Hands-on: testing green snowboarding gear from Arbor, Patagonia, Eka and Green People

After last year's poor snowfall across the world, snowboarders can’t help but worry about the environment. After all, our 2008 trip's buggered if climate change melts it away. To see what we could do to green up our favourite past-time, SmartPlanet took a bunch of eco products to Cervinia in the Italian Alps to see if they fare as well in extreme conditions.

First up was the Patagonia men’s baselayer (£32, pictured below) made of 64 per cent recycled polyester. This performed well, keeping us warm in even the coldest conditions -- and it got pretty damn cold at the top of the glacier. The fabric felt good, too.

Not only is the base layer part recycled, but as it is part of Patagonia’s Common Threads programme. That means if you post it off to Patagonia at the end of its life, your old thermal will go to a special recycling lab in Japan to be reborn in new clothes.

Next up was the Patagonia Rubicon gloves (£65, pictured below) whose shell is made in part from recycled polyester. These kept our hands really warm and had some good features, particularly the inners which managed to keep the snow out even when we fell over (it didn’t happen that often, honest).

Green People’s Intensive Sun SPF15 organic sun lotion (£11.95, pictured below) is an excellent size for taking up the mountain. Made from 100 per cent organic materials, it applies to the face really easily. We found the smell not to everyone’s taste, but if you don’t like the traditional ‘suncream’ smell then this will suit you well (as long as you like lavender).

Eka’s Organic Indigo hat (€40 that's around £28, pictured below) looked fantastic, and we didn’t want to take it off. It was warmer than our own hat, and fitted further below the ears, to keep out the elements.

Replacing the Burton Custom is a big ask for any all mountain board but the Arbor Element 158 (£420, pictured below) delivered in spades. With its green credentials as a given we found its notable points to be threefold. Firstly, it looks simply stunning. We repeatedly caught too-cool-for-school Euro-boarders looking at its expansive koa wood top sheet.

It's also a very stable board indeed, sparing the rider any nasty wipe-outs on landing jumps or on the wacky races home at the end of a hard day. Finally, it is incredibly responsive, ripping through piste and powder alike and doing exactly what you tell it.

Overall it seems that the green boarding products available are starting to get up to a similar standard to their traditional counterparts, so there is no excuse really, is there?

We've also got a video diary of a green snowboarder -- watch it to discover out whether our intrepid reporter copes without planes and cars.

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