Amplid Milligram Splitboard (Peter Bauer's company)

[Buell]

There seems to be some interest here about split boards, so I thought I would post this review on BOL. The season long review is on Splitboard.com.

This is on the long side…. There’s not much information about Amplids, so I wanted to post a thorough review.  Amplid is Peter Bauer’s small company based out of Germany.  The boards are built in Austria at the Capita Mothership factory, .  I have now ridden several Amplids and, as you would expect, Peter Bauer knows how to build a great board.  

I ride this board with modified Dynafit TLT6 boots and Phantom bindings.

The short version: I am very impressed with this board. All the design features work together as a predictable whole, and I find that the very light weight has a significant positive effect on its riding performance. Obviously it is exceptional when skinning, even better than I hoped.

Background: So many of our splitboards are still made with the same materials and techniques as solid resort boards, and the weights reflect that.  Most splits are in the 7 to 8 pound range.  It is nice to have some builders working with lighter materials and better construction techniques to reduce weight.  This board weighs in at about 5.5 pounds

When I started researching lightweight splits two years ago, I realized that I could save a pound per foot (and all the swing weight associated with it). Most recently I had come from a 7.5 pound 158 G3 Blacksheep (non-carbon version) down to a roughly 6 1/2 pound 158 Jones Solution. I first noticed the Amplid’s super light Lab Carbon Split two years ago and last year’s Milligram looked even more promising to me.

I contacted Amplid with a lot of questions, and they were quick and responsive with their answers. I prefer to have a board in my hands before I commit to buying it, and it is not very easy to do this with Amplid boards in the US. Ordering and receiving one is simple and quick, but I was concerned about wanting to return it once I had seen it in person. Once I did see it, I definitely did not want to return it.  Bola at All Board Sports might have some Milligrams in stock.

I am 5’9, 142 pounds and ride in the Eastern Sierra of California in the winter and on the Northwest Volcanoes during corn season. I chose the 158 Milligram. I have owned and ridden quite a few split boards including a Jones Solution, a G3 Blacksheep, Prior Spearhead, Khyber, and BC split, a Venture Storm, a couple of Voiles and a number of split related solid boards like Furberg, Gnu Billygoat, Venture Zephyr and Jones Hovercraft.

Construction: The construction of the Milligram is beautiful. The only flaw I have found so far is some of the Karakorum clip screws in the bottom of the board are a bit proud and at a bit of an angle. Everything else is great. The base edge bevel even came in at 0 to 1 degree instead of the mostly universal 1 to 2 degrees so I could file a consistent base edge bevel at 1 degree.

The Milligram’s camber runs from a bit behind the tail Karakorum hook to a point roughly in line with the nose Karakorum hook. This is more camber than I have ridden in quite a while, and I did not know what to expect. After the camber ends, the nose radius curve is relatively gentle, which I appreciate. The camber is not very high and presses out easily. It is a touch softer in the middle than the nose and the tail, but overall the flex pattern is very smooth, with no sudden kinks. Hand flexing, this Milligram is softer than a Jones Carbon Solution or a G3 Blacksheep X3, both of which I consider very stiff.

Touring: The Milligram is really light! It is even lighter on my feet than I expected. I let my wife skin up with it once and the first words out of her mouth were “holy ****, holy ****, wow. She had just come off a rather light 154 Jones Solution which is a little over 6 pounds itself. After skinning the Amplid, her 154 Solution felt heavy to me. The Amplid website claims “with connector clips the 163cm board length weighs a mere 2.5 Kg [5.5 lb].” I don’t have a scale to weigh the 158 but I assume it is less.

It split skis very well. The low swing weight makes the “skis” nimble and maneuverable.

Ride:  I have ridden this board in a wide range of conditions from steep and firm wind buff and corn to deep, low angle treed powder runs.  For me, it is easily the best splitboard I have ridden. It feels like a very well behaved extension of my feet.

After 30 tours on this board, I have concluded that weight influences performance far more than I expected. I find it difficult to separate the effects of the light weight from the more typical parameters like camber/rocker, sidecut, or taper. Obviously it is amazing to skin, but when riding, the light weight allows it to be very agile: jump turns are so much easier than any board I have ridden, quick turns on steep, firm slopes come around extra fast, maneuvering though tight spaces is easier, float in powder seems better and edge changes are quick.

On the snow the flex feels balanced and solid, but sufficiently forgiving.  In medium density powder, the board rides centered (a requirement for me) and floats beautifully.  It is really surfy at times and can put a huge smile on my face. Other times I have pushed on it aggressively and it just gives right back, no issues and has a really nice rebound.  For the deep, low angle, high avy danger days, I have added a 163 Milligram for better float.

Tree riding the Milligram is a blast. The board responds quickly and precisely to my inputs.

Snow type transitions are smooth and the board does not get kicked around. It seems the lightweight (combined with other design elements?) actually allows me to dictate where the board goes instead of the other way around, even in the mixed conditions. This is the opposite of what I thought could be the case.

Edge hold is great which inspires tons of confidence. Even on the steeper smooth wind scour, it had great grip. The downhill slide after a jump turn was predictable, easy to control, and the board locked back in quickly.

Feedback on firm snow is just not an issue (this was one of my main concerns with a super light carbon board). The edge stays engaged and there is no chatter.  

Durability:  I have over 30 tours on this board and it looks better than any split I have had with that many days on it.  I have hit rocks, some hard the damage is consistent with regular construction snowboards.  The edges are solid and there are no core shots.  The top sheet is nearly perfect with hardly any of the typical rail slices that split boards get while skinning.

 

 

Edited February 2, 2017 by Buell

[LiquidEarth808]

Thanks for the excellent review Buell. Just had my first day on Dupraz D1 6'++ yesterday.  I felt like Buttons Kaluhiokalani or Larry Bertlemann circa 1978...

Waiting for the 6' 3"