noschoolrider Posted March 8, 2010 Report Share Posted March 8, 2010 I had the pleasure of taking a Diablo Composites all-mountain board for a test ride over the weekend and it was so much fun that… I'm still riding it! Diablo Composites specializes in handcrafted alpine boards, boardercross, big mountain, and powder boards that you can custom order in different lengths, widths, and flex patterns. The board I tested is 173 cm (which is about 1" taller than me) and it has a 22.5 cm waist. As a 135 pound lightweight rider I was happy to discover this board had a proportionally softened flex pattern (lengthwise), but it was also very torsionally stiff (as in Kessler type of torsionally stiff), which provided excellent edge hold and stability. With the well balanced softer flex pattern it was easy for me to make tight slalom turns even on steep pitches and the torsional stiffness gave it excellent stability when carving high speed GS and long radius turns. On hard pack the board felt powerful and precise like a race board and in the soft groomed hero snow the board also carved clean and never felt like it was plowing snow (please see the pictures below). I also rode the board in fresh powder and on cut up bumpy narrow runs. It floated effortlessly in the powder (yeah, I'm a lightweight on a big board) and it easily sliced through crud and bumpy snow. In my opinion, this is a versatile all-mountain board that's designed for carving aggressively with hard boots. If you want one that's focused on powder riding then I suggest you get one with more taper and a slightly softer flexing nose, and also have the torsional stiffness slightly reduced in the leading edge area of the nose. If you want one for carving with soft boots then make sure you order the correct width for your soft boot stance/angles, and you also might want to have the torsional stiffness slightly reduced in the leading edge area of the nose. The contact information for Diablo Composites is at http://diablocomposites.com Don Pictures: Ross and Don with the 173 Diablo twins & me testing the edge hold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shane groshong Posted March 9, 2010 Report Share Posted March 9, 2010 Don, Thanks for posting the review Don. Great to see how you enjoyed the board, and it was a pleasure to watch you ride it. Hope to see you soon on the hill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wun Posted March 10, 2010 Report Share Posted March 10, 2010 i want a diablo :( thanks for the review and porn how much do these run for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noschoolrider Posted March 11, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2010 i want a diablo :(thanks for the review and porn how much do these run for? Hi Wun, You’re welcome. The Diablo website is under construction and I do not know their price structure, but I just sent you an email with some additional information. Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.