Two years ago a friend and I began talking about celebrating her 50th birthday. Selfishly, I suggested Chile simply because I wanted to go snowboarding in the summer. Fortunately she was all in. At that time I had no idea I'd be buying a sporting goods company but the timing couldn't have worked out any better. Last week we took a bag of 5th E gear headed out to Valle Nevado and put it to the test. To be completely honest, although I had helped develop the brand for the past 12 years this was the most time I had spend on the product. Here are some of the things that stood out to me the most.
5th Element Mist Snowboard - While I had spent some time on this last year, this was the first I had ridden it after making some minor tweaks and softening it up. Not only was I happy with the forgiveness the board now had but it actually held its own at higher speeds than I expected. I truly think it's a great board to learn and progress on and I LOVE how much the graphic pops.
5th Element Layla Binding - What stood out to me here is how easy these bindings were to get out of. The buckles were incredibly smooth and never really got hung up. Overall the binding fit great too. I'm usually pretty picky about this and hate riding a binding that you "constantly feel" rather than just feeling connected to the board.
5th Element Stealth Mag Goggle - I spent a lot of time in these because quite frankly they were comfortable and less beat up then my normal goggles. I'm personally a big fan of the Anon M3's and I can say the fit was similar at a much lower pricepoint. I can't wait to make a flat lens version of these!
5th Element Stealth Gloves - My friend and I both rocked a pair of these and holy crap are they warm. The weather was in the mid 30's and it was sunny so they were almost too warm for that kind of day. When I mentioned it to my partner Greg he told me how he put a lot of thought into the insultation because his hands always get cold. It turns out there's also a zippered pocket that's not only for handwarmers but also doubles as a vent...🤦♀️
.
