Review of Oakley Canopy Goggles for Snowboarding

Luke    Snowboarding Gear, snowboardingholidays     Canopy Goggles, Oakley, Oakley Canopy Goggles, Oakley Goggles, snowboarding gear, snowboarding holidays, snowboarding kit

For me the unsung hero of a snowboarding kit bag is the goggles. If you can’t see, you can’t board, and if you can’t board, the rest of your kit is useless.

Oakley Canopy goggles, all day comfort.

Conditions on the mountain vary greatly. From bright sunny days with extreme glare, to white outs where you can’t see more than a few meters ahead. Your eyes need to cope with a lot of variation and your eyewear can make a huge difference.

Your eyes also need protecting, and not just from UVA and UVB light.

Here’s a review of the Oakley Canopy goggles, the latest piece of gear in my snowboarding kit bag.

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Top five snowboard resorts in France

Lucy Grewcock    snowboardingholidays     Avoriaz, chamonix, Courchevel, France, Serre Chevalier, Snowboard Resorts, snowboarding holidays, Snowboarding Trips, Tignes

Home to some of the best snowboarding resorts in the world, picking out five of France’s finest is no easy feat. If you’ve not yet been snowboarding to France, I guarantee at some time you will!

Avoriaz, the first resort in France with a snowboard only zone. Image: Flickr/ John Williams / Eurapart

It’s a country that boasts a plethora of perfect pistes, super snowparks and outstanding off-piste terrain; an excursion to this part of the European Alps is unlikely to disappoint.

But amongst these many gems, there’s a handful that sparkle a little brighter than the rest. We take a look at five of France’s very best resorts for snowboarders, examining each for their unique appeal.

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Pathron Sensei Snowboard Review: Freestyle board at a bargain price

Luke    Snowboarding Gear, snowboardingholidays     Freestyle board, Pathron Sensei, Pathron Sensei Snowboard Review, Pathron Snowboards, Raven Core Snowboard, snowboard, snowboarding gear, snowboarding gear review

On a recent snowboarding trip I passed a personal milestone: Taking two snowboards away on holiday! In the past one all-mountain conqueror has always sufficed, but this year I have added a smaller, lighter, more flexible board to my arsenal to help with tricks and to progress my riding.

The Pathron Sensei : A versatile freestyle snowboard.

For my new weapon I choose a 154 Pathron Sensei Snowboard, partly because it reminded me of the 80s classic Karate Kid.

I am an advanced rider, weigh about 79kg and normally ride a 158. I previously owned (and loved) a Burton Custom. However, last season after my board was stolen I replaced it with a Raven Core. I was very happy with the Raven Core snowboard and the low price meant I could justify (to my wife) getting a freestyle board this season.

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Snowboarding Jacket Review: Trew Cosmic

Luke    Snowboarding Gear, snowboardingholidays     review, Snowboarding, snowboarding gear, snowboarding holidays, Snowboarding Jacket, snowboarding jackets, Trew, Trew Cosmic

Normally, when I look out the window in the morning and see strong winds and heavy almost horizontal rain, I am disappointed. But for once I was excited as it would be a chance to test my new Trew Cosmic snowboarding jacket.

Trew Cosmic 2013

Testing a snowboarding jacket while walking the South Downs in heavy rain might not seem like the traditional method of reviewing winter sport clothing…. but the Trew Cosmic is a shell jacket (meaning no insulation) aimed at boarders who will be going backcountry and hiking uphill.

With this in mind, the key aspects to test are its protection from the elements, suitability for hiking, and of course how good it looks! I also gave it a week’s worth of snowboarding to be sure it did the job.

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Taking a Toddler on a Snowboarding Holiday: 5 Things to Consider

Luke    snowboardingholidays     Esprit Ski, Snowboarding, Snowboarding Holiday, snowboarding holidays, Toddler

At first glance, the words ‘toddler’ and ‘snowboarding’ don’t seem to go together… However companies like Esprit Ski offer a variety of childcare options meaning kids are kept warm, fed and entertained.

Snowboarding holiday with a toddler is possible. Image: Flickr/ Nouhailler

Toddlers are too young to start learning so will looked after in a crèche meaning parents can hit the slopes.

Here are 5 things to consider before taking your toddler on a snowboarding holiday.

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All Mountain Boards – Can They Really Do It All?

Neil Skilton    Snowboarding Gear, snowboardingholidays     Boards, Freeride, Freestlye, Jones All-Mountain Twin, K2 Gyrator, K2 Parkstar, Smokin Superpark, Snowboarding, Snowboarding Holiday, Snowboarding Trips, Yes The Greats

There’s no doubt that snowboard production has been flipped, turned upside down, and done a 360 in the last 5 years or so. Companies are thinking outside of the box, abandoning traditional concepts and every idea is being tried and tested.

Carry an all-mountain board and push your riding further. Image: Flickr/ John Lemieux

What this has done is give you every single option of shape and construction; camber, rocker, combo-rocker, anti-camber, zero camber, flat base, cam-rocker, jib-rocker, twin, flying-v, directional, magne-traction, frost-bites, wing-tips… the list goes on!

With so many options it’s now close to impossible to know which board best suits your level and type of riding.

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Oakley Airwave Goggles: Changing snowboarding forever?

Mark Pawlak    Snowboarding Gear, snowboardingholidays     Oakley, Oakley Sunglasses, ski goggles, Skiing, Snowboarding, snowboarding gear, snowboarding goggles, snowboarding holidays, sunglasses, Sunglasses Shop

It was only a few years ago that plans for snowboarding goggles displaying your riding stats only existed in drunken après-ski conversations. But with the new Oakley Airwave goggles, it’s reality and so much more…

The future of snowboarding right in front of your eyes

We’ve now got a goggle that integrates GPS, Bluetooth and a truck load of sensors to not only display riding stats but link with your phone and help you find your friends.

Somewhere along the road (or should I say piste) goggle design just got really clever – and something tells me snowboarding will never be the same again…

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