BoardRiderLounge

Roxy Snowboard Review

Posted by: SoulSurfer | Aug 23, 09

> If you already know you want to buy a Roxy Snowboard, hop over to the store to compare prices on Roxy Snowboards. You'll often find sales of up to 50% OFF! To learn more about Roxy Snowboards continue reading.

There is a lot of debate about whether a Roxy Snowboard is a quality board or not. Some people argue that the boards just don’t hold up and that Roxy is a gimmicky company that focuses more on branding than they do the quality of their products. Others swear by their boards and will probably remain die hard Roxy fans and purchase many more snowboards in the future.
The skepticism isn’t entirely unwarranted when you consider that the company is predominantly a clothing company that has its roots in the launch of swimwear back in 1991. By comparison who the heck would put any faith in a board made by Wrangler Jeans? When you consider that Roxy makes fragrances, jewelry and items to decorate a girl’s room like bedding and lamps, a bit more caution arises when determining your level of confidence that your hard earned money is going to be well spent on a Roxy snowboard.

There is truth that Roxy had a bit of a quality control issue in the past but the company has stepped it up and is putting out some rock solid boards with some progressive technology. The boards are made by Mervin Manufacturing who also makes top notch boards such as Lib Tech and top-end GNU boards. Quiksilver bought Mervin Manufacturing back in the 90’s and hence the Roxy snowboard being made by them. Here is a quote straight from the Mervin site,” Roxy’s elegant aesthetics combine with Mervin’s insane technological innovation for an award-winning board series built to celebrate that crucial connection between every girl who loves the snow. Featuring such advanced Mervin technologies as BTX and the all-new C2, Roxy Snow’s got next-level control, serious pop, and ultimate edge hold.”

So what exactly is C2 technology and what is the hype all about? The standard the industry has been following is cambered boards in which the center of the board pushes against the rider and is elevated off the ground if laid on a flat surface. The newer rocker technology follows surfboard design more closely where the nose and tail of the board are elevated in a “banana” like shape. This really helps give the rider float in powder. C2 takes it a step further and adds a wave to the banana/rocker pattern keeping the board flat on a plane surface. Boards with this technology are better for all around conditions and tend to be a bit more forgiving also. X games medallist Torah Bright and Travis Rice both ride the banana technology so that should further endorse its merit.

Magne traction (MTX) is also offered on the Eminence, Alley and Envi Roxy snowboard. Magne traction is a Mervin innovation that introduces “sine-waves” into the usual straight metal edges of the board. It looks crazy but makes a lot of sense. Instead of one continuous edge on your board you now have hundreds. It follows the same logic that skiers typically have more control at high speed because they are using 2 edges instead of a snowboarder’s one edge.

Banana technology (BTX) is the reverse camber technology combined with Magne-Traction (MTX) technology. Boards with BTX will handle great on hardpack, icy conditions, powder and on jib terrain like rails and boxes.

Roxy Snowboard Models

Envi MTX Roxy Snowboard

This is a stiff and responsive board designed for the powerful and aggressive rider. It is best suited for big mountain riding and features a set-back stance for powder and a bamboo topsheet for added pop.

Eminence BTX and MTX Roxy Snowboard

This is the board Torah Bright mainly rides. It is for the advanced and aggressive rider who wants to tear up the park, pipe and pow.

Ally MTX Roxy Snowboard

This is a softer twin tip, all mountain board for smaller and lighter girls

Silhouette Roxy Snowboard

This board is for intermediate and casual riders and features a deep sidecut and narrow waist width for easy edge to edge riding.

Ollie Pop Roxy Snowboard

This is a twin tip, park and pipe board that has a lightweight construction with softer ends and wide stance options.

Sugar Roxy Snowboard

The sugar is a directional twin beginner board that is forgiving and has a bit of tail taper to help in the powder.

Roxy Girl Roxy Snowboard

This board is for the younger girls between the ages of 6-12 and 40-100lbs.

Inspire Roxy Snowboard

This is a kids lightweight, twin freestyle board with a narrow waist and a low maintenance base.

Additional Things To Think About When Considering a Roxy Snowboard Purchase

Roxy as part of Quiksilver engages in charitable work both locally and globally through the Quiksilver Foundation. Read more about the Quiksilver Foundation.

Mervin Manufacturing who makes the boards is super environmental. Among their green initiatives are:

Using a new environmental plastic top material called BEANS.
Using sublimation rather than silkscreen. This eliminates the use toxic automotive lacquer gloss coats.
Their factory is heated with bio diesel.
They used fast growing farmed woods for board cores.
They use the safest epoxy resin systems available.
They don’t use any solvents in the factory and clean with citrus based cleaners instead.

Read a bit more about Mervin Manufacturing and their environmental initiatives.

There is no doubt that the Roxy Snowboard is here to stay. With a team of solid women riders like Torah Bright, Alexis Waite, Amber Stackhouse and Kjersti Buaas, the brand continues to gain prominence and credibility. Couple that with the innovations Mervin is making in snowboard design and you can see why a Roxy snowboard is another great option in the lineup of top women’s snowboards right alongside the Burton Gtwin, the Rome Vinyl or Gnu Barett Christy.