bases and a much more durable ABS topsheet than the in-line products.
Airwalk’s new Quad boot-binding system is also available for rental. It is a sidemount design with an external forward lean adjuster and an external cant. The accompanying rental boot is linerless.
Burton
Burton will include a rental program as part of its pre-season offering to be introduced—along with the long-awaited step-in product—in January at the trade show in Stratton, Vt., said Clark Gundlach, Burton’s national sales manager. Further details were not available at press time.
Elan
Elan is expanding their presence in the snowboard market, changing the name of Nale boards to Elan and offering a full line of boards, boots, bindings and accessories, priced aggressively for 1998-99 rental programs. “We have split two-year dating,” said Brian Brand, product manager, “so customers can pay over the course of two seasons with the last half due at the end of the second season.”
In addition, all boards have a two-year warranty and Elan throws in an additional 10 percent inventory for stocking purposes. “It alleviates any waiting period if you’re down a board,” said Brand.
Elan has developed a specific price-point board for new snowboarders, the Royale. It uses the newly-developed Monolight wood core—a durable combination polyethylene/wood core with high dampening characteristics—and Elan’s “sweet spot” sidecut (the 140-cm board has an 8.2-meter sidecut and the 160-cm board has a 9.0-meter sidecut). Special graphics differentiate the rental board from the retail version; each size is a different color and the size is marked on the tail so it is easily seen.
Four boots will be available: a children’s model with a lace-up liner; a linerless freestyle model and two freeride boots—one linerless and the other with a liner and a supportive, internal lace-up system. At press time, Elan hinted at the arrival of a new boot-binding system they claim will work with any boot on the market. Brand said the new system will maintain the traditional feel of soft boots with the ease of a step-in system.
K2
K2 has three rental-specific boards, the Dart, the Dubblewide and the Comet. The Dart is an all-mountain directional freeride board with a lightweight double fiberglass cap construction featuring a full-length wood core, full-wrap steel edges and a solid P-tex base with a diecut logo, making it easier to repair.
The Dubblewide is an all-mountain directional twin board designed for riders with big feet. It has the same construction as the Dart, but has a radial sidecut. (Lengths available: 150, 155, 160, 164.) The Comet is an all-mountain, directional twin freerider with a double fiberglass cap construction and an ART polyurethane core. (Lengths: 143, 148, 153, 157, 163.)
For 1998-99, K2 has improved its step-in system for rental. The new Clicker RLT binding has one-screw adjustability for quick turn-around and is able to change stances from regular to goofy in three 360-degree increments. “Just loosen one screw, adjust, tighten and it’s ready to roll,” said Heidi McCory, K2’s product manager.
There are three key Clicker boots for the 1998-99 season. The K2 Sherpa is an all-mountain linerless boot, the K2 Sonic is a flexible, superlight freestyle boot and the K2 Shimano Sidewinder is a basic linerless boot for any level of rider.
Morrow
For the 1998-99 season, Morrow will offer special rental pricing on its entire line. “It all depends on volume,” said product manager Tony Pencer. The Rail collection of all-mountain directional boards returns, featuring single-barrel fiberglass torque construction edged with carbon fiber. The new Dimension line of all-mountain boards features a progressive sidecut (8.2 meters in the 150) and mid to low price points, retailing around $375. Pencer said that Morrow is focusing on product durability—on the Dimension boards, for example, the graphics are impregnated into the sublimated topsheet.
Morrow also has a new step-in: a symmetrical binding designed to change from regular to goofy stances easily. Two new price point boots are offered for $240 and $290 in soft leather with internal highbacks, either lace-up or buckling systems. Triple-layered, three-ply nylon renders them scratch-resistant.
Oxygen
Oxygen has built a price-competitive board specifically for rental. It has a directional flex and stance but a twin-tip design, “So if someone gets on the mountain and has the wrong stance it won’t be the end of the world,” explained Heath Jackson, Oxygen brand manager. The board is also slightly wider than average to accommodate a greater range of foot sizes. It features a cap construction with a black base and a sublimated Vandar top sheet for extra durability.
Ride
Although the company offers two different boot lines, Ride and 5150, the Ride line has less expensive rental models made of durable synthetic materials that don’t get wet and are easier to maintain. “We’ll have rental packages in boots starting at $89 and step-in bindings starting at $70,” said Brett Conrad, vice-president of marketing service. Ride will offer extended terms on rental packages as well. Standard features on all nine Ride boots are liners, double-stitching, beefier eyelets with speed laces and waterproof, synthetic outers.
There will be nine new Ride/Device step-in bindings and two 5150/Device step-ins with entry and exit improved by a plastic plate above the toe bar on compatible boots, which also sheds snow better. The bindings feature an anatomical aluminum baseplate, a new quick-release highback and the patented Device toe-heel connection. Bindings are available with or without highbacks, but most of the rental boots have an internal highback built in with a preset forward lean.
In boards, Ride offers most of its in-line gear for rental, including several new boards: the Concept boards and the Jenni Warra and Joel Mahaffey pipe- and park-specific pro models. All boards feature Ride’s lightweight cap design with one-piece tip-to-tail wood cores, full-wrap edge protection, patented insert retention system and lightweight Fusion base.
Rossignol
While some snowboard companies are gun-shy about developing a rental program, Rossignol is definitely not one of them. For the 1998-99 season, the company is developing and marketing a broad range of rental-specific product.
The recently-introduced Revolution Disc step-in system features attachment points on the side so beginners will have an easier time lining up. “It’s a guided system so it doesn’t matter if the customer tries to get in toe-heel, heel-toe, straight down or side-to-side,” said Bujold. The binding models are called the SIS FR, a Step-in model, and the Roc FS, a traditional binding. The Roc FS is a tool-free system, meaning that the stance can be switched from goofy to regular without a screwdriver. A Junior step-in binding fits sizes 19.5 to 22.5, with adult sizes to 30.5.
There are five step-in boots: two FS system boots, which have the highback on the outside of the step-in binding, and three FR system boots, which have the spoiler built into the back of the boots. For riders preferring a traditional system, there are two rental-specific soft boots: the lined Roc Star F3 and the linerless Roc F2. All boots are black leather with some color blocking and are reinforced with rubber material in the back of the heel cuff.
Rossignol offers two boards that Bujold described as “bombproof for rental,” the Roc T (twin design in sizes 134, 140, 146, 152 and 158) and the Roc D (directional design in sizes 140, 146, 152, 158 and 162). Both feature wood cores and an 80-degree sidewall construction. In addition, polyurethane tip and tail bumpers have been riveted on for extra durability and protection from delaminating or breaking. The board sizes are blazed three inches high and four inches long and are screened in. “Graphics are linked to our high-end retail graphic,” said Bujold, “so when rental tries to turn the fleet it will look like part of the line.” A microcell kid’s board is also available.
Salomon
For the 1998-99 season, Salomon recommends the SB200 boards, S2 and S3 bindings and Dialogue boots for use in rental applications.
In bindings, the S3 Shaped ($125) is specifically geared to rental. It is available in three sizes—small, medium and large— and aimed at all-mountain freeriders and freestylers of all abilities. It features easy-to-change stance and angle positions and has a shaped highback with padding for a solid, responsive feel. The S2 ($99), also for all-mountain rider, lacks the padding on the back.
The Dialogue boot ($149) has a dual-density rubber sole, an injected liner and outer lacing that features gliding inserts. It also features a three-fabric interior for increased durability. The 200 freeride directional board ($289) is aimed at beginner to intermediate riders. It’s lightweight and is designed to be easy to turn.
Switch
Switch is introducing a new rental program, including a rental-specific binding, for 1998-99. It offers a more flexible pricing structure as well as specialized service and personalized logos for large orders, according to rental manager Neal Rayner.
The autolock 55R binding fits both AX4 and 3-D hole patterns and features an undergasket previously sold only on higher-end models. It uses a stainless-steel frame and a one-moving-part mechanism. In addition, it has a hard anodized disk and latch for extended cosmetic durability. The binding has a non-clog design and active closure system so it locks into place even if there’s snow stuck on the bottom of the boot or on top of the binding.
The Switch binding is compatible with more than 25 boot models on the market, including Licensees, Deeluxe (Raichle), Vans, Nice and Heelside.
