John Nike Leisure at Bracknell opened the doors on their new surface on Saturday, allowing media & industry to come gawp, ride and fall over on what they say is ‘the Ultimate Dry Ski Slope Surface’, Perma-Snow. So just for you The Boarder donned its oldest board pants. . .the ones with the holes in the arse, and went along to see if Dendix or Snowflex has anything to worry about.

At first sight it looks rather sexy! Just like snow, strangely, but then its fresh out of the factory so only time will tell how it’ll end up. As talked about right hear on The Boarder, it even sounds like snow when you walk on it. So, will it ride like snow?

In a word NO. But let me tell you, it’s pretty darn close! A group of local riders spent most of the afternoon testing the slope and using the two small kickers set out for the day, all were full of praise. Chris & Nick Southall, also there for the test, certainly seemed to enjoy themselves and performed the full ‘British Standard’ test using every form of sliding apparatus known to man. At some point during the afternoon they both skied, snowboarded and eventually extreme tobogganed! We like that stuff. And so, it seems do they.


It’s certainly a fast surface, even without a watering system there is plenty of speed. I’m interested to find out how it runs in the wet, but chances are it’ll be mental. There’s also plenty of grip and edge control, not something any of us associate with artificial surfaces is really use to. This was one of the most apparent characteristics most riders described, and its there that I see its main selling point. Of course it’s still not exactly the same as snow and does take a different boarding style, you have to be more positive. It’s a huge improvement on Dendix, and for my money a serious player to challenge the current king of the castle, Snowflex.

Future developments will initially be at JNL's other sites, and Bracknell’s main slope is set to be covered, although we’re unsure of any dates and it does depend on the feedback from this slope. So, if you get the chance over the winter months, pop yourself down to Bracknell and give it a go! I’m sure all involved, including JNL & The Boarder, would like your opinions.

As always we’ll keep you up to date with what’s going on.

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