Every year many snowboarding brands release boards with groundbreaking technology and exciting shapes.But Elan's favorite board this season, the TITAN, is a classic directional board.It is said that the staff who have been involved in the development of many Elan riders for many years fell in love with it at once.I decided to find out why the old-fashioned board shape is so popular among professionals.
Photo: kentaroufuchimoto.com
Text: Atsushi Yamanaka
Special Thanks: Elan Japan
experienced riders
One to send with confidence
The evolution of snowboarding gear is progressing day by day.Every day new materials and technologies are created, and all snowboard brands continue to make boards that are easy to ride and fun to ride.The attitude of constantly seeking evolution with new technology is recognized as a matter of course in the development of many products that exist in the world, not just snowboarding.
However, it is also true that there are more than a few people in the world who love good old products as much as new ones.Sometimes vintage, sometimes classic, and people enjoy the charm of the word traditional.The TITAN, the model that Elan Snowboard will release in the 23/24 season, is exactly the concept of a traditional snowboard.Reconfirming the charm of good old snowboarding, it is said that it is a confident product packed with new technology and many years of experience of reliable riders.
There are two people I must introduce before I talk about TITAN.One is Mr. Atsushi Yoshida, who has been active as a professional snowboarder for over 25 years and has become aware of the foundation of Japanese snowboard culture.The other is Mr. Kazuhiko Takeda of Elan Snowboards who has been involved in snowboard making for over 20 years.Both of them have been leading the snowboard scene at the forefront of the industry for many years, and are still active as snowboarders.
Over the past few years, elan snowboards have mainly focused on making boards for Japanese customers, so they decided to move the production factory from Slovenia to Blue Morris.Blue Morris is a long-established ski brand and ski and snowboard factory from Aomori, founded in 12.The reason for switching to Blue Morris is that there are many options related to production that could not be done with overseas production, and how much time is spent on one board.
"It's not that the Slovenian factory is bad, and the things we use and the production process don't change that much. The difference is the quality of the materials and the finish. Even if we use the same materials and have the same finish, the product error is blue. Mr. Yoshida says that the difference is due to the Japanese peculiar fineness.
In fact, Mr. Takeda worked as an employee of Blue Morris more than 20 years ago.That connection is also the background behind the birth of this Blue Morris Elan snowboard.And this story leads to TITAN.
Really good things don't go away with time
A traditional board is such a board.
I got it from fumbling
perfect balance
Elan snowboards have had a basic outline base since they were first manufactured in Japan.Using that outline, he put in titanium and carbon and worked on the ride quality and segregation of models for 4 or 5 years.In the meantime, I changed the core material of Blue Morris, and changed the combination of the core material itself while playing around with the internal structure.
“The carbon board, carving performance, and speed are all good, but the board itself was too strong for a full day of skiing. He gave me a ◯ (circle), but when I asked him how it would be for one season, he replied that it would be difficult."
The board with built-in carbon and titanium is strong and has tension, and it was an outstanding one for those who want sharp turning performance.However, Mr. Yoshida wanted the board to be "thin," "cut," "strong," and most importantly, "sticky."The material Mr. Takeda set his sights on was bamboo.Bamboo is more flexible than wood.However, it is not as hard as carbon or titanium.
Eight of these bamboos are built into TITAN.Yoshida remembers well the first day he rode this test board. "Well, it's very rare for the first test to suddenly feel like it's perfect, but the moment I got on it, it felt like this. I immediately contacted Mr. Takeda and asked him not to mess with it at all. I got a test board made with less bamboo and tried riding it, but it was a little different.I guess it's the balance."
And the basic outline was what they could say was their starting point.
"If you always talk to Tottsuan (Mr. Yoshida's nickname), you'll find a board that cuts with a deep side cut. Even before I used the word traditional, I was skating with that in mind when I was riding as a slipper. This board. It's not a board that can be cut, so it can't be used."
Like Mr. Takeda, Mr. Yoshida's ideal snowboard outline has not changed since long ago. “Thin boards are better if you think about how to cut the edges. With skis, the deeper the curve, the better. With snowboards, the deeper the curve, the better. It's better to have a board that you can reach.However, it should not be confused with "cutting" here, which is different from technical carving.It is the sharpness necessary for the line to perform.It is aimed at that place. Whether or not you can move freely when you want to do something.It's a matter of going to the wall."
The camber adopted to give the board an outstanding sharpness is also set higher than a normal camber board.The reason is to enable strong edging.If you choose ease of handling, the trendy low camber has looser edge control and more play.However, they say that the traditional snowboard they want needs to be durable.It was high camber and bamboo that supported it.
Finally, I asked Mr. Yoshida what kind of board TITAN was.
"It's a board that you can rely on, and you can feel the possibility that this board will expand your world." It must be a strong feeling that he believed in the unchanging "goodness as a product" even after time passed.Good things never go away with time.The traditional board TITAN was just such a board.
TITAN
Finished with a directional shape with a narrow setting and a deep side cut.An all-mountain board with an ultra-lightweight poplar core and 8 bamboos laid out for a fast, fast turn-around reaction speed. Snowboarders from the 1s who enjoy everything with just one must feel nostalgic.
155cm
☆Effective edge: 1210mm
☆Nose Width: 28.9cm
☆Waist Width: 24.7cm
☆Tail Width: 28.9cm
☆ Sidecut: 8.7/7.3
☆Setback: 2.5cm
☆Stance: 480 to 560
☆Other sizes: 158, 161
☆Price: ¥105,600
Click here for information on elan's latest lineup.
elan BRAND PAGE
