Skip to Main Content
Maybe it started on a dare. You stood up on a toboggan or an old skateboard deck to show that you could. Whatever sparked it, chances are the first time you stood sideways and slid on snow you did it without bindings, simple and pure.

While we’re not going to go as far as to say your bindings are foot prisons you need to escape without ever looking back, taking a few runs without straps will give you a new appreciation for them at the very least. Bindingless riding is challenging, able to make mellow slopes terrifying and simple moves daunting, but the rewards are well worth it: successfully navigating through trees or hitting a jump without the help of bindings can feel like winning a gold medal.
 

Powsurfing

Powsurfers distill snowboarding to its core. They’re surfboards for deeper snow, with complex contours and profiles influenced by surf shapers. With everything from traditional snowboard sandwiches to surfboard foam, there’s a lot of groovy stuff happening on the construction side of powsurfing, as the mad scientists refine the perfect ride. The best companions to snowmobiles, powsurfers are easily shareable, quite capable (with some practice), and flourish in sled-friendly terrain. The next time you’re looking down an open bowl of untracked pow, see if you can drop in without bindings. It’ll be worth it.

The simplicity of pow surfing has me more and more reaching for the Jones Mountain Surfer, forgoing the resort crowds and heading out my backdoor to ride the neighborhood. I have learned that if the backyard is firing that means the avy danger is most likely high and the resorts probably have limited terrain open. The joy I am getting from gliding down these simple backyard hills continues to surprise me. I ride a lot of big serious lines in winter but it is those neighborhood sessions with a friend or two that really stand out at the end of the year.
Jeremy Jones
Backcountry Legend

Snowskating

With concave, kicked noses and tails, and foam for griptape, snowskates feel like skateboards because, well, they are—trucks and all. Depending on the snow conditions you’re presented with and the vibe you’re going for, you can swap out different ski-like subdecks—either long tapered guns for pow or shorter tricky twins for hardpack and park, using the same deck for both. If you’ve always wanted to try a kickflip or add real consequence to your grabs, try a snowskate as soon as possible. All it takes is a slight hill and some guts!
 
Snow skates are beautiful small terrain thrill expanding vehicles. A small little spot like our local Hyak feels like a huge skatepark resort on a snow skate. Small jumps on snow skates feel big, mild steeps are exciting, low angle cat tracks with wall hits are amazingly fun on a snow skate. A small amount of new snow feels great. If you are a bad ass you can hit all the big park features but, generally snow skating makes terrain that would be a bit boring on a snowboard or skis super exciting and feel brand new.
Pete Saari
Mervin Co-Founder, Goofyfooter
It’s expanded the way I see the mountain and enhanced the ride. When conditions are bad on the resort or even if it's just super slushy I will take out the snow skate for the day. Riding the snow skate turns every little bump and feature into a challenge, everything slows down and makes you feel a bit vulnerable. I reach for the Äsmo when I am in the backcountry, I usually bring it out with me into the backcountry because I know if the snow is good I will want to take it for a run. There is something really special about taking a run on an Äsmo that’s hard to explain, freeing the feet seems to connect you to the mountain just a little bit more.
Austen Sweetin
Champion Froth Puppy

Disconnect and Reengage

It’s high time you joined us on one of today’s new powsurfers or snowskates. For old dogs, ditching the bindings can rekindle waning stoke, helping the fatigued and the salty to reconnect by disconnecting. For beginners and the always-stoked nothing has changed: we’re surfing on snow, and it’s the best feeling on earth!
 
Shop Powsurfers and Snowskates
Shop All