London Freezes Over - The London Freeze Festival 09

"Well the London Freeze '09 has been and gone, and it was awesome! Hard to sum up what it is like, but the undertaking itself is amazing. I mean, come on! It had a 30 metre high slope (Actually it was bigger but i forget the exact dimensions) of real snow! In the middle of London's Battersea Power Station! This isn't some European or American skiing resort, this is an urban jungle that's lucky to get a few days of snow a year, which makes it so much more impressive. Glad to see the things we can pull together and achieve in the UK when we want too! Go GB!

Speaking of which Ben Kilner, one of our Winter Olympic hopefuls did pretty well against some very stiff competition, finishing a respectable 14th out of over 50 competitors, though he'll have to push harder next year in Vancouver, but then again this wasn't exactly a massive competition, but more of an exhibition, but that isn't to say the guys out there took it easy and there spectacle and competition was intense!

I freely admit I watched less of the skiing events, but those I did see were very good, I guess I'm just a one board guy.

So that left the music, and it was hella good! I most of the boarding, little of the skiing and every little bit of the partying and music! That alone was worth the price of admission, the atmosphere was amazing, the music baning and the crowd so up for it. Oh and as it fell on Halloween there were plenty of peeps dressed like freaks, though it wasn't as embraced as much as perhaps it could have been, but a bit more pushing of the fact might have helped.

All in all it was a blast and anyone who missed it - missed out, I know several people who have now decided they might grab themselves a snowboard and see what it's all about themselves.

If your curious about it all, then pop over to the website www.londonfreeze.com for a whole slew of vids and pics of the events and a run down of the results."

Jay

World Snowboard Day 2009

For the fourth year running, the World Snowboard Day returns on the 20th December 2009. The day itself is a celebration of snowboarding across the globe, currently with 39 events planned across 19 countries including obvious places such as Canada, USA, China, France, Sweden, Austria and Italy as well as more surprising but just as exciting places such as Serbia, Bosnia, Ukraine, Moldavia, Georgia and Russia. The number of events and countries may change over the next month or so as more join up, so it’s best to visit the website for more information.

What is World Snowboard Day then? Well as stated before it is a celebration of snowboarding, with professional snowboarders and novices alike coming together across the world to revel in their favourite pastime, hitting the snow! It also a great promotional tool, allowing the uninitiated to get a feel and look at what snowboarding is about and what it can offer you.

It’s also a place for the pros to showcase their stuff, and there will be plenty of competitions and shows put on for the fans, along with plenty of amateur events so everyone can have a go. There will be places to get some lessons for true beginners and expect some wild atmosphere and great music wherever you are as well.

It’s also a good place for manufacturers to show what new snowboarding gear they have to offer, such as their latest snowboards, or snowboarding clothing, protective snowboarding equipment and more. So expect to see names such as Forum Snowboards, K2 Snowboards, Ride and much more at least at some of the events, if not all of them.

Unfortunately the UK doesn’t have any events planned at the moment (though this may change as more venues are added), but there are plenty of places offering holiday packages to most of the destinations events are being held at, and as World Snowboard Day falls on a Sunday, why not make a weekend break of it, there are bound to be plenty of build up parties and events to the day itself and will make for a hell of a time.

Wold Snowboard Day is on the Sunday 20th December and is going to be an amazing day, for full information and to keep up to date visit www.world-snowboard-day.com.

Need some good snowboarding gear before the big day? Visit www.s2as.com for a great range of snowboards, snowboarding equipment and snowboarding clothing.

The 2010 Naish Helix is Upon Us!

We reviewed the 2009 Naish Helix way back at the beginning of the year and we have to say we loved it. For the more advanced rider out there it was easily one of the most exciting kites to come from the Naish Sigma Series. We loved the build quality and it had all the usual Naish features like one pump; we loved the way this kite was all about power and lots of it!

Well the 2010 Naish Helix is here and we have included a video of just what this baby can do. We hope to have a review up soon, weather permitting, but if you want to let us know your thoughts on Naish's new monster, just drop us a line at info@s2as.com and if we like the review we will publish it on our blog (and our site).



If you want to get your hands on a 2010 Naish Helix, visit our site, www.s2as.com where we have the Helix and a huge range of new 2010 kite surfing kites, or pick yourself up a bargain from our 2009 kite range.

Slinghot Fuel 2009 Kite Review

At a Glance
The Slingshot Fuel is arguably the kite with the oldest heritage on the market today. There isn’t another kite out there that has held the same name, or the same fundamental design concept. Sure the Rhino is still called the Rhino, but the actual design of the kite is so far removed from the original C shape beast that you can’t really argue the heritage case.

Over the years the Fuel has become synonymous with high performance and power. It has set the benchmark in the past as a kite surfing kite that needs to be tamed and only certain riders are up to the job. It has never been for the feint hearted.

Back in the day guys like Ben Wilson and Jeff Tobias were pushing the limits of this kite around the globe. But as ever the old makes way for the new and now it is the turn of Ruben Lenten to fly the Slingshot torch. He has been riding the Fuel for a few years now but 2009 sees for the first time the kite being designed around the rider. It is his signature pro model kite that you will be getting your hands on. Rest assured the build quality is up to its usual Slingshot standard, and we doubt Ruben would settle for anything but the best!

The Bar
The kite comes with three options for the bar, you can opt for the Lenten Pro Model, which comes with 4 lines and just the O’Shit handles for safety. Or there is a 5th line version, which gives you all the advantages of a 5th line set up. Lastly is the 4 line Profire Control Bar. Which was the set up we used.

The Profire bar uses a Centre Safety System, which allows the kite to flag out on one of the front lines when it is engaged. This assures complete depower and also is designed so that the kite won’t twist when it is deployed allowing you to reengage the system and carry on your session. The bar itself oozes quality and there are some great graphic detailing on it. We know it isn’t all about the colours, but it does make it very easy on the eye!
In the Air
We had had a few warnings about the Fuel before we rode it, tales of pro riders getting spanked by it when they weren’t paying enough attention. So we treated the kite with all due care and caution. What we found was a super stable canopy that pulls like a train. It actually isn’t all that scary once it is in the sky either, just as long as you leave it their tracking through the window. The real fear gets switched on when you start to engage it in a loop, but more about that later.

Obviously designing a kite for Ruben it is going to have certain characteristics and we would say that unless you are at the top of your freestyle game and looking for the tools to match the skills then look away now. As a free ride kite you will find it fairly slow and sluggish in the turns, this isn’t a kite that turns on a sixpence. But if you want to smash out handle passes all day long and need a kite that will sit in the window exactly where you left it at take off then this is what it does exceptionally well. It really hardly moves and takes a fair bit of rider input into the bar to get the kite to turn with any real pace.

Jumping is good and the kite really launches the rider off the water and gives some impressive float for what is essentially still a c-shape design. And of course while you are up there it would seem a shame to not engage the true nature of the beast and chuck it into a loop or two. Of course being an 11m it doesn’t lend itself to Rubens trademark Mega Loop too well, but you can kite loop it and discover the ridiculous power it generates in the turns. It is bordering on the very scary to insane, the smaller kitesurfing kites in the range are of course faster and the really small kites are designed with high wind big tricks in mind. The 11m though does what you’d expect it too, pull like a truck and keep on pulling without moving too much in the window throughout your move.

Pros
If you want to ride top-level freestyle and demand the qualities you would expect from a kite designed for those duties then the Fuel fits the bill very well. You also have the exceptional attention to detail and build quality too.

Cons
A lot of riders used to ride Fuels and they weren’t so specific in their nature, this year if you aren’t dedicated to freestyle then consider the Slingshot Rev or the Slingshot RPM; the Fuel is definitely a dedicated machine.

Overall
Rubens first Pro Model kite and it does exactly what you would expect it to do, don’t be fooled if your skills aren’t up to it. The Rev delivers far more bang for your buck in terms of the free ride stable.

The London Freeze Festival 2009

Following on from last year’s huge success, The London Freeze festival returns again this year and aims to make last year pale in comparison. Quite a tall order especially as organisers are predicting around 10, 000 visitors each day over the festival weekend, but based on last year we’re sure these figures are about right.

The extreme winter sports festival, based at Battersea Power Station, is an amazing undertaking, utilising around 500 tonnes of real snow for its competitions and events. This snow will be the building blocks for the 32 metre high slope where the pro skiers and snowboarders will be battling it out to show who it the best for the delight of the crowd. It’s not just about the slope though as the whole site will be turned into a winter village.

A few of the familiar faces competing will include British snowboarders Ben Kilner and Dom Harrington, along with famous ski and snowboarding names from around the globe.

Of course a festival isn’t a festival without music and there are some big names there to keep the energy going on and off piste. Pendulum and Example will be taking the Friday night slot with headliners Orbital. Other names include Friendly Fires, Eagles of Death Metal and Chase & Status amongst many more. Oh and remember that Saturday is the 31stOctober, so if you fancy dressing up there is a retro-themed Halloween party to throw something different into the mix.

Snow if you are mad on snowboards, snowboarding, skiiing, winter sports, music or just having a goof time, then there is something for you there.

Interested? Then visit www.londonfreeze.com for further ticket information.

Tickets are priced at £35 for a day pass, £85 for a season pass (3 days), with a child’s day ticket at £15 and a child’s season ticket at £35.

The London Freeze festival at Battersea Power Station runs from 30th Oct - 1st Nov