Mervin’s C2 Power Banana Wins SIA’s Innovation Of The Year
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- February 05 2009
- 948 views
- 25 comments
Each year Snowpress honors the best innovations in the industry in a variety of categories, this year Mervin took home the innovation of the year award for its new C2 Power Banana technology, which Mervin Co-founder Pete Saari describes as a version of Banana tech for more aggressive freestyle riders.
Here’s the details:
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February 5th, 2009 at 6:59 am
If the trend continues, next year will mark the re-introduction of camber into boards. Innovation at it’s best.
February 5th, 2009 at 7:04 am
I thought volcom’s playing Hoseshoes with toilet seats was innovative.
February 5th, 2009 at 7:47 am
This would be great if thas was truely a new innovation. If I am not mistaken c2 has a striking similarity to Never summer R technnology that debuted last year. But since NS does’nt have the big booth and all that DC money behind them. They did’nt get the nod!!
February 5th, 2009 at 8:00 am
What Innovation? I would have to agree with Anonymous. Never Summer has been pumping these out for some time now. Money speaks I guess. Oh ya and Signal has got Wavelength. So my question is did the dudes that offer this award really look around at SIA?
February 5th, 2009 at 8:09 am
I’m not familiar with what NS has that’s comparable, but unfortunately, sometimes you have to really speak up to be heard, especially at SIA. You can’t rely on the judges or whoever at SIA to check out your booth, ask what you have that’s noteworthy, etc.
Someone on the brand side needs to step up and promote. It doesn’t necessitate having a gigantic boot, but it does take real effort.
February 5th, 2009 at 9:37 am
Inca snowboards-everyone should check out this site.
http://www.incaempire.com
They have been making this technology for years and are getting ripped off by everyone at SIA.
Dual camber technology- they even have a patent on it.
February 5th, 2009 at 10:27 am
Any one remember Hobie’s dual edge technology?
February 5th, 2009 at 11:47 am
quik money, not dc
and fuck never summer they stole it from INCA
who, maybe not so coincidentally are entering the market again, their time is NOW hahahah
February 5th, 2009 at 12:04 pm
I really don’t think any of this amounts to anything for the average rider to notice a difference. You get tired and sloppy you are gona catch an edge…I don’t care how your board is costructed…Riding powder you are always going to have to lean back. In the end the overall shape of your board will effect how it rides in powder not the camber. I’m not a park guys so I can’t comment on the rest.
February 5th, 2009 at 12:34 pm
yeah and if you look at inca from the website the guy cites below the camber is under the feet not out to the tip/tail…….NS is a totally different take on it that actually makes it work.
what quik money…aren;t they laying off your mom and selling rossingnol off for a cup of coffee….hahahahaha
February 5th, 2009 at 1:08 pm
I think it’s based on nominations?
February 5th, 2009 at 2:03 pm
Lib and Never Summers rule! good to see in QUALITY HANDMADE AMERICAN brands leading innovations. Never heard of Inca. Sure Quik is corporate but it’s got heart & soul like NS! Just toss out those kung pows! Innovation costs a bunch so they’ll haters preachin their old stuff as they try to catch up.
February 5th, 2009 at 3:26 pm
Inca, made in the USA but one guy in the northwest. Lib better be paying him.
Or they are no better than the rest of the corporations that use and abuse
February 5th, 2009 at 6:45 pm
Yes Hobie dual edge, full carbon topsheet. Fun board. I was able to get one from them to demo for a few weeks, pretty stealth looking. Mervin is boosting everybodies stuff and calling it their own. Park Pickle=Santa Cruz Technology from 15 years ago.
February 5th, 2009 at 7:07 pm
Ahhh …true afficianados . Hobie was there in the Ski world, it is true but before them were Mike Doyle and Bill Bahne with the Single ski , reverse camber and then Dimitre Milovich with Winterstick before Jake Burton was riding a 2×4 with a string on the nose . Doyle even put the camber tech. in his Surfboard model the Super Fish , it was a single fin before all you fish heads go running to your shaper and it did not work , had one , had to turn it from the nose , it tracked and drifted , never will understand that , rode for Hansen so i did not have it long .
February 6th, 2009 at 7:58 am
Mike Olson’s got more “firsts” under his belt than all of those other names and companies combined. a true pioneer, raiding the dumpsters of the old K2 ski factory on Vashon Island with his dad to get scraps to make his own gear. so far ahead of the curve in snowboards, skateboards and surfboards…. stuff you are not even aware of. more great ideas left on the factory floor than most companies ever come up with. it’s all cross-pollination anyways, and Olson’s always been more than willing to share his crazy ideas with anyone that would listen.
respect your elders, someday you’ll be one too!
February 6th, 2009 at 8:04 am
as for the guy who claims the Park Pickle is a rip-off of old Santa Cruz tech…. well go back and you will see that Nitro introduced the deeper heelside sidecut in 1990, their first year. from the mind of Tommy Delago. Shaw Kaake, who had worked for Sims under the Vision distribution deal, lifted the idea from Tommy and Santa Cruz brought it into their line in 1991, a year later.
and Olson built protos for Nitro before Gnu and Windline parted ways Summer ‘90…. that’s when the world first saw the Skelly Libs @ Hood cause the Gnu name was caught up in bank litigation for a few years, when it got cleared up mervin brought Gnu back to the market.
the first cap-construction snowboard? the Gnu Concept in 1989. Salomon would not debut the first cap ski until Summer 90, and when they saw all the Libs on the hill @ Hood they freaked cause they thought they had been developing this new revolutionary construction technique.
first sublimated topsheets?
first with Magne-Traction or anything similar?
go read the TWS Snow article from earlier this season that has the full list of every innovation Olson and mervin have brought to the industry.
“believe it if you need it if you don’t just pass it on”
February 6th, 2009 at 8:32 am
Good post osorojo and mine was not to take away anything from Mike , just to show some lineage and take a little trip down memory lane myself , however, Doyle , Bahne and Dimitre were the alternative snow pioneers , especially of the p-tex use on single skis and snowboards . I do respect both my elders and anyone who has what it takes to innovate and experiment in this tofu world. Nice Gratefull dead reference too , don’t hear Box Of Rain enough these days .
February 6th, 2009 at 1:25 pm
Um…who else warrants their boards for 3 years?
April 22nd, 2009 at 6:32 am
it wll be 2 cambers though not one like on yr old single cambered ski board
April 22nd, 2009 at 7:13 am
Yeah but it will be with 2 cambers not one like the old single cambered ski boards that the industry has been pumpin out to the masses whilst all along ( well at least since 2000 when the first rockered 2 cambered boards hit the market.
April 22nd, 2009 at 7:17 am
Yeah interesting I talked with Tracey from NS in 2001 about how they should have 2 cambers !
April 22nd, 2009 at 7:18 am
Its based on $$ spent on the booth
April 22nd, 2009 at 7:20 am
? you are wrong an average rider will notice a much better handling responsive ride from board correctly constructed with 2 cambers. So many advantages over single cambered ski boards!
August 1st, 2009 at 11:32 am
I ride inca dual camber and its solid had a friend the other day say he would ride it to but the local snow shop hooks him up with some ski or shit that just slides. At the end of the day spin it anyway you wanna but the big guys trying to be a checky thug bully and rip off take credit of somone elses design. Oh there not the same its not uder the feet shame on you get original research for yourself and design you own shit.