Contract 3D Swell - 2011
The 3D Swell is Contract’s flagship board. It pretty much features every technology that Contract and nearly every other snowboard brand on the planet has invented over the last decade. There’s Contract’s Snake Transition Technology, a 3D wave that increases torsional rigidity without increasing longitudinal flex. There’s T.R.I.P. technology that raises the start of the effective edge narrowly off the snow (although it’s absolutely minimal). Contract have also included Carbon and Kevlar reinforcement, honeycomb inserts to reduce weight, zero camber and biaxial glass power plates under the bindings for better edge control. However after all of this technology the one feature that has the most impact on the way the 3D Swell rides is the 12m sidecut radius, which makes the 3D Swell feel a little unresponsive and cumbersome, when you want to do anything other than point the board straight or do long arcing powder turns.
Manufacturer's Description:
There’s no need to sit out-back and wait because the wave you’ve been dreaming of is here!
With a totally new shape and construction, our flagship board is Contract’s definition of ultimate snowboard engineering.
We believe it’s the only true slay-everything snowboard on planet Earth. The 3D SWELL is an all-mountain snowboard unlike any other. Our revolutionary 3D Snake Transition provides the unique combination of large sidecut radius with freestyle flex and incredible torsion performance. This model is the board of choice for advanced riders looking for unlimited, extraordinary riding performance.
Recommended for park riding.
Recommended for freeride riding.
High cost $
Available in MidWide.
Zero Camber Construction.
Twin Shape.
Year: 2011
Available Lengths (cm):
152, 158, 164
Riding Style: All Mountain
Specifications:
Wood core with Honeycomb inserts
Triaxial Fibreglass laminates
Powerplates (Additional Bixial glass under the bindings)
True twin shape
X-Reactive flax system (Carbon and Kevlar reinforcement)
Zero camber profile
3D Snake Transition Technology
T.R.I.P Technology (raises the start of the effective edge)
Shallow sidecut
Similar boards: Nidecker NDK THU - 2011 Prior AMF - 2011 Bataleon Goliath - 2011
Snowboard Review:
My first board for the day was the 3D Swell, Contracts flagship board for next season. Featuring Contracts patent pending Snake Transition technology (a 3D form which travels between the bindings, kind of like corrugated aluminium), Contract claim Snake Transition tech increases the torsional rigidity of the board without stiffening up the longitudinal stiffness. The Swell also features a zero camber profile, honeycomb inserts and T.R.I.P. tech.
The first thing I noticed about the Swell was how incredibly light it was, the second characteristic I noticed was the slightly limited stance options which meant I could run either a small, medium or full on gangster stance, of course gangster was the only real option. Strapping into the Swell you immediately notice how lively it is for a zero camber deck. Long sweeping carves were effortless, no doubt thanks to the radial sidecut which at 12m is almost twice as large as your standard all mountain board. The long sidecut also helped with straight line stability, and the super fast sintered base had me flying like sh*t off a shovel. For the benefits of the long sidecut, I felt that tighter turns were a little dead or rather skidded, something that boards with progressive tri-radial sidecuts (longer entry and exit radii and a tighter central radius) manage to retain. Taking the Swell in some powder, the extra width through the length of the board and moderate longitudinal flex worked well together, giving me plenty of float even on a centred stance. Funnily enough the long sidecut didn’t seem to impede tight, responsive turning in the powder, it worked quite well with the bouncy powder riding properties of the zero camber profile.
In the park the Swell was stable off jumps and landings were forgiving, especially on under rotated rail landings, the zero camber and T.R.I.P tech worked well to butter me round to a clean ride out. Again the long sidecut radius meant it took a while to adjust my run-in turns before I started to spin. One of my first worries about the Snake Transition tech was that it’s 3D wave might create pressure points on the leading edge when boardsliding. I was pleasantly surprised, actually I was massively relieved to find that even without detuning, rails and boxes were a doddle without a hint of sketchiness.
Contract has packed a lot into the Swell. It’s incredibly light, grips hard on firm conditions, rides buoyantly in powder and is plenty of fun playing about in the park, even though it isn’t particularly soft. However by using a 12m sidecut, Contact have created a board that riders who like to dance between edges and aggressively initiate tight turns should probably avoid, it’s too mellow for its own good.
Posted by Rich Ewbank in • Contract
User Snowboard Reviews
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