All Mountain Board
Posted: 18 September 2009 04:43 PM
You shouldn’t be put off ‘ski’ brands, the guys how work on the snowboards are absolutely dedicated and in many cases these ‘ski’ brands can afford to employ the best designers and economies of scale mean they can buy materials at rock bottom prices making their equipment really affordable. Many of the brands are owned by the same holding group to, for instance Atomic and Salomon are both owned by Amer sports. In most cases it’s core snowboard brands who propagate ill feeling about ‘ski’ brands who manufacture snowboards, in many cases these brands can’t compete on spec, price or design so they use marketing to slag off the superior product… shame people are so gullable.
I’ve owned 2 Rossignols over the last 3 years and I’ve got nothing but praise for them, great performance and really durable. Sorry about the Cashew, I’d forgotten it was a rocker, guess that’s what makes it more versatile in powder, from what I understand it’s a backcountry booter kicker. The Falcanoid is a bruilliant board so powerful and kills it in all conditions, even in powder. Had some properly nice backflips off a nautural hit in Kaunertal in may, the run up was covered in hard icy boulders but the Falcanoid dealt with them, no problems. Allthough the base is extruded, it’s really fast, try it and you’ll see.
Posted: 18 September 2009 08:09 PM
Okay, thanks for enlightening me about the prejudices concerning ski fabricators!
When I checked the amplid website for the falconoid again, I came across the Amplid Paradigma! The design is really neat and it seems to fit me even slightly more than the falconoid. What do you think? Looks like a great board to me!
Anything you could say about the K2 Slayblade? I heard hardly anything else than great things about this board as it is the official successor of the K2 Zeppelin.
The Rossignol One looks better and better to me.. Sexy graphics, magnetraction, .. hmmm
Posted: 19 September 2009 01:39 PM
Doh! Yeah completely forgot about the Paradigma… I’ve heard really good things about that board… and you’re right definitely more suitable for all mountain riding. Just looking at the catalogue, looks like it’s going to be about the same price as the K2 Slayblade. It also says it’s got a similar flex to the Falconoid which was really powerful and responsive. Yep good spot definitely check the Paradigma out!
With regards to the slayblade, just looking at the K2 catalogue, as I didn’t get to ride it at the board test, that was my brothers job. It’s got the flatline zero camber profile which gives the proken in feel of a used deck with the pop of a new board. Tom really enjoyed riding the Slayblade at the test and he’s got a K2 Believer out in Argentina at the moment. He said that the sero camber profile means the board feels more lively in Powder and gives it a bit more float. The Slayblade has the Harshmellow damping as well which was sooo good on The Zero, it makes the board so damp and stable at speed. Check it out for sure.
Posted: 20 September 2009 09:41 PM
I think I am rather close to pre-decide for a board right now. So I compiled a list with pros and cons of the boards:
Atomic Alibi
Pros:
- sintered 7200 base (best out of all three)
- very nice neutral graphics
- probably best at piste
Cons:
- maybe not as fun in the park as the other two
K2 Slayblade
Pros:
- sintered 4000 base (second best?)
- successor of the Zeppelin (good genes)
- Harshmellow damping
- very fun in the park
- outstanding design
Cons:
- many riders, I guess
Amplid Paradigma
Pros:
- hardly anyone riding one, yet
- seems to be a great all-around board in general
- can do rails
- very powerful and lively as you say
Cons:
- Extruded base only (although you said it’s not too much of a con, it still is, isn’t it?)
- great design but difficult colors. Wanted to get a Phantom or Blackhawk. Fitting? I don’t know..
That’s as far as I can tell right know, I think. Rechecking this list, it does not really make anything easier.. So: anything to add/remove?
Posted: 20 September 2009 11:09 PM
I’m sure you make this a lot more difficult than it should be!
You’ve chosen three great boards to look at. I don’t think you’d go wrong if you chose any of them.
I’ve added my thoughts but you’re pretty much spot on with your analysis.
Atomic Alibi
Pros:
- sintered 7200 base (best out of all three)
- very nice neutral graphics
- probably best at piste
- Really light tip and tail, helps it to spin easily.
- Holds loads of speed along the flat bottom of a pipe.
- Cheaper than the other two.
Cons:
- maybe not as fun in the park as the other two
K2 Slayblade
Pros:
- sintered 4000 base (second best?)
- successor of the Zeppelin (good genes)
- Harshmellow damping
- very fun in the park (probably more playable than the other two)
- outstanding design
- Flatline zero camber, aids float in deeper snow and makes the board feel broken in from the first ride.
- Pretty light too
Cons:
- many riders, I guess
- Construction doesn’t seem as robust as standard sidewall construction.
Amplid Paradigma
Pros:
- hardly anyone riding one, yet
- seems to be a great all-around board in general
- can do rails, can do but won’t be ideal
- very powerful and lively as you say
- made in the elan factory probably the most proven factory in Europe
Cons:
- Extruded base only (although you said it’s not too much of a con, it still is, isn’t it?). Yeah it seems a contradiction to build a top spec board and stick an extruded base on the bottom, but the base on the Falconoid was pretty fast even in slush.
- great design but difficult colors. Wanted to get a Phantom or Blackhawk. Fitting? I don’t know.. You could get the black hawks in white?
Posted: 21 September 2009 02:14 PM
Hehehe, yeah you are right! I’m just probably the most un-decisive person on earth, so.. thanks for blasting my head =)
No more which-board-to-pick questions anymore, but I still got an other question:
Concerning the length of the boards I heard that one should rather not pick it after tallness but weigh.
So 156 or 159 on the Paradigma and the Alibi? I think I would pick 158 with the Slayblade, as it is a bit of a compromise.
The longer the board is, the more stability it has on speed-runs. I am not too much of a racer, though. Is the difference in stability on piste and simplicity on spinning in the park really noticable between 156 and 159?
Which would you chose if you had my measurements?
my ‘specs’: ~150lbs, 180cm
edit: the paradigma does have extra-light T.P.U. spin tips as well, so it should be much alike to the alibi in that case. Just asked amplid and almost immediately received an answer with a store very near, with the Paradigma in store. Will check that out, soon!
Posted: 21 September 2009 03:14 PM
Yeah you’ll find the 156 easier to spin and flip but the 159 will be a little more stable. Although worth noting that the waist widths differ 156=248mm, 159=250mm, so not a huge difference, pretty comparable to the Custom. Personally I’d ride the 159, but I’m just under 10Kg heavier than you; even though our hight is the same, I’d be inclined to say you should go with the 156, it’ll be less of a handfull, but if you can try both lengths, do that. My bros has about your stats and he rides boards around the 156-157 mark for everything, although most of his riding has a freestyle focus.
Posted: 22 September 2009 09:37 AM
Yesterday, I asked amplid why they are putting an extruded base on the Paradigma and soon after had the reply:
{...}
there are mainly 2 reasons behind: if a rider is looking for an upgraded version of the paradigma,
that’ll be the UNW8. it has the same geometries, and would provide you with the requested sintered
base.the other reason is: a sintered base is faster, but only if you wax it regularly. most riders don’t have
the place to iron and scrape their board before every riding day, some are also simply too lazy J !
if you do not wax every day, you are better up with a extruded base.
{...}
Is it correct that in general all sintered bases need to be waxed regularly more than once a week?
If so, maybe you could add that information to your Snowboard Base Materials guide.
Because re-reading that guide, extruded seems to be quite shitty compared to the sintered ones.
Posted: 22 September 2009 10:44 AM
Amplid are completely right. Sintered bases need waxing frequently, at least once a week if you’re riding everyday of a season and in spring slush it can be upto once every couple of days. I’ll make sure that’s added to the science section. If you’re prepared to wax your board regularly and you don’t get the wax wrong e.g. a cold weather wax on a slushy spring day the base will be faster. My Rossignol JDub is the fastest board on the hill when it’s waxed, as soon as the base starts drying out (you’ll notice a lighter coloured and rough area, the length of the edge about 2-3 cm wide) it’s the slowest board on the planet… and boy is that frustrating.
Regarding the UNW8, that board is a beast, the stiffest in the Amplid lineup. I haven’t ridden it but I think it’s be too much for most riders, at least if you want to play about on jumps and jibs.
Posted: 24 September 2009 01:53 PM
Something that just came up my mind: Do you think it is worth paying an additional 50 bucks for the Phantom instead of the Blackhawk?
I hardly read anything about the phantom, it’s always about the Blackhawk. Out of a good reason?
Response-like they are rated the same (5) the Phantom just seems to have some new damping tech and stuff on it.
Posted: 24 September 2009 02:59 PM
Haha, I don’t know! Might be worth the extra 50 bucks? Personally I’d go for the Blackhawks and buy myself a lift ticket and a couple of pints of Wiessbier with the change! Not always best to go for the most expensive bindings, really responsive bindings can be unfomfortable unless you’re really used to them and haven’t the Phantom’s got crazy pink and blue graphics?
Posted: 24 September 2009 05:16 PM
Hehe, yeah probably you are right with the Weissbier thing :>
I always thought the Phantom is even a bit more freestyle than the Blackhawk.. and so I wanted to make sure to not make the wrong decision just because of 50 bucks.
And there is the ‘checked’ version of the phantom with the pink/blue design but there is a ‘two-tone’ black/white version as well. (see attachment)
But okay, I will probably just go with the Blackhawks then if I do not get any special offer with the Phantom.
Do you know if any major changes happened with the Blackhawks compared to last season’s ?
Posted: 24 September 2009 05:38 PM
Yeah the two tone looks quite good! Don’t think there were many changes to the Blackhawk this year, they had a good chasis and highback last year. Man, people do less research than this before they buy a house! I think the Blackhawk is a pretty decent all mountain freestyle binding.
Posted: 01 October 2009 10:19 AM
Haha, I am still stuck with the decision between the Slayblade and the Paradigma.
But just now I found a shop which probably sells the Paradigma for 457€ only! That would be quite a reason to go with the Paradigma :>
Still not sure if I can make it to the Kaunertal Opening =\
But eventually I will come back at you concerning the Contract boards offer you made me in the other thread!
Posted: 01 October 2009 12:54 PM
Worth looking at the option of buying a board from the UK… with the value of the Euro so high against the pound it’s worth considering it. The Slayblade in the UK is £400… that’s 440 Euros…. the cheapest I’ve seen it in Germany is 570Euros. That’s a saving of 130 Euros!
These shops are worth looking at. SS20, Conspiracy and Big Dreams are core shops…. Snow and Rock is a big chain store.
http://www.ss20.com/sp/abspage/1/SearchText/K2.html
http://www.conspiracyclothing.co.uk/acatalog/K2_Slayblade_Snowboard_158cm_09_10.html
www.bigdreamssnowboarding.com/ - great shop run by my friends, they sell Amplid.
http://www.snowandrock.com/Activity/Snowboard/Equipment/Snowboards/K2/Slayblade+K220227.htm
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