Atomic Banger - 2011

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Probably the best priced powder stick on the planet! Incredibly fast initiating turns, crazy power out of carves from a carbon and quadraxial glass reinforced core, and a shape that does the most exciting carves and offers some of the best float of any snowboard on the market. If you’re serious about killing-it on the groomers and slaying the pow the Banger should be on your shopping list. Buy the Banger and spend the rest of your hard earned cash on some snowshoes so you can access the good stuff.

Manufacturer's Description:

A true freeride rock star, the Banger turns the spotlight on you on piste and pow. Featuring a pointed tip and special Freeride Pop Rocker, it’s a versatile choice for all riding conditions. The ultimate board to rock the show and burst onto the scene with a bang!

Recommended for freeride riding.

Recommended for big mountain riding.

Medium cost $

Camber Construction.

Freeride Specific.

Year: 2011

Available Lengths (cm):
157, 161, 164

Riding Style: Freeride

Specifications:

Pop Rocker Freeride
D4 SW construction
1° power bevel
Sintered 7200 base
Kinetic Core
Tapered shape
T2 tip to tail woodcore
Flex 8

Similar boards: Capita Charlie Slasher - 2011 Jones Hovercraft - 2011 Arbor Abacus - 2011

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Atomic Banger

Snowboard Review:

I thought I was taking a bit of a gamble taking the Banger out for a spin. For one, 157cm is my normal all-mountain snowboard size, when it comes to freeriding I go for snowboards around the 165cm. Secondly, although it had snowed I wasn’t really sure if there was enough powder to warrant a tapered fish shaped snowboard. Two runs on the Banger and I was blown away the board’s versatility.. but where to start?

Sure the Banger has all of the qualities of a tapered board, edge to edge the Banger is fast, when the snow gets deeper, the nose rides up and any worry of back leg burn is out of the window. There are a couple of neat features on the Banger that set it aside from standard 10mm tapered boards:

Powder Pop Rocker is a fantastic addition to the nose of the Banger. Applying weight through the camber causes transition point from camber to nose kick to move a further 10 cm closer to the front binding. Sure this helps with float, but 10mm of taper and a setback stance (2.5cm) is enough to give you float in all but the stickiest of spring snow; where the Pop Rocker works is the incredible ease in which sharp almost instant short radius carves can be initiated. Now where it gets super techy is that the engineers at Atomic have used a really thin board profile with quadaxial glass and carbon fibre stringers, so the longitudinal flex is about a 6 out of 10 but there is explosive power out of turns in powder and on piste. The quadaxial glass also means that when you’re carving hard on an edge there’s no chance you’ll be slipping out onto your knees or your derrière. The amount of pleasure I had darting in and out of the Zauchensee trees and cruising around the red and blue groomers was immeasurable. My only criticism of the Banger is that by using a Nomex honeycomb in the nose, they’ve stripped any natural damping, and with the Pop Rocker, you get a nose that chatters when the speed is cranked up. However, because the start of each effective edge is raised off the snow when the Pop Rocker is loaded it doesn’t feel sketchy, it just vibrates like Rolf Harris’s wobble board.

Intermediate to advanced snowboarders looking for a great value powder specific snowboard that won’t constrict them to deep powder off-piste, is agile between trees, stable off drops and straight lining and a load of fun just shredding the pistes should check out the Banger, it’s a must have. In my opinion, the Banger is the board that bridges the gap between powder board and freeride shred, the perfect freeride board in a two board quiver…. pure class!

Posted by Rich Ewbank in • Atomic

User Snowboard Reviews

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What colour is powder?

lapping_dog_days on October 15, 2010 at 05:16 PM

Is there a difference between the 2011 and 2010 version of the Banger?

Thanks!

cc898 on December 12, 2011 at 07:48 PM

Should the Banger be ridden longer, or shorter like a Hovercraft?

Rich Ewbank on December 12, 2011 at 07:56 PM

I’d say a bit longer than your all-mountain board length… so yeah longer than the hovercraft… there’s not nearly as much surface area.

Luis Vazquez on December 11, 2012 at 11:24 PM

Hello everyone,

First of all I want to thank Rich Ewbank for posting such a thorough and useful review; now I am the happy owner of an Atomic Banger snowboard, and Rick´s opinion was decisive to choose this board.

In the last four years, I have ridden a Rossignol Premier Works 2008 (159 cm), a light and versatile all mountain snowboard, very funny and features the quickest base I have ever tried… a top-class board in my opinion, but for next season I was looking for a more specific freeride board. I could not find the 2011 Banger in Spain, as it is a two-season old board, but it was still on sale in a shop in France. I paid 180 euros, a bargain I believe.

I have been riding for 11 years, and my level is intermediate. I never ride rails or pipes, only groomers and powder when possible, so I decided to buy a freeride board. The Rossignol is a fantastic board, but after four years I think my riding was stuck.

I purchased the board last may, so I had to wait for many months to ride it, but finally last Saturday I went to the Font Romeu resort in the Pyrenees,only two hours by car from Barcelona. The season has started in the best possible way, as it has snowed pretty much in November and there is a good thickness in all resorts.

So I was about to make the first descent of the season, and of the day, with a new board, so let´s take it easy, I choosed a blue piste to warm up. I closed the hi-back of the Flow F-Lite bindings (I´ll never use another bindings but a Flow), and went downhill.

I felt comfortable riding the Banger from the first meter. It feels very natural, very easy. After a cautious start, i decided to gain some speed and try a wide turn… when I was still thinking about initiate the turn, I was actually inside the turn, fantastic. I spent the rest of the descent trying slalom and straight speed, the board gave me so much confidence that I forgot about caution and ended the descent at top speed!

I spent the rest of the day enjoying and discovering the Banger; I had a lot of fun and I experienced no problems at all; I was gaining more and more confidence and I discovered a fun, quick and funny board that undoubtely has helped my riding; for instance, when you are drawing a high speed curve, charging hard on the edge, you notice the stiffness of the board, that holds you firmly on the trajectory. No chattering, no slipping, it runs like a train on its track.

As Rich reported, the nose chatters when going fast, but this does not affect the stability and It is not uncomfortable. The rocker-camber-rocker shape allows the board to turn easily and fast, no problem if you are riding a mickey-mouse piste, and it is superb over the wide pistes and long corners.

I don´t think this is a board for expert and advanced snowboards only; it is perfect for those who look for a fast and agile board and want to improve their riding. Maybe not suitable for a beginner, but only because there are better boards for them. I was feeling more and more confident as the day was going along, and I had not a single fright (not sure if this is the right word in English) in all day. I was a little bit worried about the stifness of the board, but this is not a problem, it is a help instead.

I could not test the board on powder, only some lines on the outer sides of the pistes, it floats easily, I am looking forward to ride the powder in a short time!

Saludos amigos!