Playful carver to complement my park board

Posted: 10 April 2010 04:58 AM

Hey guys, fantastic site!
I posted this under the Salomon Grip review before finding these forums, so apologies for any repetition.

I own a Salomon Grip 157 for riding park, and it’s great for that. But it’s terrible for carving the hardpack I ride in Ontario Canada. So I want a complementary board for carving on hardpack that is still good for riding switch, hitting jumps, and spins. I already own a 2007 Ride DH 157 (cambered) which carves quite well and is a freestyle board, but I figure it’s time to move on to flat or reverse camber, even in a board expected to carve reasonably well. Also, aren’t rockered boards good for riding pow due to the raised tip & tail? I haven’t ridden a directional twin, preferring a true twin for riding switch and spins, but I’m open to possibilities.

I’m 5’11”, 170 lbs, size 10.5 (U.S.) Salomon F20 boots. Been riding for 6 years, and am a Level 1 and carving instructor here in Canada.

BTW, if I should just stick with my Ride DH, feel free to say so.

Thanks for any help.

Posted: 11 April 2010 02:55 PM

Hi Nvansluy,

Thanks for the props on the site. Yeah the sites definitely coming together… next season is going to be the bomb.. got Snowboard-Review TV in the pipeline which is going to make the site even better.

Oh and thanks for leaving a comment on the Salomon Grip. Seems the equaliser sidecut is dividing people opinions. I rode the Salomon at the board test which had the equaliser sidecut and if i’m honest I wasn’t the greatest fan… it felt a little sketchy and I didn’t seem to get any extra grip. I’ll definitely make sure I take the Grip for a spin when I go testing next years boards in 3 weeks time.

Regarding a board that is fun to hit the park with but carves pretty well.. I think the DH is doing to be there or there abouts. I’m thinking Rome Agent and Bataleon Evil twin as far as cambered boards go, and apart from the tripple base on the bataleon they are fairly similar to the DH. Regarding rocker boards, my thoughts would be to go for a hybrid like the Rossi Angus, Yes Nowboards, Signal Omni or the Gnu Danny Kass. If you’re interested in zero camber, Toms raving about the K2 Believer and of course there is the Nitro Rook which has been recieving high praise from riders who have ridden it.. our tester Kev loved it. For out and out rocker boards I’d look at the K2 Parkstar which is more on the freestyle tip but is really easy to ride and the Volkl Squad, Tom tested this a month ago in Verbier and has been raving about how good it is for hitting park jumps of all sizes… if you don’t want anything too mushy then it’s worth checkin out. Oh and the final board worth a look at is the GNU Park Pickle, perhaps not quite as grippy as the Danny Kass but still pelnty of grip thanks to the Mag edges and good helping hand for heelside turns with the assymetric sidecut.

Hit me back with your thoughts,

Rich

Posted: 11 April 2010 09:43 PM

Hey Rich, thanks for the feedback.

Well, all I can say is yikes! The curse of so many options can be overwhelming.

Here are my thoughts:

If I want to stick with a cambered board, I’d might as well just keep my Ride DH. I know how it rides and carves, and while I prefer the Grip for laps in the park, the DH can cover off my requirements for carving & switch riding (not as much fun for spins or jumps as the Grip though).

I took to heart your recommendation for a hybrid board - camber/rocker - and this is probably the way I will go. I’m intrigued by the Angus, and the Never Summer boards are probably worth a look, but I think I’ve chosen one that may throw you for a loop. Have you heard of Prior Snowboards? Handmade boards at their factory in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada (the Olympics were there earlier this year of course). They introduced a hybrid rocker freestyle board this year which seems to meet my requirements. Check it out if you have time: http://www.priorsnowboards.com/boards_amf.php

The description of the board sounds just right for my needs. It does seem to be quite the all-mountain board. I’m just not crazy about it being directional, but I will ask if they can adjust the binding holes so that I may have the option to set it up centred. If you think the other boards above may be better suited for me, please say so.

Thanks again for your help.

Posted: 12 April 2010 08:17 PM

Yeah heard of Prior boards for sure. Prior is a very tight brand indeed and their marketing makes it sound that they painstakingly build each board in a mountain workshop hidden in the depths of BC. Two things to note on the AMF, even though I’ve not ridden it, it packs quite a heavy triax weave, and on top of that, it uses carbon stringers through the length, I certainly wouldn’t go thinking it will be too playful, I have a feeling the rocker is there for the float in pow. Secondly it’s not a great idea to centre a set back stance. In most cases the sidecut is setback with the inserts i.e. the sidecut radius doesn’t alight with the middle of the board… which means the board will behave quite wierdly if you set the stance centred.

Just so I’m 100% clear is this board mainly for park and rails, or is this board going to be for charging hard, diving into the off piste and then hitting the park at the end of the day? I.e. is it going to be your all mountain shred?

Rich

Posted: 13 April 2010 02:03 AM

Yes, I realized that I was probably not quite clear on the purpose of a new board.

To clarify, I am quite happy with the Salomon Grip for the park, and that will be the board I use when I go there.

But my earlier years were carving progressions. I also own a Salomon Burner, which should give you an idea of my background carving - a very stiff, stable, hard charging board. So that is what I’m used to there. Then I discovered the fun of freestyle, and have only started riding switch and venturing into the park in the past couple of years. So now I find that when I’m carving down a groomer, I like to throw in spins, the occasional jump, and carve switch (not just cruise).

Well, the Grip doesn’t stand up to the carving requirement on hardpack. So I guess I’m looking for something between the Burner and the Grip. Not too stiff, so the spins and jumps are possible, but not a noodle, so I can charge it fairly well. I also like the idea of rockered tip & tail for the times when I may get out of the northeast and find some pow. Ultimately I’d like to replace the Burner since it is too directional to ride switch for me.

This is why the Prior AMF seemed right to me.

Let me know if I’m on the right track, and if you have other suggestions.

BTW, how do you feel about cam rocker boards generally? I read a review online that really didn’t like them, but I believe that reviewer leaned heavily toward freestyle riding, so I believe such boards wouldn’t work for his style of riding.

Thanks again.

Posted: 13 April 2010 04:04 AM

Hey Rich.
Just read your review of the Never Summer Evo-R. Then checked their website. I’m intrigued. Would the Evo or maybe the SL-R suit my requirements? Of course the EVO is true twin while the SL is directional so I might lean toward the EVO.
I’m beginning to wonder if the Prior board will be too heavy.
Thanks.

Posted: 13 April 2010 05:55 PM

One more consideration here Rich. It appears that the Never Summer R.C. set up and the Lib Tech/GNU C2 BTX are similar. I checked the Danny Kass you suggested along with the Lib tech Travis Rice C2 BTX and the Dark Series C2 BTX. Struck me that the Lib Tech boards were more to my liking, but they are both slightly directional versus the Danny Kass which is true twin.

Can you compare them to the NS EVO-R for me?
Will the directional aspect throw me off for switch riding/spins? I ride duck-footed and like to be balanced.

I know, so many details - but these boards cost a few $$.
Thanks.

Posted: 13 April 2010 10:09 PM

Hi Nvansluy,

Definitely no probs with the questions… that’s what the forum is here for!

I think you’ve hit the nail on the head with the Never Summer SLR and the Lib Tech TRice. My experience of the EVO-R I rode which is the more freestyle/park ride in the line-up was that it was quite firm, however I did ride the 158 and I think I should have taken out a board more around the 155 mark. So out of the Never Summer rides, I’d go for the SLR which is their all-mountain freestyle deck.. However I really enjoyed riding the T-Rice, it was my favourite Lib deck had a moderate flex but gripped carving and was poppy off jumps. It fits exactly what you’re looking for a board that will carve hard (yep mag edges and a cambered tip and tail make sure you get that), the 8m sidecut means the TRice isn’t at all twitchy at speed and the rockered centre between the bindings loosen it up for freestyling. Just a great ride… oh and the 25.8cm waist is going to be the best width for your boot size.

Yeah TRice is spot on! The Dark Series is more on the stiffer freeride end of Lib’s range.

Posted: 14 April 2010 04:50 PM

Well, this has been very helpful Rich. I quite agree that the TRice board is what I’m looking for, with the SL-R a viable option depending on price and availability of each board. (I prefer the TRice largely due to the Magne-traction, otherwise they seem to be very similar.)

My one lingering concern is that they are both directional rather than true twin (centred stance). My experience riding my Salomon Burner is that riding switch I always feel unbalanced with the (now) shorter tip and longer tail, versus the more normal longer tip and shorter tail. On the Burner, Salomon says the setback is 25mm, but that is based on a 21cm stance. With my wider stance, the difference in tip and tail lengths becomes almost 60mm, which really makes a difference to me it seems. (The tapered tail may have something to do with it as well mind you.)

Is this just a matter of me having to get used to it, or improve my riding? Kinda pushes the true twin EVO-R back into the picture for me if the directional aspect IS an issue.
This really is my only concern with either the TRice or the SL.
What do you think?

Thanks again.

Posted: 14 April 2010 04:55 PM

Oops, I meant a 21” stance, not 21mm.
My stance is about 22.5” for reference.

Posted: 14 April 2010 04:58 PM

You’ll barely notice the directionality of the TRice, it’s a completely different board to the Burner. The Burner has a set back stance as you said around 2.5 cm and an eliptical nose for extra float. It’s made for going in one direction and has a flex pattern to match. The Trice is a park board and is built for going in both directions. Watch Travis Rice’s section in ‘That’s it, That’s all’. i think you can assume Travis’ board can ride switch. Yeah forget the Burner the Travis Rice is much closer to the DH than the Burner.

Posted: 14 April 2010 05:11 PM

Ah, that’s the reassurance I needed!

I suspected the “other” aspects of the Burner’s design were more the problem than strictly the setback, but I wasn’t sure.

Well, I think that wraps this inquiry for me. TRice is my choice followed closely by the SL-R.

Now to decide whether to get the 2010 model in the fall at the ski show (discounted, if available), or get the 2011 when it comes out at that time.

Decisions, decisions…

Thanks for all the help Rich!!