Testing times at Rock on Snowboard

Sending me snowboard testing is a bit like sending my boyfriend to TopShop, Oxford Circus and asking him to spend an inordinate amount of time studying all their products. I know he likes the things I choose from there: pretty shoes; short dresses; nice underwear; but he doesn’t need to spend hours sourcing these items, trying each one on, understanding what it should be accessorised with.

And so it is with me. I love snowboarding. I love the mountains. I care that all my equipments works. But I don’t care where it comes from, how it’s made, or why it can do the things it does. Neither do I wish to spend hours testing each item to make sure it’s the best. That is someone else’s job. I’m the girl that reads about the girl who tests all the snowboards, skimming to the end of each article to see who scored a 10/10 before haplessly purchasing the item without caring a cat’s whisper as to whether it’s really right for me. And yet I recently found myself at the final event of the Rock on Snowboard Tour, a giant snowboard testing centre that tours the Alps from October to December with a bus load of snowboards and skis and a few rock bands squeezed in too. 

The organisers of Rock on Snowboard had spent the last few years growing nervous that their testing weekends were perceived as events for professional only (instructors, racers, pros). They wanted to attract people like me (or so they told me), regular snowboarders who were about to invest in new equipment and who wanted to make sure they made the right decision. So to appeal to ‘me’ they decided to hire loads of small marquees, a giant sound system and a deranged DJ  (who was high on something way more expensive than mountain air) and put on a sort of snowboard testing party. When I arrived on day one of two there were branded flags high in the air, a snow storm and dancing girls on a stage wearing only underwear and doing high kicks. There were also thousands of different skis and snowboards sat waiting to be tested out.

In order to start testing all these spangley new boards all you need to do is wander up to a stand, give them your passport as security, and they set you up on whatever it is you want to try. It’s as simple as that. You can keep the board all day if you wish, snowboard all over the mountain, hit the park, or just hold it in your hand looking cool and have your picture taken.

Where to do it? 

- The events normally run for two to three days. Use the first day and a half to try as many boards as possible. You’ll know quickly which ones stand out. Use the last half day to re-test your favourites and make a decision.