The core is the structure of any snowboard and the most crucial part. To have a durable board, you need a durable core. Most snowboards are made with different variations of vertically laminated wood. The wood can be a variety of species depending on the flex/ stiffness desired by the board designer. Many large snowboard builders use finger jointed cores. Here is a picture of a core with multiple finger joints.
Finger joints are good for the snowboard manufacturer and bad for the snowboard consumer. The reason board builders use finger joints is because it’s a cheaper method of manufacturing cores. They can buy large quantities of scrap wood and finger joint them together to form boards long enough for a snowboard. In a typical snowboard core you may see as many as 10 of these joints. The problem is these joints create inconsistent flex patterns and weak points in the board. The wood glue and finger joint make the wood stiffer at these points.
At OZ we use full length, tip to tail solid wood vertically laminated cores. We never use finger joints! Vertical lamination is ideal because it compensates for any structural issues due to wood knots or irregularities in the wood grains.
Another cheap method of core construction is to use plastic in the tips and tails.
Another cheap method of core construction is to use plastic in the tips and tails.
From a craftsman standpoint our tips and tails are the hardest part to get perfect because we have to be within fractions of a millimeter between wood and sidewall material. It’s the spot that 3 different components come together and all need to be exactly the same thickness. A cheap way for a manufacturer to get around that problem is to cut off the wood core tip/ tail and replace it with one sheet of plastic 2mm thick plastic. It makes the manufacturing side much easier but creates a poor quality board. These tips and tails will snap off easily and provide no pop.
The 2nd most important component of your board is the fabric it is built with. Almost
every other board is built with some sort of fiberglass. OZ Snowboards are built exclusively with high
performance aerospace grade triaxial carbon fiber. Carbon fiber is 5 times as strong and 1/3rd as light
as fiberglass. It produces a ride that translates energy much more efficiently resulting in more control
and pop.
3. Full wrap edges. Our boards are fully wrapped by hardened steel edges. Not all boards have metal edge that wraps the nose and tail. Here is an example from a large American made snowboard manufacturer.
5. We use top of the line Durasurf™ sintered base. Durasurf™ is a high end thermoplastic with a low coefficient of friction and tremendous abrasion resistance. It is the gold standard in ski and snowboard construction.
6. We build our own boards. Surprisingly, many brands have other companies build their boards! Every part of an OZ snowboard is hand crafted in our shop so we have full control of the quality through the entire production process. We only put top of the line components in every board and we pay attention to all the details of building a board right.
7. Environmentally friendly construction. At OZ we believe in doing everything we can to make our boards as environmentally friendly as possible. We will continue to innovate in this area and push the boundaries of environmental construction techniques. We use recycled plastics in every board, our factory is 100% wind powered, we use a USDA certified bio renewable epoxy, our cores are harvested from FSC certified renewable forests and we recycle all of our scraps in the shop.
8. Accountability. You know where your board is built and can bring it back at any time if you have any problems with it. We use only the best materials and processes to build our boards and we stand behind them 100%. We guarantee you will be satisfied with your board!
9. OZ Snowboard shapes are based on 25 years of riding experience in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. OZ Owner, Adam Browning used his 25 years of riding experience, a 2 year process of testing materials and shapes and hundreds of hours of feedback from professional riders to come up with the current OZ lineup . The result is the best damn boards on the hill!
10. Guaranteed Customer satisfaction. Read our testimonials and reviews by experts. Everyone who rides our boards falls in love with them. The carbon fiber design and board shape combine to provide a far superior ride than any other boards on the market. We dare you to try one, you will be hooked!
11. Every OZ board is hand waxed by Rocky Mountain Tunes with their proprietary wax formula that makes our boards FLY! There is a huge difference between factory waxed boards and hand waxed boards.
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