As part of the Wiredsport team I was lucky enough to be able to attend the 2013 SIA Show in Denver, CO and Winter Park, CO at the end of January. This is where companies debut all of their new products for next season and allow retailers to demo the gear and decide what they would like to carry for next year. As a huge supporter of Mervin Manufacturing I dedicated a fair amount of my time to their tent. Let me just say this was time well spent. Check out a review on a couple of their new products in this blog.

Rome is debuting The Shank 2013 snowboard this coming year and this thing is loaded with new tech. That means it's time for an Innovation Watch. This board will keep you killing the park and streets all day and night. Highlighting Rome's new "No Hang Ups Rocker" design, this board is a scary fun new combination of flat rock with an odd twist on rockered contact points. Get the full break down of Rome's 2013 Shank snowboard here!

We got to see so many different and exciting products coming out in 2013 that we decided we shuld simply put out a collage of some of the most exciting stuff we saw. In this photo you'll spot things like the 2013 Flow Maverick with ABT, 2013 Lib Tech Horsepower, 2013 Flow NX2 geaturing their new strap design, 2013 Rome Hammerhead and so much more. It's looking like 2013 is going to be an exciting year for the snowboard industry!

Flow The Five SE 2013: We have an Innovation Watch with yet another 2013 Flow binding. The 2013 Flow The Five binding is probably the most upgraded binding in the Flow line. Featuring Flow's new strap design with a toe cap and both front and rear entry options this binding is sick. Improved ratchets and highbacks make the 2013 Flow The Five binding one of the best in their line.

Flow The Five SE 2013 bindings - Hybrid Strap, Modular Highback & LSR Ratchets - Wiredsport from Wiredsport on Vimeo.

Flow M9 and Flow M11 2013 Snowboard Binding: It's time for another Innovation Watch with Flow. Here we are looking at the 2013 Flow M9, M9 se, And M11 bindings. The 2013 Flow M9 se will feature the new two strap system with toe cap which is an absolute killer design, the 2013 Flow M9 and Flow M11 will feature the traditional strap design by Flow with a few marked improvement. Check out the video, It covers the differences between the highbacks, baseplate construction and strap design on the Flow M9, M9 se and the Flow M11. Needless to say we are very exctited about the 2013 Flow binding line!

A few days back we posted an Innovation Watch for the 2013 Flow Maverick with a dampening pad. Well we got more info and a video. They are calling this their ABT base. Flow will be featuring their ABT dampening pad on three of their 2013 snowboards. Watch the video for an exclusive preview of what this is and what you can expect from it when it comes out this fall!

Lib Tech's Snowboard Line 2013: Keeping with our goal of giving all of you a sneak peak at what to expect in 2013 we have photos of a few of Lib Tech's 2013 snowboard line including the Travis Rice pictured below. Killer graphics and some of the best technology available on these boards, the 2013 Lib Tech Snowboard Line isn't one to pass up!

Rome Targe 2013 Snowboard Binding: Time for an Innovation Watch on the 2013 version of the Rome Targa Bindings, a perennial favorite in the snowboard binding world. This year they are all about the cant. These bindings actually three canting options in three different degrees including a pre-installed cant. Evevn their footbed is pumping out the cant sporting their moto "yes I cant" on the footbed. If puns aren't enough to make you like a binding how about one of the only bindings around that actually pays attention to the little things like your straps bing in the way when you try and put your boot into the binding. Rome once again has rubber straps to pull the ankle strap out and away from the binding leaving nothing in your way to quickly throw your boot in and tighten the straps back down. Oh and of course they come with anle strap inserts to adjust stiffness. The tech on these bindings just doesn't seem to stop. Lots of photos inside the blog, take a look!

Gnu Metal Guru and Velvet Guru: Here is yet another Gnu innovation Watch. These guys just keep killing it year after year so we're gonna keep exploring their new product lines. These boards are the Gnu 2013 Metal Guru and the Gnu 2013 Velevt Guru. We could tell you all about their hybrid camber and Gnu's EC2, how they make riding them a dream and how you would be crazy to not check them out. But instead we'll let you watch a video from one of the Gnu reps.

Never Summer Snowboard Line 2013: The 2013 lines of equipment are debuting at shows all over. We managed to snap some photos of Never Summer's 2013 line up. Give em a peak and let us know what you think! Featured below are 2013 Never Summer Raptor, Cobra and Heritage. More designs inside the blog, take a look!

Rome 3D Snowboard Deck: This round of Innovation Watch is looking at what appears to be an innovation taking place in multiple companies, 3 dimensional decks. This model is the 2013 deck from Rome. Essentially what this is is a snowboard with a flat center in the tip and tail with the edges rolled up. This lifts up the contact points very slightly to allow for that loose feel while still keeping a traditionally cambered board (Rome is also going to be offering this on their flat rocker as well in 2013). No longer do you have to ride a reverse camber board to get the loose feel and catch free riding that has become so popular. You can kind of see the technology in the picture if you focus on the nose of the board. You can see two lines that run on each side of the Rome logo coming to a point towards the nose of the board. The center part between those lines is flat and those lines are where the board starts to curve up, elevating the contact points slightly.

Gnu Mutant 2013 Snowboard Binding: We realize it would have made sense to put all our Gnu Innovation Watch posts together but getting a new blog every day is just so much more exciting. Here we have the 2013 model of the Gnu Mutant Snowboard Binding. Featuring a two strap system with a toe cap while keeping rear-entry functionality, these bindings are sick. They have full ratchets allowing you to use the binding however you want. The toe strap also recieved some modifications making it more conforming and comfortable to ride. It's the 2013 Gnu Mutant binding and here's a video!

Gnu A.S.S. Impossible 2013 Snowboard: As Gnu and the people at Mervin have been driving innovation more than almost any company it almost seems silly for us to have to mention them on our Innovation Watch but we just can't help ourselves. They continue to simply put out unbelievable products. 2013 will see Gnu releasing the Asym Sym Sync, aka Impossible aka A.S.S. Pickle. The 2013 Gnu Impossible is a truely asymmetrical board design with how riders move in mind. The board features an elongated toe side edge and shortened heel side edge along with deeper heelside sidecut and a mellower toeside sidecut. These features make edge transitions a breeze. This board is designed to practically steer for you. Check this video from WWSRA that we made.

Ride Slimeback 2013 Snowboard Binding: Ride is officially making our Innovation Watch for 2013. Ride is going all out with a feature they have deamed their "Slimeback." Basically this is a binding featuring a full urethane highback. This allows for a super flexy and soft highback. A park riders dream binding, the Ride Slimebacks are only part of Ride Snowboards 2013 innovations. They are also featuring a "slimewall" sidewall and "pop rods" in some of their 2013 snowboards. Below is a photo of the Ride Slimebacks, you'll have to check back later for more info on the Nitro Slimewalls.

Flow Maverick Dampening Pad: This round of Innovation Watch provides a look at something that truely is beyond innovative. The 2013 Flow Maverick snowboard features a dampening pad in the center of the board. What you ask does that mean? Well Flow took their board and injected a sillicone dampening pad into the core of the board. This creates a sligtly lifted pad underneath the (sintered) base of the snowboard. Designed to dampen your ride, reduce board chatter and make riding just that much more fun and comfortable there is one thign we can say about this board. The 2013 Flow Maverick takes innovation to a new level from design to look and even feel. Check out the sneak peak photo!

Check out team riders Logan and Matt getting some ealry season turns up at the Timberline Park on Mt. Hood. They're riding the 2012 Camp Seven Peacepipe and the 2012 Camp Seven Roots, getting some product testing in on our latest line. Initial reports could not be better!

Flow NX2 2013 Snowboard Binding: You asked for it and Flow delivered. With a complete redesign and huge advancements starting in 2013, Flow has outdone themselves with changes to their line of bindings. Improvements include advanced ratchets, multiple entry options for all conditions, a release sytem that offers far more room to fit your boot into while providing a more snug fit, and yes they even added a toe strap! Watch the video for a full tour of the 2013 Flow NX2 line.

Anon M1 Magnetic Lens Goggles: Wiredsport is dedicated to folowing all the latest innovations in the snowboarding world and bringing them to your attention. Here we have the Anon Optics 2013 M1 Snowboard Goggle. This goggle features what they are calling "Mage-Tech", a technology that will leave must  of you thinking "why did it take someone so long to think of this?" Well Anon finally did and now we have a goggle with a magnetic lens. Welcome to the fastest lens change in history, a lens change so simple you don't even have to take your goggles off your face. Watch the video to see just how simple and awesome this new technology is!

These days flex is a big point of discussion in the snowboard world. Everybody has their opinion on how to rate flex and a number system to use etc. etc. (this includes us, see our flex rating blog here). However, most of these flex ratings deal with the flex of the board from tip to tail, also called Longitudinal flex. What many people don't know is that a snowboard flexes two ways, tip to tail via longitudinal flex, and it also has torsional flex which is the flex across the width of a snowboard. It is crucial that people are aware of torsional flex, especially beginners as it is what actually allows you to turn and transition from edge to edge. All the knowledge you need can be found inside this post.

Some of us eagerly wait each year for the new board line ups to come out, ready to pour through the new technology of the year and see just what we can get to improve our ride for the year. However, some of the more casual riders are unaware that despite nearly 20 years of little to no advancement in snowboard technology, the past 5 years or so have brought around improvements at a speed only equaled by electronics.

Here we will discuss my favorite advancement, Magne-Traction. If you dont know what this is yet be sure to read this. It will change your snowboarding life, we guarentee it.