Palmer Honeycomb 3 - Top 5 Snowboards 2005

1. Most Technologically advanced board

 Palmer Honeycomb 3

Since it was founded by pro snowboarder Shaun Palmer in 1995, Palmer snowboards has consistently been an innovator in snowboarding tech.This years Palmer Honeycomb continues to push that envelope and is arguably the most technologically impressive snowboard on the planet right now.

Palmer builds light boards, and the Palmer Honeycomb is their lightest board. In fact it's the lightest pro board ever made. The trick is the use of Nomex honeycomb, an ultra-lightweight, exceptionally strong, fiber composite which is most well known for its use in high performance cars like the Lotus Espirit and Porsche Carrera. Using Nomex honeycomb, Palmer was able to build what is essentially a hollow board. There's literally nothing but air inside that layer of honeycomb. Hold the board up to a bright light and you can see right through it.

In addition to the honeycomb core Palmer has used a kothoid shape for the sidecut and 3D topsheet. For those not in the know, a klothoid is shape leant to a a rollercoaster loop to minimize G forces and avoid snapping the necks of the riders. It's the shape that requires the minimum energy to complete a loop. We're not entirely sure how that translates to a snowboard sidecut, but we sure like the sound of it!    

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