Radial Posted March 12, 2007 Report Share Posted March 12, 2007 I got my new Donek Blade 180 last week. I got the stiff construction since I am pretty big at 6', 210. I have been riding all winter, 65 days, on Donek FC 179. I should say that I never ride with anyone and never see any alpine boards where I ski so I am a little isolated and my perceptions are based on feel and some review of video that I make my kids take of me. It was a very wet spring weeknd with soft wet spring like snow. In the living room the thing looked about twice as big as the 179 and with very little side cut and you kind of wonder if it will turn at all. On the hill, it was good. I have been working all winter on the EC turn with a lot of rotation and this worked ,not suprisingly, well on this board. The lower boot angles make the push pull thing easier for me and the bigger board seems to give me more time to get my legs extended in the turn. The resulting higher board angles seem to make the ride a little smother in the junk.... The whole thing was not as quick edge to edge which I kind of miss since I had been having a lot of fun with turns inside of turns this last few weeks. I did have a pretty monumental run late yesterday where it all kind of came togeather. I have been confused all year on the heelsides. On the narrow FC it seems like you have to push down pretty hard on the outside sholder, ribs to hip to get the angulation. This pushes the hip into the hill with upper body angled away from the hill like Jack's picture. Whether it was the soft snow or the board, yesterday I could just raise my inside arm, keep my body relativly straight, and there it was. Anyway it was pretty fun. More rain today, I am really hating this golbal warming.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexgforce Posted March 13, 2007 Report Share Posted March 13, 2007 Its good to hear that the boards does what it is intend to. The principal is to have a board that allows wider angles which means more edge pressure which meens more edge hold which meens getting closer to the snow. But only if you are willing to sacrifice the fast edge to edge transition. If you would use however a binding without lift and cants that would get your feet closer to the board and transition faster not to mention better edge control. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Przemek/Brooklyn Posted March 13, 2007 Report Share Posted March 13, 2007 I have been riding swoard 175 and i love it, i believe it has almost exact the same shape as Blade. It was good at the beginning but it took me a half of season to really work out full potential of EC on that board. Wider boards are definitely step in right direction All said above is very true; however there is one thing that is still puzzling me: Wider board (swoard 175 soft flex) is performing worst on ice (I am talking east cost ice) then rhenn tiger 163 SL (last year model)<O:p</O:p My guess is a stiffness, SCR and size. Any thoughts or similar experience? <O:p</O:p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paappraiser Posted March 13, 2007 Report Share Posted March 13, 2007 Its good to hear that the boards does what it is intend to. The principal is to have a board that allows wider angles which means more edge pressure which meens more edge hold which meens getting closer to the snow. But only if you are willing to sacrifice the fast edge to edge transition.If you would use however a binding without lift and cants that would get your feet closer to the board and transition faster not to mention better edge control. what bindings are you suggesting? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexgforce Posted March 13, 2007 Report Share Posted March 13, 2007 mostly I ride ibex (flat, no canting) which is the old burton race plates. It has no lift and it feels very smooth since it is fairly soft. Phiokkas are also good and similar to ibex in terms of lift but are much harder. After the SES however I started riding TD2s with 0, 0 plates and the softer rings. It took me a while to get used to but now I kind a like them. I think they would even work better with a softer board. At the end of the day it all comes down to personal preference and riding style but riding flat really puts some extra pressure on the edge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diggin in MN Posted July 30, 2007 Report Share Posted July 30, 2007 I've got the Blade 180M and couldn't be more happy with it. I'm using the TD2's with the extra suspension kit. My factory prime will never see snow again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexgforce Posted July 30, 2007 Report Share Posted July 30, 2007 Nice Going. I hope we get an early winter this year!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paappraiser Posted July 30, 2007 Report Share Posted July 30, 2007 winter... Im looking at the beach this weekend! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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