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Sprung Break for the Poor: Northeast Edition

Wednesday, March 10th, 2010

If you’re a college student with a spring break, chances are you’re gunning to do some drinking and some skiing this March. But if you’re not lucky enough to have a family that takes annual ski trips, or already spent all of your money this year drinking, there are a few options around the area to keep you shreddin’ hard and having a good time despite your gloomy financial situation. Here are a couple options:

The “all my TGR buddies went to Alta and I’m stuck at home with my Dynastar XXLs” spot: Magic Mountain

The Word: The recently un-shuttered Magic Mountain is about as straightforward as you can get: one red double-chair, completely open boundaries, and no stakes blocking off those tempting cliffs East Coast resorts always rope off to keep the joeys from airing into icy mogul fields and blowing their ACL’s. Magic is only open Friday-Monday and during the week if there’s a powder day (6”+), so trails and the woods stay pretty fresh. If you snag Redline first run with fresh snow you can send it off a bunch of cliffs, drops, and catdrops that sit right under the lift line, earning you double points from the AT-sporting TGR crowd that swear by their GoPros that Magic is the goods. As a bonus, you can see all the idiots at Okemo and Stratton waiting in line while you hot lap trees. If pulling out a knife and fake-wrestling in ski boots on the deck with your buddy after you’ve slammed four beers is your thing, you’ll find plenty of that quirky Vermont humor here.

The Deal: Mid-week tickets are $39, or weekends for $59.

The “all my rich buddies went to Breck and I’m stuck at home with mom’s car” spot: Mount Snow

The Word: The East Coast’s answer to Bear Mountain + Dew Tour course. The Nitro Express at Carinthia gets you top-to-bottom jibs, jumps, polejams, etc., etc. etc. on every trail off the lift, with the highlight being Nitro, the small/medium park that runs the length of the liftline with 20+ options to hit in a row. The wood park is nasty if you’ve figured out how to slide wood on skis or are Garret Russell. If you are indeed as hard as the “underground” hip-hop playing from your Skullcandy’s, the original Dew Tour course is open every day. If you’re the kind of guy that’s pissed Level 1 doesn’t just do park segments anymore, or are ripping off the tongues from your old basketball shoes and duct-taping them to your Salomon boots so you can afterbang like T-Fresh, Mt. Snow is your new kingdom. Any jibber worth their weight in tall tees needs to check this park out.

The Deal: If you pick up the March issue of Transworld Snowboarding, on page 36 there is a coupon for a free lift ticket after the purchase of a first one. That gets you two days of jibbing for $75 and yes, BroBomb looked that hard for deals for you. Lift tickets on St. Patty’s Day (the 17th) are also only $17. If your buddy’s got a pass, he/she can bring you on Fridays for $45, or $36 for you nerds still studying pre-algebra in high school.

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Real Deal Review: Orage LTD

Monday, January 25th, 2010

We had an absolute blast testing this suit. There’s something to be said for trying to destroy the fancy new setup you just got in the mail. Most questions you may have about this kit will be answered by pressing play on the video below, but this suit has some sexy little details that aren’t immediately apparent in a little embedded screen. I especially like the little zipper-pull shovels. I’m a sucker for bells and whistles.

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Real Deal Review: Steamboat

Thursday, January 21st, 2010

As an East Coast boy, Steamboat always seemed to me to be the epitome of a Warren Miller segment from the early 90’s. Picture it- an opening shot with a pair of cowboys riding horses with skis on their back, a bunch of little kids getting towed down Main Street by some other cowboy into a kicker. Then there’s the four minute montage with lots of bump skiing closeups and Billy Kid destroying tree sections while somehow managing to keep a cowboy hat with a silver and turquoise broach on the front secured to his head.  Countless ads from old SKI magazines that I read in the dentist’s office showed Steamboat’s front side stocked with thousands of moguls glowing in the pinkish dawn sun. It always somehow suggesting that a) people go on vacation to ski moguls, and b) no one on the East Coast knew what powder was or wanted to ski it.  Needless to say, I wasn’t really sure what I’d be getting when I visited the ‘Boat this December, days away from 2010 and at least ten years since I’d seen a Warren Miller movie (by the way, middle fingers in the air to the Bonnier Corporation!).

Sundown Express, scene of literary & spiritual investigation for the duration of the stay.

Sundown Express, scene of literary & spiritual investigation for the duration of the stay.

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Real Deal Review: Holden Standard Pant

Tuesday, January 19th, 2010

holden 3

I had no intentions of reviewing my pants, but then it rained all damn day. I rode increasingly soaked chairlifts in barely-liquid rain. My jacket fought the good fight for almost an hour before succumbing and soaking that water like a tall-t. My pants, however, held down the fort. When I got back to the car and peeled them off, my shorts and long underwear were dry as a bone.

If you’re reading this, you’re likely a skier. If you’re a skier who is interested in Holden pants, it’s likely because no ski company makes anything but balloon sizes. So are you really concerned about waterproofing? Doubt it. They’re better than your sister’s jeans, so that part of the review is over. On to the important stuff:

Tight-o-Meter (based on 5’9” 165lb male):

Holden Large: Slightly tapered knee, but plenty of sag all around. Likely choice for somebody over 25 who can’t get down with the shrink wrap, but still prefers human sized clothing.

Medium: You’re starting to show them knobby knees, but with some breathing room for a layer or two underneath. It’s likely that this is the last size where pockets remain operational.

Small: Chicken legs on display! Still plenty of sag to make it over your boots, but those scrawny ass vegan legs get full billing. Hope your flannel shirt has lots of pockets, because that pack of fashion-smokes ain’t making it in your pants.

Most of you can stop reading now, but here’s some other info: All the pockets are full-zip, which can save you from lost keys if you remember to close ‘em up. The zipper-pulls are little leather tassles that add some rock-n-roll to the equation, and add a little functionality if you’re in park gloves.

Fashion smoking kitty.

Fashion smoking kitty.

My two major qualms with these pants also involve zippers. First of all, the front pocket zippers feel like tiny razors if you’re reaching in there with a cold bare hand. Second, the zippers at the bottom of the pants don’t really grab enough to stay closed. This doesn’t really matter if you’re going for maximum boot coverage, but otherwise they won’t stay down.

I bought them for under $100 over the summer, so keep your eyes open and they’re pretty cheap too!

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Skiers with Jobs

Tuesday, January 12th, 2010

ski industry

Greetings from Burlington! I’m on a bit of a fact finding mission in the epicenter of the east coast ski world. If you have any aspirations of making a living in “the industry” here on the right coast, then it’s likely you’re going to end up in Burlington. Always eager to help budding industry drones, I’m here to get a little feel for the city and a couple of the companies that might be getting your resume. Newly minted Vermont resident Mike Rogge, of Ski the East, is my tour guide so you know I’ll be all behind-the-scenes and whatnot.

I’m going to do some interviews and analyze the companies based on some highly scientific criteria, but I’m open to suggestions. Here’s what I’ve got so far:

-          Number of pros working there that you can go totally fanboy over on your first day.

-          Amount of free product laying around for five finger pro deals.

-          Office vibe: Are there dogs? Putting machines? Wall Street style screaming?

-         # of employees (the more the better for you, someone’s always getting fired).

Drop any further questions you’d like me to ask into the comments. I hope to visit Orage and Meatheads headquarters today, and we’ll see what else the day brings.

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Best of Dew Tour (Pizza Rolls Edition)

Monday, December 21st, 2009

dew tour brobomb

Four days of restless couch sleeping—made all the more miserable by an ever-looming demon cat—have rendered me incapable of any sort of in-depth Dew Tour breakdown. This list will have to suffice for now. Expect something a tad more substantial tomorrow.

 I give you the best of the 2009 Dew Tour Totino’s Open at Breckenridge.

 1.) By simply closing your eyes and walking forward in any direction, you were guaranteed to bump into a lovely young lady whose sole mission was to force you to eat  complimentary little pizza rolls and down Dixie cups of Mountain Dew. In an era of resorts charging $3.50 for bottles of water, anything free is glorious.

Fuel for the elite athletes of the snowsports world.

Fuel for the elite athletes of the snowsports world.

 2.) The weather. Last year’s Breck stop, despite featuring what was arguably the best slopestyle course ever built, was cursed with incredibly snowy and windy weather. Thankfully, this weekend in Breck was absolutely beautiful. Blue skies and relatively warm weather, combined with another incredible slope course, paved the way for some of the most impressive comp skiing yet to be seen.

 3.) Speaking of the slope course, I have to say that I was thrilled to see a wallride. Admittedly, most riders seemed unsure of just what to do with the damn thing (not Sean Jordan or Phil Casabon), but it added some badly needed variety to the cookie-cutter “2-jib 3-jump” format we’ve been seeing recently. Let’s hope the trend continues and we see creativity and choice-of-line really factor in at future stops. Also, there wasn’t a “cannon box” or “money booter” anywhere in sight. There was an unfortunate gap-to-truck-flat box-thing however that nothing cool happened on.

 4.) Gotta hand it to Breckenridge Resort. They reeeeaaaally know how to handle huge crowds of people. Sure Peak 8 was a circus, but the event staff did an amazing job herding everyone around. Even the wait for the Gondola after Superpipe finals Saturday night was a breeze.

 5.) Remember when I said nothing cool happened on the gaptruckflatboxthing? Well, I lied. Simon Dumont absolutely stomped a cork 3 hand-drag over it. Upon landing, he assumed what I can only guess was an ironic/mocking afterbang position before catching an edge and absolutely eating shit. In doing so, he cool-guyed himself right out of slope finals.

 Look out for the worst of the worst tomorrow…

 Last but not least, thanks a million to my Breck pals (and hosts) Mike, Joe, Tyler, and Whitney.

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MyName.com

Tuesday, December 15th, 2009

Pro websites are so hot right now. A profile and a few funny quotes on your sponsor’s page used to be enough, but these guys are brands unto themselves these days. Somewhere between the Dinner Roll and the Doublecork 12, skiers started taking themselves very seriously. It’s a cold world and every competitor can easily be pushed aside for the next Scandinavian 16-year-old at any moment. In an effort to establish themselves as more than trick jockeys, the pro ranks have turned to dot.coming their names and erecting cyber monuments to their own achievements.

 As a fan, you have no idea how to navigate this new internet pantheon of ski icons. Where to start? Should you even bother with these websites, or just stick to what you know? Well, BroBomb’s got your back with a foolproof ranking of the best new sites. Humor is so hot right now, so I’ll be rating them for intentional and unintentional hilarity, as well as amount of useful information, and the degree of vanity that has gone into each self-serving web destination.

 brobomb tjschiller.com We’ll start with TJSchiller.com. TJ is from Canada, but he shunned his national “.ca” heritage for the less-weird dot com.

Vanity: TJ takes the cake on this one. The homepage is one giant picture of either TJ in action, or his big grinning Canadian mug. The purpose of this is to imprint that image onto your brain. He won’t be throwing 1440’s forever, but when it comes time to make a move on the announcing/commentary circuit he’ll have you brainwashed into liking him. Smiles are contagious to primates, when you see a smile it makes you want to smile. Therefore, you’ll smile when you see him hyucking it up on EXPN. We all know TV ratings are based on smile power, so he’ll have it in the bag.

Unintentional Humor: It’s really a pretty dry site that does little other than provide links to TJ’s Twitter and Facebook. I found it mildly funny that he felt the need to include a bio that more or less states how he skis in contests and gets to fly in helicopters. Don’t give away too much TJ.

Intentional: Well there’s the Contest Winner/Chug Life video. There are at least two guys who think that shit’s a knee slapper. Otherwise, humor free.

colby west brobomb

Vanity: Well the ass on the cartoon vixen Colby’s clutching is probably a touch out of his league, but you can’t fault dude for trying.

Comedy: I’m going to combine this category as Colby’s website really isn’t about his skiing at all; it’s purely a promo for his joke videos. Whether or not any of it is funny hinges on one question: What is the endgame for Mr. West?

“My Friend is a Pro” used to be funny, and his Epic Pass ad still is. Colby does above-average impersonations, and seems to have a knack for big joke comedy. Does he aspire to a career in mainstream comedy? It’s a long shot, but he could probably eek out a living doing ski-film cameos while waiting for his big break. The other possibility is that his ambition goes no further than a recurring gig as Matchstick’s annual skit jester. It’s a safer bet, but a pretty sad end for anybody. If that’s the case then he gets a zero for humor, because it’s downright depressing.

I say go for it Colby, be the first skier to break out into mainstream showbiz. That asshole Dane Cook filled arenas with bro-comedy, you’ve got to shoot for the stars.

tannerhallcom brobomb

Vanity: This guy truly believes that being a blonde, blue-eyed, Montana-born Rasta isn’t an oxymoron. Can you be batshit crazy and vain? Not sure.

Intentional Comedy: 0

Unintentional: Through the damn roof! If you’re going to do the white-Rasta thing, you better damn-well go all the way. Tanner actually writes in Jamaican patois. He’s like a walking case study in the upper class co-opting the rebellion of the underclass a.k.a “white kids acting black.”

There’s a very important message in there somewhere: “If you have any questions or suggestions just hit a bredda up…I just had to get someting up so we could start pumpin dat FIRE!!! Hope all is bless. RESPECT!!!”

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Real Deal Review: Line Dart poles

Tuesday, December 8th, 2009

Matt got tired of staring at his new Line Darts, so he took to the streets to test them out.

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Real Deal Review: Pretty Good

Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009

“Pretty Good” opens with an Ian Cosco skit that was funny when it was a Mike Myers skit, in “The Spy Who Shagged Me,” in 1999. There’s ironic facial hair that is probably LOL-worthy if you’re too young to grow any, and tons of homoerotic winks that are just safe enough to be bromantic.
The intro may be better suited to Van Wilder 4, but who really cares about intros anyway? What kind of loser would talk about an intro in a review? It’s the skiing that matters, and we all know that smaller budget productions like “Pretty Good” have ten times the creativity of the big dogs over at PBP and Matchstick. Right?
About ten minutes into the flick you realize you’re watching a Jr. Varsity version of EDIAS (or any other Poorboyz movie ever made). There are lots of switchups, conquered multi-kinks, BC wedges, and convoluted videopark creations. If you want some more details, just read that review and take it down a notch or two.

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Webisode Season

Monday, November 30th, 2009

There’s a debate raging here at BroBomb World Headquarters over the direction of our site. The “high road” approach, as advocated by Barberdude, would have us stick to highlighting what is good in the ski world (i.e. Surface, The TC, RAR edits, G. Russell, etc…). The devil on my shoulder is, of course, Mr. Casula; who advocates a “git em where they live” approach to hating on all the clowns who have been weighing down our game since before Tanner put beeswax on them golden locks.

When I got an email from Chris that said, “See ‘chug life’?…TJ Schiller is fucking wearing all of his sponsor gear…including skull candy headphones…eww.” I knew something had to be done, or I’d risk having him “go rogue” on me, and we all know how that can turn out.

The first official webisode is due some time today, but given the brotastic nature of the minisode; it’s obvious that we have to step in early. The video in question is part of an annoying trend that has commercials parading as user-generated content. Let’s hope for an improved performance, but if this is any indication it might actually get worse. So I give you the five things to ask yourself before you utter the words “Chug Life is good/funny/tolerable” ever again:

• “Is this a ski vid-blog or Phi Delta Kappa’s open mic comedy night?”
• “If I wasn’t so predisposed to metaphorically sucking pro wieners, wouldn’t I promptly leave any bar these guys walked into?”
• “Didn’t TJ Schiller pick a design that looks like every ski Armada has ever made?”
• “Why is that helmet with the Monster and Dragon logos sitting on Chug’s desk…and why is TJ wearing a jacket, hat, and headphones?”
• “Does anyone else think this is as funny as Cosco and Schiller seem to?”

Wish list for Episode 7: Less laughing at your own jokes, less obvious product placement, and more funny. We’ll see.

Late edit: It got worse. Way worse. We’re apparently in for a tame Jackass ripoff. Just when I thought skiing was catching up with the rest of the world…Chug goes and copies something that was hot in 2002. Keep drinking boys, something funny is bound to happen eventually.

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