Why did you change to the the Karakoram Splitboard interface?

I am always looking for ways to improve my riding system.  I spend about 80 to 100 days splitboarding so most of my focus is on finding lighter product that is faster in the transitions and makes my snowboard ride better.  This was a lot of my motivation to start Jones Snowboards.  We have made great improvements on boards but the interface has the biggest room for improvement. When I first saw the Karakorm interface system I was really intrigued. It looked like a serious step forward that was definitely worth testing out. However changing interfaces is something not to be taken lightly. I had to make sure the change overs worked in all snow conditions, and the system could withstand the abuse of all day, everyday touring.  I also made myself go back to my traditional set up about every 10 days at the start of the season just to see if I was missing something.

How did you get involved with Karakoram? 

From the first day I rode the Karakoram set up I was giving feedback to the company. 

A month later I would have a new system with my changes implemented in them plus others they were working on as well.  I was very impressed because it was the fastest turn around I have ever seen with product development.

 It became clear to me that I was working with super talented engineers with cutting edge machinery at their fingertips who shared my obsession for product evolution.  After a year of informally working with them we decided to make the partnership official. 

How would you describe the riding performance of the Karakoram Splitboard interface?  Touring performance?

Tight.  All connection points are designed to pull the two sides of the board together and secure the bindings to the board.  This makes for a tighter connection and makes the snowboard torsionaly stiffer so the board rides like a traditional deck.

  For touring a sleeved pin connects the binding to the touring bracket and has 4 contact points.  This makes for a stronger, more solid connection then the traditional pin with two contact points does.  So you have more power and edge hold while side hilling.

How do you see your partnership with Karakoram affecting the future of backcountry snowboarding?

There is no question the splitboard community will benefit a lot from this partnership.  We are both on the never-ending quest to ride better and better products and Karakoram has the tools at their fingertips and engineering expertise to evolve the sport.  

What excites you most about partnering with Karakoram?

I am most excited about the future.  For years I felt like the splitboard interface was stuck in quick sand and I didn’t know if we would ever climb ourselves out of it.  Now we are free and moving at a fast pace.  I have no idea where we will be in 5 years but I know it will be a huge improvement on what we have now and what I am riding now is a huge improvement over what I was riding a year ago.