Salomon Sick Stick

In our first Friday poll back in January I asked you all to vote on what you wanted me to learn about at SIA. Well I know it's been over a month, but I've finally got the scoop for you on Salomon's bamboo technology.

Salomon started a new program called the G.I.F.T. Project: Green Initiative For Tomorrow. Salomon says the purpose of this project is "to minimize our impact on the environment and maximize our impact on your riding." They've spent three years looking out how they could improve riding performance while decreasing the ecological impact of manufacturing.

Salomon The Answer

Most snowboards are constructed using layers of resin and fiberglass, but Salomon is, instead, using bamboo veneers to sandwich the core. Using less resin and fiberglass is lighter, less wasteful and better for the environment. In addition they've replaced the ABS sidewalls with bamboo rods that are durable and waterproof.

Bamboo has become a very hip material to use in the snowboard industry these days, but Salomon chose bamboo because it best met the goals of the G.I.F.T. program. Salomon's Communications Manager, Rian Rhoe, told me that Salomon would have "made boards out of recycled sports bras if they performed well and lowered our eco footprint!"

By using bamboo Salomon has been able to reduced their use of petroleum based materials by 20%, reduced use of non-renewable materials by 25%, and decrease board weight by 10%. The bamboo is a locally sourced materials, so Salomon also reduces the carbon footprint of these boards by not having to ship materials into the factories. Bamboo is also one of most environmentally friendly materials available since it is fast growing and absorbs CO2 while growing.

Salomon has 2 boards coming out for Winter 2009 that take advantage of bamboo technology. The first is the Sick Stick - a powder board with a double pointy nose that won the Volvo SportsDesign Award for Eco Design in the boardsports category at ISPO. Anne Boulanger has been using this board for her backcountry assaults, so I'd expect you'll see it in her video parts next season. The second board is The Answer- a directional twin all mountain board.

I got a chance to demo the Sick Stick 156 on a powder day at Snowbasin. This board was perfect for those conditions. It's floaty and fast in the powder but bamboo makes it really fun and poppy too. Salomon just needs to make on a few centimeters shorter so I can ride it in the trees. Pretty please?