| Snowskate quiver...

This winter has already broken all the records in terms of cold, snowfall and ice storms, thank you El Niño! We have been snowskating quite a lot before Xmas and it felt great, now it is more difficult to find a good time because of the intense cold but hey, it's beautiful!

Now I recently went to Lake Champlain to test my latest gifts & gears :)

Alan Gerlach is probably the most accomplished snowskater on the planet right now and he rips on both bi-decks and single snowskates. He is also a nice guy and I wanted to support his new adventure with Hotdish, so I ordered his signature model :)

After playing with it around my van I realized how good those guys are because it so darn difficult to ollie a flat board!!! it'll take me a while before performing any cool tricks...

I fucked up my wrist a few years back skateboarding/snowskating and since then I always experience pain when falling on them so protection is now mandatory, especially for my right wrist which is my work insurance as well. The Burton Impact seems to offer what I wanted, practicality and a low-profile to wear gloves on top of them... and obviously a minimum impact protection, the quality is really good, they feel very solid and the size M fits perfectly (although it needs to be worn a little to be more comfortable). Despite being thin they won't go under all type of gloves but they work well with mitts!

After swapping my Harfang Claw trucks with the new Rocker Trucks double-ramp on my main setup (December/Ralston) I have noticed a huge improvement in the flex of my Ralston 41" Wide ski, it probably adds about 15% more flex-play and allows for better riding, pressing and ollieing. It take some time to get used to it but it feels so much better!

Now I can not wait to ride the powderskate in good deep snow conditions at Sutton or Jay Peak, knowing Mark's passion for powder-riding this should be awesome!

| REVIEW: Bike storage Endo...

Today I have decided to finish installing the vertical bike storage we received a few months ago, our little living room is a mess and it needed serious decluttering. I have ordered the Cycloc Endo after researching online for a while about the most minimalist and efficient bike rack solutions, and ended up choosing this one; it's a simple yet very smart Award-winning design.

The installation is pretty straight forward and does not require too many tools, there are only 4 screws/anchors and you can use the packaging as a drilling template, which is very practical. Drill, screw and tadaaa it's done. I really like the discreet hollow hinge in which you could slide your bike lock, clever! There is also a rear pad included that you can stick to the wall.

It works really well and we are happy with the result, the blue color contrasts nicely with our orange wall and having the bikes stored vertically definitely helps declutter our entrance.

• CONS:

- Not a lot of problems so far, it's a great product but it comes at a nice price too, there is a weight limit of 13kg to hang your bikes freely and a maximum payload limit of 20kg. You can certainly find other solutions at a lower price depending on what you are looking for and your storage space.

• PROS:

- 7 different bright colors to choose from. Stylish, convenient and smart design with a solid and light composite construction. It works great for us!

| Outdoor Adventure Show 2017...

WOW we are almost there once again, the Outdoor Adventure Show in Montreal. Please come by to see us at the Jumana Boards booth (#729) this WE to discover the new collection with many more awesome models, improved materials and brand new graphics.

I have designed all the boards in collaboration with the Jumana's team this year as well as establish the new art direction for their line of products. It's a really fun project because I have the chance to try a few ideas and also test those boards myself, yummy! This is also great as it brings me back to my industrial design roots.

This year's models have plenty of cool improvements, notably a stronger, stiffer and lighter pre-laminated dropstitch PVC and double-stringers with Dyneema reinforcements. We've also added Clickfins to the mix which I am definitely super excited about.

I'll be demoing the new boards in the cold pool Saturday and Sunday, you're welcome to come and support me :) See you there!

| SUP Valleyfield...

Et hop une autre vidéo de SUP a Valleyfield, beaucoup de premières pour l'équipe, tout le monde a au moins essayé la partie supérieure du parc (la plus difficile), c'était la 1ère fois aussi que je réussissais à la passer entièrement et a surfer la petite vague dans la section moyenne. Nhu progresse de plus en plus et elle va bientôt réussir à surfer avec moi! Cet été est décidement le plus beau depuis mon arrivée au Québec, on en profite un max avant le retour du froid :)

| WE Lac Taureau...

On a passé notre dernier long WE a l'Auberge du Lac Taureau, dans Lanaudière, QC, un endroit de villégiature de luxe, situé près d'un lac magnifique. Martine et Julie de Jumana Boards nous ont invité pour que je fasse des démos de SUP et c'était aussi l'occasion d'étrenner le modèle de production de la Dolphin (fraîchement arrivé de Chine).

Voici une petite vidéo de SUP bomb dropping sur le quai près de la plage, de belles images grâce à Nhu.

#riversup #supwwqc #jumanaboards

| Sherbrooke yeahh...

Last Thursday we went to visit Sherbrooke for the 1st time and it was beautiful, but seriously what a weird post-apocalypticindustrial-zombie town? It feels like it comes directly out of a comic book or videogame, which i can appreciated of course :)

It was raining around Montreal and didn't seem that bad in Estrie so we drove by St-Jean to pick up Nhu's parents and headed down to a discreet urban swamp directly located in central Sherbrooke, the Marais Real-D Carbonneau. Right after a good snack (yummy spring rolls from the in-laws) we went for a walk around this nice humid zone.

I wish we could have seen serpentine turtles or snakes but we only came across a few frogs, lots of different birds and few fishes, notably a good size catfish which was very curious.

This place is only about 5mn away from downtown and we were ready for a coffee break. The old city centre is beautiful and has a lot of history with its museums, old brick factories and many shops.

The view of the raging central Magog river, lush vegetation, electric dam and industrial buildings has a very special "end-of-the-world"vibe, i need to go back there in winter when it's foggy... such an inspiring spot for a photo shoot!

Well, on a Thursday afternoon, it was much quieter than i expected after hearing so much about the reputation of that student town but on our way back, the bars were starting to fill up quickly. We had a great time and we'll be back, especially when their surfing wave will be ready :)

| CPR-KSF...

J'ai passe les 2 derniers jours avec des profs de KSF pour un nouveau cours de 1er soins (16h). C'etait de toute facon obligatoire pour completer la formation d'instructeur de SUP avance en eau calme qu'on a faite il y a deja quelques semaines. Cela a eu lieu au shop de Navi sur la pointe-Nord de l'Ile-des-Soeurs. La temperature fut plus clemente au 2eme jour et quel plaisir de se prelasser au soleil pendant les courtes pauses et durant le lunch. J'ai pu assister au travail des castors locaux, ainsi qu'a la construction du nouveau Pont Champlain non loin de la.

OK sinon cote cours, c'etait intense mais necessaire car on oublie facilement les protocoles a suivre, ainsi que tous les milliards d'acronymes censes nous aider a agir rapidement comme S.A.M.P.L.E. Notre prof etait vraiment drole et competent, le truc interessant, c'est qu'il a essaye d'adapter au mieux nos pratiques a des scenarios potentiels pour des urgences en riviere. C'etait bien sympa en tout cas :)

creepy un mannequins sans son visage...