The German brand led by Peter Bauer continues its rhythm of partial renewal of its range while keeping boards at least 2 years (carry over). This Big Kahuna is one of the new additions to the "Future Shapes" freeride range, made up of very playful quiver boards with names that are as evocative as ever. It's a wide board that imposes itself, with its 161cm length and 27.1 skate, and it's not surprising that it's aimed at big babies "over 90kg" according to Amplid ("100kg or more to find the fun" according to our testers) who want to float in the powder and carve without sticking out with their big feet.
The idea of an all-mountain snowboard is not new, however, it has always been combined with losses, on either end. More nose for floatation in powder came along with a flappy groomer experience. But a stubby hard tip simply sucks on deep days. And too much of a directional tapered geometry ended up feeling weird when riding switch. However that dream of “one board in the trunk only” has never lost its fascination...
The Milligram and Millisurf proved that splitboard weight can be dramatically reduced without sacrificing charismatic board-feel, all-conditions capability and durability. Beneath its sleek carbon skin is a weightless core, pieced together from ultra-light wood varieties and honeycomb. Impact Pads protect your shred from dings without a weight penalty. Week-long adventures or a quick after-work dash from the trail head, you’ll soon appreciate the weight advantage...
We went up to Hintertux glacier a few days ago to test a new bio resin and a new shape. One part is the board feel of new materials (yes, resin can make a difference) and also to check bonding before going into production (but that will be made in a larger field test). We have been successfully eliminating the gloss finish on our boards’ topsheets to reduce solvents, now let’s continue inside the board...
Here comes Marc Grossgasteiger's "personal" full part of "Miles Away"... Sometimes we all desire to be far away from our comfort zone. We think that we don’t need to be necessarily so far off to feel miles away from the daily life. We are used to travel in such fast rhythm that we almost forget to have a closer look at what is surrounding us. It’s possible to travel deeper, slower with an open mind.
And after having experienced a super successful season last winter, stacked with awards and incredible reviews, I am deeply proud of this new 22/23 product range. It’s our finest combination of form and function to date...
"ACROSS emptiness" is the story of a real Dolomitic crossing made by a group of splitboarders and ski mountaineers into an almost imaginary space: the one left by the pandemic and the closure of ski resorts during the winter of 20/21. A journey that creates the background for a comparison between the emptiness of wild spaces and the one created by highly anthropized areas. An opportunity to raise questions about the future of alpine valleys...
Do like Japow? Japow as in "tons of fresh waist-deep snow"? Then you will like Jonel Fricke's latest project NISEKO STYLE - a short film project consisting of snowboard footage of Jonel Fricke and a musical composition & sound design by Addi Stefansson. The goal of this project is to display a combination of the footage and sound in the best possible way.
With best weather forecasts and good snow conditions at the ideal slope near the Stie-Alm, the organizers of the BURNING BOOTS BANKED SLALOM managed to prepare a perfect course for the fifth edition of the Banked Slalom at Brauneck. With the support of Snowboard Bayern, numerous banked turns were built into the slope over 4 days, partly by hand and partly with the snow caterpillar. Also this year a unique course was created, which is fun and sporty at the same time, to meet the wide field of participants from 5-60 years. Also international starters followed the good call and came to the Bavarian Oberland for the Banked Slalom.
The Amplid Miligram is unchanged top-notch this season. With the Stratospheric Topsheet, it is the most innovative ultralight splitboard on the market. The adjustments to the shape give the board even better powder performance without limiting the other parameters.
Three freeriders set off into the mountains, always in search of new terrain and new challenges.What they don't know is: There is something out there watching all their moves and trying to understand the reason for these risky descents. A two-year Passion Project about freeriding, looked at from a new perspective, critically questioning the subject itself. Is it morally acceptable to invade a world populated by rare animals and plants just because we love exploring so much?
Combining the pumped-up centrifugal shape of the Surfari with the superlight construction of the Milligram seems like a bit of an unusual mix at first. Amplid have taken inspiration from opposite ends of the snowboarding spectrum and the Millisurf is the fusion of these ideas. It’s the ‘Usain Bolt meets Paula Radcliffe’ of splitboards. Power and style meets lightweight endurance. Effortless steeze meets shit-your-pants levels of adrenaline.
Amplid are one of the best success stories snowboarding has seen in the past five years. Fantastically made snowboards, forever pushing the boundaries of what’s possible and fronted by one of the sport’s most passionate and iconic figures; Peter Bauer slides into the Big Wig hotseat for this issue’s Big Wig. Interview by Source Editor HMT.
Sometimes we all desire to be far away from our comfort zone. We think that we don’t need to be necessarily so far off to feel miles away from the daily life. We are used to travel in such fast rhythm that we almost forget to have a closer look at what is surrounding us. It’s possible to travel deeper, slower with an open mind.
Let’s be real for a minute. No amount of 3D base profiles, blunt twin outlines, and snazzy graphics are ever going to raise your freestyle game to the levels you already proclaim they’re at. As soon as you leave the lip of the jump, it’s all down whatever mercy gravity chooses to spare you.
Life’s better on terra firma, and when your snowboard is in contact with it for the majority of your day, genuinely innovative and performance driven products really do make all the difference. Enter the Amplid Pentaquark.
Life’s better on terra firma, and when your snowboard is in contact with it for the majority of your day, genuinely innovative and performance driven products really do make all the difference. Enter the Amplid Pentaquark.
Cruisers and jibbers, raise your hands please. Thanks for coming, help yourself to some biscuits and tea, and then kindly see yourself out the front door. You’re not welcome here. Amplid’s Mutant bindings make no exceptions in their construction or performance standards. This is one of the most responsive, premium and downright badass bindings out there.
Amplid have been leading the way in snowboard innovation in their own way for some time, and it’s reassuring to see them producing splitboard specific models, rather than cutting the fan favourites right down the middle. The combination of performance, durability and split specific innovation make the Surf Shuttle one of the best value, longest lasting, and straight out the box shreddable rides out there.
Sitting in Amplid’s Future Shapes collection, the Morning Glory is one of those boards that’s aimed at snowboarding connoisseurs – those who appreciate out of the box thinking and out of this world performance. If you’re scoring enough powder days this season, waking up with the Morning Glory will never have felt so good.
Ascent: The Mahalo convinces you during the ascent with its tracking ability and quite solid edge hold. It is balanced in such a way that you should kick turn less with an energetic kick, but rather shifting a little weight forward and the split ski follows almost automatically. As for the Stratospheric Topsheet, the differences were more pronounced on the thermal camera than in reality. During our tours we could not yet detect any difference with the topsheet. To be fair, we have not yet been out with the Topsheet in really unfavorable conditions - that is, when snow really ices and sticks to the board halves. We'll keep testing and report back.
Shopware, Europe's leading e-commerce software visited founder Peter Bauer in Amplid's headquarter, to have a chat about the beginng of Amplid, how to deal with alpine danger, how to balance brick and mortar retail with online sales, and what it takes to have a quite high target in mind: To build the best snowboards on this planet.
Interested in other peoples impression of our boards? Here comes Malcolm Moore - but let's the pictures do the talking...
With what can only be described as a past middle of the road directional freeride flex you have clear defined flex points in this board. Sure the nose is softer and that’s to be expected with the shape and the rocker in there. But right inside the front binding insert pack it has this noticeable flex point that is softer than the rest of the board. Then it goes back to its predictable flex and outside the back insert you hit another clear defined flex point but it isn’t as noticeable as the one inside the front inserts.
Amplid have carved out a stellar reputation for their fleet of snowboards dedicated to perfecting the art of the turn. Their Centrifugal Collection showcases some of the most performance-driven, technologically advanced boards that induce a near God-like feeling of power and control on the edge. Winter 21/22 sees a new model added to the lineup: the Souly Grail. Tighten your boots, zip up your vents, and say your Hail Marys. Your snowboarding prayers are about to be answered.
Gerwentil is the historical name of the Karwendel Mountain Range (Austria). One of the few places where you can still experience real adventures. The story begins at Ahornboden, at the northern entrance to the Karwendel. Centuries-old maple trees are losing their leaves and prepare for the dark time of the year. Three freeriders set off into the mountains, always looking for new terrain and new challenges. What they don't know is: There's something out there watching all their moves, trying to understand the reason behind these risky descents.