So the Smokin Snowboard factory tour last week had more to it than just the tour, we also went down to pick up some 2010 newly pressed decks. I was lucky enough to nab the new M.I.P. D.I.R.T. Rocker with Magne-Traction with some custom graphics brought to you by JP Lagos at Thesnowlife.com. I was even more excited to try out Smokin’s Magne-Traction since out snow has been rock hard as of late and last time I rode a board with magne it made the saying “Turns ice into powder” hold true. Friday afternoon of last week Squaw was still pretty firm with a nice east wind keeping things rather chilly, so what better time to go try out Smokin Jay “the evil genius’s“new concept.

My first thoughts was the same as any of the other reverse camber boards I have ridden, the nose seems to hook a little quick when you really get the board on edge. Once I detuned the nose and tail a little the board simply took off. The M.I.P. has a great predictable flex that reminds me of many of the old boards from the good old days. Jay doesn’t use fancy barely known named stuff to create his sticks yet he produces a board that rivals all those high-end uber scientific factories. The M.I.P. holds a super fun edge, makes a snappy turn and rebounds really predictably that you can stray away from the park and still rip turns. I have complained for a few years now that many companies are making boards to specific to one discipline and are hard to enjoy on every part of the hill. I think the smoking M.I.P. brings back the idea that you can have a great park board that doesn’t sacrifice the rest of the mountain.

If you are looking for a great park and all around board that’s actually handmade the new 2010 Smokin M.I.P. D.I.R.T. Rocker is gonna blow your mind.

What about the graphics? JP Lagos designed the graphic based loosely off the Obey “Obama” Poster series. Taking funny pictures and translating them into the Obey scheme, JP created a series of Bromodel snowboards. All the boards were either using Smokin’s 2010 M.I.P. blank or the 2010 Superpark blank. So the boards that were in the pictures being finished during the factory tour were none other than the bromodel boards. Special thanks to JP for including my funny grill on a snowboard and Smokin Jay for pressing a super fun board!