There’s a new fad that’s made a resurgence back into the core snowboarding community. ‘Pow-surfing’, or more simply put, ‘binding-free boarding’, is all the rage right now and we’re all about it.
Rewind back to 1965 when the dude of all dudes, Sherman Poppen (not such a dude name) attached two skis together in a small town of Michigan and bombed a hill in his backyard with his kids. The two ski contraption was dubbed the ‘The Snurfer’ (snow and surf = snurf) and the thing we all love to strap our feet into and rip shit apart with was born. Hallelujah!
From that point onwards, the snurfer very quickly evolved into the snowboard. Over the course of the next 50 years, snowboard technology progressed rapidly. Olympics, X Games, Air & Style, Shaun White… the list goes on.
We’re humans and thrive on progression, but every now and then, it’s an incredible feeling to step back in time and enjoy the simple feeling and beauty of the ‘glide’.
Pow-Surfing is like riding a twin fish surfboard when you’ve been operating on a thruster your entire childhood. You’re taking a step back from insane technological progression to enjoy the simplicity of drawing lines, channelling patience and ripping high flying turns.
Pow-Surfers ten or so years ago were hard to come by. It was more of a DIY project for the ultimate core to take on and has only slowly started to blow people’s minds through the power of social media shares.
Grassroots was the first company to bring Pow-Surfers to the market, and with it really pushed the ‘soul’ philosophy attached to it. Wolle Nyvelt is another pioneer. You may have seen an Absinthe part of his… go back and watch it again. You’ll realise some of those monster turns and drops he does is on a bloody Pow-Surfer!
Brands such as Jones are collaborating with iconic surfboard shaper Chris Christenson to bring to life a surf inspired shape. The possibilities of these things have only just started and it’s incredible to watch the intel attached to surfboard shaping overlap into Pow-Surfers design.
Whether it be an epic pow day or a shitty weather day, the Pow-Surfer is a damn good thing to ride wherever and whenever you want. If you’re looking for quality winter times that guarantee a smile, Pow-Surfing is the answer.
