Published in Whitelines Magazine Issue 92, November 2010

1. DAKINE

CROSSFIRE STRIPE GLOVES – £30

These fully padded gloves from Dakine strike a nice balance between warmth and dexterity meaning you won’t freeze your hands off but you can still probably hold a spliff between the fingers – something you could never say of mittens.

2. BILLABONG

JENNY JACKET – £280

10,000 MM / 10,000 GM

If you don’t know who Jenny Jones is, you’re probably reading the wrong magazine. The UK’s most successful snowboarder ever has three X Games golds and a rad preppy-looking pro-model jacket to her name. This is it.

3. FLOW

PRIMA SE BINDING – £200

Flex 7

As well as being one of Flow’s techiest women’s bindings, this is also one of their lightest. It’s got a stiff flex, meaning it’s not for the faint-hearted, but if you know what you’re doing, you’ll get a lot out of its super-comfy straps and supportive highback.

4. BERN

MUSE HELMET – £75

Most people would agree that your head is a pretty precious organ, and it’s probably worth shelling out a little bit of cash to protect it. Thankfully, this helmet doesn’t cost the earth, so you won’t be shelling out too much. It’s a fetching shade of pink too.

5. NORTHWAVE

OPAL BOOT – £170

Flex 6

Northwave claim this boot is “what all women really want” and we’d say that’s probably not far from the truth – provided of course that they’re into snowboarding. And looking for a boot that’ll suit most conditions. So maybe not all women then, but most ladies who like to ride will love this.

6. RIDE

DELTA BINDING – £165

Flex 4

Ride have gone for a traditional toe strap on this rather than their Contraband system, but don’t let that fool you into thinking this is a basic binding. It’s made of lightweight materials and has a soft flex that make it perfect for park rats who want 100 days a year from it.

7. ELECTRIC

EG2 GOGGLE – £120

Electric have gone for the Roy Lichtenstein-style dots on these frames, conjuring up images of comic book heroes rescuing beautiful ladies. Whether you can ride like a hero or not these will at least make you look like one. Who’s Lichtenstein? He’s that dude that wrote ‘POW’ all over his pictures…

1. O’NEILL

SEB TOOTS JACKET – £130

5,000 MM / 8,000 GM

Sebastien Toutant, better known as Seb Toots, seemed to go from ‘next big thing’ to ‘big thing NOW’ in no time at all. Currently one of the world’s best contest riders, the French-Canadian has a double-cork variation named after him as well as this jacket. And he’s still only 17!

2. SMITH

BLACK DARK HOURS GOGGLE- £140

Goggles make you look badass, big goggles particularly so. Big black goggles like these ones here make you look pretty much the biggest badass on the hill. Which is reason enough to give ‘em a try I reckon, and that’s before you even get into their tech spec.

3. WESTBEACH

RENDEZVOUS PANT – £115

10,000 MM / 10,000 GM

A steezy pair of women’s pants with a tech waterproof and breathability rating and classic Canadian styling. No doubt inspired by the streets of Whistler (fashion capital of the snowboard world) these will make you look cool while keeping you warm.

4. GARMIN

OREGON 450 MOUNTAIN

DYNAMICS GPS BUNDLE – £400

Garmin have only recently broken into snowboarding. But we wouldn’t be surprised if their range of handheld GPS systems becomes pretty popular pretty soon. The Oregon 450 is one of their flagship devices and is packed with too many features to list here. Google it.

5. UNION

CONTACT PRO BINDING – £200

Flex 6

This is Gigi’s signature binding, and one of the lightest and strongest in Italian company Union’s range. According to Gigi, the spokes on the highback are inspired by the alloy wheels off a Lamborghini – which sounds impressively tech enough to us!

6. FORUM

LEAGUE BOOT – £170

Flex 4

When the Pope came to the UK recently, his red shoes got almost as much attention as he did – the reason for that? Red shoes look rad. Forum’s League boot is a case in point. It’s got a mid-flexing park feel to go with its good looks, pitching it firmly at the freestyle end of the market.

1. VOLCOM

SOAP STONE JACKET – £220

10,000 MM / 5,000 GM

With its chiselled lines and decent tech spec, this sharp-looking jacket is classic Volcom stone stuff. The cloth underneath that patchwork pattern is nicely textured meaning this looks as good up close as it does from far away.

2. BURTON

RULER BOOT – £170

Flex 6

There are few boots that have been around as long as the Ruler, and there are even fewer that have proved as popular over the years. Year after year this mid-stiff freestyle boot flies off the shelves, thanks to its do anything spec and simple good looks.

3. SPECIAL BLEND

CIRCA JACKET – £170

10,000 MM / 10,000 GM

Special Blend has always been pitched as The Program’s jib-kids brand while Foursquare is their backcountry label. But this jacket, with its relatively high tech spec, seems to bridge the gap – cheap enough for jib kids but tech enough for John Jackson to take to AK.

4. FLUX

TT30 BINDING – £130

Flex 5

Flux specialise in bindings, so they really know their stuff. This is the latest version of their Titan model, which has long been one of their most popular. It’s got a stiff nylon highback offering great support, but it’s not so inflexible that you couldn’t take it to the park.

5. VANS

ENCORE BOOT – £160

Flex 5

There’s a reason the men’s version of this boots is the best selling Boa boot ever, and this, the women’s version, has everything that makes its men’s counterpart so popular and then some. Mid-flexing, suitable for any riding style, packed with features but somehow not too expensive – how do they do that?