Dark series recommended for…

Posted: 11 March 2012 12:36 AM

So I am an intermediate rider buying a board. I am looking for a one board to rule them all kinda thing but am most concerned with a typical flying down the piste on mt. hood. I am looking at both the dark series and the attack banana. I am a bit confused as to why the site lists the dark series as recommended for all mountain… and the attack banana as for park riding…when both have similar profiles. Is there a reason why the site doesn’t list the dark series as recommended for park riding. It’s obviously not specifically designed for the park but neither are a lot of boards that you are giving the recommendation to. Any other recommendations than these boards…riders choice?? Thanks

Posted: 12 March 2012 05:17 PM

Actually the profiles are different. The Dark Series is C2 and the Attack Banana is EC2. EC2 has much more subtle camber zones which makes them flexier and more buttery. Also the Dark Series has a stiffer flex and a more directional shape. Quadraxial laminates give the Dark Series a stiffer torsional flex for improved edge hold.

Posted: 12 March 2012 05:19 PM

Yeah if you want an all-mountain board for park, pow and piste the Riders Choice or TRS might make a better selection.

Posted: 13 March 2012 03:37 AM

Thanks for the advice. I did notice the slightly different profiles after I posted. I had thought the Riders Choice leaned more to the park considering it was not given a big mountain recommendation and was a true twin as opposed to directional twin like the dark series. I may be reading a bit too much into the recommendations. If you have a second could you help identify where the three boards fall in the spectrum of all mountain (Riders Choice, Dark Series, and Attack Banana). If the dark series is nicer I’m not worried about spending a bit more but if the others would suit me better…

Thanks again, I’m a wakeboarder and I have never really paid attention to the differences in the snowboards I’ve ridden so the stiffness or butteryness doesn’t mean much to me. Now that I live near a mountain I will need a good board with room to improve.

Posted: 13 March 2012 08:30 AM

The Big Mountain logo is really to highlight that the board is capable of riding extreme freeride terrain. Big couloirs, icy chutes, monster drops… that kind of stuff hidden in the backcountry. For most off piste riding the Freeride logo is enough to certify that the board will work in pow, cliff drops, cruing through the trees etc. Concerning the three boards:

Attack Banana - a freestyle focused snowboard for those that find the standard reverse camber profile of the Skate Banana a bit too wishy washy. This board is fine bombing down pistes and dipping into the side country but is at it’s best playing about in the terrain park.

Riders Choice - THis is an all-mountain freestyle board. Fun in the park, capable in the backcountry and enough guts to rail carves on the corduroy. The do-it-all board with a freestyle twist.

Dark Series - Stiffer along the length and quite a bit stiffer torsionally. The Dark Series is more designed for riding steep freeride terrain and throwing in the odd freestyle terrain. If you are spending the majority of your time off or on the trails, you like hammering the throttle and you’re not too bothered about the park (although this board works nicely in the pipe and on bigger jumps) then the Dark Series is your board.