Getting hold of Skiboards in UK
I started this because it is not easy to obtain information about skiboards in the UK nor is it easy to purchase some. In the high-street, the UK only knows about snow blades and HEAD 94cm skiblades. Currently we have virtually no skiboard dealers in the UK and those that deal in skiboards are Ebay only carrying a very small range at the bottom end of the market.
With a little of savvy though, one can from the UK and mostly across Europe, get hold of decent skiboards. At the time of writing I am aware of the following being available:
Allz (LV)
Bluemoris (CZ) - Limited availability, not wood core
Gaspo (UK, CZ, AT) - No 4x4 mounts
Mantrax (CZ)
Merit (CZ) - Merit 90 is effectively the same as Snowjam 90
Revel8 (US, CZ, LV) - Limited availability outside of US
Snowjam (US)
Spruce Mountain(US)
Strickly (CZ) - Limited availability, not wood core
Summit (US)
TheSki (CZ) - Limited availability, not wood core
Which boards to buy:
Always buy the best you can afford. The US is the innovation leaders in this niche market and the best three ranges (Revel8, Spruce and Summit) are all based in the US.
Wood core boards are usually considered to be the best and although the Far-east manufacturers (Bluemoris, the Ski, Strictly) seem to have good results with their Power-cell cores, I have no experience in this area.
Do you research first - Search SBOL Forum and browse Skiboardreview
About Gaspo: Only buy Gaspo, when you cannot afford anything else. These boards do not have 4x4 mounts and are shipped only with the Gaspo-proprietary GC-201 non-release or GC-701 release bindings. Be careful to only source the models that are explicitly listed as skiboards. Gaspo makes 3 models - 85, 90, 99cm. I personally own a 85cm Hot Max model and is happy with it, but their lack of adaptibility to other bindings is a concern.
Buying from UK:
The only option is the UK is to go through eBay. You might be lucky to pick up a board from the above manfacturers on odd occasions. If you are lucky you might also get an Exclaim skiboard (a defunct UK manufacturer).
If is possible to buy brand new Gaspo skiboards from some sellers on eBay.co.uk, but see my earlier notes on Gaspo.
There is also a seller on eBay that sells his own risers for around £40. He can pre-drill them for Tyrolia/Head SP75 and SP100 releasable bindings. Unfortunately these bindings cost you £120+ compared to about £60 for a Head SL100. You'll need to drill the risers yourself for SL100 or any other bindings or find a shop that would do it for you.
Buying from Austria:
It is possible to source Gaspo skiboards from Austra via eBay.co.uk. Just include European Union as part of your search criteria, but as before see my earlier notes on Gaspo. Obviously buying from Austra menas that what you see is what you pay - no additional VAT or import duties.
Buying from Latvia:
It is possible to source Allz 94cm skiboards directly from the Latvian manufacturer. Try skiboards.lv for contact details of Mārtiņš Mičulis (the owner). Confirm stock via email and once you have a confirmation payment is via Paypal. Service is pretty good.
The price is pretty much the same that you would pay on SBOL, but you would save transport costs and any additional VAT or import duties. Expect shipment to come to about £27 for boards. Shipment should take 2-3 days to arrive.
Mārtiņš can also provide Revel8 boards and bindings although in limited quantities. Email him and see what he has available. He can get you Spruce bindings, but you'll have very little savings in this area, and might consider ordering bindings directly from US.
Buying from Czech Republic:
You have two options here skiboards.cz and skiboard.cz. There is only letter difference in spelling so make sure you end up on the correct site.
The first site offers a number of boards including Merit, Revel8, the Ski, Strictly and Bluemoris. Stock can be sketchy so make sure items are in stock. The site does have an English version and offers pricing in Euro. Service seem to be reasonable. I bought a pair of bindings and it was shipped the very next day. Payment is via Paypal and the Paypal surcharge is added at the time of checkout. Shipment takes about 7 working days to arrive.
This site offers Merit and as far as I am aware the the Snowjam 90 is pretty much the same as the Merit 90. So if you need something on the bottom end, which is still good quality then a Merit 90 + Merit AX-1 bindings might just be the thing to look into.
The second site offers mostly skiblades, but have Mantrax skiboards. I am yet to see a review of these boards, but they come in a variety of graphic designs, have 4x4 mounts and are all 99cm. Unfortunately the site is only available in Czech, so make sure you know what you buy and that you actually get the metal NR bindings. Alternatively you might try to order the board only and source bindings elsewhere. The site only show prices in Czech currency, so you'll have to do the conversions to GBP/EUR yourself.
As the Czech Republic is another EU member what you see is what you pay - no additional VAT or import duties. Expect shipment of around £23 for boards+bindings.
Buying from US:
If you really want the best in quality skiboards you'll need probably need to import from the US.
Skiboardsonline is your first choice for Revel8, Spruce and Snowjam boards. Revel8 and Spruce are the best boards on the market and Spruce risers are considered the best risers for releasable bindings. You can hardly go wrong! You can get Allz from here as well, but it is better to buy from Latvia directly if you are in the EU.
If you want to get Summit boards instead then the only place is skiboards.com. Just be warned that people have reported sketchy support from here. I have not yet had issues, but I prefer now to deal with the guys at Skiboardsonline as their service is just so much better. If you order Summit boards with releasable bindings, they will arrive directly mounted into the board. If you want to remove them later for other bindings you'll be left with the mounting holes. Summit doesn't approve the use of Spruce risers on their boards, although I know of people of who have had no issues doing exactly that. The reasons provided seem to be scientifically unproven and equates to FUD IMHO.
You might also be able to find a bargain at Curtis Sport Connection, but as I have never dealt with them I have no idea with what their after sales service is like.
Expect to pay around £50 for shipment of a pair or boards plus bindings from the US to the UK.
Duties: Reports have been sketchy as to import duties and VAT when buying from the US. Some people seem to have received the boards directly and other were called up to pay their dues. Your mileage may vary, but always budget that extra bit of money when ordering. In most cases you can calculate the duties by what is known as Method 1. Duty rates for skiboards and bindings.
Skiblades:
This posting is all about skiboards. I am not a big fan of skiblades, As far as I am concerned it is skiblades and snowblades what has given skiboarding a bad perception within some sectors of the snow sports community. If you really want a skiblade, then the only one I would suggest is the Head 94cm Big Easy / Salamander, but see some of my eBay notes on this. As a brand new pair of these retail around £210-£220 pounds, you should rather consider a pair of Gaspo skiboards with GC-701 bindings, which will cost you less and will offer a better ride too. Look on eBay.co.uk for those.
