Evo is hosting the Boarder’s Choice Awards to find out who is killin’ it right now as decided by the people that live to ride these brands. This is your chance to show your support for Spark R&D and potentially win a brand new deck for the season!
You can only vote once, in 5 categories (note: we are only listed in best backcountry and most innovative) – so make it count: CLICK HERE!
Spread the word, and vote for Spark!
Congratulations to David Rodoreda Sala of Navas Spain, the winner of our T-Shirt Design Contest!
We liked his design because it was unique and creative, would spark a great conversation with a non-splitboarder, and might even be a good checklist to consult when you’re heading out the door. (Come on now, be honest, how many of you show up ready to roll and realize you forgot your skins? Or one pole? It happens to the best of us!)
We did a little interview with our new buddy David, just to get to know him a little bit more:
Spark: Where is your hometown?
DRS: I was born in a small village called Santa Maria d’Olo, near Barcelona. I’m living now in Navas, in the middle of Catalonia: 1 hour driving from the sea and 1 hour driving from the Pyrenees.
Spark: What do you do for a living?
DRS: I’m working as an industrial designer in a company which manufactures laser coding and marking equipment.
Spark: We love your design, do you have a background in art or graphic design?
DRS: I don’t have any background in art or graphic design. I just do it as a hobby!
Spark: How long have you been splitboarding?
DRS: I’ve been snowboarding for 17 years now. In the past, I used to use snowshoes to climb a mountain and I went down snowboarding. However, when I discovered splitboarding (5 years ago) my universe changed completely …
Spark: What is your favorite type of terrain or place to ride backcountry?
DRS: I normally go to the Catalan or French Pyrenees, which are really close: 1 hour from home.
Spark: What’s your most memorable adventure on your split?
DRS: Watching the sunset from the top of the highest mountain in Spain (Aneto, 3.403 meters above sea level) and going down on my splitboard. Such a priceless experience!
David won a set of Burners and of course, some of the first printed T’s hot off the press. Enjoy, bud!
Thank you to everyone who sent us designs and participated in the contest. It was a ton of fun for us, and we hope to keep having contests like this in the future, we’ll keep you posted.
We’ve decided to extend our T Shirt Design Contest this year. Some might think its because we are lazy. Or maybe we are too busy mountain biking, fly fishing and just enjoying the last days of summer. We say its because we are too busy building the best damn splitboard bindings ever!
So we are going to extend our contest all the way through this fall and into December. Hopefully the new falling snow brings out the creativity in everyone. Keep the designs coming. If you need further details, please see our original post.
Powderwhore’s “Choose Your Adventure” will be playing tomorrow night, Tuesday October 2nd at the Eagles Club (316 East Main Street) at 8pm. Buy Tickets Now for $10, $12 at the door. Doors will open at 7:30pm, so get there early to guarantee a seat. Raffle ticket included with admission. Splitboarding by Bob Athey “the wizard of the Wasatch”, Ian Provo and others. Come enjoy some preseason powder stoke!
SPARK R&D CELEBRATES 5th ANNIVERSARY, TALKS 2012/13 PRODUCT,
and GIVES AN UPDATE ON THE EDISON INTERFACE
Spark R&D has always been about maximum fun and performance in the backcountry – it’s the only reason why we exist. We have been leading the charge on improving split gear ever since founder Will Ritter took his first touring steps on a splitboard and thought to himself – this is awesome, and I can make it even better. Splitboarding became his passion, Spark R&D was born, and the first ever splitboard specific binding was created.
This November will mark the 5th anniversary since our very first splitboard binding was sold. Those of you following us from our humble beginnings on splitboard.com probably remember the Ignition I binding. We remember shipping off our first package – in a re-used Bent Metal box from the straps and highbacks we were using at the time, covered liberally with duct tape to lucky #1 on the waiting list. We’ve come a long way, learned a ton, and have stayed true to our original values: rider owned and operated, dedicated to pushing innovation in the sport of splitboarding. So a huge thank you and fist bump to everyone who has supported us along the way!
For the 2012/13 season, we’re pumped to offer our best products yet. Both our Blaze and Burner splitboard bindings shaved significant weight from redesigns, dropping 8 screws and four parts per pair by changing how our toe straps attach. The Blaze Splitboard Binding drops even more weight with machined cut outs in the baseplate – the lightest binding we’ve ever produced. The Burner Splitboard binding, Backcountry Magazine’s Editor’s Choice Award Winner for the second year in a row, keeps its solid baseplate and adds a wider ankle strap and toe cap strap for maximum support at mach speed. Both bindings have straps, plastics, and buckles designed by Spark R&D and manufactured by Burton – the industry’s leader in quality, performance and durability. New for this year we are offering skins with a brand new high traction material by G3 with our splitboard specific tailclips attached. Our Mr. Chomps crampons also got a makeover with weight saving cutouts and serrated teeth for even more chomp. Along with these changes, we keep our line of accessories with seasonal upgrades to: the LT Pin System, tailclip retrofits, the Spark strappy strap, and backcountry kits.
And of course, you’re probably eager to hear about the progress we’ve made with the Edison Interface since we showcased its prototype at SIA and ISPO. The Edison is the summation of our years of experience in the backcountry and the factory. In case you missed it, our new interface design provides the fastest transition between ride mode and touring mode, and solves one of the biggest complaints of
splitboarders … adjustability. Stance width and angles are easily adjusted independently and quickly to get your split setup ‘just right’. Light weight is maintained and moving parts are kept to just two. Not to mention, it works with factory splitboards, DIY splitboards (using original factory inserts) and solid boards (!).
The Edison is on its 5th rendition now and we will continue to tweak and finalize the design by SIA and ISPO tradeshows in Jan 2013. We will have a limited number of beta sets available for select pros later this season. Edison protos will not be released to the general public this time around. Looking down the pipeline, the Edison will be available to the splitboarding community as a limited edition for the 13/14 season. Stay tuned!
Note: this post has been updated.
Greetings and happy winter to all of our Spark fans.
Continuing on with the new, it is time once again for us to order our new selection of softgoodies for tradeshow season. So for the second year in a row, we are opening up the design input to everyone. We are giving you a chance to design the graphics for next year’s shirts and hoodies. If you happen to come up with something brilliant, we will even throw you a new pair of 2012/13 bindings for your trouble.
Why are we doing this??? That is a pretty good question. Some might say that we are lazy. Others think that we are too busy enjoying the new snow. But honestly, we are just too busy making the best damn splitboard bindings EVER! So who better to get involved than the Spark R&D faithful? If you think you have something for us, read the rules below.
– Design a shirt that contains the Spark R&D logo (downloadable here)
– Do not change or alter our logo in any fashion!!!
– Keep it to two colors maximum
– Submit your entries by December 25th.
– Send your entries in jpeg or PDF format along with your full mailing address, phone number and email, in case you’re a winner. Submit entries to becca@sparkrandd.com
Once we choose the winner, we will make you famous by shipping your shirt design all over the planet. This will be our limited edition shirt graphic for the 2013/14 season. We will hook the winning designer up with his or her own shirts and hoodies, as well as a custom pair of either Burner of Blaze bindings.
The Winner will be announced in early January.
Good luck to everyone and start designing.