Aspen Ski and Board | Blog

Aspen Ski and Board will be closing for the season Saturday April 7th. We will begin expansion of the Polaris Parkway location next week. Savings don’t stop April 7th. Come out to our Huge Summer Sale at the Polaris Parkway location on Saturday and Sunday August 11th and 12th.

The wool or acrylic sock is one of the most important pieces of equipment Aspen Ski and Board sells.  Hands down, the number one complaint while skiing or snowboarding is cold feet.  This is often the result of a first time skier or snowboarder never being properly educated that cotton tube socks commonly used for soccer and football will not work while skiing or snowboarding.

The reason cotton socks will not work is due to the size and weave of the thread, most cotton socks are ribbed with very thick threads.  This type of construction actually causes pressure points and pain in a properly fitted boot, providing the impression that the boot is too small.  The natural reaction is to size up is bad for performance and control and will make your feet colder due to empty space around the foot where cold air will collect.  Additionally, cotton socks also hold moisture against the skin,  this compounds the cold sensation as sweat is cooled by the surrounding air and held against the skin because it was not wicked away.

The biggest difference between skiing, snowboarding, and other sports is in the boot.  The ski and snowboard boot is not supposed to fit with room to wiggle your toes.  A properly fitting ski or snowboard boot will wrap around your foot like a firm handshake with no room to move your toes.  Ski and snowboard boots fit this way to provide proper edge control over your skis or snowboard.  It’s like this, skiing or snowboarding with a boot too large for your foot, is the equivalent to driving with a loose steering wheel on your car, no precision or control.

Under physical activity your feet will sweat, and because ski and snowboard boots do not breathe, moisture cannot escape as vapor.  Wool and acrylic socks are the only option to effectively wick moisture away from the foot.

Think of the sock this way, as moisture wicking material that ensures proper boot fit.  Let your boot liner worry about keeping your foot warm.

Aspen Ski and Board stocks wool and acrylic socks from Smartwool, Lorpen, and Point 6. If you have questions feel free to give us a call, one of our boot fitters will be glad to share their knowledge.

Article by Brian Kocak, Location Manager Aspen Ski and Board

P.S. TECH TIP – Place a layer of reflective tape used to seal heating ducts (Not duct tape) under your boot board for an average 2* temperature increase.

Have you heard of Ride Snowboard Bindings?  If not, school is in session.  For the last few years Ride Snowboard Bindings have been the go to binding for the Aspen Ski and Board staff, largely due to their comfortable, durable, and lightweight aluminum binding frames.

Most bindings are manufactured from plastic, a material well known for being lightweight and easily moldable.  The problem with plastic is that it can become brittle at lower temperatures,  the last thing a rider wants to encounter on the slopes is binding failure.  Ride’s answer to this problem is aluminum, a strong, lightweight, and responsive metal.

Ride’s bindings are packed with innovations,  the most prominent being their patented Wedge footbeds built into the base of the binding.  This cushioning system helps absorb impact from drops and jumps and its angle provides a more natural stance when strapped in.  Additionally, Ride’s canted Wedge footbeds allow the rider greater edge control with a solid platform for balancing a nose or tail press.

Additional binding innovations include the utilization of grippy 3D ThinGrip toe straps that grip the toe of the riders boot better than any competitor.  Ride’s 3D ThinGrip toe straps eliminates pressure points by diverting energy from the hinge point of the boot resulting in more support with less pressure.

With every color in the rainbow in stock,  Aspen Ski and Board is sure to have the Ride Snowboard Binding in stock that matches your setup and riding style.  My personal favorite is Ride’s Rodeo Binding featuring flexing highbacks that helps absorb off center impacts and move with the rider when locked into a nose or tail press.

Article by Brian Kocak, Aspen Ski and Board Location Manager

When you enter most local ski shops, you are met with a choice; do I dress like a boarder or a skier.  Most winter outerwear brands are pretty specific as to which demographic their style caters to.  Very few brands are able to bridge the gap and appeal to both sides of the sport, or for those of us who happen to ski and snowboard.  Aspen Ski and Board has found THE brand that bridges the gap.

Trew was founded in 2008 and effortlessly fills the skier/snowboarder outerwear void by focusing equally on style and technicality.  Trew’s unique, conservative, yet edgy color palate defines the brand’s style and their devotion to supplying skiers and riders the most technologically advanced outerwear possible is relentless.  Simply put, you pick Trew’s outerwear for how it looks, and wear it season after season for its performance.

My first piece of outerwear was Trew’s Soft Shell Anorack, which was originally bought as a lifestyle piece, but after wearing it on the slopes, I soon discovered the Anorack to be a comfortable and technical warm weather jacket.

I have never been more excited about a new brand and am proud to announce that Aspen Ski and Board is the only retailer in Central Ohio that has discovered a company that perfectly complements our progressive Western style retail locations.

Article by Brian Kocak, Location Manager Aspen Ski and Board

Almost everyone today has a smart phone.  Whether an iPhone or a Droid, these touch screen phones have changed the way we live our lives and until now, did not function when paired with gloves and the Winter cold.  The North Face and Swany have recently developed glove liners equipped with E-Tip fintertips.  These liners / lifestyle winter gloves allow the operation of your touch screen smart phone through special electron finger tips.  Now when the temperature drops, your connection to your friends and social media does not drop with it.

I recently picked up a pair for the 2011 season and the E-Tip glove liners serve as the perfect driving glove wile doubling as a liner for my skiing gloves, texting, operating my phones camera, taking calls, and even composing e-mails are now possible without freezing my fingers.  This may not seem like a big deal, until you give them a chance, then  you won’t want to be without.

A wide variety of North Face E-Tip gloves and Swany I-Finger gloves are available at Aspen Ski and Board.  Tested by our staff for two seasons, these gloves come highly recommended simply because they work.

Let bandwidth keep you from uploading pictures, not the cold.

Article by Brian Kocak, Aspen Ski and Board Location Manager

Just like cars, computers, and everything else in the world, the skiing industry is advancing at an ever faster rate.  Advances in technology is making skiing and snowboarding more enjoyable, comfortable, and requiting less effort.  But the issue of safety needs addressing. Goggles have been around for many years, and the most popular tint and shape is something every skier and boarder is familiar with,  seeing the world in the orangish tint of goggles equipped with an amber lens.  While the skiers eyes and face are shielded from brutal winter elements, the first thing you may notice with an amber lens was reduced visual clarity.  Clear lenses work well at night, however during the day the sun reflecting off the snow will melt you corneas. After a few years of putting up with discomfort and a few close calls, I searched for a better option.  The solution was a Spherical Sensor Mirror Lens by Smith Optics.  I landed upon a lens that works well in all conditions, and allows me to discern obstacles in the snow that were previously blind. The most important technology in Smith’s Spherical Sensor Mirrored Lens was the tint itself.  It is not being a single layer solid lens, but actually a dual paneled lens with an amplifying base tint and reflecting outer layer.  Addressing the two issues facing all skiers and boarders,  lowlight amplification and direct/reflected sunlight. Primarily skiing in Ohio, nighttime skiing comprises a majority of my hours on the slopes.  Because they are too dark to be seen, dark and medium lens tints don’t allow the groves and ruts in the snow to be processed by the brain.  Amplifying lenses actually brighten low light conditions dark lenses make unseeable.  The reflecting mirror coating takes care of the reflecting daytime light in addition to direct light from the sun or artificial light at night. The spherical lens is a technology invented by Smith Optics and widely adopted by the top brands in the industry.  The basic explanation is the closer the curvature of the goggle lens is to the curvature of the eye itself, results in less visual distortion.  Peripheral vision, especially on the crowded slopes of the midwest, is important because of the other people on the slopes.  Dodging someone who is skiing on your side requires peripheral vision not provided by the traditional flat and wrapped lenses found in basic goggle models. My favorite lens I have skied with for several years is the Sensor Mirror Lens by Smith Optics.  Oakley’s HI Yellow and Pink Iridium lens options are additional shop favorites. Having my latest pair of goggles last nearly 10 years now, goggles can be a lifelong investment in safety.  Seeing everything in front and around you when Skiing and Snowboarding could determine if you go home to your bed or a hospital bed. In addition to being safe,  goggles will keep you looking steezy and fashionable on the slopes, something that seems to have more of an importance in the society of skiers and snowboarders than any other sport. Aspen Ski and Board is bring you the Oakley goggle bar for the 2013 season, where all of the goggle components can be chosen individually, and you can build the goggle of your dreams.   Cheers, Brian Kocak, Location Manager Aspen Ski and Board

If you don’t know about Ride Snowboard bindings its time you found out. For a few years now Aspen Ski and Board‘s staff favorite snow board bindings are made by Ride, and for great reason. Made of durable yet lightweight aluminum, these bindings a packed with features, comfortable, durable, and best of all steezy.

Plastic is well known for being moldable to any shape and lightweight, the problem with it however is becoming brittle at lower temperatures. The last thing any rider wants while being out on the slopes is to have a broken binding. Ride separates itself first from the pack with being made of metal.

The second thing to talk about is their patented Wedge footbed built into the binding. This can be found in several of their models, such as the Ride Rodeo binding. This cushioning system not only helps absorb impact from drops and jumps, but angles the feet to create a completely unique feel. The different ramp angle options give the rider the ability to choose the feel of the board giving it not only a great surfy feel, but also providing greater edge control.

Another separating factor is the binding strap’s feel. Across the line Ride binding’s utilize a toe cap strap composed of a gummy webbing, holding the toe of the boot better than any competitor. Their split top strap eliminates pressure points by diverting energy from the hinge point of the boot, holding you in tighter without even feeling it.

So choose the color to match your setup, and get one of the many great models. The Ride Rodeo is my personal favorite with its flex highback to help absorb off balance impacts and keep you riding out hard off balance landings. Aspen Ski and Board carries the full line of Ride Bindings and out knowledgable staff will assist in picking out the perfect match for you.

Article by Brian Kocak, Aspen Ski and Board

We have used laces to tie up our shoes and boots for centuries, but until recently no one had thought of a different method. Snowboard boots require snug and secure fastening to maximize the riding experience. Laces have the tendency to loosen within use, and also wear out fast throughout the season. The main alternative to laces is the Boa cable system, which has been met with much question in the industry.

Ride and K2 snowboard boots are featuring more Boa lace systems every year, and in my perspective this is a very good thing. What Boa cable systems provide, is a consistent, even, and secure fastening of the boot every time with minimum effort. Standard laces many times require multiple attempts to establish that secure feeling needed for maximum control while riding, and if tightening is needed doing so on hill is nearly impossible.

Boa coils are able to be tightened while the riders boots remain in the bindings, allowing for even mid run adjustments. The strength and durability of these cables has been proven since their introduction with superior longevity over laces. With many boots featuring two or even three Boa coil tighteners there is no disputing that they provide better hold of the foot than any other method.

If you have had troubles with getting your boots to provide a secure fit you must not be in a Boa boot. Stop into Aspen Ski and Board and try on a pair of Boa boots today. You will feel the difference immediately, and can be assured that the fit will last.

Article by Brian Kocak, Aspen Ski and Board