Signal Omni Series - 2010
Combining the Wavelength profile with triaxial glass, a directional shape and a standard poplar core makes for a truely versatile ride, as happy in the park and pipe as fresh alpine steeps. The Signal Omni Series uses the new Wavelength profile, camber between the bindings and rocker at the tip and tail, much like Rossignol’s Amptek and Nidecker’s CamRock profiles.
Manufacturer's Description:
This board is all things to all mountain riders! Rocker and camber blended together create Wavelength technology, exclusive to Signal. You will never bury your nose in powder again.
The Omni has camber between your feet and rocker from your feet out to the tip and tail. The rocker keeps your nose up in powder while the camber provides edge control while you carve.
The two meet at a transition point, providing an additional contact point that engages even before the edge. And the fact that the rocker starts at your bindings means that you have less surface area on the snow and, therefore, a faster board!
The Omni is both a directional and a twin board. It’s directional in the sense that the nose is longer than the tail. And it’s twin in the sense that the tip and tail widths are identical as well as the fact that the radial sidecut meets at the center of the board.
These boards — a 152, 156, 159 and 162— are built with full-length poplar cores with Triaxial glass on both the top and bottom, Durasurf sintered base material, matte urethane 4160 tops, and
carbon torsion bars.
Ride the Wavelength!
Recommended for park riding.
Recommended for halfpipe riding.
Recommended for rail riding.
Recommended for freeride riding.
High cost $
Rocker Construction.
Directional Shape.
Year: 2010
Available Lengths (cm):
152, 156, 159, 162
Riding Style: All Mountain
Specifications:
Durasurf sintered base
Urethane 4160 topsheet
Carbon torsion bars
Radial sidecut
Triaxial glass
Directional shape
Wavelength rocker profile
Similar boards: YES YES. - 2010 Omatic Celebrity - 2010 Nidecker NDK Addict - 2010 Rossignol Angus - 2010
Snowboard Review:
Before you consider the Omni, you should probably know that the Signal Omni has a shape that only a mother could love. On the plus side you know what they say about those not blessed with the best looks… well the same goes for the Omni, it’s a great ride. The Wavelength technology is very similar to Rossignol’s Amptek and Nidecker’s Camrock, but the rocker at the tip and tail is less pronounced, I think that’s what’s responsible for the ‘interesting’ aesthetics!
Enough about the looks, everyone knows it’s what’s underneath that counts! Well I have to congratulate Signal on the Omni, because it’s a very versatile board. I took the 156 out for a spin, my usual all mountain board size is around 158, but I thought as I was riding park, I’d take a slightly shorter length. The flex on the Omni is what I’d describe as medium/soft, the camber between the feet gives the board a medium torsional stiffness but the cambered tip and tail make the Omni buttery soft. What this means is, you get plenty of grip carving and sticking bumpy landings, but you get loads of forgiveness for slightly over or under rotated spins and great press-ability. One thing I was surprised about was how much pop the Omni had and how lively it felt on an edge, it felt a little weird riding quite a soft board that still felt snappy and lively on an edge.
So here comes the big question. You’re probably not sure whether to go for the Signal Omni 156, or the YES 156.5? Fortunately despite using similar technology, they’re quite different boards. If you’re interested in mostly riding park and you want a responsive but forgiving board, you’ll be better suited to riding the Signal Omni, or sizing down to the YES 154. If you’re after a burly all mountain charger for backcountry charging then it’s the YES 156.5.
So to summarise, I’d definitely recommend the Omni. If you’re a keen park rider who is looking for a versatile board, don’t let the talk of triaxial glass and carbon reinforcement put you off this board it’s really forgiving and a real joy to cruise the park and about your local hill on, on and off piste. On the flip side, don’t think because it’s cambered between the feet, using a directional shape that it’s a firm flexing board that’ll replace you’re freeride board because of the float that rocker offers. Sure, it’ll float in powder, but it’s definitely more tailored to park riders.
Posted by Rich Ewbank in • Signal
User Snowboard Reviews
Want some advice, or have a question about the Signal Omni Series snowboard, or whether it is right for you? DON'T POST HERE! Head over to our snowboard forums and our community will be happy to help.
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However, if you have ridden this snowboard and want to share your feedback, then please add your experience below. It helps to add as much detail as possible, e.g board length you used, bindings, rider stats etc.
on September 30, 2010 at 03:02 PM
I rode this board for the whole of last season in Chamonix.
Pros:
Amazing in powder, floats so easily thanks to the rockered nose and tail and even switch landings in the deep stuff are a doddle.
The ‘wavelength’ technology (camber in the middle, rocker just after the bindings) works well, so despite the rockered nose and tail the board holds an edge nicely on piste and hardback. Good stability at speed.
Mid/soft flex combined with rocker is very forgiving so great for giving you the confidence to try new stuff in the park off the small/medium kickers (I landed my first ‘5’ with the help of this board), very reasuring on rails and butters effortlessly.
Sintered base is tough and fast.
Cons:
Mid/soft flex means things can get a bit wobbly off larger transitions and big kickers.
On the bigger jummps the board tends to ‘wash-out’ on off-center landings. Although this lets you ride away unscathed when perhaps a fully cambered board would kick your ass!
Mellow flex of the board means it lacks ‘pop’.
The top sheet (on the 2009/10 model anyway) chips easier than nail varnish, especially round the nose/tail where skiers walk all over your board in the lift line. Its only cosmetic tho but doesn’t look so good if you want to sell the board on..
In summary this is a great all-mountain freestyle deck for all levels of rider, perhaps best suited to beginner-intermediates who are developing there park skills hitting the small/medium line in the park but who also wants an easy going board to explore all over the mountain and ride the deep stuff on those pow days. If you are an intermediate-advanced rider who likes to hit the bigger jumps in the park and rides aggresively over the whole mountain, then perhaps look elsewhere for a siffer board with more pop to help with stability on those larger transitions and heavier landings.
on September 30, 2010 at 11:56 PM
Quality review Tom! Big thanks. If you find yourself on any new boards this coming season, be sure to leave your thoughts, reviews like the one you’ve done for Omni are exactly what we need on this site! Cheers. Rich
on October 12, 2010 at 10:37 PM
Thanks, I I’ll be in Cham again so I’ll try to ride any new boards I can get my hands on!
on February 11, 2011 at 11:12 AM
Bought the red colourway of this board from TSA in Bristol after having a chat with the manager. I was looking for a cheaper all mountain board but as I had a 10% voucher for the shop I decided to plump for this.
Had it for 2 seasons now and I don’t regret ever buying it. In the small resorts in France no-one knows of this brand and you get a lot of funny looks when perched up outside a cafe on the slopes.
As for the board itself, its a dream to ride. Very forgiving if you’re tired and being lazy on your turns and paired with a good set of bindings (Force’s) you can feel stable at breakneck speed if you have to.
I service the board myself and its taken a few knocks off piste and the base its still relatively unmarked (deeply).
As with the above reviewer the top sheet on mine is a little damaged on the edges but if you have the time rim the top sheet with a thin bead of superglue and this will help it from chipping too easily as the top sheet is otherwise exposed. Just make sure you use a little masking tape so you don’t ruin the understated graphic.
Of piste this is immense. I’ve only got the 156 and i’m 5’11” but if floats easily due to the nose being angle that much better than another board. However, because of the rocker make sure you’re bindings are not set to far back on your stance as the front end can get a little squiffy when you switch back to piste.
All in all I’ll be going back to signal for my replacement board when the topsheet finally gives up the ghost whilst the rest of the board carries on.
Cheers Dave Lee and the team.
