Rome Snowboard Design Syndicate

Hey everybody, what’s up?  Figured I’d get on the horse and blog again.

We all had a good time at the FOR NCW premiere here in Waterbury.  We all have our stories to tell about it but Cavan & EVH have already done a good job so I won’t beat it to death. (I will say, as someone who lives in Waterbury, that it’s just how we roll.  Jeff and Ben this morning both acknowledged, “if I knew it was going to be like that, I would’ve stayed longer”   Well, now you know.)

So, I have a big idea for my next blog but it’s been a crazy ten days so I decided to throw something quick together in the meantime.

The Marshall Boot

My Marshalls, aww...

I spent last winter rockin’ the Marshall Boot.  A bunch of people in the office rock the Libertine, but I decided I want to be me…no, honestly I was really into some of the new features Ian had worked on with this model.  So I’m going to quickly run through some of the more interesting stuff (to me at least).

Expand Toe Zone

I’ll start at the toe…this year we added the Expand Toe Zone.  A really simple idea, this Neoprene at the toe helps make the “out of the box fit” really nice.  Normally liners are shorter than the volume of the shell; ETZ allows the toe to break into that extra space.  The ETZ gives your toes access to that room straight away.

Min. Rubber Outsole

The outsole is pretty cool.  Have you ever seen YakTrax?  I’ve never used those things but that’s what the sole reminds me of.  The only rubber used is in the “high” spots and it really hikes nicely.  The rest of the sole is a bunch of EVA which just sheds the pounds.  It also has a nice air bag under the heel.

CF4 Liner

The CF4 liner is heat moldable like most of our liners.  It also has the “Quadzone” lining.  The key element of the Quadzone is the varying usage of directional fibers in the heel.  The other cool new feature of the Marshall liner is the Anklelock AMT.  The Anklelock is a cork “flow” material that accentuates the J-Bars.  It really is the ultimate in personalized/custom heel hold.    All this, along with the internal harness, helps keep your heel locked in place and makes this boot the ultimate in board control/feel.

In/Out Lace

A nice homage to Clockwork…the In/Out lace system is a great way to adjust your boot through the day.  Some of us folk will put our boots on at the house and drive to the mountain.  One thing I found the In/Out allowed me to do was lace the outer shell nice and tight and leave the inner cuff lose when I drove. Just that made working the clutch so much easier.  Also you can use it to adjust the cuff through out the day.  So once at the mountain I would hang out in line up with the inner cuff loose.  Once the lift started turning I’d give it a yank and away I went.  So the most outwardly apparent new feature is really handy.

Standard Issue

A few things are also worth mentioning that come on just about all Rome boots…

The 3D laminated tongue is a huge Rome feature.  The tongue is really at the heart of the Progressive Flex story of the boot.  It also ensures a nice smooth consistent fit.

I am also a huge believer in Jointed Cuffs.  Jointed Cuffs help prevent your boot from distorting in the binding.  They also are a part of the flex story in Rome boots.

You’ll see different ‘cuts’ that create different flexes in our boots.  One mistake people make when thinking about boots is getting stuck in a “Freestyle” or “Freeride” mentality about them.  Some people like soft boots for pow riding, some people like soft boots for rails;  some people like stiff boots for launching big airs, some people like stiff boots for railing on groomers (kind of the essence of No Correct Way).
Fin
So I hope you enjoyed this little tour through the Marshalls.  Have a good weekend and don’t make an ass out of yourself at karaoke.

PS-A side note…Can’t believe a Google search could not come up with the classic Peter Line Div 23 ad (you know the one…the first one).  Wanted to have a link to it from where I say “beaten to death” up top.  If any one can find it on the web, post it in the comments.

Last night was THE East Coast premier of No Correct Way at none other than our beloved Waterbury Wings. Honestly, where else could this happen than Wat-Wings, an establishment that has fueled every single employee under Rome’s roof through thick and thin with delicious hormone-laden meat on the bone slathered in a veritable Monet’s-palette (no pun intended) of sauces. 

Runke, with the help of the local wing-slingers played host to an in-house only premier. Adding to the family were the likes of MFR, LNP, Bjorn and Eiki – as well as our Japanese contingent. Needless to say, it was an awesome experience.

Packed up and ready to head on down to famous Wat-Wings.

Quiet Main Street Waterbury, our journey begins.

The respectable "front door" entrance. I've literally never used this door before.

Pack ‘em in and let’s do this!

"You from Rome? Use the back door."

Platter after platter of heaven was served by an eager wait staff - who could ask for more?

Runke skirts disaster

Changing out a ill-burned bootleg for the real deal in front of a not-so-forgiving crowd. Woops.

Dudes of the hour - Cavan and Runke look on

evh out ’till next Wed (give or take).

A weekend of doing basically nothing apparently slows you down a bit come Monday. I guess you could say I have a lazy hangover, but i’m OK with that. With not much to report, and even less to show the world, i give you Lazy Link Monday™

- Saw this in Munich last weekend – one of my favorites – Munich Olympic shooting poster, 1972
- Your knife is the most important tool in your kitchen. I prefer Global
- Look at the colors, maaan
- Sex Pistols last show in San Francisco, via Wolfgangs Vault
- HN Werkman’s The Next Call 9 cover
- This one’s for Draplin. Pioneer Soda cap
- I have nothing to say about this one
- Lifetime’s Hello Bastards album cover. One of the best bands of my youth. All you kids should do your research – these guys are responsible for the music you listen to these days.
- Jimi Hendrix got arrested. Nice
- The french aren’t just good at cooking. Damn

I have seen “can dad” walk by the office everyday, rain or shine since my first days as a Rome intern. Always pushing a seasonally decorated garbage can and always dressed like a crazy muppet. Today I realized, I never took the time to talk to this Waterbury icon, so I decided it was time to sit down and find out where this guy was coming from, hear his life story, share his dreams, sooth his fears, and maybe gain some old man wisdom.

Interview with “Can Dad”

can dad

Question: “Hey man, do you mind if I talk to you for a second?”

Answer: “YOU AIN’T GONNA NEED TO TALK TO ME! YOU GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY WAY!”

Responce: “Ya cool, but I just want to ask about your trash can. What’s in…”

Answer: “I SAID YOU DON’T NEED TO TALK TO ME, YOU DON”T NEED TO TALK TO ME. YOU DOOOOON’T NEEEEEEED TO TALK TO MEEEEEEE! YOU AIN’T TALKING TO ME!”

 Thanks for the interview can dad.

So here’s something I’m going to do off and on whenever I’m at a loss for a story, or I forget my camera, or I’m feeling like I need to exercise my creative demons. I may run this for a few weeks in a row, we’ll see. I call it your Wednesday piece… cause I made this little piece of design just for you. Look at it. Then, after you’re done looking at it, carry on checking your email or whatever it is that you do.

click it to enlarge it

Not much to report from my extended Austrian board factory visit. Wake up, work at factory (revise files, approve art, drink coffee, repeat), eat some dinner with the good folks here, then work a couple more hours from the hotel room. Repeat.

I did have a pretty nice time in Munich over the weekend with the Rome Europe office crew (Sarah and Phil – thanks for the great time!) We cruised Munich, ate various sausage products, checked out a pretty cool Robert Rauschenberg show at the gallery Haus Der Kunst titled “Traveling ‘70-’76″. It was some pretty cool work that i hadn’t seen before – mostly sculptural pieces similar to his Combines from the 50’s, that, along with his massive image transfer pieces made him a main player in the emerging Pop Art scene at the time.

I have no photos to document my Munich adventure – blame it on a forgotten battery charger. Sorry folks. What i do have to show you is some images from early last week, when i was able to snap some shots of the 09 production being wrapped up. Some shots of Artifact 1985’s, Artifact’s and Notch’s in various stages of completion, on their way to your local shop. Enjoy.

Hot off the presses - Artifact 1985 top sheets en-route to your local shop

Cut down Artifact 1985 bases waiting for their turn in the presses

Artifact bases getting cut

Notch bases waiting for their die cut pieces to be put together