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Why does everyone want damp boards?


skategoat

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Am I alone in wanting a bit of rebound in my boards? I can see why a damp board works for a racer but for as a rec freerider, admittedly an intermediate one, I like the way a snappy board stores energy and then gives it back at the turn transition. It makes for a fun ride, especially on Eastern hardpack.

Good example is my Volkl RennTiger. I'm airborne on my turn transitions with the RT. I have a harder time doing that with my metal board.

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I too love a springy ride but damp cuts the crud without bouncing.

I have yet to ride a metal board but as they evolve, I think any balance you like of damp/lively can be achieved though thinner metal, more carbon or other tweaks in construction.

I recently compared a 168 Madd BX to a 167 kildyflex 24/7. Both boards have very similar shape & carve characteristics despite the kildy's smaller radius. For bumps & quick turn transitions the lighter Madd rules, but for bomb proof trench diggin' even in rough soft groomers the damper kildy shines without getting thrown by bumps, scraped or soft spots.

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Boards can be both damp and snappy at the same time. Look at metal boards. They absorb so much chatter and other craziness, but when push comes to shove they have ton of energy to release. Obviously it depends on what producer you get, but in the experience I've had riding metal Priors that is exactly the case.

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I agree with Jim, there is a good lively/damp balance that can be achieved with metal. For a GS sized board, smooth ride and edge hold are king, but you still don't want a dead board. For an SL sized freecarver, I like a livelier board, but obviously they're using metal for WC PSL. For the medium turn radius freecarving boards, the lively/damp balance is more critical.

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Boards can be both damp and snappy at the same time. Look at metal boards. They absorb so much chatter and other craziness, but when push comes to shove they have ton of energy to release. Obviously it depends on what producer you get, but in the experience I've had riding metal Priors that is exactly the case.

+2 none of my metals are dead but are very damp. awhile back this came up and some were saying a board can not be damp and energetic at the same time, then it moved on to talk of frequency of vibrations and stuff but yeah. I describe it as damp but still energetic as well.

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  • 3 weeks later...

not at all. as a 2yrs pogo-lover - I definitely love lively boards with laid-back springiness - as my overdose-impact-blitz do. in moguls and on steeps. seems like dampness makes riding more 2D, but I want more like 4D )

I mean no sports here - fun-boarding only

PS pogos are very damp though) I mean hi-frequency shatter - but I use f2 sflex now on knee-banging slopes

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I don't have a whole lot of experience with a lot of boards, but a couple of years I demo'd a Donek FCII 167 (non-metal). I loved its liveliness and had a blast on that board. I then demo'd a Prior metal WCR 173 (same day) and it just felt dead to me. However, now my main carving board is a newer WCR metal and I like it a lot. I still wouldn't call it a lively/springy board, but it has plenty of energy return.

I think it really depends on what you're used to and your riding style, but I can say that the metal board handles chopped up stuff a lot better and gives me a lot more confidence at higher speeds.

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After riding a few different fiberglass boards, some with pop and some without, I figured I'd hate metal boards. The fiberglass boards with pop were much more engaging and wild to ride. I figured the metal boards would be dead planks that may track a great line but they wouldn't give the rider that good feedback about the snow conditions and the level of grip.

I was completely wrong.

After riding a few metal boards and switching back and forth with old favourite fiberglass boards I've realized that 'pop' and 'damp' are not mutually exclusive. Meaning you can have a metal board that absorbs small vibrations and yet lets you pop from one carve to another. I feel the tiny surface imperfections with a fiberglass board that just get sucked up by the new metal stuff. Those little vibrations don't really add any info to you as a rider, they're just shaking your feet/legs that little bit more. Riding a well-designed metal board is just plain easier on the body than a similarly well-designed fiberglass board because many of the high frequencies get filtered out. But they can both have the same 'pop' out of a turn.

Fiberglass is like riding a rigid mountain bike with the tires pumped up to 100 psi. It's kind of fun as it feels really nimble but it beats you up. Metal feels like the same bike with the tires dropped to 35 psi. The soft tires on the bike (metal in the board) soak up the small stuff that you don't really care about anyway, but the rest of the ride is similar and dependent on the builder's choices.

That's my opinion with an admittedly small sample of boards I've ridden.

Fiberglass - Burton Alp, Oxygen Proton, Volkl RT (4 different lengths), F2 RS (2 different lengths), Donek FC (2 different lengths), Swoard

Metal - Madd prototype, almost everything that's been at SES over the last 3 years from Coiler, Donek, Prior, and Virus

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That Skategoat dude never even rides. Didn't see him out once this season. As an interesting experiment, I built a glass VSR as close to the metal ones as I could in a single attempt. It actually came out extremely close so it was a decent test. Took it to ECES and rode it back to back and just did not like the micro vibrations as discussed earlier. It did not have a noticeable larger amount of pop. So this solidifies my thoughts that the energy can come from many other parts of a board and it is not just these new fangled designs and materials making you miserable. Now that golf season is here WTF are you doing thinking about snowboards still. I have already been 2wice to the range. Take that you lazy you know what.

You want pop but energy in = energy out so I guess you were tiring yourself out in the first hour and going home tail firmly between legs rather than riding sweet metal all the day.:lol::lol::lol:

BV

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According to Enviroment Canada, this winter is the warmest winter in the last 63 years, it has 4C below average.

Also 22% less snow than average for this winter.

I walked outside at lunch time, skirts are real short, this doesn't lie, summer is here already !

I'll summer wax my boards soon :mad:

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Plus 10 Bruce. ! We are already talking plate systems for our pull carts so they are not so rough ridding!!!

Confirmed BV. Pings on the way!!! Leauge starts in 3 weeks!!!

Ps. I like my clubs like I like my boards! Damp but a bit lively!

Pss wait I like my women like too! Huh? Seem that's a good rule of thumb!

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B0ardski posted the following photo:

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LL Bean has their own brand of board???? I haven't seen an LL Bean shop since years ago in Freeport, Maine. I can't even remember if they sold boards there...it was summer and I had already switched my mind over to hiking/kayaking (took a while, but I managed, without too many DTs :)) Have just never seen an LL Bean board before. I guess you could call it the "Beanie Board." Who make's them for them? What's next? An Orvis board made by Arbor?? High dollar meets high dollar.

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They haven't carried snowboards in years. I think the Kildy is from around '99 or so. I could look it up- I still have the catalog. They offered 2 boards that year. The Kildyflex was their high end board and I think that offered a board called the Glade model. Not sure who made that one but the Kildy was made by 24/7. They had some Burtons and K2 in the main store but I don't know if they ever had them in the catalog. I don't think so though. Beans also sold one of the many the Airwalk boot/binding step-in systems. I tried them on in the store, locked down the forward lean and stood up to hear this ratcheting sound. The boot forward lean mechanism wouldn't stay locked. The sales person just kinda looked at me and shrugged. lol

Yeah, I always wanted to grab that Kildy. It was on super sale that season in the spring but I thought it just felt too heavy. Damn. Shoulda just bought it.

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