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Archive for the 'Press Releases' Category
Gnu Girls podium The North Face Masters, Luebke takes second for men!
Seattle, WA (February 22, 2012) – Mervin built snowboards are winning the biggest mountains on the freeride circuit this season. Most recently Gnu and Lib Tech riders have topped the podium at The North Face Masters, Red Bull Supernatural, stops on the Swatch Freeride Tour and the Legendary Banked Slalom. What do all of these winners have in common? C2 Power Banana and Magne-Traction developed by the experiMental team at Mervin Mfg are underfoot of the riders topping podiums worldwide this season.
At the first stop of the North Face Masters event of the season held at Crystal Mountain, WA, Maria DeBari and Maribeth Swetkoff-Kramer placing second and third respectively riding Gnu B-Pros. Shannan Yates won The North Face Masters season opener on a Lib Tech Jamie Lynn Phoenix, which like the B-Pro features C2 Power Banana and Magne-Traction.
From high-speed descents to huge cliff drops and perfect powder turns, the women displayed an all-around confidence. Yates navigated her way through a band of rocks, stomping two airs before making some smooth pow turns and finally dropping a sizable cliff. DeBari took a daring run straight down the rocky face to a perfectly executed cliff drop at the bottom earning her second place. Finishing off the podium in third place was Swetkoff-Kramer with a fast paced, smooth run.
“I love riding the C2 because it’s really aggressive and will take me anywhere,” says DeBari. “It gets me down the mountain fast no matter if it’s perfect pow or Volkswagen sized moguls.”
The next day at The North Face Masters Sammy Luebke’s run included multiple cliff drops, huge pow turns and a giant front-side 360 indie off the lower cliff landing him within a fraction of a point from first place. “Stoked that I could be a part of this event,” says Luebke. “The weather was pretty gnarly, but we pushed through and were able to get it done. Everybody was ripping!”
Riders on the Gnu B-Pro have chalked up a number of wins in the park and pipe over the years, but this season it’s also the most winning women’s board in freeriding. Maria DeBari, who rides the Gnu B-Pro, is the current women’s leader on the Swatch Freeride World Tour having won both events held so far this season along with the Dirksen Derby and third place at the Legendary Banked Slalom at Mt. Baker. Barrett Christy, won the Women’s Pro Masters at the Legendary Banked Slalom on her namesake B-Pro benefiting Boarding for Breast Cancer, as Temple Cummins took home third in the Men’s Pro division on the Gnu Billy Goat. “Honestly, I’ve never felt more comfortable in my setup before,”says Christy. ”The 149 B-Pro is my favorite go-to board for every condition and the LBS really put it to the test this year.”
New Complicated Confusing Snowboard From Gnu Naturally Makes Snowboarding Easier And More Fun!
Seattle, WA (January 31, 2012) – In a special very early release coming out mid-February 2012, GNU re-evolutionizes snowboarding with the most technologically advanced snowboard ever, the new GNU Impossible Asym. Sym. Sync. Pickle. Balance through asymmetry is taken to the next level, with the Impossible’s new asymmetry for ducks then combined with Mervin Mfg’s latest and greatest technological innovations. Customized core construction, sidecuts and contact angles are designed to allow the body and board to synchronize into perfect harmony through nearly “imperceptible perfection.”
In addition to Asym Sym Sync, elliptical EC2 camber/banana with Magne-Traction underfoot creates a fun, all-mountain ride. Impossibly strong, ultra-lightweight magnesium fiber, rugged Bio Beans topsheet material, black and blue swirl sidewalls, lightweight Colombian Gold eco wood core and a sintered base combine are brought together in the Gnu Impossible for the most technologically advanced snowboard being built today.
Asym Sym Sync is designed with the body’s asymmetry front to back, but symmetry side-to-side in mind. Snowboard turn mechanics are completely different on your toe side than on your heel side. The Duck Asym of the Asym Sym Sync balances the amount of board contact behind and in front of your feet for stable, balanced pop and float.
On the heel side, a shorter contact length allows for turns and reactions with power that are taken at an inherently lower angle. A softer flexing core construction on the heel side allows the board to flex into a tighter arc at a lower angle. On the toe side, anatomically its possible to tip a board up into a very aggressive angle of attack. The Asym Sym Sync’s mellower toe side sidecuts and longer contact are designed to balance this asymmetry creating toe edge stability and a range of turning arcs that align perfectly with the heelside turns. A firmer flexing core on the toe side provides added stability and control necessary with finely tuned toe side turn mechanics.
Curious Science and Anatomical Facts:
Available in 155cm only, for mid-February 2012 very early season release. Full size run and greater availability fall 2012.
TECH SPECS:
- Twin Asym Sym Sync. Freestyle Shape and Geometries
- EC2 BTX Eliptical Banana Camber combo
- Magne-Traction
- Magnesium Fiber
- Asym Columbian Gold eco core
- Bio Beans Topsheet
- Sintered Base
- Size: 155
- Flex: 6
- Price: $799.95US, $849.95CDN
Lib Tech riders Jamie Lynn, Travis Rice and Eric Jackson honored at TransWorld Rider’s Polls
Seattle, WA (January 30, 2012) – It was a big week in Colorado for riders on Mervin Mfg’s Gnu and Lib Tech snowboards. Gnu rider Forest Bailey won his first X Games gold in his first X Games appearance by winning the street competition. The next day Jamie Anderson won her third X Games gold in slopestyle riding a Gnu Ladies Choice. Later that night at the TransWorld SNOWboarding Rider Polls, Lib Tech riders took home major honors with Jamie Lynn receiving the ‘Legend Award,’ Travis Rice winning ‘Men’s Rider of the Year,’ and Eric Jackson’s part in People’s “Good Look” winning ‘Men’s Video Part Of The Year.’
What a long strange trip it had been for Forest Bailey who arrived in Aspen only an hour before the elimination round for X Games street. The street course dominated by rail and box features, provided a change of scenery for Bailey who’d just come off two weeks of riding powder at Mt. Baker in Washington.
What a Long Strange Trip It’s Been, Forest Bailey Wins Gold at X-Games!
“I never thought I’d even come to X Games in my whole life, but I guess we’re here and I guess gold will do,” Bailey told ESPN.com after winning. The Vermonter won on his signature Gnu Forest Bailey Psychedelic Park Pickle featuring banana between the feet for catch-free freestyle performance, Magne-traction for unreal edge-hold and asymmetric sidecuts and construction.
Jamie Anderson Wins Gold on her Gnu Ladies Choice at X Games, Thats Two for Gnu!
Jamie Anderson is now six-for-six in podium finishes in women’s snowboard slopestyle at the X Games. She dominated the competition posting a 95.33 in her third run, the highest score ever in a women’s X Games snowboard slopestyle final. Due to the freshly fallen snow, most of the competitors struggled to keep their speed over the series of jumps, but Anderson was able to manage the conditions for the top spot on her Gnu Ladies Choice with pickle tech, C2 Power Banana and Magne-traction.
Jamie Lynn: Transworld Legend Award Acceptance Speech
The crowd went wild as Lynn, Rice and Jackson took the stage to accept awards at TransWorld Snowboarding’s Rider Polls. The ‘Rider of the Year’ nod was Rice’s second for the year, after also receiving the honor in Snowboarder’s February issue. Congrats to Bailey, Anderson, Lynn, Rice and Jackson from the entire Mervin Mfg crew building boards near Canada in Carlsborg, WA.
Eric Jackson Wins Video Part of the Year at the 13th Annual Riders’ Poll Awards
Travis Rice Wins Rider of the Year at the 13th Annual Riders’ Poll Awards
Retailers speak, TransWorld Business listens and Mervin WINS
Seattle, WA (January 18, 2012) — Retailers nationwide choose Mervin as the action-sports brand of the year in polling by TransWorld Business. Retailers point to Mervin as the brand that created the best partnerships and products, while also doing the most to support shops. The award comes courtesy of Transworld Business who reached out to over 5,000 retailers across surf, skate, snow, wake, moto, and BMX posing open-ended questions about which companies have done the most this year to foster their stores’ growth, goals, and continued success.
“The entire Mervin team feels truly grateful to be recognized for doing what we love,” says Ryan Hollis, GM of Mervin Mfg. “We’ve been building boards since 1977 and have always had our retail partners first of mind. We feel lucky to be able to maintain a healthy business for them and us, especially in rough times.”
The men and women working at Mervin are true board builders with a mission to innovate and improve the sports they participate in and love. Mervin brings real innovation including Magne-traction and banana technology, making snowboarding, skiing, skating and soon surf, easier and more fun for everyone. The company has been building ecoMotional boards near Canada in the USA since 1977.
“Mervin was the clear winner for brand of the year – it was an open ended survey and they dominated with responses such as ‘anything Mervin,’” says Mike Lewis, Editor-in-Chief of TransWorld Business. “Mervin crushed it in 2011, helping keep specialty retail special.”
Specific to supporting specialty retail, Mervin uses Shopatron, which sends online orders directly to shops. The company also actively enforces minimum advertised pricing and Internet sales in an effort to protect specialty retail.
According to SIA RetailTRAK™ data produced by the Leisure Trends Group, Mervin brands have the highest sell-through of major snowboard brands with very strong margins and enjoyed the most volume growth of any other snowboard brands on the market last season. Both Lib Tech and Gnu moved into the top five snowboard brands sold at retail last season with early season sales indicating that they will both keep their top five positions for the current season. The study also states that Mervin dominates price-points between $400 and $699 at retail.
Retailers can preview Mervin Mfg products from Lib Tech, Gnu, Roxy, Bent Metal and Freedom Dolly during SIA at the following booths: Lib Tech 1307, GNU 1507 and Lib Tech NAS 4235.
