2012 Board demos quick thoughts

Posted: 24 April 2011 06:12 AM

So I went to test some boards here at Whistler. This will be a short and quick thoughts since I only get to do 2 runs with each board. Just cruising, carving, ollies, and a bit of buttering (noob butter though haha) on green and blue runs. Conditions were hardpack then turned slushy.

Rossignol One Magtek 156 - This board is the tits. By far the best board out of all the ones I tested today. Easy turning, great pop for ollies, carved well. Feels short though, because of the shorten effective edge due to the rocker. Really forgiving, tips are soft while the waist are a bit stiffer.  I would probably rate the flex around a 6/10. A little loose at first but once I got used to it it’s super nice. Just a fun all around board. Probably tied with my T.Rice as my favorite board. Rice is better at charging and carving, but One is more playful.

Bataleon Whatever 156 - I don’t know what to say about this. I think I need to get use to the TBT, 2 runs definitely didnt do justice. It feels planted like a cambered board but loose when going edge to edge. I feel like skidding more instead of carving, but that’s probably because I’m not used to triple base yet. One more thing I notice is that you can totally flat base this without a care in the world. I’m usually not comfortable at going fully flat base (usually ride with a slight edge when going straight) for long but I can with this.

Signal Omni 156- The rep said they added some carbon stringers and changed the fiberglass layout to triax (I don’t know what’s in the board this year) to make it a bit stiffer. I agree with him, for some reason it the board feels stiff, especially torsionally, tips are a bit softer but not that soft. Didn’t feel like a rockered board, The Rossi One is definitely softer and more playful.

Burton Nug 146 - Mehhh, didn’t like it. Maybe because it is hardpack snow, board couldn’t hold an edge. Just kept skidding out or maybe I just suck hahah. I can see how this board will be fun in soft snow and just for playing around around the resort. Also the size kinda scared me when going a bit fast even though it is supposed to be ridden that short.

Capita BSOD 156 - Stiff, stiffer than my Rice for sure. I thought with the rocker it will feel a bit more like the One. Feels like a cambered board. Great when carving and going fast.

Prior Khyber 156 - One thing that first come to mind is HEAVY. This board is freakin heavy, my ankle and foot hurts on the lift. It’s a powder board but just for fun I wanna try it. First time riding a tapered board. Turning feels just a little bit different and holds an edge just fine. Since there is no pow, can’t judge this board.

Posted: 24 April 2011 12:17 PM

Great Reviews Rico!

Now I’m really intruiged about the Signal Omni, when I rode it a couple of years ago it felt on the soft side of Medium and now they’ve jacked it up with Carbon and it’s stiff… it might be more my kind of board now. Also the Black Snowboard of Death is on my hit list for the test, I’m glad it’s a good carver, I might have to put it through a few laps of the pipe. I definitely agree with your sentiments on the One… not that I’ve ridden it but I’ve been riding the Angus all season and it’s pretty similar in most respects, from what I’ve been told by Tom who has ridden both. Between the bindings it’s quite firm which means it holds a great edge in a carve, the rocker in the tips which starts at the bindings is sooo forgiving, it makes mincemeat of bumpy and soft snow conditions and they lay you down gently on skethy landings.

Also I’m glad to hear a different opinion about the Nug. Everything I’ve heard so far is positive. I was interested to hear how the Side Effects (long flat section at the start and end of the effective edge) works with a short effective edge of a 146. When I rode the Sherlock which has Side Effects it felt really slippy on hardpack and ice, I kind of thought it might be the same for the Nug.

THanks for sharing your experiences.

Rich

Posted: 24 April 2011 07:34 PM

No problem Rich =), also added some thoughts on flat basing with the Bataleon. Feels totally comfortable going flat base, when I usually always ride on a slight edge when going straight. Now I have to resist the temptation to buy a new board (One Magtek) haha. Also I thought the Nug is supposed to have the effective edge of a much longer board (hence the 8-10 cm size down for an all mountain board)?

http://vimeo.com/14547673
http://vimeo.com/17563241