LambertoMI Posted October 28, 2011 Report Share Posted October 28, 2011 Hello All. Need some gear advise as I am totally lost for a new purchase. Please give me you reviews, thoughts and comparisions between the following. Virus Tantalus Evo III - 175 Donek FCII -175+ ?? F2 SILBERPFEIL CARBON EDITION - 172 Coiler VSR FC - Tight radius? -177 I am a seasoned carver, 20+ yrs. Been mostly on off the shelf boards, 6' 200lbs, and I lean heavy on my gear (old school asym guy). I used to fold up the nose on the old burton burton ultra primes. I am mostly a midwest ice fake snow guy. Just looking for thougths or suggestions as well. Thanks! L- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Donnelly Posted October 30, 2011 Report Share Posted October 30, 2011 I am 6' & 210 lbs and ride a lot in S.E. Mich. My Coiler VSR XT is 169, Bruce steered me towards this after I explained what I wanted and it is a fun ride and all that Bruce said it would be. If I were to consider another Donek FC it would be a 185. My former FC was a 179, but this was 10 years ago and Sean has improved upon this board since. Suggest contacting Coiler and Donek and get their input. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gcarve Posted October 31, 2011 Report Share Posted October 31, 2011 My response would be somewhat partial :D. I'd say get a 175-180 Donek Metal FC. I'll assume you've already read my Donek Metal FC 171 review here on the Carve Specific Boards review section. If not, check it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LambertoMI Posted October 31, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2011 Pat, Thanks for the info. I have emailed Virus, Frank was responsive and very positive. I have not heard back from Sean, he is probably very busy this time of year. I did not reach out to Coiler. I considered a coiler, but a metal board concerns me. I want a really good "pop" board. I have an old Burton asym 7.0. This board is a factory mistake so the tail is over cambered. From the rear binding it bends down severly. This board rockets out of turns due to this "mistake". I bought this board new 12 yrs ago, and just christened it a couple yrs ago. Wow. Wish I had opened it earlier. Would love to check out the coiler sometime. When the snow gets going, we should set up some ride time. I am based out of Brighton. Gcarve, I read your whole post on the FC. That is part of what made me rethink my next board endeavor. But as I mentioned above, I am concerned about the weight of metal boards. The older metal sheets were very heavy, extremely precise, and also a little on the dead side. I have also been talking to a fellow at Thirst Snowboards. He seems very exact and scientific about his productions as well. Mark seems to have some revolutionary ideas about boards and board construction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ursle Posted October 31, 2011 Report Share Posted October 31, 2011 If you've got the cheese to grab the Virus do it, the Donek and Coiled are good boards but hands down the Virus is superior, the F2 if really new may have been made by Virus and would be a good choice if money were an issue and the Coiler and Donek weren't in the mix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gcarve Posted October 31, 2011 Report Share Posted October 31, 2011 Gcarve, I read your whole post on the FC. That is part of what made me rethink my next board endeavor. But as I mentioned above, I am concerned about the weight of metal boards. The older metal sheets were very heavy, extremely precise, and also a little on the dead side. Talk to Sean (keep trying, you will eventually get in touch with him, he is probably extremely busy this time of year), he can add some CF to your Metal board, giving you that "pop" you're looking for. And for what it's worth, I didn't find the weight of my Metal FC to be of any consequence once on the snow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LambertoMI Posted October 31, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2011 I know weight is not that much of an issue. I would like to hear back from Sean and discuss the FC more thouroughly. I was leaning towards the non metal FC as it also had a CF option. So I guess that this would have some construction of ruber, titanal, and CF. What I heard about the Virus, is that it is unbelievable in ride, free carve ability, and great for ICE and other terain. As I do not race, I do not need a super stiff board, but one that I can lay down on steep faces, on ice, and off piste on occasion. In the past I have ridden my HEAVY FP's during my travels. Including some back country riding at Whistler, and north of 60 degree slopes and powder. It is work to move such a stiff and heavy board in those conditions. I figured todays boards would give me a nice carvable ride and the ability to be light enough to go out of bounds with. Maybe this is a pipe dream..... I do have a soft boot set up for deep powder so this is not a boarder cross board that I am after.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gcarve Posted October 31, 2011 Report Share Posted October 31, 2011 Sounds like you've got some good choices, with a board from either Donek or Virus, how can you go wrong! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hans Posted November 4, 2011 Report Share Posted November 4, 2011 Definately a VIRUS Black Death EVO III (smaller width) or Gladiator (or Tantalus) EVO III. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leeho730 Posted November 4, 2011 Report Share Posted November 4, 2011 Hans, your opinion is too biased towards Virus.. Thus invalid! :D I recon they are all great boards... As far as my experience tells me, both donek and virus are fantastic for icy slopes. I'm happy with both donek and virus. Sorry I have to say it's up to you! Gee, its like I have to choose between Denise Richards and Jennifer Aniston.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hans Posted November 4, 2011 Report Share Posted November 4, 2011 Hans, your opinion is too biased towards Virus.. Thus invalid! :D I know. The last EVO III technology from Frank is the bomb, I can't help it :eplus2: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pokolikrat Posted November 5, 2011 Report Share Posted November 5, 2011 I do not need a super stiff board, but one that I can lay down on steep faces, on ice, and off piste on occasion. It seems to me you are talking about UFC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LambertoMI Posted November 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2011 As I ride 95% by myself, I am not sure what people would classify as UFC and FC and GS and Race. I used to have a burton Ultra Prime. The board was great, but at 164, I used to fold the nose up on it. I think it was one of the first baords with carbon fiber in it. I rode this board everywhere, but I could not really push it do to length and soft nose. I can lay down carves on Michigan ice and still jump off in deep powder with plates. So, a new board for me will need to match those worlds. I am afraid that a Kessler 185 race metal will br so stiff and long that I will never be able to use it for GS or high speeds. But my FP 178 is a great length, and so are my 171s. I think somewhere between those two with more carbon, titanal and so forth will bring the board to the speed demon 178 and with the fun of my 170 asym. Suprised to see there is not many comments on the F2? Would be curious how it stacks up against the Virus. L- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leeho730 Posted November 7, 2011 Report Share Posted November 7, 2011 Powder with plates... http://www.bomberonline.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=29624 I used Virus UFC freecarve board in Japan. Nose never folded, did not sink in powder. Didn't try in trees, price too dear. Carves like crazy on icy slopes. Used with SW and it was a match made in heaven. Also has size 173. But I've heard lately Frank's evo III boards with the new nose shape were good in powder... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LambertoMI Posted November 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2011 Thanks for the link to the UFC post. That is the kind of review I was looking for. The Ultra Prime was fun in powder. But not on hardpack. I am going to see if I can catch sean this week to see what his take is as well. Aside from calling Frank, I see the Virus folks are deffinately pro virus. A ferrari is always a ferrari... I appreciate everyone's help and insight....keep it comming L- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrapster Posted November 7, 2011 Report Share Posted November 7, 2011 I've had most luck reaching Sean at Donek via phone. His wife advised after 4pm mtn time. Great guy and a master board-builder, but pretty busy. PS- If you're looking for some dampness but wary of metal, Sean still has some of his Olympic construction cores in the shop from before metal became all the rage. (He's putting one in my new Razor.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LambertoMI Posted November 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2011 What is an olympic core? i saw there were three boards, standard, olympic and carbon. What is the difference there?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrapster Posted November 7, 2011 Report Share Posted November 7, 2011 Sean actually has a few different cores which he pairs to specific models given their target flex and other desired characteristics. As far as I understand, he developed the Olympic core as a way to increase dampness without employing a lot of rubber--which can affect durability. It uses a special mix of woods to reduce vibration, as the different harmonic frequencies of each wood species cancel each other out. Folks really liked their mix of quietness, dampness and pop, though the technology has been surpassed pretty thoroughly by metal. Still, it's a classic construction that probably has its place for some. It costs a few $ more than standard construction, but less than metal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frunobulax Posted November 8, 2011 Report Share Posted November 8, 2011 Guessing from your selection you're looking for board with more or less 18 cm waist width. So I'd say that the UFC narrow would be more suitable than the normal UFC. But keep in mind that the narrow version would probably not float in powder as good as the wide one. The UFC is for sure the faster and more demanding board, compared to the Tantalus. You know that there's a new Tantalus out, with a completely new shape? So the correct label would probably be "Tantalus II Evo III". I rode the new one last year, but cannot compare it to the old shape. As I was told the new shape is significantly faster, with a wider SCR. Great stuff for those who like narrow boards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LambertoMI Posted November 8, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 8, 2011 Thanks Frunobulax, Those are some good points about the Virus line. And yes I am after the Tant II. I think this is more towards what I am looking for. I am thinking that this is a great all mountain board, that carves like the devil himself. I have never ridden a Virus, but I hear they are catchy... Does anyone know what the SCR is for this board? I am guessing the nose is 22-24cm, waist is 18ish the tail might be around 19? I believe that this is also a VSR?? The site did not have many specs. Isn't the camber insane on them? I thought I read somewhere the camber is close to 3cm??!!?? Anyone confirm? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LambertoMI Posted November 8, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 8, 2011 Tantalus II Evolution III alpine carving 175 overall 22,7 nose 17,0 waist 21,0 tail 166 effective edge Based on those calcs I come up with a 14.26m sidecut....anyone confirm this?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Donnelly Posted November 8, 2011 Report Share Posted November 8, 2011 What is your boot size? You may have to advance your angles to minimize boot drag. Here's a review from Bola's site, but keep in mind your weight is nearly 50% greater than the writer and I would guess you may sport larger feet? You may want to consider a longer and wider board. http://allboardssports.com/kessler-gs-coilernsr-and-virus-tantalus-ii-snowboard-review-by-rys-olsen/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ursle Posted November 9, 2011 Report Share Posted November 9, 2011 As you have an email conversation going with frank you can ask him but we all know his answer, virus makes a continuously variable sidecut... If you want to save time and money grab this one http://www.bomberonline.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=34907&highlight=virus but if it's gone buy directly from frank(virus,member here, cyrus the virus), faster, get exactly what you want and save a LOT of scratch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frunobulax Posted November 9, 2011 Report Share Posted November 9, 2011 That's true, Frank doesn't say anything about the SCR of his boards. The Tantalus was always the allround-carver in his lineup, suitable for nearly everyone. I have ridden the Tantalus II for a couple of hours, and I'd guess that the SCR is somewhere around 13-14 m but that's just a rough guess. It's a modern shape (some "NSR" features), not too much camber, a bit of decambered nose, variable sidecut. I have to admit that it was not my kinda board, since I am a tall and heavy rider and prefer wider and faster boards. But the grip level is exactly what you expect of Virus boards. If you like narrow boards it could be just what you are looking for, and definitely top notch. Virus alterntives: If money is not important, you could also have a look at the Gladiator Zylon (same shape), and a lot of people around here are very impressed by the new Black Death III, which is significantly narrower. Faster: UFC narrow and Stingray. Easier: Lightning. Wider: UFC, Scalpel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LambertoMI Posted November 9, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 9, 2011 Thanks for the link. I spoke with Rys and he has a great board, but built for someone much lighter than me. If I was at 170 I would pick it up. :( I ride high angles with a 27 MP. So I run 58-60 degrees depending on the board. I got into high angles and love it. Coin is not a problem if you are going for the right stuff. I really do not want to go much narrower than 18 or so. I would love to try a 15cm just for fun, but I think it will not be a great board for me to own in Michigan. I spoke with Bola, seems like a nice guy. The costs are getting high for the tant, but is it worth twice the price of the F2? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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