Hardgoods 23/24

[pow_hnd]

The paradox of what you're saying is that if everyone shifted to buying from what you deem a "core" shop (Milo?), then those shops become the Evos and Backcountrys of the world and you'd hate them, too.

That's not even close to what I'm saying. And no, they wouldn't get that big, they are constrained by their community. But without those mega online retailers, more locals would have core snowboard shops that would be able to survive in their communities.

[eleveneightnate]

That's not even close to what I'm saying. And no, they wouldn't get that big, they are constrained by their community. But without those mega online retailers, more locals would have core snowboard shops that would be able to survive in their communities.

They are definitely not constrained by their community... they have access to the internet like everyone else. Places like Tactics and Evo were local shops that recognized this and beat a lot of the other local shops to the e-commerce punch. Were snowboard shops not supposed to pursue online sales? Were they supposed to ignore the opportunity of getting sales from the 95% of people that don't live anywhere near the mountains but still need gear for vacation? Milosport has a robust website that I've purchased from before, so that and their brick-and-mortar are clearly working for them because their revenue is the same as The House's.

Edit: to be clear, supporting local is something I'm in favor of. I just don't see merit in shitting on places like Tactics, The House, Evo, etc solely because they grew successful e-commerce businesses (I'd much rather shit on Evo because they employ and market a ton of kooks). I don't buy into equality of outcome... when e-commerce became a thing, any given shop had the opportunity to jump on it and some did, some didn't. Big box shit like REI and Backcountry is clearly a different discussion.

[benjinyc]

RIP House. I don't think I ever bought anything there but I remember getting their catalogs in the mail back in the mid 90s that I'd flip through during high school class. It was exciting to see all the board graphics all in one place pre-internet.

I think SLC is an outlier in that most people snowboard as a lifestyle, not just a weekend activity. There's only two places to buy any gear in NYC and it's either REI or the Burton flagship store. There was a skateboard/surf shop near my old hood that stocked some capita/union/now/yes gear and could not move any of it. The other retailers that tried to sell more 'core' brands also closed (e.g BladesNYC)

[eleveneightnate]

RIP House. I don't think I ever bought anything there but I remember getting their catalogs in the mail back in the mid 90s that I'd flip through during high school class. It was exciting to see all the board graphics all in one place pre-internet.

I think SLC is an outlier in that most people snowboard as a lifestyle, not just a weekend activity. There's only two places to buy any gear in NYC and it's either REI or the Burton flagship store. There was a skateboard/surf shop near my old hood that stocked some capita/union/now/yes gear and could not move any of it. The other retailers that tried to sell more 'core' brands also closed (e.g BladesNYC)

Their catalogs were awesome. To your second point, I completely agree and think many brands would hurt if they had no way of selling to people that weren't in CA, CO, WA, OR, or UT. E-commerce has really helped level the playing field with smaller/core brands and I don't think that supporting a local shop is always more important than supporting the snowboard companies themselves. If you can do both, it's ideal, but as someone who lives in one of those "lifestyle" kind of places, most people don't have the luxury.

[Lonz]

Regardless of how you feel about the demise of the House (I'm Canadian, so I'm largely agnostic about the whole thing), some of the deals are bonkers. If I had any use for a 162 split, I'd be snatching up one of those Chamonix Route SL Blems real quick. A full carbon split for ~$250 USD? That's nuts. Even if it turns out to be crap, the gamble is worth it.

Edit: Looking at the design of the hook insert area, I suspect they may be made at Playmaker. They have the raised design under the hooks, like Nitro and Amplid splits.

[pow_hnd]

Some of the deals are bonkers.

There’s no arguing that sir.

Edit: But those deals come at a cost to other players in the retail arm of the industry and are not good for the snowboarding eco systems greater overall health.

Products marked down that much are going to leave products in the hands of smaller retailers who need their margins to stay in business. So essentially, this “liquidation” is fucking a bunch of small independents.

At least Burton has a system in place to prevent them from marking shit down that low and to protect their other retailers

[eleveneightnate]

I suspect they may be made at Playmaker.

I believe they are. I grabbed one of the Chemins a few seasons ago because it was like $150. It's exactly the same specs and shape as the Sims Solo (which used to be made at Playmaker before NS). Guessing they're just using the mold.

chamonix-chemin-snowboard-all-20.jpeg[/attachment [attachment=1]BLUWOO.jpg

[iheartsierracement]

i’ve got thoughts i’ll share sometime. mixed bag all around, no ethical consumption under capitalism and whatnot.

anywho

got to demo a few boards at troll today. beautiful bluebird and soft fresh cord to start the day.

Nitro Alternator 160
much different than I expected. stiffer and narrower than the MTN, which is what I was expecting it to ride like. not bad, definitely a charger, pop felt “off,” super stiff torsionally.

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Nitro Quiver Basher 158
asym carves like a dream, you feel how soft the board is, as well as the flat camber, but she still holds an edge an pops plenty. definitely going on my shortlist for a park lapper.

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Nitro Quiver Dinghy 155
Nitro’s answer to the Warpig (maybe more inline with the Psychocandy or Peace Seeker), and it definitely holds up against those boards. sturdy yet playful. I’d choose this over a Slush Slasher any day.

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Salomon Highpath 156
wayyyy softer than I imagined. could be because of the smaller size, or maybe the Shadowfit bindings (Highlanders). not a bad board, but I was hoping for something more aggressive like the Ultimate Ride

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Ride DeepFake 161w
just a tank, but a tank that can turn on a dime. like an Algorithm on steroids, and that thing is already a little jacked.

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Ride Peace Seeker 155
Ride’s golden child. perfect blend of capable charger and playful surfer. I had ridden the 151 previously and was glad to try the next size this year for a touch more stability.

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Super curious and excited to see how the deepfake stacks up to the Mega Death from capita. Both seem like stiff/tanky boards that can carve on a dime

edit: how does the deepfake stack up to Ride's other hard charger boards like the smokescreen, Mtnpig, bezerker, etc?

[coleslawed]

The numbers I've seen put both Milosport and The House around that $5m revenue mark. The-House is hardly Backcountry.

fyi, that 5m number is strictly our brick and mortar store (and a number i’m proud to say we hit my first year as shop manager).

[coleslawed]

The House going under will 100% negatively impact the industry, from this dilution of the market (though we have always been guilty of that, just not quite to this extent), to brands scrambling to find new homes for our cancelled PO’s.

lots of brands had to change how they ran things after the pandemic, a few choose to send 90% of their products to our warehouses and use our FBA model vs stock their own. those companies may not be around next season if no one else steps in.

there will always be big online dogs and small core shops. it is a fact that those big onlines are also a local core to some people though. maybe they got lucky to get big online, maybe they did something extremely right. i’ve talked with other “core” shop managers about their struggles to do more online sales. but there will always be smaller brands and products you can only find at those smaller shops, that’s what keeps me stopping by places like Cal Surf or Damage, even though I work at The House.

idk what i’m really saying here. it’s been a weird week, gonna get weirder.
shoot me a message if you buy something and i’ll blow it a kiss as it goes on the Fedex truck.