Reviews by User: Ivor Allsop (12)

I hate suits but if you are going to have to wear one and still feel cool this is it. I am stoked I purchased this and will wear it with pride at my cousins wedding.

I am the sales rep for Palmer Snowboards and Head Snowboards. Sorry Rob Connor but, the distributor for Palmer snowboards previous to last season is no longer around. Head is now doing the distribution in the USA for Palmer boards. They carry a two year warranty and if you contact Head you should have no problem as long as what you say is true. Now here is the scoop on the Platinum board. Three days ago I had the chance to put my hands on Shaun Palmers brand new World Cup race boards (Shaun pays big $$$ for each and every one of these hand made boards) at Rennstall tuning shop in Park City UT. Andy is the board tech for the US Boarder X team and he just happened to be working on the boards when I was in there. Anyhow, Shauns personal boards just like these Platinums are hand made by Hans Kessler in a tiny factory in Switzerland. I had a chance to take a close look at Shaun's boards and they feature the Klothoid tip and tail shape. The best way to think of this is decambered tip and tails. Yes this board has camber but, until you are carving in a turn and really bending the board, the far reaches of the tip and tail (contact points) remain off the snow. What does this mean? The board is more forgiving and actually creates less drag (friction) when initiating a turn. It moves the turn initiation from the very front of the contact points back about 6 inches from where you would expect to be turning the board from. It creates a ride that is much more forgiving. You never feel like you will catch an edge. However when you are hauling ass and bending the board in a carve it feels like any other board and the entire edge at that point is in the snow for maximum edge hold. Now this board has no fiberglass in it. It has carbon laminates in place of fiberglass that you find in every other snowboard. Carbon happens to me very progressive in its power distribution. The more you put into it the more you get out of it. Its also extremely light. With that said this board is not going to make a very good freestyle board due to its powerful nature. It is an unbelievable all mountain board for accomplished riders who want to put the pedal to the metal and like maximum power. If you are doing any kind of racing this is the best board on the planet. Fastest base, fastest shape available, period! I rode this board at Snowbasin last february and i was completely blown away by how much power it has when you want the power. It guess it would be like driving an Audi V12 in the city. You might just have to hold back a bit because its so fast you could find yourself in trouble.

I am the sales rep for Head snowboards but I want to give you a little idea of what how this board rides. It really rides a lot like a traditional all mt. board except that it is tuned to out perform a traditional all mt. board in powder. The AK has a medium flex to it but, with the Intelligence technology it stiffens up on hard snow making for unbelievable torsional stiffness which helps it grip on edge (If you are not familiar with Intelligence there is a video on Youtube under 'Head intelligence snowboards') So in that sense it is a lot like our Intelligence I.CT. However, this board is just slightly tapered (2mm) in the tail and the tail length (off the snow portion of the tail) is shortened by 2 cm. That 2cm is added to the nose of the board which gives the AK a longer nose profile than our I.CT. The combination of the slightly tapered tail and shorter tail means less leaning back in pow. Essentially this means you will have to fight your tail less to keep your nose up on those big pow days. The longer nose keeps the board on top of the snow. Don't think of this board as a powder only board however. I actually raced in the Mt. Baker Banked Slalom on this board in Feb 2007 and it was awesome. The AK makes for a awesome everyday board for the all mountain ripper person who rides 90% forward and 10% switch or less. Its an everyday board that also rips in powder like a real powder board.

I was able to demo this board in 162cm at an industry only demo in February at Snowbasin, UT last winter. I was blown away at how much power the board has in the turns. The decambered tip and tail really make the board feel short at slow speed just messing around. I couldn't believe how well it held an edge at high speed and how much pop it had but, I never felt like I was going to catch an edge like I have on high end freeride boards in the past. My finely tuned Head Intelligence I.CT is amazing but you can't relax at all. I was able to relax on the Crown when I didn't have the energy left to really send it. I just purchased this and I can't wait till the lift start running. Oh, yeah its pretty damn light too.

This is the stiffest binding on the market today regarding lateral flex. It has a metal to ski direct contact on the heel and also the widest average mounting points of any binding on the market. What does this mean? The binding offers the most lateral stiffness of any binding out there. This is very important with today's wider skis. It means more leverage and control to the edge. Furthermore this binding is practically indestructible. The Peak 15 features the brand new heel design of 08/09 which was designed by the Tyrolia race department. This is the same heel design that Bode Miller and Tanner Hall are using. The only difference is they are using stiffer springs. Anyhow, you will not find a safer binding on the market. You will not find a better value for 15 DIN binding either.

I paid $114 for these pants. I think they had some sort of error on the pricing because the next day they were back around $200. I AM STOKED! These things are awesome. Super comfy. A bib that is just the right size. Lots of vents. I wish there was another pocket or two but outside of that they are perfect. I will be using them for backcountry but I tested them at Snowbird in the pow and they were all I could ask for.

These are the most comfortable underwear I have ever owned. The biggest bonus is I wear them for everything. I previously had boxers for everyday, and an assortment of Patagonia type briefs for skiing or outdoors activities. These work better than anything I have ever had...for all conditions. They are not too tight in the junk for everyday wear like most briefs. I am in the process of getting rid of all my other underwear. So far the durability has been great but I got my first couple of pairs about 6 months ago so its a little early to tell yet on that front.

If you are confused about the Intelligence technology there is a video on Youtube which can clear things up a bit. This technology was developed by a military contractor for the United States Military. Head has exclusive rights to the technology for all snow sports.

I am the sales rep for Head Snowboards. I want to give everyone an idea of what the Head Intelligence I.CT is capable of. This is really one of the easiest riding and best performing boards available today. Its hard to believe that anyone can make a board that is easy to ride and also has an extremely high level of performance packed into it. The Intelligence Chip Technology makes this possible. Head did not develop this technology as it comes from the military. Honestly its practically rocket science. But what Intelligence allows you to do make a board that in soft snow is easy to ride, forgiving, and torsionally softer. You can actually relax on this board. However, in hard snow and at high speeds the board practically turns into a race board. This is the most versatile board on the market. You could race a boardercross one run and then go teach a lesson for a first time rider on the same board. The I.CT is also the same board that Clif Dimon won the North Face Masters at Snowbird Feb 10, 2008. Clif had basically been retired for a few years when decided to go compete in this comp as there was a nice $$$ prize. He killed it. He has also won the Crested Butte Extremes on this board several times before taking a break for a couple of years. If you want more info about he Intelligence Chip technology just go to youtube and search 'head intelligence snowboards'. One other mention is the board has the hardest and fastest base material money can buy. Notice that there are no fancy die-cuts on the running surface of the base on the I.CT. This is to maximize the speed capabilities on this board as its a popular board for boarder X.

These glasses were a give away and they are the worst glasses ever. You can't even see out of the lenses they are so hazy.