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For those interested in a single custom board head over to our board designer and create it! We will build and ship it within 10 days so you can enjoy it at your local spot.

Here are some simple videos for your enjoyment, look for more when Andy joins us full time in June. A big thanks to Chandler for testing this stuff out, even in the winter ice!

Testing from Chandler Higgins on

Vimeo.

Day Two from Chandler Higgins on Vimeo.

Testing wakeboards at Sand Hallow.

A run of custom wakeboards.

Another run of custom wakeboards.

Spot Wakeboard

River bed!

Beautiful Morning on the lake!

Spot sports joins the American Gear Company family of brands.  American Gear Company is comprised of Monson Snowboards Mfg, Humanity Snowboards and Spot Sports.

We are excited to begin to develop the Spot concept by utilizing a unique marketing perspective and in house manufacturing capabilities.  Andy Berg will be joining the team full time in June after his college graduation, here is the Spot Story….

In 2010, Andy and Ron Berg decided to create something that would embody the unique way that they saw snowboarding.  To them, snowboarding was more than parks, lifts, and crowds.  It was always about exploration and creativity.  Stepping out of the “snowboard scene” for a moment to get lost in the mountains and discover what snowboarding was for themselves.
Spot was born from this perspective- discovering new places to fill with creative riding, connecting the riders to that sense of newness that they felt when they first found snowboarding.
Today, the idea of Spot can be found in numerous boardsports where riders attempt to find that newness again, so they explore new places and try new things.  We build snowboards, wakeboards, skimboards, and soon to be more, both to encourage existing riders to rediscover these amazing sports, and to invite new riders to be creative and have as much fun as possible.  We only live once, so live Spot.

Over the coming months, look for Spot products at a few retailers across the country. Additionally be sure to look out for our Humanity line in Specialty shops.

Visit Spot on Facebook

Testing from Chandler Higgins on Vimeo.

After moving to St. George last summer we were surprised to find that skimboarding is a viable sport, and has a huge following not only in the coastal cities, but also inland.  One of our business philosophies is that we need to utilize our asset base and diversify in order to ensure we stay healthy.  It only made sense to design and set up to manufacture skimboards of all types, we did just that.  We developed a few models utilizing both sandwich and cap constructions using wood and foam along with fiberglass and full pbt graphics. ]]> http://monsonboards.com/skimboards-manufacturing/feed 0 http://monsonboards.com/slow-motion http://monsonboards.com/slow-motion#comments Thu, 07 Feb 2013 19:34:42 +0000 Monson Mfg. http://monsonboards.com/?p=1278 Continue Reading]]> Periodically we get all geeked over here about our c and c machine.  Typically it’s when we are designing and cutting new shapes, products or technologies. We used a high speed camera that could capture the snowboard wood core being cut out in slow motion, and here is what it looks like.

Slow motion wood cutting from Monson Snowboards on Vimeo.

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2012-11-05 09.59.47 from Monson Snowboards on Vimeo.

When entering the market it is always better to start with a sphere of influence that you can personally manage and develop technologies for your local communities and mountains.  Your brand will find better success if your customers can relate to your brand on a personal level.

We have had the great opportunity to work with a few new Alaskan companies, of which are developing technologies and shapes.  These technologies are born from Alaskan natives experience and are sure to add a new element to the Alaskan snowboarding experience.

Here are a few pics of the first stages of production, we will be sure to post updates over the next few weeks.

Plotter drawings are done to get a visual prior to cutting a prototype mold.

A different angle showing the finished board geometry, wood core geometry and camber profile.

Long View

]]> http://monsonboards.com/custom-shapes-technology/feed 0 http://monsonboards.com/updates-finishing-department http://monsonboards.com/updates-finishing-department#comments Fri, 28 Sep 2012 00:35:32 +0000 Monson Mfg. http://monsonboards.com/?p=1159 Continue Reading]]> The Finishing Department has made progress!

One of our goals is to move towards a single piece flow method of manufacturing to take quality to the next level. With our larger facility we have been able to get closer to that goal.  We recently added a new bigger and beefier band saw and an additional base grinder to the process.  These additions will make finishing faster with better quality.

By having more than one grinder, the operator does not have to change the belts as often.  Each base grinder has a different grit belt so that the snowboard can go from one machine to the next in fewer steps. The worker doing the finishing can take a freshly pressed board, cut it out, tap the inserts, edge grind, 80 grit base grind and 100 grit base grind without ever setting the board down.  All that’s left is a 120 grit, 180 grit,  and wax!  The next step is a 3rd grinder.

There are lots of stages in the finishing process, great care is taken when finishing out a snowboard.  Proper grinding and finishing is essential to the ride and overall quality of the snowboard.

Sean running the board through the 80 grit

Sean getting it done!

As you can see in just a few short months we have made big progress in the factory. We still have a long way to go, but we are excited about the direction it’s taking. Our productivity and quality is the best it’s ever been! Thanks to an excellent crew who, on a daily basis come in and get it done.