Video Review: Car Danchi 3

A while back I checked out the US premier of Car Danchi 3 up in Seattle and wrote about it for snowboardermag.com. You can see that piece here. Honestly, I don't have much to add to that story, so this write-up will be short. I gotta say that Car Danchi 3 is probably among my top 2 favorite movies this year (the other being That's It, That's All). The video was just really compelling. It made me want to shred, it made me want to step my game up on multiple fronts and it made me want to go turn my Subaru into a car danchi and roam the mountains of the northwest in search of the best snow.

Car danchi or grocery getter?
(Taken today in Portland, by the way)

Honestly, almost anyone could do it. Neil Hartmann, the Car Danchi mastermind, started off in a Subaru Legacy wagon. I certainly could if I had the sack. Will I? I'm about 50/50 on it. I have a 15° sleeping bag that I've never been cold in. I tested it a couple weeks ago when I was bored and slept in my car on a night that got down to about 25°. That was comfortable enough to sleep 'til about 10am with cars whipping by and the sun fully up. Seriously. It felt strange, but you gotta start somewhere. That's a long way from sub-zero mountain nights, I know. I'd have to be fully stocked, prepared and committed for that. Maybe I should try it on one of these snowy nights in town. That would be closer to a true test. Even closer would be if I cooked my dinner in the oven of my hot engine compartment. Look at the upside, though, so close to the lift for those first tracks and driving up the night before totally eliminates traffic.

Anyway, all of this speculation may never have happened without the Car Danchi movies. They are truly inspiring. What started out as a three-minute flick in In Short two years ago, has blossomed into an amazing documentary-style, full-length snowboard masterpiece. This one is worth the effort to track down. Search it out at your local shops, failing that check the internets. If you're in Seattle, check out Snowboard Connection, if not maybe drop Neil a line at his blog. May it inspire you to live in your car and/or drive your home.