Above: Hamish Duncan can still yank one out if called upon. Photo: Ed Blomfield

For years now we’ve schleped around Euro-land to multiple board tests, press trips and trade shows to bring you the very best in quality reviews. Every winter is as much as a blast as it is hard work, but we’ve always wondered if there was a better way.

You see, on a standard test the three of us (plus whoever else from the wider test team is present) will get three or four runs on each board, trying to fit as many different set ups into a day, regardless of conditions. ‘Passionate’ reps often become a factor as well, pushing what they want to sell the most of rather than what might best suit each rider. It works, but there’s room for improvement.

“A whole week set aside for tests, with no time limits to get in the way of getting to know the products”

So what about a whole week set aside for tests, with no time limits to get in the way of getting to know the products? The best and most knowledgeable crew we could find, not made up of pros but riders like you, who know how to review stuff for you, not put on the hard sell.

The Selection was born.