Mmmm... Koa.

I couldn't resist anymore, so today I took a trip to my friendly sorta local board shop (it's all the way in Fairfax, but it's one of the few independent ones, and pretty much the only one selling Arbor in the DC area) and checked out the new Arbor line. I was there for the Push, the first time they've done a women's board for freeriders like moi (screw the park!), but in chatting with the guy (who was the first snowboard salesguy I've ever felt like I could trust), he kinda convinced me to look at the Element, their men's board with the same purpose. He said he's been riding it for four years and has never been disappointed. And because I've got relatively big feet for a girl, I'd be able to control a men's board with women's bindings. Sweeet.

Of course it's $70 more, but such is life. Apparently it has a carbon core running nose to tail which the Push does not have that gives it a more stable ride. Plus it looks super hot to me, smooth and clean, none of that flourescent graphic that'll go out of style in a year b.s. He also showed me a pair of Ride bindings, the Vxn (perfect, no?), all shiny and black, they'd look nice on an Element. While we were standing there looking at them, all I could smell was the wood and it smelled SOOOOOOOOOOOO freakin' GOOD. So in the off-season, I could just smell the board to keep myself at one with the snow...