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Photos by Brandon Parrish

Many of you probably haven’t been to SIA. For those who have yet to experience to true vastness of the the largest trade show in winter sports, it is a nearly overwhelming maze of company booths large, small, open or private, scattered with people rambling about. But within this maze is the 2016 snowboard gear that we are beyond thrilled to see, both from a curiosity and creativity standpoint.

Each brand has a new product story going into the 2015–2016 season. For Salomon, it’s the introduction of a mid-level binding with a new proprietary innovation called Blaster Tech, which is a responsive joint between the heelcup and baseplate that works as a suspension system for your snowboard.

Never Summer is adding a new board to its production cycle called the Swift, direction board designed for powder that absolutely rips on groomers, featuring a “fish” shape with a wide, floaty nose and mellow swallowtail for the days when it really is deep.

After its factory unexpectedly shut down last year, Vans has returned with a year of refinement and development for its existing boot line, resulting in some of the finest footwear that we have seen thus far at the Snow Show.

The R&D lab at ThirtyTwo has worked side-by-side with Jeremy Jones to deliver a boot that fits exactly what he needs while spending weeks on end in some of the harshest conditions on the planet. Designed with a mountaineer in mind, the new Jeremy Jones pro model features a waterproof zip-up cover to prevent your laces from freezing, a Vibram sole for withstanding the rigors of crampons and a BOA-enabled rear flap to increase your range of motion while splitboarding. It is also celebrating 20 years of snowboarding with its new team movie, 2032, due this fall.

Mervin Manufacturing is continuing its tradition of experiMENTAL and weird designs to bring us the Jamie Lynn Rat Tail (the Pass It On Project Board for this year), a Jamie Anderson Ladie’s Choice board with a Jamie Lynn graphic and the Zoid, new team member Nicolas Müller’s shred stick of choice.

Overall we are seeing brands continue to refine their existing products and introduce new ones in limited quantities. The proliferation of unconventional snowboard shapes has been astounding over the past two days and we only expect to see more variety for consumers in the days to come.

Stay tuned for more coverage of 2016 snowboard gear from the SIA Snow Show in Denver, CO

Read also: Check out the first day of our SIA coverage.