If there's one thing that undoubtedly coincides with the life of a snowboarder, it's road trips. Road trips, smelly vehicles, and a severe lack of hygiene. Rome Snowboards affirmed this with a short edit of their Am Army traveling by van to various mountains, cities, and street spots last winter to shoot urban riding.

What can one gather from watching this video? For one, Rome's amateur team can get down on a snowboard and stomp super technical tricks with style. They also have a knack for cramming a large group of young guys in vans and hotel rooms. This team is certainly a force to be reckoned with in the seasons to come.

First, let's pretend that the first 37 seconds of this re-edit didn't involve Rusty trapping a bird inside his jacket and seeing if it could find it's way out. Good, now I can focus on the fact that this kid likes to spin a lot of times while usually looking pretty stylish grabbing onto his board. He also likes to stomp these spins in fresh powder. Seems like he pulls this off a lot as this re-edit of his part in Rome Snowboards latest movie, "The Shred Remains" is pretty much solid proof.

Now, let's remember that he did trap a bird inside his jacket for who knows how long. I think that makes this re-edit even more awesome. Animal cruelty? Nah. That bird definitely looked like it flew into his outerwear happily and willingly. It looked like it might have even shed a tear as it escaped because it was enjoying itself so much...trapped...inside a jacket.

Tangent aside, Rusty Ockenden makes snowboarding look effortless. In this video, he's hucking himself all over the backcountry and looks like he's having one hell of a time doing so. This fully brought on the strong itch to shred and that's most often a good sign. Enjoy.

What's merrier than a guy with luscious locks, grizzly beard, and cut off shorts shredding his face off? Nothing. Rome and LNP are wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year with a full part re-edit of Laurent's part from "The Shred Remains.

LNP takes on the streets as usual and wins. He seems to have a thing for double kinks. Would you agree? Be sure to head to iTunes to buy the full "The Shred Remains" to see all the goods they left out of this edit.

Life on the road can be tricky. Body odors, changes of clothes, sleeping arrangements, diet, bathroom breaks, and personal space can all be affected and things can get ugly. Things can also get awesome. Road trips tend to bring about the funniest and most ridiculous situations. They also bring you a lot closer to whoever is embarking on the open road with you. Not always in a good way.

Rome Snowboards took the open road by storm for "The Shred Remains" video tour. One of their Am riders, Riley Nickerson, chats about some of the specifics of his experience with van life. Music playlists, driving skills, 13 pillows, and smart phones are all apparently necessities.

Christmas is closing in fast and it's giving us hot flashes. Stores are swarming with crazed and desperate customers, the shops look like someone threw up product all over the place, the lines are curving around the corner, and there are way too many toddlers screaming their faces off. To avoid serious trauma from these types of situations, we've attempted to provide a cheat sheet for gifts in regards to snowboarding. The featured item this week is somewhat of a necessity when it comes to going riding - a snowboard.

There are countless brands with their own collection of snow sticks ranging from expensive to affordable, powder boards to jib boards, rocker to camber, hideous graphics to sweet graphics...it goes on and on. We've snagged a few of our favorites to help you narrow down your search. So, take a deep breath, peruse what we've picked for this week's gift guide, and become everyone's favorite gift giver.

More options over at Snowboarder Mag's Buyer's Guide...

Arbor Blacklist $419.95

Arbor Del Rey $299.95


Restricted Burton Nug $399.95

Burton Custom X $649.95

Burton Lipstick Women's $479.95

Burton Flying-V Deja Vu Women's $399.95

Forum Destroyer Double Dog $439.95

Forum Youngblood ChillyDog $399.95

Forum Spinster Women's $399.95

Forum Sauce Women's $319.95

Flow Shifty $379.99

Flow Jewel Women's $369.99

Rome Mod Rocker $550.00

Rome Artifact Rocker $370.00

Rome Detail Rocker Women's $360.00

Lib Tech Travis Rice Pro $539.95

Ride Berzerker $489.95

Ride DH2 $499.95

Ride OMG Women's $439.95


Gnu B-Street Women's $449.95

K2 Fastplant $499.95

K2 WWW $379.95

K2 Va Va Voom Women's $379.95

CAPiTA Totally F*kn Awesome $449

CAPiTA Indoor Survival FK $399

CAPiTA Saturnia Women's $339