svr Posted February 4, 2009 Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 I know that there is already another forum on rocker/negative camber, but I wanted to focus this one on powder boards only. I just returned from a great week of riding in the PacNorWest with Jon Dahl at Baker and Bryan, Jim, and Mike Tinkler at Mt Hood Meadows. I took two prototype negative camber Tankers to let other tanker riders ride and provide feedback on their thoughts on the new shapes. The two models have full rocker and are completely convex from tip to tail, one with a lot of camber and one with a shallower amount. I will let them make their own comments about how the boards performed, but here are my thoughts about how the boards ride. At Mt Baker with Jon, we had great powder out of bounds and some hero groom and tracked pow on the sides of the runs. We rode mostly on chair 8 and in the valley out of bounds. The rocker excels in powder and the shape is so much fun to ride in powder and soft snow. The boards feel a little unsteady and very surfy at first and you need to ride with your stance more forward than on regular tankers, but after a couple minutes you can feel the difference and adjust for it. At Mt Hood with Bryan, Jim and Mike the conditions were definitely not powder and probably were not the best conditions to test a rockered board, but we made the best of it and the snow warmed up a bit and we had some great runs on old snow that had been groomed and softened up a bit as the day went on. Both boards work awesome in powder and are a great addition to any previous tanker riders quiver. They are not designed to replace older tankers, rather they compliment it, and on a powder day with soft snow I would choose the rockered board without a second thought. The board with less rocker rode better in the harder snow conditions at Mt Hood, but both can still be put on edge and will carve well. My setup was with softboots and all the other guys were on plates with hardboots. One last note, the graphics on the prototypes are not the graphics for the 200 for next year, they are protos only. The Tanker 200 will have a special limited edition graphic for 09-10 as it is the 10th anniversary of the Tanker 200. Here are some pics from the trip and thanks for coming out to ride with me while I was visiting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
svr Posted February 4, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 Here are some pics of Jon Dahl on the rockered 200. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
svr Posted February 4, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 here is me at baker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
svr Posted February 4, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 Also, forgot to mention that Jon pulled a beautiful 360 carve right in front of the lift at chair 8. It was incredible to see and the lift operator was fairly shocked. cheers, sandy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
svr Posted February 4, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 Jim on the 200. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
svr Posted February 4, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 Bryan on the 200 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
svr Posted February 4, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 Me on the 200. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sinecure Posted February 4, 2009 Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 Looks like a fun pow ride. When you said "convex" a thought crossed my mind (happens from time to time). It would be doubly interesting to build a board with a truly convex base. Like rockered from side to side, as well as tip to tip. It would be impossible to tune on any traditional equipment, but it would be very interesting to ride. Probably useless on the groom, but pow would be interesting. Hmmm... My O-Sin (Dynastar) 4807 had a boat nose like that, but not convex all the way down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
svr Posted February 4, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 Group shot and after party. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
svr Posted February 4, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 Looks like a fun pow ride. When you said "convex" a thought crossed my mind (happens from time to time). It would be doubly interesting to build a board with a truly convex base. Like rockered from side to side, as well as tip to tip. It would be impossible to tune on any traditional equipment, but it would be very interesting to ride. Probably useless on the groom, but pow would be interesting. Hmmm... My O-Sin (Dynastar) 4807 had a boat nose like that, but not convex all the way down. Yes, it would be interesting to do that and the old wintersticks (swallows and rountails) had a weird truly convex shape and then snow channel by the skeg and I have two Crazy Banana's that have a slightly convex shape as well. Tuning nightmare, but a lot of fun in the pow. cheers, sandy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Dahl Posted February 5, 2009 Report Share Posted February 5, 2009 To me, these two protos were as different as night and day. Proto 2, the one I rode in the am, had a stiffer core profile all the wat to the tip/tail, had less rocker (3f/2-ish r?) This board would carve very nicely, as long as you rode it centered. Laid out my 360 carve on this one, edge hold was very nice. I could feel the nose rise nicely in the pow out of bounds, at least 12 inches of fresh, some of it had been cut up. The nose always searched for the top w/o being asked for it, but not in an aggressive fashion. Just always would go to the top. Nice. Sandy told me that this one was very close to the finished product, so I sent RJ an email telling him to put me first in line! Proto #1 I rode for a short time in the afternoon. This one had more rocker (6/6) and a thinner core profile from the bindings out. I knew this was a different animal skating to the chair. It literally felt skatey. Off the first chair I tried it carving. It would carve, but you needed to really put it up on edge before you felt it, nowhere near as confidence inspiring as proto #2. I had to set the edge and hold it, unlike the morning ride which felt natural on edge. In the pow outside the resort, it came into it's own. As a pow only ride, it would rule. You had to stand on the nose to drive it down. Both were fast in the pow, this was just quicker to rise to the top and stay there. Pow rewards were nice, but this one demands more attention on harder snow, and it bit me coming back inbounds on the narrow trail. Not totally the boards fault, as I was tired, but a distraction was all it took, and I plowed snow with my nose. Sandy indicated that he would be keeping proto #1, and for deep pow days it will be great, and I envy him...just a little. Mine will be on it's way to me this fall, and I'll be a happy camper. Some may think a 200 for my 5'7"/160 lb butt is too much. Funny, I'll be keeping the 192 also. Harry has it right with this one, it has what I like to say is "rocker done right". I could imagine getting a 172, the shortest offering next season, as a tree board. If my wife wouldn't leave me over it..or beat me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfinsmiley Posted February 5, 2009 Report Share Posted February 5, 2009 Do you guys know if they`ve been playing with the nose profile at all? I ask that question specifically because I rode my Tanker 200 back to back with the Dupraz a few days ago and the nose profile on the Dupraz just seems to do lots less snow plowing than the Tanker. If they`re going to transform the Tanker from a Longboard into a Powderboard then I`d think the nose profile would need quiet a drastic change to get the most performance potential from it. Secondly, but on the same vein of thought, how about the waist? is it getting fatter again this season? Hope so! everytime it gets wider I get happier:1luvu: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Dahl Posted February 6, 2009 Report Share Posted February 6, 2009 on chair 8 in the afternoon. Surfinsmiley brings up an interesting question, and a whole lot more. Seems like a lot of people want a Tanker, with thier own take on the flavor. Some want a narrower board, some want it wider, a few want titanal in the mix, the nose changed, etc. etc. The Tanker is a great freeride board, it does carve well for most people, but it is what it is, a freeride board. Wider waist eliminates smaller people like me from enjoying it, narrow waist is the opposite. Titanal in the mix would make it damp, Tankers are lively boards, snappy off the tail, and would change the known characteristics. Bigger pow nose would again change how it acts underfoot. Seems to me that the people who want something different need to go to a custom. Narrow board guys would be better served with something like the Coiler 203 Headhunter that Eric had built a few years back. You could always add titanal to the mix. I'm sure that Bruce would love to use the template again. Wide board guys can have a custom done. Venture snowboards in Colorado makes a wide up to, I believe, a 181-182? Donek can do up a wide Sasquatch, just stretch it to 200. Prior can marry a swallowtail nose to a freeride board....like the Spearhead. Dream the shape, have someone build it. I don't think Harry has changed the Tanker from a longboard to a powder board. I think he has taken the best of the Tanker and tweaked it to do it better in deep pow w/o making a sacrifice in on-piste performance. It is an addition to the existing Tankers, not a replacement. I will be keeping, and riding, the 192 as my first line stick. The 200 will come out on bigger and deeper days...I hear Bella Coola calling, or Valdez, you get the point. These are just my thoughts on this, take 'em as such. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfinsmiley Posted February 6, 2009 Report Share Posted February 6, 2009 Thanks for painting the picture of the new Tanker a lot clearer Jon. The thread title kinda threw me a curve ball. I thought the new ones were aiming to be powder specific shapes. For some strange reason my mind is limited to the thought of Rocker=Powder specific. I think the Tanker is an excellent design and those of us who appreciate Tankers would hate to see it loose its "freeride" allround good feeling kinda board abilities. That`s the "arse-sumption" I made reading the thread the first time round. If it can in fact incorporate rocker and still maintain all it`s other positive attributes then I think it may well become the Best Tanker yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Dahl Posted February 6, 2009 Report Share Posted February 6, 2009 as an addition to the lineup. It will not, in my mind, replace a cambered Tanker because sacrifices are always made. My 192 will be a slightly better carver because of the cambered shape. If they made a rockered 192 I would probably get it for the added benefits for off groom stuff. 200 is what it will be, though, and I will love it for chasing the goods. Now, how to hang that thing off of the back of a sled...b.c. sled access here I come! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twelsch42 Posted February 7, 2009 Report Share Posted February 7, 2009 I've always wondered with the love for BV's customs, and the love for Tankers evident on Bomber; why we haven't seen Bruce tackle a huge tanker-esque board. Maybe I've missed it. Seems like the Schtubbys gettin all the love. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
www.oldsnowboards.com Posted February 7, 2009 Report Share Posted February 7, 2009 Just saw the post!! Fun day, fun night!! Awesome day all around!! Doing what we love surrounded by great friends. For me , it just doesn't get much better!! Thanks again for coming over and sharing the "GOODS" Sandy. Bryan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobdea Posted February 7, 2009 Report Share Posted February 7, 2009 I've always wondered with the love for BV's customs, and the love for Tankers evident on Bomber; why we haven't seen Bruce tackle a huge tanker-esque board. Maybe I've missed it. Seems like the Schtubbys gettin all the love. he has limits on width, can't get the materials from his sources wide enough. trust me, I've asked I suppose if he finds the materials and people keep asking he'll eventually be able to do it. I'd go other places for customs but Bruce has been cheaper and the boards have come out much much better than the other two customs I've had. Bruce has a knack for hitting the flex dead on where it works best for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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