Nidecker WTF?

So it seems that NDK is going to have a board featuring Pamela Anderson. For guys my age she used to mean something in the 90s but come on, we are in 2010, do you really think kids really care about Pamela Anderson, she is nothing iconic for this generation except maybe a lame porn video.

Some of the profits are going to go toward PETA, the largest animal rights organization in the world. Noble cause I have to admit, I love my dogs but the message doesn't seem to be coherent: a Swiss snowboard manufacturer / an ex whore-tv actress / Animal protection. Anyway NDK better to stick by making boards for pros who want to create their companies.

I wonder why they took some shots of her from the early 90s and not a recent one????

Old Pro Riders coming out

I am not a pro snowboarder by any means, but I can imagine they wish to keep being involved in the snowboard industry after the golden days. Just look at Grenade, Omatic, Forum, etc...

So with this sluggish economy some pro snowboarders left by choice (or not) their sponsors to start their own projects while they still have a momentum as pros. DCP,JPS and RDM started Yes, Antti Autti started Yeah Baby Yeah and Jeremy Jones started Jones Snowboards.
Their message are similar: bringing back the snowboarder at the center of the industry, going back to the core, saying to the kids support my brand because it's core! pretty much a sugar glazed marketing ploy.

Antti even goes to say in a Transworld interview that having a sponsor "it gets to the point where you start feeling it’s a job". Come on Bro, Sponsors pay you big dough to represent them, they pay you to increase their sales and consequently being a prosnowboarder is a job. Well to most standard, snowboarding most days instead of going in an office is not exactly what we would call a boring job.

To prevent any negative technical curves, they all decided to partner with Nidecker who has a solid manufacturing reputation.

Nidecker's message has never been extremely appealing to the youth, unlike Rome, Ride, Lib Tech. So by creating the NDF Creative umbrella, partnering to these well known pros could help Nidecker's brand. So hopefully those Pro boards will be sold for the core market while Nidecker board could be mainly mainstream market and grab more market share in the core market.

Not all pros have the desire to start a new company but for the most talented it is certainly tempting. However having more and more pros getting their own brand, it will water down the message of "being core, buy from snowboarders" and will minimize the authencity of their messages.

An additional risk is that kids know that those boards are developped by Nidecker, so they have realized that their risks are minimal, it sounds more like a Pro model with an additional "I started my own company" hype. The youth love anti-hero, someone who has the balls to risk everything and start from scratch. While being incredible riders, that may not be enough to give them this anti hero status.

Being Green

So here are few snowboard manufacturers who are starting to use green materials. The pessimistic will say it's only to jump on the green wagon but I say who gives a sh%t if the board is good and generates less pollution during the manufacturing process.


Capita: Green Machine (model on the right): sustainable core, biodegradable bean-derivative topsheet and recycle beeswax base

Venture Snowboards: facility 100% wind powered energy and is use sustainable wood core

Nidecker: flax-fiber topsheet, recycled P-Tex bases and teak sidewalls

Ellis on the EECO line is using natural basalt weave instead of fiberglass

Salomon are extending the green to boots and bindings (they were the first one to start the green initiave with the Sick Sitck)