Festive Greetings

The S2AS Team wish all of our customers and blog readers a very Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and Happy Holidays.

we also want to thank all of our customers for their continued support for the last 12 months and hope to have many more years providing you with the best equipment and accessories in kite surfing, snowboarding and many other extreme sports.

We already have a huge range of 2010 products in stock and we're adding more and more all the time.

Catch you all in 2010.

All the best.

The S2AS Team

Naish Thorn FC 134 x 41 2009 Kiteboard Review

At a Glance
The Naish Thorn is the freestyle warrior of the Naish stable aimed at the rider looking for the ultimate in performance. Of course there are some riders out there who demand more, and this is where the FC comes in. FC stands for Full Carbon and that is the difference.

The Thorn FC has a full wood core with a top and bottom carbon laminate adding stiffness when you need it and enhanced pop. The board shares the same outline and shaping as the Thorn, it is just the construction that differs.

Fixtures and fittings as ever are top quality; full G10 fins and the Grav D footstrap system finish off the product. In the hand it is light too, obviously that carbon shaving a few grams off here and there!

On the Water
We rode the original standard version of the Thorn kiteboard at the tail end of last year and were impressed by its performance and pop; naturally we were excited to give this tuned up version a go.

You can see the carbon laminate on the board, which is a cool finish, yet the graphics are the same as the Thorn so to the naked eye it is hard to tell the difference from afar. Put it on your feet though and you don’t need your eyes to spot the difference.

This kite board feels lighter, faster and crisper underfoot. It is eager to get going early and turns at blistering top speed. Riding the boards back to back in a straight line spotting the difference isn’t that easy, but when you load up for the pop the FC really comes into its own. It has plenty of stiffness in the mid section to allow you to displace some serious buckets of water and then the reflex in the tips kicks in to boost you into the stratosphere.

For the ultimate freestyle machine this could be the perfect tool, with Kevin Langaree riding one at the top level you can see why. Upwind is great, helped by the 5cm fins on the underside of the board, riders out there looking for something a little looser for the pass tricks might want to put something smaller on.

Pros
The speed, pop and lively feel make this board a must for the serious freestyler out there.

Cons
You have to pay extra for the carbon performance, some will feel it well worth it though. The Thorn FC doesn’t have the most forgiving ride either, but then that isn’t what it is about.

Overall
This board is fast, light and crisp; it has insane pop and the levels of performance you would expect from a thoroughbred like this. If you simply have to have the best in class then look no further.

Xenon Rayo 134 x 41 Kiteboard Review

At a Glance
Xenon are a new company hailing from Poland, a country that has always been famous for its board manufacture.

Set up by a group of friends all mad on kitesurfing there are a few things that set Xenon apart from some of the other niche brands out there.

Firstly, the construction is up there with some of the best kiteboards on the market, wood cores and solid laminates should get you excited. Secondly, the team behind the designs all love to kite and all use the kite boards. Lastly, they have some real style about them. Quite often we see boards that frankly would make a baby cry. Not the case with Xenon. Classic styling will appeal to all comers and we think they have the “look” just about perfect. The fittings are also great, comfy straps and pads with solid G10 fins.

The Rayo is their intermediate level kite board aimed at the improving kiter. It has a classic outline and a fairly deep concave on the underside that washes out towards the tips. The deck shape is a no frills affair, but it looks clean and refined. There are some step caps around the fins, but aside from that it is a clean uncluttered affair.

On the Water
The Rayo is quite wide, 41cm to be precise. This extra width helps to get the board up and planing very early on. The ride is very smooth, the Rayo has quite a soft flex to it and this flex soaks up all the lumps and bumps while you cruise around enjoying a very smooth ride.

It is an easy board to ride and will happily fly upwind too, helped by the solid 5cm fins and the concave underside. It isn’t the fastest board on the planet, but when you are at that improving level you’ll find this board allows you the time to think about your tricks, rather than being a blistering hell ride that’s scaring the crap out of you!

Jumping is good, although the soft flex still reigns in the pop power. The Rayo is an easy board to jump with that is forgiving of any mistakes from the rider. Landing tricks on the super wide platform though is an absolute pleasure, the extra size also makes it very forgiving allowing for mistakes to be made with the kite during your landings.

Pros
Easy, smooth ride, awesome styling that will appeal to most, a real head turner down the beach. If you want a kiteboard to improve your kitesurfing, one that will forgive rather than punish this is it!

Cons
More advanced riders may want something a little stiffer, like the La Luz.

Overall
The Rayo is a great freeride board, it is really easy to ride and very forgiving. If you want something that will improve your riding style then this is worth a look.

Why Go Snowboarding? What Makes It So Enticing?

People usually stumble upon snowboarding through friends or by word of mouth, they decide that snowboarding does look like a lot of fun, and resolve to give it a try. More often than not, after their first encounter with snowboarding, they get hooked with it. In fact, you'll doubtlessly have a hard time finding someone who tried snowboarding and was afterwards disappointed with the experience. Consequently, snowboarding has exploded as a recreational physical activity over the past two decades.

One of the reasons why the snowboarding industry has seen such a boom is because it gives you freedom to choose between high speed adrenaline rushes, complex snowboarding tricks, and taking a simple relaxing ride down the mountain. Not only that, snowboarding has so much to offer:

- Different snowboard riding styles to choose from and develop yourself in

- Breathtaking terrains as you travel across the world looking for the greatest and most exciting runs

- Amazing adrenaline rushes in performing snowboard aerial tricks and high speed runs

- A great variety of very cool snowboard gear that will further improve your snowboarding skills and make you look like a snow pro in no time.

- A graduated learning curve with most snowboarding newbies being able to hit their first slope after 2-3 days

- Enough challenges, techniques, and styles to keep you hooked for years

- Different kinds of snowboarding terrains to master ranging from well groomed ski slopes to backcountry wilderness

- Different kinds of snow conditions to master, ranging from fresh powder (lovely) to ice (not so nice)

- International competitions and events to either visit or to compete in

- Hundred thousands of fellow snowboard enthusiasts that all share your passion

Imagine this:

You are surfing through knee-deep powder on a steep mountain slope in an weightless state. As if you're flying, you feel the swooshing of air on your skin as you pick up speed. The sun warms your face as you carve one high speed turn after another. The mountain is yours. You have complete freedom to cruise your snowboard wherever you want it to take you. As you slalom through the trees, you notice an excellent take off platform and decide to go for it: you bend your knees a little more as your speed increases, you lift off, make a perfect 360 turn before landing safely on both feet. Adrenaline rushes through your body as you gradually decrease your speed and take it easy to enjoy the exceptional views as you head to your favorite ski lodge for a nice cup of coffee with your buddies.

Sound enticing? Then why not give it a try

Get over to www.S2AS.com to get yourself your snowboard equipment and lets get rolling. Were happy to give advice to new riders to help you buy the right equipment and snowboard for your level of skill.

Snowboarding an Olympic Sport?

History of Olympic Snowboarding

Snowboarding is a relatively recent addition to the list of official games in the Winter Olympics. Although it was already gaining popularity in the 1980s, it was only in the 1999 Winter Games in Nagano, Japan that it became a part of the quadrennial event.

But before that, its bid for inclusion in the Games became the center of controversy. Prior to the 1998 Games, many snowboarders became upset when the International Olympic Committee gave the jurisdiction of the event to the International Skiing Federation (FSI) instead of the International Snowboarding Federation (ISF). The IOC made the move in spite of the fact that the ISF was already sanctioning snowboard events way before the Nagano Games. That fact became the major source of disappointment among the supporters of the sport.

The snowboarders' disappointment was best exemplified by Terje Hakonsen of Norway. Hakonsen, regarded as one of the world's best snowboarders, declared that he would boycott the 1998 Games and the succeeding Games after that.

It was not the last controversy to hound the Games in Nagano. Canadian snowboarder Ross Rebagliati won the gold medal and was stripped of it after only three days after testing positive for marijuana. However, Rebagliati's camp argued that it was second-hand smoke that he inhaled during the send-off party back in Canada. They further argued that it did not affect his performance in any way. The IOC eventually reversed the decision because marijuana is not a performance-enhancing drug. Rebagliati got his medal back.

Currently, there are six Olympic snowboard events: men's and women's halfpipe, men's and women's parallel giant slalom, and men's and women's snowboard cross. The halfpipe and parallel giant slalom events originally were the only snowboard events. Snowboard cross was a later addition when it was held in the 2006 Winter Games in Torino, Italy.

Halfpipe Snowboarding traces its roots from skateboarding. It is basically an event where riders move from one side to the other of a u-shaped bowl or the halfpipe. They then make jumps and perform tricks while in mid-air.

Meanwhile, the parallel giant slalom is where the top 16 riders of the event battle it out in two-race face-off matches. It is in a bracket format which means rider 1 faces rider 16, rider 2 faces rider 15, and so on. Matches are held until the two top riders are left.

Finally, the snowboard cross event is where four riders race to the finish line. But the course is in no way easy since there is a series of different obstacles that they have to pass through. Aside from the obstacles, the course is also narrow making it difficult for riders to control their boards. Thus, crashes are not uncommon in this event.

Snowboarding, as mentioned earlier, is still a new sport in the Olympics. Therefore, it can be safe to say that some changes are still inevitable in the coming Winter Games. It may be new rules, or even new events, but what's sure is that the Snowboarding will only get more exciting in the years to come.