Burton has just released photos of the US Snowboarding Team uniform for the 2010 Winter Olympics. 
And I like it; sorta!
The jacket is a red, white and blue plaid ( yes, Beach Boys/ Preppy Guide plaid! ) affair. Now if you go out on the hill these days, the average snowboard outerwear you see looks more like your mom’s old table cloth… only bigger and baggier… much bigger and much baggier. But no fire hydrant look this time. The uniform jacket that US team members will be wearing in Vancouver, at least the picture of it released by Burton, looks fashion fitted.
The pants on the other hand seem to be asking “Why?” Now we all know pants can’t talk so I guess we’ll never know why design graffiti had to be added to a neat denim look Gore-Tek fabric. The crisp weather beating fabric has been mucked up by faux rips and tears that make it look just a little too trashy for my taste.
Now I am a long time admirer of Jake Burton Carpenter for the innovation and business acumen he has brought to snowsports over the past quarter century. We’ll know if his designers scored a hit with this one when we see what’s being worn on the slopes next season. Kids and grandkids? … maybe. Grays? No!
Early on-line comments were mixed. Here’s a sample:
… “… the US is poor now… we may as well look the part.”
“…sweet, going to look really different from all the other jock dork conventional uniforms”
And finally from someone who’ll never be pleased:
“…uniforms defeat the purpose of snowboarding. What has the world become? Are you kidding me…?”
Phil Johnson
GraysAtPlay - Traveling Boomers' Adventures 
Thank you very much for your article.