e Build Our Own Damn Boards isn't just a slogan for Gnu snowboards; it's a way of life. Based out of Carlsborg, Washington, snowboarders at Gnu have been carefully hand building high performance snowboards for the past twenty-five years. The nearby Olympic and Cascade Mountain Ranges gives them ample opportunity to try out their latest innovations. Manufactured by Mervin Manufacturing, which is the longest running and last major snowboard factory in the USA, Gnu snowboards continue to keep its pulse close to the snowboarding community. And since Mervin is managed and staffed by snowboarders, the company continues to innovate and experiment with new ideas to make the rider experience better and better. Mervin s build, ride, refine philosophy has created many important developments in snowboard evolution. The use of sidecuts to create edgehold and turning ability were first introduced by snowboard pioneer Mike Olson. The latest technology has been the creation of the Magne-Traction that makes snowboards easier to ride and improves overall performance. Their Banana technology continues to create better rocker control, tip-to-tail contact and improved gripping so the snowboarder controls the ice and not the other way around. Mervin Manufacturing also strides to be an environmentally-sound company by working with water-based solvents and renewable fast-growing forest products. Wood dust is even recycled and scrap wood is sold for kindling. Mervin Manufacturing continues to move forward to be the leading snowboard company with a clean environmental conscience.