By David F. Rooney
Local snowboard enthusiast Nikolai Samson is making binding-free traction pads for snowboards he hopes will take off as a commercial product.
Marketed as White Wave Traction, his pads are similar to the no board product that is also on the market.
“I worked on the prototype for two years,” Samson, a joiner by trade, said in an interview. “It provides a pretty solid deck with plenty of grip.”
The pads also come with a hand-stitched bungee cord for superb control.
The individual parts are made from injection-molded plastic in Vancouver and then “then come back to me for drilling and threading,” Samson said.
The pads are currently being sold at Re Psyched and Free Spirit Sports here in town as well as in Vernon and Nelson. He also has a website, www.snowsurf.ca, where you can catch a video of the product in action and, if you like what you see, purchase them online.
“They’re great for use int he backcountry,” he said.
Here are two images of skiers testing Samson’s product.
