When it comes to our beloved sport of snowboarding there is not doubt that weather plays a huge roll. From Mother Nature blessing us with nipple deep pow days to casting a harsh spell of blistering winds, there is no way around it. If you love to ride, you're going to have to brave the elements. The idea is to be prepared for whatever she throws at you and Homeschool Snowboarding has aimed to do just that; giving you the most technically sound outerwear with a timeless design that will keep you riding no matter where you find yourself. Park, trees or huge backcountry lines, these guys have done their homework and have brought some new elements to the outerwear game.

We sat down with founder and owner Danny Clancey to dig a little deeper into how this new company was born and why they are approaching it in a whole new way.

How did the idea of Homeschool Snowboarding come about?

I worked for a few of the larger outdoor sports brands in the past and what I kept finding was that from the initial product design to what actually makes it to market is pretty far apart. So the idea behind Homeschool is to put more focus on the product and create something with far fewer compromises by addressing some of the issues I've had with outerwear for a long time. From durability to breathability and something with a cleaner style that's designed to be timeless. We aren't trying to reinvent the wheel, we just want to focus on what we think people who ride a lot really care about. As we always say, if it works here in the Northwest, it works anywhere.

That makes sense. You guys are out there everyday in the Pacific North West getting your hands dirty. So you really know what you are looking for.

Definitely. It always blew my mind that people who weren't snowboarders where designing snowboard equipment and that's just not who we are.

Let's discuss the tech involved with your new line. You guys started using this new stuff called Cocona. Can you touch more on that?

Yeah, we started using Cocona which is an activated carbon particle made from coconut shells. What they actually do is burn the coconut shells and extract the carbon which we print directly onto the back of our fabric laminate. This creates a larger surface area and allows your fabric laminate to function more efficiently.

We are current the only company in the snowboard space to be using this technology in outerwear and one of the few companies in the world to be using from the inside out. We think of it as a complete system. From the base-layer to the mid-layer and finally the shell. We find that people think of their base layer and their outerwear somewhat independently. They think it's working together but in all reality it's not. So by putting this cocona system throughout all of our layers creates what we call the "Holy Trinity of super breathability." The base layer dries way faster than other layering pieces like your capilene or your poly-pro and we've found the outerwear to be 40-60% more breathable than the anything we've tested it against.

So you are really trying to spread this message of breathability throughout the snowboard world?

Exactly, the alpine guys get it, people who are into hiking and the backcountry understand the importance of breathability. But so many snowboarders solely focus on the idea of waterproofness. So with Homeschool we are trying to create an equilibrium of both waterproofness and breathability.

You mentioned being one of the few companies in the world who are utilizing this Xcelerator technology. What other products or industries could you find this cocona tech in?

You find it a lot within sportswear, like the hunting industry. You find it in socks, beanies and some companies are using it a lot in their spring products. But we are the only company using it in outerwear within the snowboard industry. We're definitely early to the game to adopt this tech within snowboarding but the cocona technology has been around for a while.

It's definitely important to have your products' technology dialed. But, as we all know, the design and fit of a product can make or break a buying decision. How has homeschool tackled the design or overall aesthetic issue within it's outerwear?

Well Homeschool is more focused on a subdued aesthetic that has more of a timeless design to it. I don't look at a lot of trend stuff because I think that everybody does. I get my inspiration from actually snowboarding and what I see while I'm riding. But in terms of say the color pallet, I look for good colors that won't get stale after a year or two. We don't want our stuff to be disposable. We want it to last for multiple seasons with a more mean and clean look to it. If you want to look like a bag of jelly beans while your riding than this isn't your brand [laughs].

There's a lot of people out there who want to were good technical stuff. When you roll up to Mt. Baker you see plenty of people riding brands like Arctyrx or whatever. It's not because they want to look like mountaineers, but because it's perceived to be the most functional technical stuff. So with Homeschool we want to take that functionality and apply a snowboard style to it.

Beside the technical factor, what features are you looking to use within your outerwear?

Our hood design is something we've been working on over the past couple of years that features small raised panels to help keep the wind from blasting across your face. So when you're riding up the lift you can tuck your face into your hood and be able to breath without fogging up your goggles. Besides that we have some cool accessory features where you can stash your gloves or your iPod. Small things like that we are always working on to make our stuff a little bit better.

Adam Haynes working on a mural in the Homeschool office

Being a smaller company just starting out, what's your distribution Strategy? Do you stay local with core shops or are we going to see Homeschool in a big box store?

I feel like the core shop is the lifeblood of the snowboard industry. Those are the guys who live and breath it. So this first year we went after some great shops like the Snowboard Connection or US Outdoors. I feel those are the guys with the knowledge. You're talking to someone who actually snowboards, who's actually out there doing what they love and can really provide feedback to the consumer. Those are the people we want to support.

Moving forward, where do you see Homeschool going?

Being a new brand, the first year is always hard. You're asking a shop to really trust you and take a chance on a new brand. So that makes it tough. But we've hired 5 new reps and by next year we hope to expand to the rest of the U.S. and break into Canada. Also, we were chosen as a finalist as "best new brand" for ISPO, the trade show in Germany. So we are going to go over there and hopefully begin the process of creating international recognition for our brand.

That's awesome! ISPO is basically the european SIA. That should open up some doors for you guys. Staying on the topic of brand recognition, how did the name Homeschool Snowboarding come about?

The name Homeschool comes from the idea of doing for yourself. My background is really in design and I've been riding for a long time. I've done retail, managed a snowboard shop but I've never started a business. I've been learning it as I go and that's where the name comes from.

A huge thanks to Danny for giving us the time out of his busy schedule to answer a few questions about Homeschool Snowboarding. Check out the video below that shows you exactly what we were talking about when it comes to their Xcelorator technology. And if you want to check out their product line head over to homeschoolsnowboarding.com and to find a retailer near you check out their store locator.