To Each His Own.

My roommate Bacon is planning on opening a ski and snowboard shop in Michigan, so needless to say, we talk a lot about brands and which ones we like and which ones he should carry, so I thought I'd right a blog about some of my favorite brands and some smaller ones I think people should know about.

Snowboards:

• Dinosaurs Will Die: DWD is a crazy company that I believe is based out of Portland, OR, but I'm not sure. The company was started by to of my favorite riders, Sean Genovese and Jeff Keenan who are on the Think Thank crew (a video production company). This year DWD has three boards, all twin tip, and have some of the most ridiculous graphics in the industry. The reason I'm a fan is because they truly are an underground, by riders for riders company. Sean and Jeff were sponsored by other board companies, but had ideas that weren't getting used and probably wouldn't be used, so they did their own things and today have one of my favorite snowboard companies.
• Forecast: Forecast Snowboards was originally started in Omaha, NE, but have since moved their headquarters to Winter Park, CO. It was founded by David Parrish and has another favorite rider of mine who is also on the Think Thank crew, Pat Milbery. A big reason I like Forecast a lot is because they do a lot to promote snowboarding in the Midwest with their Mighty Midwest Snowboard camp, which actually goes to my home hill, Afton Alps.
• Signal: Signal is becoming a fairly popular company in the industry today, with one of the sickest riders to come out of Jake Olson-Elm, or Jake OE. Probably my favorite part about Signal is their website, and how open their are about their product and company. Their website pretty much has a full virtual tour of their factory in Vista, CA, as well as a step-by-step process of how their boards are built and what materials and technology goes into them. I respect this a lot, because as a consumer and someone who wants to start their own snowboard company, it is nice to see a company that open about their operations for everyone to learn from and know just what their getting in their board.

Outerwear:

• Holden: Holden is definitely my favorite outerwear company, partly because of their pro team consisting of Gus Engle, Laurent Nicolas-Paquin or LNP, and Darrel Mathes. Now I'm sure you can tell by now that a companies riders is a big factor for me when picking my favorite companies, but on top of that, Holden is a big player in the new green focus that many companies today have. They have a fabric they called the C_Change which is the only fabric in the world that is eco-friendly and has 3 layer fabric technology. C_Change also meets the Bluesign standard that guaruntees the highest possible exclusion of substances which are harmful to humans and the environment.
  
• L1: L1 is made by Nitro Snowboards and is once again awesome because of their pro team, which includes Nima Jalali, Jon Kooley, and Jordan Mendenhall. They basically make higher end gear for more fashion oriented riders with a wide product line for both men and women. Their full catalog is at L1outerwear.com so be sure to check them out.
  
• Bond: I recently heard about Bond from my roommate so I decided to look into them and they soon became a new favorite of mine. I'm not to sure about their history, but they have some really cool gear and they are huge into the green movement. The following is from the tech page on their website talking about their sustainable practices: Every piece of Bond outerwear and apparel that comes out of our doors has been pored over again and again to make sure that we are doing all we can to make the most sustainable pieces possible. All of our outer shells and inner lines utilize a blend of Recycled PET (made from plastic bottles and containers), and virgin polyester that is completely recyclable. Both are materials that have been used before and can used again for years to come. We took this and looked at all other facets of outerwear. Snaps? Made from discarded plastic pellets from heavy industry. Zipper pulls and Buttons? Same deal. One man's trash is another's treasure, or at least another man's cargo pocket snap. On top of that, they have great other features that you should for sure check out on their website bondsnowboarding.com.
  

I have noticed that a lot of people have some strong opinions about what brands they like and dislike. My best example is my friend back home who recently found out that Burton owns Forum Snowboards, Special Blend outerwear, and Foursquare outerwear, and now refuses to support any of those brands. I've noticed that most brand animosity is towards bigger companies who have a lot of control in the market, such as Burton. I sometimes and the same way since I think it is important to support the smaller brands who are trying to make it in the industry, but I can see how people would want to get the bigger companies' products since they are a trusted name in the industry, so basically it depends on whatever floats your boat.

A lot of people even associate certain brands with certains areas. Bacon, my friend Eli, and I were hanging with some people when a girl made a comment about how everyone from the Midwest wears Holden and the brand Nomis. I was currently wearing my new Holden jacket, along with Bacon, who is from Michigan, and Eli, who is from Wisconsin, was wearing a Nomis hoodie. We all found it pretty hilarious that the Midwest is associated with those brands, along with the fact that we were all wearing them, but it just goes to show that some people have preconceived notions of what other parts of the country are into.

There you go, a little glimpse at what some of today's snowboarders are representing brand wise, so hopefully some of you will read this and check out these brands and maybe even buy a thing or two from them. Peace.