What The Pros Are Rockin’ – Jon Kooley
Jon Kooley
Age: 27.
Sponsors: Santa Cruz, Holden, Celsius, IS Design, Union, Level, Coal, Lifetime, Milo.
Years snowboarding: 12
Roots: Eagle River, Alaska.
Home: Salt Lake City for the past seven years.
Height: 6’2″.
Weight: 170 lbs.
Stance: Goofy, 24.5 inches wide with eighteen degrees on my front binding and negative-twelve on the back
Forward lean: None for rails, I just never have. One or two clicks for jumps, just for a little extra heal-edge control.
Board: I have a 151($449) for rails, a 154 for park and a 157 for the backcountry. Those are the sizes that my pro model comes in. Sometimes I ride the Fusion 160 in the backcountry too.
Boots: Celsius Cirrus ($189), size nine in black.
Bindings: Union Force ($199) in white or black.
Personal settings: The only thing I do is get rid of my insoles, and get some half foot beds with arch support. I do that to create a bit more room for my toes, because I really should be a size nine-and-a-half or ten.
Tuning techniques: I grind the edges off on my rail board and wax it whenever the base gets a little messed up. For park and freeriding I detune the edges a bit, just to take off the bite and wax it whenever the base gets dry.
Outerwear: I prefer a shell, but if it’s cold I need that puffy.
Jacket: Holden Oldster Jacket in gray. ($270)
Pants: Holden Classic Pant in walnut. ($170)
Gloves: Level Portland Gloves. ($xxx)
Goggles: IS Design Jon Kooley signature goggle ($xxx), with a bronze mirror lens. This lens works in any light condition.
Riding style: I don’t know … I like it all. It’s all snowboarding. Right now I think I have the most fun on rail trips, it just seems like the possibilities are endless. It’s not just jumping down handrails anymore-you get to be a little more creative bonking stuff, drops, wallrides. It just breaks up a video part and makes it more interesting to watch.
