Towards the end of Spielberg "Empire of the Sun", Christian Bale's character Jamie Graham watches a P-51 Mustang attack a nearby Japanese airfield; in slow motion the plane flies past the tower on which Jamie is standing, the sun sparkles off the plane’s silver body work and he can see clearly the pilot waving from the open canopy of the cockpit.  Jamie raises his hands and in elation yells "P-51 - CADILLAC OF THE SKIES!!!" This board evokes a similar emotion. It could be the P-51 OF THE SNOW!!, or perhaps given its German pedigree, the Messerschmitt bf -109 OF THE SNOW!!.

Before I go further, I have to disclose a certain level of bias. The subtle sexuality of Indigo’s imagery, the empathy with nature and the hand crafted quality of their products has captivated me for years. I’ve always wondered whether the Indigo boards would achieve that rare accomplishment of successfully melding form and function. For years, what held me back from giving in to desire was the price - these things are expensive, at Euro1,150 I was prepared to let the dream remain unfulfilled. What price love you might ask but I was never sure whether it was lust or love. I didn’t know whether there was a board of substance behind the pretty face. That doubt kept me on my Arbor A-Frame but there was always a question in my heart as I raced between trees or through the powder, how would the Indigo handle this?  With a self assured nonchalance, as it turns out.  I’m actually writing this review because in years of searching I haven’t found a single decent review for these boards or at least a review in English that made sense. I did find various German language forums and magazine articles that suggested the board was as good as it looked but the internet translations left a lot to be desired. The English speaking world needs to hear about this board.

You might be thinking this is a bloody long lead in for a board review and you might be wondering when I’m going to get to the stuff about performance. Well, there is more to this board than whether it can hold an edge and all the other usual guff that reviews contain. It’s a top end board, so of course it works well. But in addition to that there is an intangible, emotional aspect to having a board like this that needs to be understood. Boards like this provide as much enjoyment when sitting in the gondola or riding the chair as they do when careening down the hill. I’ve given a lot of thought to why I was willing to pay so much for a piece of sporting equipment and I do believe a large part of it is what this board represents for me on an emotional level; it’s a thing of beauty, it’s a desire fulfilled. Riding a board like the Indigo becomes in effect part of the enjoyment I get from snowboarding.

Ok, so the thought of it under the bed keeps me warm at night but how does it really perform in the white room? This is a very high end traditionally shaped board made in small numbers somewhere in Germany. As you would expect, it is very fast - point it down hill and the acceleration will push you into the back seat - very quick edge to edge and cuts between the trees, well, like a ME 109 through a squadron of British Spitfires. These are all subjective comments and like every other board review they don’t really mean much so I’ll try and give some examples:

I tend to ride fairly quick so I don’t have the back leg problems that some people tend to experience. A slower rider might have the usual problems with the traditional shape in the powder, I wouldn’t know. At 86kg (before getting geared up) and 181cm I’m probably a little on the heavy side for a board of this length (163cm), even so I found on a recent back country trip that the board performed as well (carving through powder and open faced bowls) as a Burton Malolo and a Gentem both ridden by Japanese guys who seemed to be pretty good riders and who enjoyed a considerable advantage over me in terms of their weight to board length ratios. In short, a heavy gaijin on this board was on a par with a pair of light weight Japanese lads on powder boards.

I’ve always found that one of the trickier aspects of snowboarding is fast (I mean really fast) carving on steep groomers. It is so much easier to ride down using sliding washed out turns to control your speed than to get your weight forward and ride through long carving turns. On this board I was able to match guys riding carving boards in hard boots. That’s not to say that those guys were riding at the edge of their performance envelopes but early in the day on the front run at Moiwa (if that name means anything to anyone) I was able to replicate the fast carving runs of hard booted carving snowboarders from the top of the hill without any feeling that the edge was about to let go. This board carves as well as I need or want it to.

Like a lot of snowboarders I tend to seek out trees in preference to just about anything else. If I have a strength in snowboarding, this is probably it. In the trees and gullies of Rusutsu on a variety of snow conditions it was very easy to flick this board in just about any direction I wanted to go.

The board has what seems to me to be a very smooth flex pattern and rides through different conditions and terrain very well. It’s a very good board for bulleting down the piste and then cutting off into the trees for a powder run. The nano high speed base (I’m not sure what that actually is but it sounds fast and apparently has some connection with competition bases) lets the board run very well and helps avoid the need to skate. Stainless steel tip and tail let’s you run down skiers without causing too much damage to the board, a good thing given its price! This is not an entry level board and the edge to edge quickness will whiplash the unwary down the hill but if you’re up for the ride of your life, consider this board. How does it handle the park? During my 10 days in Niseko I rode past the Hanazono park once and didn’t have any problems - read into that what you will.