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For the real deal reviews category

Real Deal Review: Candide’s “Few Words”

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Yes, the Candide Thovex documentary, Quiksilver’s “Few Words,” was proclaimed 2012’s best documentary at the Powder Video Awards in Park City last week. Great as it was, reminding us all of Candide’s unreal new big mountain game while recounting the various points in the past fifteen-odd years when he’s made ski history, I believe it fell far short of its potential. Maybe it’s because I broke my back (literally, read the article) on his pro model Dynastars, or that I got to see him boost a perfect 360 tail in person – probably the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen anyone do on skis with my own eyes – that I’m so passionate about this particular ski legend. But whatever the case way, I have to speak up about this film. Stacy Peralta would have given Few Words a B- on a good day.

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Real Deal Reviews: Level 1′s Sunny

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Sunny will in many ways seem familiar to Level 1 films of the past, but for some reason, the formula this year seemed tighter, more focused, and ultimately better. Trannies, somewhat simpler tricks, and wait for it, STYLE rule this year’s movie in a way that they haven’t in mainstream ski videos.  A soundtrack full of good, older rock with not one intolerable reggae song keeps things moving throughout, without much interruption by pro skiers saying shit that isn’t clever or funny. What is going on over there?? This is definitely a departure in terms of creative direction and mainly in what kind of skiing (i.e. maybe not the harder, but the better looking kind) will increasingly make it into movies.  According to our astronomical clock, which maintains a gap of two years between snowboard and ski trends, this should have happened last year, but we’ll give them the benefit of the doubt.  Anyway, here’s some stream of conscience notes I took while watching:

 

-Mike Hornbeck gets the opening segment. Level boys definitely hit their rhythm with this one.  Good transitions and the inclusions of the bro yells upon stomping are well integrated.  Am I this buzzed off two drinks?

-Logan Imlach does Rube Goldberg course through a beat (both physically and in video segments) Alaskan concrete structure.  Putting the time and effort in.

-Chris Logan, Logan Imlach, and Wiley Miller each have by far their best video appearance in Sunny. These guys each have a pretty different style, and if you like any or all of them, you will be rewarded with the sweet carrot cake of their skiing.  Wiley Miller skis to Q Lazzarus’ “Goodbye Horses.”  While it’s not Marc Johnson’s Fully Flared segment, Wiley did some good in this one and definitely tightened up his style last year.

-While jibs have still got more complicated this past season, luckily that’s not due as much to an increase in switch-ups or superspins.  Thank flippin’ god. You jib monkeys better get your knees ready though, because you’re going to be doing a lot of two-story drops to flat if you want to keep up. Us old dudes are just stoked we can gap off the rail to the other side of the rut in the landing and now call that a trick.  I never wanted to learn a 450 anyways.

-Most reviewers forgot to mention the rare treat of Eric Pollard skiing in standard segment style sans a million slowmos, landscapes, quotes, or lifestyle shots. Just pure unadultured Pollard style.  Reminds me how badly I want a pair of Sir Francis Bacons so I can just bury my nose and my hands in every powder turn this winter.  Malcyzk?

-The problem with doubles is that they are very hard to do and show any unique style. Style, you may be shocked to find out, does not just exist because you grabbed your ski.  Luckily, much fewer doubles make their presence known in Sunny, and instead the incredible possibilities of single-flip and on-axis tricks are explored in detail.  Well done, boys.

-JP Auclair cameo!!  It’s in Turkey and he does a flair tail off a small roof jump. Does no one think I’d pay to watch that man do more shit like that?? Goddamn. Anyway, the Turkey segment is kinda cool.  Torin Yater-Target does some cool shit off a tiny snowbank quarterpipe, which was my favorite feature to build and never be able to do anything on growing up.

-Wallisch can pretty much do anything he ever wants on skis, so that can make his skiing boring. However, his ender is pretty much T-Wall at his finest. Without giving it away, his ender turns what would be a impossible exercise into an easy 270 on, with the signature tippy-toe soft landing.  What an asshole.

-Parker White ends it, and does a stellar job of showing how much damage he can do without having to spin very much. Future shit.

 

Bottom line is that if you’ve been enjoying the kinds of skiing we’ve been posting on the ‘Bomb these days, you’re  going to enjoy Sunny.  The guys who you really want to watch ski got long enough parts, too, which is sweet.  Pick up Sunny on iTunes for $12.99 or the DVD for $22.95

 

 

 

Real Deal Review: Education of Style

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Eric Iberg sent me a copy of Education of Style and asked me to review the film and write “a masterpiece of crap” about it, and I obliged weeks later.  So here it is, in classic play-by-play knee-jerk reaction format.  Read up, nerds:

 

[Play  movie]

The intro uses a lot of old hip-hop videos spliced in with the skiing.  My favorite was whenever the VHS tracking icon showed up on the screen; I miss that.

Phil’s Segment:

Iberg starts Phil’s segment by posing as a cult figure in a brown tunic (supposed to represent the ski industry) who mixes up some mushrooms with some other elixirs and gives it to Phil (in order to make him ski according to some certain formula).  Phil goes on a real bad trip to begin with, bugging out and seeing doubles of himself while nearly every shot of him skiing is obscured by torturous color and blur effects.  Paradoxically, the same drugs also help Phil create his own vision of skiing, and as the segment goes on the visual effects die down and Phil eventually cuts the ties of the marionette Iberg had been manipulating, having finally rid himself of the controls of the Babylon oppressor of the ski industry.  Had the skiing changed over the course of the segment the analogy might have made more sense.  Plus aren’t all three of these guys trying to go to the Olympics?  That would seem like the ultimate Babylon to me.

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Woodward Tahoe Grand Opening

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This past Saturday saw the grand opening of Woodward’s newest outpost of its growing franchise, Woodward Tahoe. While the announcement of Tony Hawk coming to the opening fueled worries about the place being overrun with munchkins, most of the minors seemed interested only in the trampolines and foam pits inside “The Bunker,” and not in the stellar park and superpipe the Boreal staff had somehow pushed together for summer shredding despite the worst winter in Tahoe in twenty-something years.

Woodward Tahoe x BroBomb Celebratory Single-Edition Jersey…

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Real Deal Review: Boreal

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Welcome to Boreal.  Main Line in view.

Boreal is the place you wish you lived across the street from.  The Big Boulder of Lake Tahoe, Boreal has a cozy 500 feet of vertical under the lights til 9 at night stocked with a smattering of jibs, wallrides, hips, side-hits, spines, and kickers.  Most lines let you hit around ten features in a row, with Boreal’s key strength being that the majority are shreddable by anyone with a decent handle on park skiing, and can be shredded hard by those with real talent.  Screw the kids – this is the park for working adults, with pretty low consequences for casing most of the features and the general intimidation factor of the setup pretty low.  Add in a high-speed quad chopping lap times down to seven or eight minutes and Tahoe’s standard soft, slushy snow and this place is pretty much the ultimate park for the 99%.

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Real Deal Backcountry Review: Steps 4 & 5

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Ryan Dunfee of BroBomb.com covers how to establish dominance within your backcountry group by feigning a drug addiction, and how to abuse religion to bless your ski day.  Click for the full review of the SkiLogik Bomb Squads featured as a prop in the video.

Real Deal Review: Bluehouse Antics

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In the park-rat-centric world I inhabit, skis fall into three big categories: butter skis, jump skis, and pow skis. It’s obviously a gross overgeneralization, but it’s not a bad way to cut through the marketing bullshit.

Bonus points for a legit topsheet.

To get to the point, Bluehouse Antics are pretty damn great jump skis. For the sake of a fair review, Dan handled the riding on the Antics as he has been known to use jumps as something more than a convenient wind-blocker to duck behind and light a cigarette.

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Real Deal Backcountry Review: Step 3

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Dunfee covers proper avalanche beacon training techniques, how to display your backcountry knowledge, and reviews two key pieces of Backcountry Access gear. Whether or not BroBomb has enough credibility to venture outside of tight pants mini-park opinionating is up for debate.

Backcountry Access

Given BroBomb’s collective ignorance of all things backcountry (with the exception of one developing scholar), we’re pretty sure it’s illegal for us to recommend anything that has anything to do with wilderness survival. But not having a clue doesn’t mean you can’t have an opinion; here are our thoughts on two key Backcountry Access products you’ll want to look into this winter.

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Real Deal Backcountry Review: Steps 1 & 2

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Dunfee explains proper layering and what you should be packing into the backcountry and follows it up with Real Deal Reviews for First Ascent’s KaraKoram Down Parka, First Ascent Guide Gloves, and First Ascent Downlight Vest.  Backcountry nerds unite.  Full reviews after the jump.

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The 2011 x 2012 Backcountry Real Deal Reviews

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BroBomb isn’t exactly the first thing that comes to mind when you think of  the backcountry. But while BroBomb’s PA-based brethren may not be able to distinguish between a flat box and a couloir, Dunfee’s wild upbringing in suburban New Hampshire, far from the conveniences of running water, protection from wolves, and loving parents, has taught him how to select the best gear for use in the wild white yonder.

For the next couple weeks, he’ll be bringing you Real Deal Reviews of some of this season’s hottest backcountry gear including the First Ascent Guide glove and vest, Saga Anomie jacket, Moment Team 3L jacket and pant, Smith I/O goggles, Backcountry Access Squall pack, and Ski Logik Bomb Squad skis.