Erok

Before there were Alpha Movements, I was riding Ride Team bindings, which were some of the best bindings I've ever had the pleasure of using. Since they dropped the Team from their line and adopted the "Movement" series of bindings, I've ridden 4 sets of Alpha Movements, including the first set they put out for the 06/07 season. Each season, Ride has stepped up their game and outdone themselves. The Alpha Movements are all about technological innovation and forward thinking.

Enter the 09/10 Alpha Movement. Technologically superior is the term that comes to mind. The previous season, Ride blew me away by introducing their "thin flex" ankle strap, thankfully, they continued to improve on that strap and made it more durable for the 09/10 Alphas. Lightweight and next level, the thin flex ankle strap makes you feel connected to your board, and it's way more comfortable than bulky over-padded straps anyway. Ride is one step ahead of the game with their toe strap as well. The comfort grip "webbed" toe strap is on point. It works well over the top of your boot, but it really shines when you go over the toe as it conforms to your boot and locks your foot into place. New to the 09/10 Alphas are the wedgie footbeds. It's a simple concept, but leave it to Ride to think of the little things that lead to massive technical improvements in their hardgoods. The wedgies really offer alot of relief for your knees when you pull long days of hard charging the mountain or on deep pow days. And as always, Ride uses aluminum chassis and ratchets, which is especially important for cold Alaskan riding. If you've ever ridden in extreme cold, you know that all of your gear acts differently, and plastic tends to get brittle. As far as flex goes, the Alpha movements are a combination of hard charging response, with just enough lightweight mobility to offer up some flexibility in the park. Oh and did I mention that these are extremely lightweight?

Overall, the Alpha Movements are next level bindings. It's as simple as that. Always lightweight and next gen, the Alpha Movements are a no brainer. Don't waste your time with Burton's whack minimalistic designs for their $400+ bindings that have highbacks that are guaranteed to snap off, or the ridiculous all-plastic approach by other binding manufacturers.

Preface to this review: I own an 09/10 Crush, however, Ride didn't change anything (except the graphic) from 09/10 to the 10/11 version. As such, I feel this review is still equally relevant. Hope it helps.

I bought a Crush 152 mid-season last season (09/10) because I started riding urban alot more than ever before. I already had a DH 2.2 for my resort/all-mountain/park riding needs, but I felt it necessary to scoop up a Crush for strictly urban and park sessions, and I'm very glad I did.

The Crush is an urban and park destroyer. The lowrize rocker is on point, especially for the Crush's flex pattern. It's buttery, but definitely not overly noodly, and the cleave edges + slimewalls are a must for any urban and park riding. It presses boxes, is stable and catch-free on rails (thanks to the 3 degree edge bevel), and butters/tail-blocks like no other. The lowrize rocker doesn't make this deck too unstable and washy for tables either, I used the Crush for summer camp last season and it held up on the 40 footers. That being said, it isn't ideal for all-mountain use and the stiffer Ride alternatives (i.e. DH 2, Machete) are much better suited for use in the powder as well as all over the rest of the mountain. However, the Crush doesn't mind getting filthy in a little bit of fresh. The lowrize rocker gives you some welcome float and it's just as playful as ever for some calculated all-mountain freestyle use. I'm still using this board for my urban/park sessions and it still kills it.

All in all, the Crush is an excellent choice for park and urban riding and can dabble in a little bit of playful all-mountain and powder situations as well. If you're looking for an all-mountain charger, check out the DH 2 or Machete, but if you're in search of a true park slayer, look no further.

Other helpful information: I'm 5'10", 150 lbs, wear size 10 boots, and always used 09/10 Ride Alpha Movements on this board. My Crush is a 152 regular (non-wide).

I bought a Crush 152 mid-season last season (09/10) because I started riding urban alot more than ever before. I already had a DH 2.2 for my resort/all-mountain/park riding needs, but I felt it necessary to scoop up a Crush for strictly urban and park sessions, and I'm very glad I did.

The Crush is an urban and park destroyer. The lowrize rocker is on point, especially for the Crush's flex pattern. It's buttery, but definitely not overly noodly, and the cleave edges + slimewalls are a must for any urban and park riding. It presses boxes, is stable and catch-free on rails (thanks to the 3 degree edge bevel), and butters/tail-blocks like no other. The lowrize rocker doesn't make this deck too unstable and washy for tables either, I used the Crush for summer camp last season and it held up on the 40 footers. That being said, it isn't ideal for all-mountain use and the stiffer Ride alternatives (i.e. DH 2, Machete) are much better suited for use in the powder as well as all over the rest of the mountain. However, the Crush doesn't mind getting filthy in a little bit of fresh. The lowrize rocker gives you some welcome float and it's just as playful as ever for some calculated all-mountain freestyle use. The Crush didn't change at all (except for the graphic of course) from the 09/10 season to the 10/11 version, so I'm still using this board for my urban/park sessions and it still kills it.

All in all, the Crush is an excellent choice for park and urban riding and can dabble in a little bit of playful all-mountain and powder situations as well. If you're looking for an all-mountain charger, check out the DH 2 or Machete, but if you're in search of a true park slayer, look no further.

Other helpful information: I'm 5'10", 150 lbs, wear size 10 boots, and always used 09/10 Ride Alpha Movements on this board. My Crush is a 152 regular (non-wide).

First of all, I picked up my DH2 in early November of 2009, and have since ridden it about 3 or 4 times a week here in the great state of Alaska. I spend most my time riding a combination of all-mountain and park, but also do plenty of backcountry/pow riding along with many urban/jibbing sessions. It is easily the best board I've ever owned.

Most descriptions of the DH2 label it as a park board, and I'm not saying that it doesn't slay the park, but this board is definitely more than capable of ripping the entire mountain. Within the first week of riding my DH 2.2 (the second of the three limited edition graphic releases), I had the pleasure of bringing it out on a 2' pow day.. I was shocked by how much the lowrize rocker made it float out of the deep Alaskan powder. Since then, I've done everything possible on this board, from 3' pow days at Alyeska Resort, to sessioning urban spots around Anchorage and the surrounding areas, and everything in between. The carbon array 5 and pop stixs make the DH2 very snappy and stable, with tons of ollie power, and the lowrize rocker makes the DH2 playful and pressable on boxes and rails. I've literally used this board for every style of riding and it miraculously seems to excel in each discipline, I've done backcountry, all mountain, park, and urban jibbing. It's proven itself to be very durable as well, the cleave edges and slimewalls take abuse like you wouldn't believe. The only complaint I have (and it's a very minor one), is that the top sheet has cracked on either side of the nose of my board (roughly in between the binding inserts and the tip) from being pressed so much in addition to taking various ragdolls and tomahawks. This is purely cosmetic and the cracks only reach about an inch to two inches into my board from the edge. These cracks have not compromised the integrity of the board in any way. If you're looking for a noodly board to be used strictly for urban and park, you may want to check out the Ride Crush, but if you're looking for an incredible park board that can also slay powder and hold it's own on the rest of the mountain, look no further. I highly recommend the Ride DH2.

Also, for sizing references, I'm 5'10", 150 lbs, wear a size 10 32 Lashed, use Ride Alpha Movements in size 9-11, and have the DH 2.2 in a 155 regular. Hope this helps.

I bought the Stingrays last season primarily for spring riding, but I wound up using them on alot of the warmer mid-season days also. Don't plan on using them on negative days though, I live in Alaska and tested them on negative days and they just don't pack enough insulation to keep your digits toasty. That being said, they are great gloves for warmer weather. Unfortunately, the leather tends to absorb water making them get fairly heavy at times, and they also take quite a while to dry out if you don't put them on a heater after your session. Rest assured though, the gore-tex insert won't let any of that water get through to your hands while you're riding. As others have said, they are definitely low profile, very dexterous, and look sick also. I got them in black and my buddy got them in white, both of which look pretty steezy. Unfortunately they don't have a nose or goggle wipe, but the thumb pads can work fairly well on your nose or your lens. The leather does tend to take a beating pretty quickly, especially on the fingertips. My buddie's white pair got rallied alot quicker than mine, after a full season of riding, some of his fingertips were torn open. The white didn't prove to be very practical either, after a couple rail bails where he grabbed the coping to save himself, they picked up some gnarly stains.
Overall, the Stingray is a great spring or warm weather glove; the gore-tex is heavenly, they're low profile, very dexterous, look sick, and feel great on your hands too. However, they don't earn 5 stars because the leather isn't all that durable, there isn't a nose or goggle wipe, and the leather holds water like a sponge.

Wow, I can't say enough good things about last year's Alpha Movement... Ride really hit the mark on the technical features of this binding. Most notably, the ankle strap is legit! It really does make you feel connected to your board, in fact, it feels like it's not even there, but still gives you support. I let my friend strap into my board and butter around at the end of a park session last season and he was immediately sold, so much so that he bought the new Alpha Movements for this season already. This was my second set of Alpha Movements and I'm definitely going to be picking up a new set for this season also. They are definitely one of the lightest bindings on the market and the tech is bar none. The toe strap is certainly praise worthy also. My main complaint about these bindings, and the reason they don't get a 5 star review is that the glue on the ankle straps didn't hold well enough and the two pieces seperated on both bindings. However, this didn't really affect the overall integrity of the binding as the bolts held the straps together still. It looks as though Ride reworked the ankle strap a little on this year's model though. Lastly, the black and red colorway on this binding is sick.

I was looking for a softshell that fell more under the hoodie category than the jacket category and I also wanted it to have at least 10k waterproofing. Fortunately, I found the Spectrum and it was exactly what I was looking for. The Spectrum looks and feels just like a hoodie but has all the tech features of a regular jacket. From pit zips to snow skirt, media pocket to pass pocket, this softshell has it all. I bought it primarily for spring riding but I'm sure it can be used by itself on some of the warmer days and even on colder days if you add some layering. I'm 5'9", 150 lbs, and originally I ordered a large, which wound up being a little baggier than I like, so I reordered a medium off of Brociety at a great price. It does fit true to size though, DC's sizing chart is pretty accurate, I had just ordered it too big in the first place. Lastly, the colorways on this jacket are sick, I've had tons of people compliment me on the black stripe pattern.

I've been riding the 08/09 Special Blend Mark Pants for about 3 months now and they are sick! I live in Alaska and these pants have endured subzero temperatures, 25+ mph winds, and freezing rain. I have yet to get even the slightest bit wet or cold while riding. There's plenty of pockets and tons of nice features - lace hooks on the boot gaiters, mesh inseam vents, drawcords to keep your hem from getting thrashed, waist adjustments, and they're more waterproof than you could ever imagine. They definitely have a steezy Special Blend look also. One important thing to note is that these pants run a little long. I typically wear a medium, which is what I originally ordered, but had to exchange them for a small. Hardly a complaint when DogFunk shot me out a small free of charge (shipping to Alaska isn't cheap). The bottom line; if you're looking for an insanely waterproof set of pants that look as sick as they function, don't hesitate to pick up the Marks. A+

I've been riding the 08/09 Special Blend Autograph Jacket for about 3 months now and it is sick! I live in Alaska and this jacket has easily endured subzero temperatures, 25+ mph winds, and freezing rain. I have yet to get even the slightest bit wet or cold while riding. There's plenty of pockets, a decent amount of insulation, more waterproofing than you could ever wish for, and tons of sick SB style too. My only complaint is that the wrist gaiters don't have any sort of elastic band to keep them from slipping off your gloves, if you wear the sleeves over your gloves that is (they do have a velcro adjustment though). One important thing to note is that this jacket certainly does run a little big. I typically wear a medium, which is what I originally ordered, but had to exchange it for a small. Hardly a complaint when DogFunk shot me out a new one free of charge (shipping to Alaska isn't cheap). The bottom line; if you're looking for an insanely waterproof jacket that looks as sick as it functions, don't hesitate to pick up an Autograph. A+