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.

At 8:50 am, ten minutes before the lifts started turning, I found myself standing in front of the Gnu tent looking for a softer flex board in about a 153 cm. Tim, our friendly northwest rep, quickly grabbed the 2013 Gnu Street Series in a 152, slapped on their new model of the Gnu Mutants and told me to go enjoy. Enjoy did I ever.

The Gnu Street Series is a fully reverse camber board, perfect for those looking for that loose skatey feel. I personally prefer standard camber some place in my board but I may be changing my mind after this ride. The Street Series killed it in the park. The soft flex allowed for easy presses and ollied spectacularly. Jumps, rails, bonks all were done with ease. Then, in hopes of finding some fresh snow, it was off to trees where powder abounded. The reverse camber made for spectacular float and I found myself ripping through trees at speeds far less safe than I should have been.

After I felt I had spent enough time enjoying the board I decided it was time to go off and grab something new. This meant traversing all the way back to the other side of the mountain on some steep hard pack groomers. Steep hard pack on a reverse camber park board sounded like a daunting task but I decided what better way to truly test the rage that is Magne-Traction these days. I found the board a little squirrel when I first took off, it is a reverse camber after all, but then I refocused and started to try some carves and what we won't quite call ice. Suddenly I found my board edge grabbing and holding beyond belief. On a reverse camber board (which by default means a very shortened effective edge) I was getting better edge hold than I can on fresh corduroy and a traditional camber board. I decided to let it rip and bomb some of the black diamond runs to see how far I could push the edge hold. What seemed like only seconds later I found myself at the bottom of Winter Park back by the Gnu tent and a huge smile on my face.

I ran this board through the gauntlet (something I didn't initially intend to do to a park board but it just kept begging to be pushed harder) and it outperformed me every time. I gave the board all I could in almost every part of the mountain and I still feel like it had so much more to give. I can't wait to get my hands on one of these again and for those that feel the same way there's some good news. They are lowering retail on the Street Series model this year to well under $450!

Rome 2013 Shank Snowboard Profile:

Riding Style: Park/Street

Available Lengths: 145 cm and 153 cm

Shape: True Twin

Flex: Fairly Soft

Featuring:

Rome's No Hang Ups Rocker: flat rock profile with Rome's new 3D Camber Profiling. This technology allows for a flat base running through the center of the board in the shape of a large diamond. Then the edges are slowly rolled up starting at the inserts and progressing all the way to the nose/tail of the board. This allows for the board to keep a flat camber while slightly elevating the nose and tail of the board as well as the contact points. What this means: this board has a smooth skate like feel but keeps an effective edge, running length and pop that you traditionally could not find in a rockered board.

Carbon Single Barrel HotRods: A light single rod of carbon in the nose and tail of the board that runs down the center. This rod provides pre-loaded power for super pop on ollies without creating any torsional stiffness. High pop with easy edge transition, yes please!

QuickRip Sidecut: Rome's patented design, this board offers a midsection sidecut and another sidecut in the tip and tail of the board. At slow speeds only the center sidecut is initiated  allowing the board to "ride short", then at high speeds while carving the outer sidecut makes contact "increasing" the length of the board allowing for a stable smooth ride while bombing down the hill.

Summary: With a SinterTrue base, HotRods in the noise and tail, soft flex and Rome's No Hang Ups Rocker, this board will have you killing the parks and the streets all day long. The 3D Camber Profiling ensures your ride will always be catch free and smooth. And with this board featuring a dialied in tranny finder and basalt impact plates, you will not find a more complete park board.

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