There’s a new snowboard in town. Developed by an Aussie bloke in the back of his shed over the course of nearly three decades, the Cross Board looks like a snowboard met a pair of snowshoes in a dark alley and some things happened. What’s it like to ride, though?
While the Cross Board guys unfortunately don’t have any professional footage as yet of their invention in action, I managed to get a few clips of my attempts to get used to the board at its unveiling at Mt Buller. It’s a rainy and gloomy afternoon on the slopes, so the video isn’t exactly The Art Of Flight, but you get the idea.
Meet The Cross Board: The New Aussie-Invented Snowboard
There’s no image stabilisation going on inside the GoPro Hero3+ Black Edition that I used here, so hopefully the video imparts a sense how comfortable the Cross Board is to ride. For your reference, in the 90-second clip below I’m riding switch for most of the time (the camera’s on the tail end of the board) and I’d just adjusted my bindings to a much looser skateboarding stance, so I’m more than a little cautious and wobbly. Just so you know. Don’t hate me.
I’ll (hopefully) have a better video coming soon, once I can find the spare time to cut together a few different clips from a handheld Sony Action Cam and the board-mounted GoPros. But for now, here you go — check out how much the Cross Board’s lower blades move to accommodate bumps in even relatively smooth terrain, and how a tiny bit of forward or backward lean on the board can rotate the blades and tighten up turns.
There’s a more interesting video on the way, I promise, so stay tuned. [YouTube]
Update: Jeremy Saunders from Boardworld — one of Australia’s best snowboarding, surfing and skateboarding communities — has put together his thoughts on the Cross Board. These are the thoughts of someone who is an expert snowboarder, and I really value his opinion on the new tech. I strongly encourage you to head over and check it out! – Cam