Virus Berserker Zylon Evolution vs Virus Berserker Zylon (stiff)

[pogokoenig]

Let me give you some impressions at short notice:

I ride the Berserker for roundabout one year and I like the board very much. IMHO It provides the perfect combination of speed stability, liveliness and agility. Some of you might know the Gladiator Zylon. Take the Gladiator, put it on amphetamine and you know the Berserker. The Boards are similar in behaviour but the Berserker is more speed demanding. Once you gathered momentum, it is reactive and stable with a gigantic edge hold. With some confidence and some squads during summer you can also lay it down quickly in tight turns.

After some runs in perfect conditions, I have changed to the Evo II Berserker. The first turns on a red slope just told me nothing but the same I knew before. At least it is the same shape but another setup. So I felt completely at home on this board. After one run I took the chance to let it go. It was a bumped up soft/ icy and crowded slope. Perfect conditions. Now I realized that the Evo needs even more speed, but it provides the same “You can do anything, I will support you” feelings as before, but with a slight amendment: “please put the pedal to the metal”. The stiffness lets you fly over the bumps and forces you to get faster from turn to turn. Not easy to handle, quite demanding and a little bit scary. But if you trust yourself, the support is brutal. The faster you go, the more you get back – even more than on my own Berserker. On the steep part of 31 in Sölden the feeling was quite amazing. But to be honest, I don’t feel my own board as being a slow one. Even for this one it is almost impossible to get it to the limit in a turn. The Evo does the same. It is like sitting in a 360 Modena or in a 360 Scuderia. The “normal” 360 is almost impossible to push to the limits but it doesn’t hurt if there is more space left. The offset you pay is on harder snow or hard bumps or if you run a flat but uneven slope. Due to stiffness the Evo doesn’t absorb vibration as good as my board does and you need even stronger legs. The ride is not as comfortable.

Bottom Line:

Great board for people with frog legs, good riding skills and an attitude for suicide. Extremely fast and stable. The board needs speed, but once you get through the sonic-barrier, you feel like being in the eye of a hurricane. Something happens around you, but you don’t know exactly what and - in fact - you don’t really want to know. So better stay there and keep the thing going.

Facts and Figures:

Length: 185cm

Waist: 18 cm

Binding: F2 Race Titanium

Shoes: VIRUS UPZ worldcup

Rider: A Genius named Pogokoenig

Length: 185 cm

Waist: 185cm

Weight: 185kg

IQ: 185

[Istvan]

Great review Pogo.

Although I did not have a chance to try the Evo, knowing the construct of the board my expectation was very similar to what you described above. Your review has strengthened my belief that the Zylon has an extraordinary level of vibration absorbtion without losing the pop effect.

On the facts & figures piece I think I missed the fat guy on the slopes being 185kg and having a 185cm waist.... On the other hand my friend crashed with someone there and reported loss of consciousness. The only thing he could remember is that he just bounced off an other rider like a ping-pong ball... he is 190cm, 100kg, wears full Dainese protection and a helmet. I guess the other party in the collision must have been you....

Any pics?

I can support your review with a pic of my Zylon Berserker in action.