We at Amplid are extremely stoked to be selected for the WHITELINES 100 Award. Check out what the guys at Whitelines are saying about the new Surf Shuttle:
Why We Chose The Amplid Surf Shuttle: Sometimes compromise is exactly what you need.
Amplid has always walked a fine line between tech-boffin wizardry and raw passion. In the former category, the brand’s crowning glory is its brace of ultra-light splitboards – the Milligram and Millisurf. While their performance is undeniable, not everyone wants or needs something quite so fine-tuned, especially when it means shelling out more cash.
“This is a lot more accessible to intermediate-level riders than it might appear at first glance”
Hearing this loud and clear, Amplid took the Millisurf’s shape and gave it a slight tech downgrade, making it more robust in the process. The result is the Amplid Surf Shuttle.
Who Is The Amplid Surf Shuttle For?
There are so many options for splitboarders these days, and the majority of what’s on offer still has a fairly conventional outline for that ‘all-mountain’ appeal. If you’re sick of those, the Amplid Surf Shuttle wears its freeride-purist credentials firmly on its sleeve.
Shape, Profile and Sidecut
The profile of the Surf Shuttle is what Amplid calls ‘Directional Cruise Camber’. In true Amplid style, that doesn’t require a lot of jargon-busting; the bend is set back to suit the shape, and isn’t as severe as you’ll find elsewhere in the range. The result is a board that floats like a dream in soft stuff and carves nicely on piste, but always feels mellow rather than twitchy.
A nose this big is unlikely to sink, but there’s a three-dimensional element up front to make sure of it. The light-touch spoon design gives you that extra bit of float – however, unlike some 3D offerings, the contact points are unaffected.
It’s all wrapped up in a freeride-as-feck outline, with a mid-range flex profile that makes the Amplid Surf Shuttle a lot more accessible to intermediate-level riders than it might appear at first glance.
“A nose this big is unlikely to sink, but there’s a three-dimensional element up front to make sure of it.”
Construction and Materials
The shape is ace, obviously, but it’s in the construction that Amplid’s strengths really get time to shine. It all starts with what’s called the ‘Stratospheric topsheet’. Inspired by greenhouses in hot Mediterranean countries, the material reflects the sun’s rays back in such a way that prevents snow sticking to the top of your board. That makes every step on the skin track that much lighter, which ranks as one of the biggest benefits a splitboard can have.
Also adding value on the way up are the rightly rounded edges at the extremities. The effective edge (and therefore the ride down) aren’t affected, but it means you’re less likely to ding one half of your board with the other half as you ascend.
Although weight savings aren’t the be-all and end-all here, the core of the Amplid Surf Shuttle is still among one of the lightest you’ll find. Thanks to the addition of basalt strips running from the inserts out to the nose and tail in a ‘V’ formation, it’ll also stay stable and reactive at speed.
“It’s in the construction that Amplid’s strengths really get time to shine”
Roundup
If the Whitelines 100 were all about which products are pushing tech to the absolute limits, then you’d undoubtedly find the Amplid Millisurf (and perhaps the Milligram) here. However, the Amplid Surf Shuttle is the undisputed pound-for-pound champion, so the choice was simple.
The compromises made to the Millisurf’s tech specs haven’t had a major impact – at least not a negative one. The resultant extra durability is not to be sniffed at, especially if the backcountry at your local patch is often a bit sharky. On the mountain, you’re far less likely to treat this with kid gloves – and that can only be a good thing.
Pros: When you consider the downgrade in tech from the Millisurf as well as the drop in price, this definitely looks like the better deal. Few splitboard producers put as much thought into the ascent (you know, that thing that takes up about 90% of your day) as Amplid does
Cons: If you spend hours hiking to a zone and find it littered with natural hits and spines, you might wish you were on something less singular of purpose
TESTER’S VERDICT Holly Burns – Snowboard Instructor
“I loved this split – in fact it didn’t feel like a split, it felt like a solid! We set off on dawn patrol touring up pre-sunrise, with snow in the forecast for later that morning. The temps were warm at the base, however the snow was firm on the uphill. I used the Kohla Skins for the up – pre-cut – which made it super easy for testing and were ready to go straight out the bag.
I liked the white top sheet. Whatever Amplid have treated it with, it seemed to do a good job of preventing snow from sticking to it, keeping the grams low on each foot on the uphill.
The surf shuttle’s construction felt like it could take a beating, when it comes to split boarding you don’t really want something you are going to be too precious about, there’s always going to be sharks lurking under the snowpack especially in Spring and over time the transitions will start to take its toll on the edges and top sheet so having a board that will stand up to the test of time is really important to me.
The shape of this board was really fun, the setback stance and fishtail meant you could be really playful on the down. Heel-side slashes were the one, the deeper the pocket of snow, the better!”
TRADE SECRETS Peter Bauer – Founder & Head of RnD, Amplid
“This award winning shape is for Splitboarders who want a buoyant shape and the quick-turning, rooster-kicking goodness of the Millisurf, yet with a focus more on bombproof construction than shaving off every last microgram, will be pumped to ferry themselves around the backcountry on the new Surf Shuttle. Fish tailed and with the kind of 3-D nose a Mandril would be proud of, the Surf Shuttle is built to float effortlessly over powder, chop and crud. Our Knuckle Sandwich construction is reinforced in areas prone to damage when splitboarding, while our homegrown Amplid hardware makes for hassle-free transitions to have you quickly back to getting pitted in the whiteroom. Thanks to our patented STRATOSPHERIC topsheet light also means light while skinning out there.”
Read the full review here: https://whitelines.com/snowboard-gear/reviews/snowboards/amplid-surf-shuttle-plitboard-review.html
