Checkerspot’s outdoor brand brings snowboards to market with performance focused AlgalTech® biobased materials
July 11, 2022 11:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time
SALT LAKE CITY & ALAMEDA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--WNDR Alpine – the outdoor brand launched by advanced materials company Checkerspot – is officially releasing its first two snowboards: the BelleTour splitboard and the BelleAire solid. For the past two seasons, the WNDR® Alpine team has been hard at work prototyping and refining these boards, testing them in the nearby Wasatch and Uinta Ranges, as well as the eastern Sierra, interior BC, and the Pacific Northwest. The BelleTour and the BelleAire are the first snowboards on the market featuring the award winning brand’s AlgalTech® materials derived from microalgae oil.
The boards share a freeride focused shape, designed for diverse big mountain riding in a variety of natural snowpacks. Each board’s dedication to alpine descents is reflected in a wider than average waist, intuitive sidecut radius, and broad, flotation-focused tip.
To further the performance offered by their proven shape, both boards feature WNDR Alpine’s AlgalTech® materials, Algal Core™ and Algal Wall™, which target a more stable ride via increased damping properties relative to traditional materials used in snowsports. In addition, the boards feature WNDR Alpine’s all-new SpiralMade™ materials, in the form of Spiral Plate binding insert packs. These binding retention inserts are made from waste diverted from WNDR Alpine’s manufacturing process and give the board approximately 5% better binding retention strength relative to core construction with traditional binding inserts.
The BelleTour and BelleAire represent decades of collective experience and deep collaboration between snowsports veterans. Development of these boards was spearheaded by Snow Product & Marketing Manager Alex Andrews, Snow Athlete & Product Line Specialist Nick Russell, and snowboard industry innovator and VP of Product Innovation Daniel Malmrose, who has led the prototyping and production of every WNDR Alpine product since the brand’s launch in 2019.
“I am honored to be able to finally unveil the BelleTour and BelleAire to the public,” said Alex Andrews. “Expanding the reach of AlgalTech® materials, we wanted to optimize both boards for the kind of alpine powder riding that Nick and I both live for. You can seek out the same kind of descending freedom on both boards, but your approach to the ascent determines which one you select. Here’s to a long season of snow, surfing, and science!”
This launch represents an important step forward in WNDR Alpine’s mission to bring the outdoor industry together around biobased, performance-focused materials in pursuit of a post-petroleum future.
“I see backcountry skiers and snowboarders as one community, inspired by nature, with shared goals and interests,” said Matt Sterbenz, ski industry veteran and Checkerspot’s GM of Wintersports. “This launch is one we’ve been building up to since Day 1. We launched in 2019 knowing the importance of building a diverse pool of talent capable of expanding the applications of our technology, and now every backcountry athlete stands to benefit from these innovations.”
The BelleTour will be seen this year under Nick Russell’s feet in a number of upcoming film projects. Both snowboards are available for preorder today via wndr-alpine.com.
About Checkerspot
Checkerspot (Alameda, CA & Salt Lake City, UT) designs performance materials and ingredients at a molecular level. Checkerspot’s vertically integrated WING™ Platform optimizes microalgae to biomanufacture unique oils that are turned into new materials that can demonstrate improved performance properties in targeted hardgoods, textiles and personal care applications and products. Checkerspot's first commercialized materials are next generation polyurethanes and textile finishes designed to improve the performance of consumer products. The company is currently commercializing performance composites engineered into skis and sold through its brand WNDR® Alpine, as well as algal oil formulated into miDori® BioWick and sold in partnership with Beyond Surface Technologies. Checkerspot's mission is to expand the palette of molecular building blocks for high performance and sustainable materials for better products. For more information, visit https://checkerspot.com/.
Xan Marshland, WNDR Alpine, xan@wndr-alpine.com
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