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.
With the FREEQUENCER, we wanted to built the most bulletproof and most affordable splitboard on the market. I believe you won’t get “more splitboard” for the buck than you will with the FREEQUENCER. So what did we do to achieve that – pretty high – goal: The Freequencer is baked in the mould of our Milligram Split, but built to appeal to a broader spectrum of shredders.
In a different age, Peter Bauer might have racked up a truly monstrous follower count. As a multiple world champion and Burton team stalwart with serious freeride chops, there’s every chance he’d be doing Mark McMorris numbers. Of course, that all happened in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, when Mark Zuckerberg still had his baby teeth and the only place you saw a # symbol was on a payphone.
The bread and butter of Amplid’s snowboard program, our Playful All-Mountain range is the product of endless evolution and improvement. Each year these progressive snowboards benefit from trickle-down tech and clever tweaks to keep them ahead of the pack.
3D Crust Buster Nose - A convex nose profile which improves tracking and fluidity in three-dimensional snow. To retain responsiveness, the contact points are not lifted.
This entire family has a different approach to the boards’ tech specs matching the riders bio specs. It’s not a conventional product line, where you find one board in 3 lengths and widths! It’s a line where you find several different models, in one length each – and I’m confident you’ll find a geometry to add to your quiver as well. At least one !!!
Ski planes, sleds, big mountains, skis/snowboards. What's not to like? We had more tricky conditions this year, but we certainly made the best of it.
With snow falling across North America and the pre-season stoke in full swing, I figured it was time to get last spring's edit done...
With snow falling across North America and the pre-season stoke in full swing, I figured it was time to get last spring's edit done...
The Amplid Centrifugal Collection - As the names says it already: those boards are meant to play with the centrifugal force. These are boards for the speed-hungry technically advanced all-mountain rider. Carving big arcs on early morning curdory while laying out trenches is one “core competence” of these boards. But some geometries in this board category are also designed to float really really well in waist deep powder. When I get asked, whether the Centrifugal Boards are a kind of a flagship range where we are showcasing all our latest space age technology?
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.
This board is by far one of the best carving boards I’ve ever been on. It takes things up a notch and changes the whole dynamic of how you ride. This isn’t going to be for everyone, but for those that have a hard on for Korua they need to be looking at this. It’s a board that is so unique in its ride I don’t think this review does it justice.
At the heart of the Bagley is Mt. St. Elias. St. Elias has captured my imagination for the last 2 decades. Rising 18,008 feet in only 10 miles from the head of Icy Bay on the Gulf Coast of Alaska. I have traveled past her many times on the sea, gazing wide eyed up at the immense vertical relief, imagining the first ascent by the Duke of Abruzzi in 1897. The closest civilization lies over a 100 miles to the North, McCarthy. This old mining town is surrounded by towering icefalls and large, glacial fed rivers. Zack Barrett is a 3rd generation descendent of a miner that toiled away in the copper mines at the turn of the last century.
Siberia has something magical, you can only catch it by living it. Here is Gwen's and Ana's adventures, travelling to Baikal. A trip created by simple but impressive elements: Perfect powder, a frozen lake, a tiny cabin, a train ride and amazing local people.