Prior Snowboards

Hands down the best experience I’ve had with a snowboard shop. I got in touch with Matt a few weeks before heading to Whistler to figure out their demo policy. Within an hour I had my answer: any board $ 25 CAD/​day; bring some bindings.
Upon arrival you walk up a flight of stairs that looks down on the shop where all the goods are hand made, through the door a small showroom with boards prefabbed for purchase. My board was ready and waiting. To top if off they have a bench with tools in the showroom to toss the bindings on on the spot. I was in an out in 10 minutes with positive vibes.
The AMF rode fantastic. Sturdy enough for some heavy carving but playful enough to goof off in the park.
When returning the demo I was treated to a personal tour of the factory. Beyond being manufactured on site, each board features graphics from artists in the Sea To Sky region and the materials are all locally sourced. With how overloaded the market is with mass produced goods, it’s nice to see a shop that puts in the hard work.
Next season I’ll probably be riding a Prior board. Not only because the AMF rode like a dream, but because the service was awesome.

I came here because I found in one of the tourist book in the hotel that they have free tours of their small factory. This place is known for their split boards. Although I am not an expert at snowspots, I definitely learned a lot from the tour and they allowed us to walk around their small factory to see the different steps of the process.
A few things that are unique about their store is that you can make customized boards, they use aspen and maple wood to make their boards. The wood is from Canada.
They do a sales presentation of all their boards. After all, they are a retail store. Be sure to check out the tour. Its free and you can get a card for free demo at the end of the tour. Just bring in your bindings and boots and they can put you on one of their snowboards for free. The splitboard is not in their demo selection though. Either way, still a good deal. =)

This place (both the area and the shop) is beautiful!
Get there before October and you can get a tour of the shop where they make the boards. they really take the time to ask your riding style and preferences to dial in that perfect board. The splitboards they offer are poetry on snow.
Also if you yak’em up and dont be a putz you can get some great shwag!
Bonus: Be sure to check out their website and demos for some killer deals.

I switched from freeride gear to freecarve last year. My first alpine snowboard is a Prior ATV 171. I was nervous about the length and stiffer board but the ATV turned out to be fairly forgiving. Chris makes great alpine decks that hold their edge! These on the pricey side but after my first experience, I can’t wait to get a Prior WCR Metal 183. Prior makes top quality stuff that’s worth my hard earned money. Anyone looking for a new board needs to check out the Prior website. There’s something for everyone :)

i won a tuque…
I went on the tour with a group of my friends. Found out about it on Unilocal and it was a very cool experience. Got to see how the boards were made by hand. A must see if you are in Whistler. I won a tuque (canadian for winter hat) for answering a trivia question. Place is not big but the staff (all 5 of them) were very informational and nice.

I met a snowboarding instructor in Whistler who represented the Prior brand — until then, I had never heard of the name at all. So I did some research at the time, but the company hadn’t made a women’s board. Then last winter I saw a Prior split board at REI and did a little research to find out that not only do they offer a women’s all-​mountain board (in addition to a fantastic line of offerings), but also factory tours! Yes, that’s right: You can see how they make snowboards and skis!
The tours are offered twice a week, and luckily for us, we were able to get in on Saturday afternoon. The tour was about 45 minutes long, where they go over the history of the company then through the factory where you get walked through the entire assembly process, from the selection of the core to the bending of the edges, pressing, and final finishing. If you’re a junkie like I am to learn how things are made, this is the tour for you.
The showroom is located above the factory in a loft-​space. It’s not a very large showroom, but it carries every product item that Prior sells, in a variety of sizes. If you’re willing to «settle» for a snowboard or pair of skis that has a superfacial scratch, you can save yourself $ 50 – 100. All the items in the showroom are also priced below what the online prices are, but are all given the same hand-​crafted quality and attention.
The company does several types of «customization» for their boards. You can pick from the top and bottom sheets that they already have (at not additional charge), or you can pay an additional $ 300 to have your own artwork placed on the board (the charge is for the custom screening process). In the off-​season, true enthusiasts (with a lot of money) can have their equipment made to spec — smaller nose, wider base, etc. — you just have to hand over your «blueprint» to the guys at Prior, and they will make it to that spec. Pretty awesome if you ask me! They can also make any of their existing boards into a split board for all you backcountry hiking types.
I am definitely coming here for my next snowboard — the prices were reasonable (Women’s board: $ 499/​CAD) and the option to «build your own» is pretty tempting. I haven’t heard a single bit of bad press from a Prior rider, which is also another plus.

After my first snowboard was stolen, I decided to check out the Prior warehouse. I like my friends’ Prior boards and I liked the idea of getting a genuine Whistler product.
The Warehouse is at the end of Function. It’s easy enough to find and has tons of parking. Walking in to the warehouse you can see the half dozen or so guys working on snowboards. The salesroom is up stairs. Although the salesroom isn’t very big, they had a lot of product. I told the saleswoman my price range and she showed me a superficially messed up board that was 65% off. I got out of their with next year’s Ride bindings and a really nice Prior for under $ 700.
I love my board. It made me a better snowboarder. I think it makes me a better person.