Tag: Custom Board

I’ve been working with my friend Jay at Dirty Bird Boards to build my first snowboard.  Jay has been manufacturing custom skis and surfboards for the past couple years and recently made the jump to snowboards.  The shop may be close to home but that doesn’t mean this is backyard low-tech.  Jay works with space-age materials, a CAD-controlled CNC machine, and state-of-the-art press.  This is no joke.

When Jay told me we could order a custom top sheet for said board, I knew just who to turn to.  I’ve known Erik of Rawr! art for a handful of years, mainly through my comings and goings at a local dark, underground speak-easy.  He has has been producing some wild, bright, very original art for as long as I’ve know him  (I’m sure long before).  Here’s his process showing 4 stages of the top sheet art coming to life.

I’ve always enjoyed making things and the idea of doing it myself.  In the off-season, I started making surfboards on the Oregon coast.  After learning how to work with fiberglass, why not make a snowboard?  Finally, with the help of Dirty Bird Boards and Jay, that dream is happening.

Jay thinks the shaper/surfer relationship has a place in the mountains too.  Talk to your shaper?  Talk to your ski/snowboard builder.  Before we started, Jay and I sat down in his living room and talked about what I was looking for in this particular board.  Much like a surfboard shaper, the questions included: how I ride, where I plan to ride, and what conditions this board would be used in.  I then took measurements of my entire quiver of snowboards to get an idea of how to quantify the feelings of how each rides.  With the help of a secret manual in Jay’s possession, I also had access to the design process and measurements of a very large and well-established snowboard company.  Between my notebook measurements, my design intentions, and the secret book of specs, I developed my ultimate shredder.  This board will be a day-to-day resort ride for anything from ice to a foot of fresh.  I have some brief racing experience and that comes through in my style of riding.  More freeride than freestyle, this board is meant to go in one direction, fast and furious.  Vertical sidewalls, a 162cm length, a not-too-wide waist width, and double-carbon fiber construction will keep it stable in the hard pack and at high speeds.  A very directional shape, moderate taper, scooped-up nose, and blunt swallow-tail will all help when the snow gets deeper.  I’m excited for the design, the building process, the art and collaboration, and working with my friends.  I’m very excited to ride my own custom board and beyond that to provide feedback as a tester and further the process of design and board building.

Stay tuned for more of the process.  I plan to document as much as I can.

There’s nothing like flying on a board you designed.  I can’t say enough good things about the builders and everyone who had a part in the construction of this one-off custom snowboard.  After some experimentation and mad-science we have a first-edition, custom Alta Snowboard Team snowboard.  I personally designed this board based on my riding style and preferred dimensions.  Best part about it: it works.  It works great!  I have been wanting to get the Alta Snowboard Team name on a board but have been hesitant to just pay to have a custom top sheet thrown any old no-name piece.  I can tell you this board could be flat black spray-painted and I would ride it every day because it’s my favorite.  Bonus!: it has a sweet, custom graphic on the top sheet as well a die-cut AST logo-adorned base to match!  As I stated in part 1, I measured my own quiver as well as consulted a shop manual for reference to popular board shapes and dimensions.  I decided on a tapered, directional board with stiffness that would make most frightened.  SUCCESS!  305 mm nose, 255 mm waist, 295 mm tail, powder-point nose, blunt swallow-tail because I like the aesthetics.  Here’s something I didn’t even plan on: a non-rounded tail makes for easier standing/leaning of your board.  “Just set it…….and forget it.”  The board performs better than planned.  The powder shape, slight taper, and rear-set stance keep the nose up and out of the pow as well allow the tail to release when needed for a good slash.  When the snow isn’t deep, I’ve set the stance a bit more forward and am having a great time laying into some groomers and carving the heck out of this thing.  The slightly wider nose makes for a very responsive high-speed carver.  Also, the taper seems to work like cruise-control on big, high-speed straight-lines.  The nose floats, the tail sits down in the snow to catch every so slightly to keep the tail behind you.  No more necessary edge riding for fear of catching.  “Just set it………and forget it.”  Utilizing a full sheet of unilateral carbon fiber plus strategically-placed carbon stringers keep that board solid.  I find myself hearing a lot more wind noise without noticing I’m moving faster.  It’s that good.  The pop out of the tail is a bit difficult because of the overbuilt stiffness of it but that’s how we built it.  More freeride than freestyle but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t been spun or inverted.  Stay tuned for a production edit and check out some players that helped make this board possible.

www.dirtybirdskis.com

www.facebook.com/dirtybirdboards

http://www.rawrproject.blogspot.com

Thanks for reading,

Mica

Here’s some design specs developed along the way:

 

Here it is!  The board has become a reality and here’s the production edit to prove it.

Thanks for watching.