metal in older boards (big pictures)

[Corey]

I had the unfortunate luck of having a skier run in to me yesterday on a local hill. I was travelling at about 45 degrees to the fall line just transitioning from a toeside carve into a heelside when he hit me. After the ensuing tumble and figuring out that everyone was still alive (See P.S. below), I noticed the damage to my board. :(

But, it did reveal something interesting! His skis cut through the fiberglass on my Oxygen Proton 178 on the top edge of the cap. It revealed a metal layer that runs across the whole topsheet and down the sidewalls! Very interesting! I'd heard that the Oxygens only had a small strip of metal running down the center of the board, that's clearly not the case.

Pictures don't quite do it justice, but here's an attempt:

We're talking about the Oxygen on the right.

Standard tail cut on the Protons showing metal layers top and bottom of the core.

Click to see big picture

Click to see big picture

It is hard to see in the pictures, but there is clearly a metal cap that is making the turn from the topsheet and running down the sidewall.

Was Atomic/Oxygen that far ahead of the game? Could the reviews that claim this board is too 'damp' and dead be noticing the same thing we're hearing from riders of the current metal boards?

-

P.S. I strained my elbow in the crash and have a slightly sore back. The guy that hit me was not doing well, we think he hit my shoulder or hip with his chest. He was gasping VERY hard for breath when I first got to him. After it was clear that he wasn't going to die or anything and the Ski Patroller berated him for not yielding to the downhill skier, I left. I saw him walking to the parking lot with his arm in a sling an hour later. I got off very lucky!

[philfell]

Yup, many older board did have metal. It is not new, skies have been using it for decades. What is different with the new snowboard that have metal and the older ones that did is the board builders are doing a better job at designing the board to work with the metal. The older boards simply put a layer of metal in their normal board, this doesn't work as well.

In the new metal boards there is so much different than just having a metal top sheet or a peice on titinal in the board. The materials and shape are usually totally different than a traditional board. Kesslers don't even have any fiberglass in them.

[ar(angel]

[Corey]

I've got to wonder if the complaints about the Protons feeling very damp are just due to the line of thought at the time when they were first released; that boards had to be lively to be 'good'.

Nice Renntiger......

:D As crappy as the collision and resulting board damage was, I dug out the Renntiger and slowed things down for a while. That board is really fun in fairly small radius carves at moderate pace! I focused on technique more and really bumped up my riding abilities through the rest of the day - even on really hard snow.