Immerse yourself in death...or go outside?

 

Yes, with Playstation 5 you have even more reason NOT to go outside.  And with the upcoming release of Deathloop, why would you ever leave your couch when virtual killing becomes so much more immersive than ever before?

"Your trigger button locks up mid-firefight.  Damn, another gun jam.  It really might be time to find a new weapon.  You feel the scrape of your boots against stone as you clamber up a wall.  The control rumbles in your hands with each movement.  You hear a quiet beeping emanating from the controller's speaker; there's a mine nearby, so you better watch your step.  These are just a few examples of how Deathloop is taking advantage of the PlayStation 5's DualSense controller to enhance the immersive experience."

How can fresh air, exercise, nature, the outdoors... and snurfers compete against such an "enhanced" immersive experience?  How can reality compete against virtual reality?  How can anything compete against the thrill of virtual violence?  As they say in Deathloop, "you're going to need a killer arsenal if you're going to survive...Take the PT-6 Spiker, for example.  This silenced nailgun is a brutal piece of art, and with the dynamic weapon system, you will feel each nail fall into the magazine with granularity every time you reload your weapon.  Feel the resistance of the adaptive trigger as you hold to align your shot, and the immediate recoil and discharge when you fire."

OK, PlayStation 5, with your Deathloop, we accept the challenge!  

Yes, It's an epic battle for sure, but PHNX Boards snurfers have what it takes. 

Take the PHNX Trailblazer, for example:

• A brutal piece of art with the dynamic Rip-Cord Binding/Brake System
• Dynamic weather, with changing conditions that may require layering skins*
• Feel the REAL scrape of your boots on an actual piece of sports equipment
• Clamber up a REAL hill and get healthy exercise while you defeat the evil Sloth
• Feel YOUR ACTUAL body moving based on your every command!  Amazing!
• Feel the granularity of the snow every time you step on it.  
• Defeat the resistance of the snow when you plow through it on your snurfer
• Feel the immediate recoil and discharge when you WIPE OUT in the snow

*layering skins not included 

 Yes, indeed PS5, PHNX Boards has its own killer arsenal.

Go ahead, choose your weapon!

*PS5 images and text copyright (c) Sony Interactive Entertainment

Snurfing through a Pandemic - PART 2

 

Unfortunately, we are still snurfing through a pandemic BUT there is WHITE at the end of the tunnel!  

Yes, despite a resurgence of C19 there are several vaccines close to being ready and so we just have to get through this winter safely together.  And, with boarding and skiing at resorts very much in question, there is no better time to get a PHNX Board, something you can definitely do while practicing social distancing!

I wrote this post at the end of March, when C19 was just rearing its ugly head.  Now, at the end of November, as we await snow here in the Northeast, it is every bit as relevant.

Read on:

Until the snow started today in Boston, snurfing was the last thing on my mind.  In fact, I hadn't checked my PHNX email account in a week or so.  When I did, I found an email from a few days ago from PHNX rider Phil up in VT, along with a couple of photos.  He titled them "last run?" suggesting that spring really was here and snurfing would be over.   Funny thing, the photos could easily have been taken at the beginning of winter, when those first flakes fly and PHNX riders are some of the first to enjoy what all boarders crave: sliding on snow.

As I looked out my window from self-quarantine, I noticed the snow accumulating and realized this might actually be more than just a flurry, and yes, I might even be able to snurf tomorrow.  And then it occurred to me that snurfing is probably one of the last sports that folks can do while we all social distance. The ski resorts held out as long as they could and now are all closed for the season.  But, that's not to say the snow is over! Anyone lucky enough to be near a hill and still have snow, or receive a few inches like we have, well, what better thing to do than get outside and enjoy.  In fact, I may just try and slip away to a ski mountain and poach all that terrain  sitting there untouched.

As for the photo of my Trailblazer with the face mask covering PHyrclops, our mascot?  First of all, I'm not a hoarder, that's just a cheap workshop mask we use when we handcraft our boards.  But, is it sensational, taking advantage of a crisis to sell boards?  No, this is just the reality of the situation we are in.  And frankly, along with a sense of humor, we all need ways to get outside and get fresh air and if we can help in any way, we've done our job.  Fresh air has a new meaning, doesn't it?  Every breath of untainted air is precious.  Get outside and appreciate it, snurfing or not.

Snurfing through a Pandemic!

Until the snow started today in Boston, snurfing was the last thing on my mind.  In fact, I hadn't checked my PHNX email account in a week or so.  When I did, I found an email from a few days ago from PHNX rider Phil up in VT, along with a couple of photos.  He titled them "last run?" suggesting that spring really was here and snurfing would be over.   Funny thing, the photos could easily have been taken at the beginning of winter, when those first flakes fly and PHNX riders are some of the first to enjoy what all boarders crave: sliding on snow.

As I looked out my window from self-quarantine, I noticed the snow accumulating and realized this might actually be more than just a flurry, and yes, I might even be able to snurf tomorrow.  And then it occurred to me that snurfing is probably one of the last sports that folks can do while we all social distance. The ski resorts held out as long as they could and now are all closed for the season.  But, that's not to say the snow is over! Anyone lucky enough to be near a hill and still have snow, or receive a few inches like we have, well, what better thing to do than get outside and enjoy.  In fact, I may just try and slip away to a ski mountain and poach all that terrain  sitting there untouched.

As for the photo of my Trailblazer with the face mask covering PHyrclops, our mascot?  First of all, I'm not a hoarder, that's just a cheap workshop mask we use when we handcraft our boards.  But, is it sensational, taking advantage of a crisis to sell boards?  No, this is just the reality of the situation we are in.  And frankly, along with a sense of humor, we all need ways to get outside and get fresh air and if we can help in any way, we've done our job.  Fresh air has a new meaning, doesn't it?  Every breath of untainted air is precious.  Get outside and appreciate it, snurfing or not.

One thing ALL snowboarders/skiers should have

It's amazing at how many snowboarders and skiers don't even know what a Snurfer is, despite it's having been around for 50 years, and despite a resurgent interest, with dozens of companies offering new versions.  Sure, snurfing became snowboarding and for a lot of people there was no looking back.  But, whether you snowboard or ski, if you love fresh tracks on new snow (the ultimate goal for most people!), you're missing out big time if you don't have a snurfer.  The idea that a snurfer is for little kids or people who can't afford to go to a resort is just wrong.  Why would anyone want to limit their access to snow, if there were products available to make it happen?  A storm comes in and you aren't heading to the mountains?  Grab your snurfer and get some runs in at any hill nearby..FOR FREE! (hey, rich people like free too, no?).

Shown in these two photos are ten versions of snurfers, although Jones and Grassroots call theirs pow surfers, being designed wider for the deep powder snow mostly found out West.  The others are more traditionally designed narrower for the 2 to 8 inches more common to snow storms in the Northeast and Upper Mid-West.  Just like snowboarders and skiers may have multiple sets of equipment, snurfers (used here as a verb) often have a few versions too, especially since snurfers (as a noun!) are so much less money than snowboarding and ski equipment.

Most snowboarders and skiers spend hundreds and thousands on resort riding near and far, driving and flying all over with the hope of getting good snow.  Yeah, groomers are fun too, but ask 100 riders what are the best possible conditions and 99 of them will say "Fresh POW!".  The sensation of riding in powder snow is unparalleled, whether it is two feet in the back bowls of Vail (at $209 A DAY!!!) or two inches in ANY back yard or back hill (at $169 for LIFE with a PHNX Board!!!) and with the swings of climate change it may become even more rare.  Now, more than ever, snow riders everywhere should be snurfing!

So, all you snowboarders and skiers, all you SNOW RIDERS, RISE UP AND SNURF!

PHNX Boards congratulates two recent Harvard graduates!

No, not Harvard University, Harvard Massachusetts, a rural town outside of Boston with lots of great hills for snurfing!  And by graduate we mean Jim Burns and his son came by the PHNX Boards factory (aka basement workshop!), where they learned some history and production secrets.  And, instead of useless diplomas, they left with two brand spanking new boards, a Trailblazer for dad and an UNPLUGGED for his son, which they plan to use up in those Harvard apple orchards (in fact, one of our own PHNX videos was shot in Harvard a few years back: you can watch HERE ).

Truth be told, Jim broke his first board, an early version of the Trailblazer, somehow snapping it in two up front, where the foot bed meets the base.  He said he was just pulling too hard on the Rip-Cord, which shouldn't break the board (the base is 7 hardwood plys!), but then again, not everyone builds up their muscles so much by building car engines for a living!  Jim builds/rebuilds vintage and historic sports engines up in Ayer, and some day we hope to stop by for a tour of his shop.  Anyway, being a DIYer, Jim considered repairing the board somehow, but instead we offered him a great deal on some new boards (yeah, that's what happens when you stop by!). 

Thanks and Best Wishes to the new graduates as they continue their studies of all those cool FREE places to snurf in the 'burbs!

Snurfing the Woods! FREEstyle!

Gabe Blumberg on a PHNX Trailblazer...blazing trails in the woods behind his home in Lincoln, Ma.  And by FREEstyle we do mean FREE, since there aren't any ticket turnstiles or RFID readers in the woods, just snow, squirrels, birds...and yeah, watch out for the trees!

As a skier, skateboarder, soccer player and all around active kid, Gabe is quickly figuring out how to ride a snurfer, and why a PHNX Board gives you more control.

5 years ago or yesterday? Snurfing Boston!

Snow finally arrived in the Northeast and the snurfing has begun.  Frankly, we spend more time snurfing than videoing so until we post a new one, here is one of my favorites.  Arnold Arboretum in Jamaica Plain, just outside the city of Boston.  Tremendous hill begging to be snurfed and so few people doing it.  Boggles the mind, really, since once you have a board it's FREE and so much fun.  A LIFETIME PASS for the cost of a PHNX Board!  Great exercise, challenging, and fun.  If you ski or snowboard at a resort, after you spend hours getting there, spend a fortune, and wait in lines, you are lucky to get those precious fresh tracks in powder snow.  With a snurfer you get fresh tracks every time and you can snurf anywhere there is a hill and a couple of inches of snow.

DANG, what are you waiting for?   Snurfing is alive and well, and great for any age.   C'mon and join us!

BTW, this was filmed with a DIY 360 camera rig.  A bit of a balancing act but some cool video, huh?