Deuxdiesel Posted January 14, 2019 Report Share Posted January 14, 2019 I finally picked up a new board for all-around riding, and after obsessive web surfing, decided to go with the Nidecker Concept 161. Me; expert carver/all-arounder, park and pipe avoider, switch rider only with a gun to my dog's head, 165 pounds. The Board; already mentioned. Virtually zero reviews on this board, only pretty pictures. Most of the data from Nidecker ranks it an 8+ out of 10 for stiffness, and at my weight I am at the bottom of the weight range for it, but I think it was a little on the soft side, even with softies. Bindings; somewhat modded Nitro Phantom Carver. Boots; size 11 Salomon whatever soft boots with extra eyelets, laces and internal DIY corsets for a stiffer boot. Finally got some real snow time with this board. I went with 39/33 angles, but will need to bump it up to 42/36 or even 45/39 next time out as I had a few slight boot-outs on firm groomed snow. The board is very light compared to the all-mountain beasts I am used to riding, and is extremely fast right out of the box- I literally slapped bindings on it and went riding. No wax other than factory, no edge tune other that what came on it. Short/Medium radius turns; very quick edge to edge, lots of rebound and unloading from each turn. Regardless of finishing the turn with my weight biased front, rear or split 50/50, it popped out of each turn with gusto. It has a slight camber to flat transition before the nose and tail rise, so it never felt catchy. Solid, quiet upper body with serious cross-under short turns were solid and predictable. Long radius turns; held an edge well throughout the entire turn, but was a little more sensitive to weight placement as expected. Too far forward would cause some tail wash on heel turns, too far back on toe side turns would cause the nose to drift a little. Cross-over transitions never felt iffy (except for the toe/heel drag that needs to be addressed), and the board held well on harder snow despite how light it is overall. Overall; my new go-to board for all conditions if I am not on my Elan or Volkl race boards. If I were to travel with just one board from my quiver, this would be it. Granted, most of my non-race boards are 5-6 year old all mountain boards (Ride Yukon 163 for example), so I am pleased with this as a in-between board. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonny.a Posted March 12, 2019 Report Share Posted March 12, 2019 I've been seriously thinking about either the Concept or the Spectre. Was there anything in particular that made you decide on the Concept over the Spectre? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JetSpeed Posted March 15, 2019 Report Share Posted March 15, 2019 Thanks for this review! I currently have a 16/17 Nidecker Platinum and was thinking about getting a Concept but couldn't find many reviews. I'm surprised at how flexible the Platinum is so interesting to hear you say the same thing about the Concept. Did you compare it to the Rave ?? I've got Phantom Red Bindings, had looked at the Carvers but couldn't justify the cost this year. What modifications did you make to them ??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deuxdiesel Posted March 28, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2019 I just finished my last day on snow for the year and spent the whole day on the Concept. I tried using my Flow NXT's, but they were really tearing up my heel and killing my instep on my rear foot. I switched back to the Nitro's and things were much better- it is a really light and comfortable yet supportive binding. Bending over and buckling in at the top of each run gets old fast, but what can you do. I really like the Concept a bunch, especially how light and "poppy" it is. In Spring conditions with lots of late day push-piles, it was easy to hop around on when not carving. I must stress that this is not a BX board or just a wide version of an alpine board. It splits the difference between a mushy, flexy freestyle board and a non-race alpine board. I wanted to try it with hard boots, but didn't get the chance. I do think a set of plates would overpower the board in all but the most perfect groomed conditions. I ended up buying a Nidecker Area 153 for my wife, who also rips on an alpine board. She mentioned that she didn't think such a light board would hold on the hard snow, but she said she was surprised by how well it did. With regards to the Nidecker Spectre, I have no idea how it would compare, but given it's shape I would guess it's just another compromise- not as good in the soft stuff as the Concept, not as good as my Volkl or Elans in the hard groom. Who knows? Hope you all enjoy the rest of your season- be safe! D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter G Posted January 10, 2020 Report Share Posted January 10, 2020 Thanks for sharing. I have been an alpine snowboarder for most of my life. My current deck is the Volkl Rentiger GS. But I am getting older and I am looking for something easy to ride and more for all around use . And I just ordered the Concept. But I am thinking of using my x bones bindings with it. Since they are softer then the trench diggers. I will test both the hard and the soft boots set up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deuxdiesel Posted January 16, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2020 I still have my RT 168 GS as well. Don't be surprised how much softer the Concept is than the Volkl. I'm not sure how it will ride with plates, but i would like to hear your experiences with it. Right now these are available at a pretty good discount online. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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