Help with New Board Selection - Donek, Kessler, Prior, or Sigi

[mdgsolo]

Hi there Gentlemen and Swamp Donkeys,

I'm looking for a new snowboard setup for this year and beyond (I have a tendency to try and buy right and hang on to good gear) and I would love some input from those experienced with the above brands. Experience level, I would say I am very good to expert not because I'm special, but because I've been doing it for a long time although less in the past several years. I have been riding an ancient Burton Factory Prime SE 185 so it is long past a major gear overhaul. I was pretty sure I was going with Kessler until talking with the wonderful Michelle from Bomber who suggested that perhaps they would not be the ideal choice for freecarving. I know I want something long (185 at least) as I am 6'5" tall and 215lbs- and a metal core. My style tends to be a strong fluid mixture of smaller to medium gs arcs. My home mountain is Mt. Bachelor. I am very fit, so I don't need a lazy carver, but that said I don't want something that you can't take your eye off for a second. This will also be used for one purpose and that is carving on piste. I have other rides for other conditions/all mountain.

Price is not as critical as finding the right setup for me and where and how I ride and I would so greatly appreciate any feedback you can give me!

Thank You!!

[Neil Gendzwill]

Try Coiler or Donek, they can both custom-build what you need for much less than the cost of a new Kessler. I'm extremely happy with my Coiler.

[Donek]

Give us a call. We're always happy to discuss your needs and help refine your search.

[www.oldsnowboards.com]

Welcome to Bomber Online Forum!!

There are several members from Mt Bachelor/Bend area.

Do you know any of the carvers there? Have you been riding there at Mt Bachelor very long?

My name is Bryan , some of the carvers there are Mike T. , Greg M. , Abel , Keenan, etc, etc.

Know any of those guys? Mike is a big Coiler fan, Abel builds custom boards .

Edited October 28, 2013 by www.oldsnowboards.com

[Keenan]

Hi,

I have 1 or 2 Coilers that I might part with, if you turn on your messaging I'll give you more details.

[mdgsolo]

Welcome to Bomber Online Forum!!

There are several members from Mt Bachelor/Bend area.

Do you know any of the carvers there? Have you been riding there at Mt Bachelor very long?

My name is Bryan , some of the carvers there are Mike T. , Greg M. , Abel , Kienan, etc, etc.

Know any of those guys? Mike is a big Coiler fan, Abel builds custom boards .

Funny. I know most if not all of those guys from the mountain- including you! Made turns with you too! It's been a few years, but when I went to log back onto my forum account it had all changed around. Matt here- I'm a tall guy, friends with Doug Dryer, used to wear a bright orange Descent jacket, etc...

[www.oldsnowboards.com]

Hi Matt, welcome back!!

Did you know that Doug passed away recently?

Glad you returned!!

[mdgsolo]

Omg. I did not know. I hadn't spoke with him since he left for Hawaii a few years back. I'll pm you.

[mdgsolo]

It's been nice reconnecting, but I was hoping for some more detailed information about the different rides listed. Anyone have any data or feedback they wish to share?

[philw]

It's been nice reconnecting, but I was hoping for some more detailed information about the different rides listed. Anyone have any data or feedback they wish to share?

Well, I have a Kessler but I've not ridden recent versions of any of the others, plus I ride slalom boards so probably I can't help much. I like my Kessler SL for pistes, where it's plenty fast enough to outrage the speed-cops. Compared with my previous Glass F2-SL it's got less pop (a bad thing), but it rides faster and easier.

I'd just ride a few samples and work out what you like.

[www.oldsnowboards.com]

Hey Matt. It is allot of territory to cover. Keep in mind Donek builds customs and hundreds of options. The REV being the Hot race board in their line up. Coiler , is again a custom, so he builds what you ask for. They are all top of the line and hard to go wrong. It is like compairing a hundred different apple varieties to another apple ? Perhaps look over the reviews and do a few searches on the boards you are thinking about. Or perhaps narrow it down a bit by asking specifics. It is a little like asking what car is the best out of Audi , Lexus, Porsche, Cadillac and Jaguar. Tough call to sum up. Moving from a Burton 185 to a modern race board is going to be enlightening but a pretty substantial jump. I think you have some homework to do here at BOL :)

The new school shapes are more forgiving yet damp. You may or may not like that. If you are used to quick snappy boards , that are very responsive but not forgiving, they may be at odds with your style. Maybe not, just easier to ride. It is too tough , too many details to call. Allot of personal preference involved. Bindings are another big change. With the TD3 Sidewinders you have additional factors, with new plate systems additional effects. Times they are a changing young man :)

Edited October 29, 2013 by www.oldsnowboards.com

[kieran]

It is a little like asking what car is the best out of Audi , Lexus, Porsche, Cadillac and Jaguar. Tough call to sum up.

pff, it's clearly the Jaguar. :rolleyes:

[philw]

***************

---Quote (Originally by kieran)---

pff, it's clearly the Jaguar. :rolleyes:

---End Quote---

Actually if they had an F-type with a tin roof I'd be interested. Maybe it's a sign of age, as up to that one I've never really got any modern Jag.

--

Thanks for the definition of Swamp Donkey, although it's a term I don't think I'd use lightly!

***************

Edited October 29, 2013 by www.oldsnowboards.com
mistakenly edited Phil post instead of quoting it . dah

[lafcadio]

An automotive analogy with this crowd? Really???

Talk about a thread-jack. Where the heck is a moderator when you need one. :D

[jacopodotti]

Between the one you have wrote I've never tried other than my SG Full Carve 180 which is a fantastic freecarving glass board at a resonable price, for us in Europe.

Very fast, using Alpine Replay I've found my average, substained and top speed grown 10kmh between my last 180 board. In any case it is also very forgiving and let you come out from bad situations very easly.

Just one defect , the topsheer seems to be very fragile. I've protected mine with a 3m trasparent film.

I've also one Full Race 170 which is a metal board, but due to the different size I cannot compare with the Full Carve 180 and I've tried only for a couple of hours this summer.

Just for information it seems to run like a 180 and carve tight as a 160 but it is just the first impression.

[www.oldsnowboards.com]

He didn't mention Oxess, Virus.

I have 2 Fords a Pontiac and Dodge but I ride Tinklers.

Moderating myself now.

Thanks for the definition of Swamp Donkey, although it's a term I don't think I'd use lightly!

Agreed, I had to look it up to see how badly I had been offended. :)

Edited October 29, 2013 by www.oldsnowboards.com

[Corey]

I agree with the above. There are many flavors of boards out there. Some are snappy, some are damp, some are narrow, some are wide, and every option between those extremes. In general the race boards are quite damp and have low 'pop' coming out of turns. Some freecarve boards have more pop which feels more like the older fiberglass boards - an excellent example is the Donek Proteus.

I'm in love with my Coiler NSR for almost every condition I can throw at it, and it has the balance of dampness over choppy snow/ice as well as some pop out of the turn that makes me smile all the way down to my soul. Others love their boards just as much. The brands you've listed are all great, though it sounds like Prior has stopped alpine development a couple of years ago. Coiler and Donek are made in North America and offer custom boards for the same or less money than the Euro brands.

[kipstar]

All of those boards sound awesome.

As others said, if you go for a race board, then it will be possibly a lot more damp with less pop; I would say if its freecarving then you may want to be aware that the raceshape profile is excellent for pivoting/drifting the board and then locking into a race line through the turn and then again and again, so some of the freecarving boards might actually be more suited to freeriding where you are turning far, far out of the fall-line.. I rode with my good friend who has a Donek Proteus, and that board looks like a BEAST for freecarving; some of the race boards also are designed to be ridden with a plate (I chatted to Sean Donek who steered me away from his Rev for this reason) while others are more flexible supposedly (or might just be that Sean Donek is extremely straight up to his customers).

For me width is a factor, so certain off the shelf boards the width isn't enough (I don't like less than 200mm) - maybe you are the same.

If I was stateside, it would be almost no contest to go for a Donek.

As for cars, let me just say that Maserati is the car you guys want to buy. All that Italian elegance, and an exhaust note that makes women drop their panties.

[Alexx]

Hi there Gentlemen and Swamp Donkeys,

I'm looking for a new snowboard setup for this year and beyond (I have a tendency to try and buy right and hang on to good gear) and I would love some input from those experienced with the above brands. Experience level, I would say I am very good to expert not because I'm special, but because I've been doing it for a long time although less in the past several years. I have been riding an ancient Burton Factory Prime SE 185 so it is long past a major gear overhaul. I was pretty sure I was going with Kessler until talking with the wonderful Michelle from Bomber who suggested that perhaps they would not be the ideal choice for freecarving. I know I want something long (185 at least) as I am 6'5" tall and 215lbs- and a metal core. My style tends to be a strong fluid mixture of smaller to medium gs arcs. My home mountain is Mt. Bachelor. I am very fit, so I don't need a lazy carver, but that said I don't want something that you can't take your eye off for a second. This will also be used for one purpose and that is carving on piste. I have other rides for other conditions/all mountain.

Price is not as critical as finding the right setup for me and where and how I ride and I would so greatly appreciate any feedback you can give me!

Thank You!!

Due to your description for agressive freecarving I'd recomend 185 modern combine metal-fiberglass construction with mono radius ! (13m)

I have been riding for 2 season modern Oxess 185 RG WC(20waist, VSCR 12-19m). It was real brutal Fun, but the board is not for freecarving, It does not want to ride across the hill, It does want to rush downhill It is for racing.

Now I change it on custom metal Donek 185 Rev (15waist,VSCR 12-18) It is superb. But now specs and philosophy of Donek Proteus 180-185 (13m monoradius) seems to me the most interesting for FreeCarving. Hope it makes sense.

[Cyrus the virus]

Hi there Gentlemen and Swamp Donkeys,

I'm looking for a new snowboard setup for this year and beyond (I have a tendency to try and buy right and hang on to good gear) and I would love some input from those experienced with the above brands. Experience level, I would say I am very good to expert not because I'm special, but because I've been doing it for a long time although less in the past several years. I have been riding an ancient Burton Factory Prime SE 185 so it is long past a major gear overhaul. I was pretty sure I was going with Kessler until talking with the wonderful Michelle from Bomber who suggested that perhaps they would not be the ideal choice for freecarving. I know I want something long (185 at least) as I am 6'5" tall and 215lbs- and a metal core. My style tends to be a strong fluid mixture of smaller to medium gs arcs. My home mountain is Mt. Bachelor. I am very fit, so I don't need a lazy carver, but that said I don't want something that you can't take your eye off for a second. This will also be used for one purpose and that is carving on piste. I have other rides for other conditions/all mountain.

Price is not as critical as finding the right setup for me and where and how I ride and I would so greatly appreciate any feedback you can give me!

Thank You!!

If you want to buy the best buy a Virus, if you ask why its the best!? It is!

Come to Europe, check the conditions here and look which board works best for carving in any condition.... Ice, slush, fresh groomed.....

[Cyrus the virus]

Hi there Gentlemen and Swamp Donkeys,

I'm looking for a new snowboard setup for this year and beyond (I have a tendency to try and buy right and hang on to good gear) and I would love some input from those experienced with the above brands. Experience level, I would say I am very good to expert not because I'm special, but because I've been doing it for a long time although less in the past several years. I have been riding an ancient Burton Factory Prime SE 185 so it is long past a major gear overhaul. I was pretty sure I was going with Kessler until talking with the wonderful Michelle from Bomber who suggested that perhaps they would not be the ideal choice for freecarving. I know I want something long (185 at least) as I am 6'5" tall and 215lbs- and a metal core. My style tends to be a strong fluid mixture of smaller to medium gs arcs. My home mountain is Mt. Bachelor. I am very fit, so I don't need a lazy carver, but that said I don't want something that you can't take your eye off for a second. This will also be used for one purpose and that is carving on piste. I have other rides for other conditions/all mountain.

Price is not as critical as finding the right setup for me and where and how I ride and I would so greatly appreciate any feedback you can give me!

Thank You!!

If you want to buy the best buy a Virus, if you ask why its the best!? It is!

Come to Europe, check the conditions here and look which board works best for carving in any condition.... Ice, slush, fresh groomed.....

[Corey]

Frank (owner of Virus) just might be a little biased. ;) His boards are awesome though, and he has a wide selection of styles of boards.

[Hans]

I read that you like small till medium freecarve turns. I then should stay away from standard produced Worldcup boards in the length of 185. These boards don't like to be cranked down in normal ridingstyle. You must fiddle around with your weight on your board to change the arc and benefit form the versatality of the different radius those boards have. I don't like that because when I carve I don't want these changes because you are fighting against the bigger arc the board wants to ride with you. I tend to the shorter freecarve boards from Virus or the one which I also love in my quiver is my Jasey Jay 163 slalom with plate when it's very crowded. Enough rebound, great edgehold, easy to ride when you are fit, small to medium turns are fun. Or buy yourself a longer freecarve board with a radius of about 12 to 14 m.

Edited November 8, 2013 by Hans

[Cyrus the virus]

Frank (owner of Virus) just might be a little biased. ;) His boards are awesome though, and he has a wide selection of styles of boards.

Corey, why do you think I could be biased;)..... just checked the dates for SES and already booked flight and hotel then I saw that post and thought a little bit of spice in the soup will help!

Looking forward to see you and the rest of the Aspen gang!

[CMC]

Any of those board choices would be a vast improvement from the Burton FP. The makers and the boards themselves are all great. If price isnt so critical, maybe get all four makes?

In reality, you sound like a prime candidate for a Freecarve board. The Proteus, made by Donek would be my top recommendation. It rips turns, damp where it needs to be and has the snappiness/liveliness of a non metal board. Many manufacturers can make a damp board or a snappy board. I find it key when they can discover the balance of the two. That balance is something the old Madds had which was one of their attributes that made them awesome.

I've worked with Sean on and off for a good number of years and he just nails it every time. Just got the wife a board and she is pumped!