lowrider Posted December 25, 2017 Report Share Posted December 25, 2017 There aren't enough of us to ride and be videoed at the same time ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corey Posted December 25, 2017 Report Share Posted December 25, 2017 3 hours ago, st_lupo said: Every review on this board sounds so awesome! Why aren't there more vids of it on youtube? There isn't a camera made that can handle the G-force. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim_s Posted December 25, 2017 Report Share Posted December 25, 2017 Yeah, I tried, but I simply wasn't able to hold my arm up during the turns, as the G's were so strong. ;-> I can't speak for others, but in my case, I'm just a regular guy, and I don't have anyone who follows me around with a video camera. :-) (And I'm of the wrong generation to even own a selfie stick...) I would think Donek would benefit from some increased marketing of the MK - when I was considering getting the MK, I searched high and low for video of people riding it, and found very little. (I trust Sean, though, and also talked to a few others who'd ridden the MK, so I went with their advice, anyway - great move, self! ;-> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertAlexander Posted December 26, 2017 Report Share Posted December 26, 2017 The MK is too much fun to have time to do a video, all I want to do is another run with it, and max out the day. There is no time for a video, if you have an MK. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
st_lupo Posted December 27, 2017 Report Share Posted December 27, 2017 This just came up in my YouTube feed: Looks fun and the sound of the board on the snow is fantastic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim_s Posted December 28, 2017 Report Share Posted December 28, 2017 I can attest to the sound - its like a growl as you carve up the slopes! :-) (And its not a slipping type of noise - it leaves razor-sharp trenches. The harder and sharper the cut, the louder the growl! :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim_s Posted March 6, 2018 Report Share Posted March 6, 2018 I'm sort of talking to myself here, but after getting another weekend in on the MK, I just can't get over how much absolute freaking fun this thing is! I was relegated to greens and blues all weekend, due to a recent head injury, and I literally had as much fun on them w/ the MK, as I would have had tearing down blacks all weekend. The edge hold is still nuts (I guess I was thinking it would dissipate with time or something, LoL... :o), the ability to rip crazy tight carves (almost faster than you can keep up with them) is nuts, as is the ability draw turns out to a significantly larger radius. It pumps really well, too, so even on really tame terrain, between pumping the carves, and being on edge about 95% of the time, it still motors along very nicely. With it being so lively and tight, you can carve up the cat tracks just as well as the regular slopes. Its just an amazingly versatile board, if you're willing and able to put the work in on it. ***GREAT BOARD!!*** :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barryj Posted March 8, 2018 Report Share Posted March 8, 2018 Great review Jim! Looking on the Donek website I see the MK - 161, but no info on stiffness. I assume you custom ordered this one from Sean and was able to set/build the flex you wanted?? What was that discussion like?? Did you go with a (your) weight specific build? Would you consider the model you had built stiff, super stiff for your weight............any boards you've ridden that are as stiff for comparison?? I'm very Interested in adding a SL like-tight radius board to my quiver! But a 18 ( or even 20 ) waist is way too narrow for my taste....... and I'm sure I'm going to get burned at the stake by the pundits for asking this, but would you see any performance (or otherwise) drawbacks of a MK build with a 22 waist....beyond the obvious sacrilege....... and beyond edge to edge response of course..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim_s Posted March 8, 2018 Report Share Posted March 8, 2018 Ooh, when you start talking custom designs and comparative performance, I'm not the guy with the answers. I've owned 2 Doneks, one was an SL board that had been custom-designed for a Korean racer (and when I went to Sean looking for a board, but without full-custom budget, he graciously searched through his spreadsheet of past designs, and found the one that was closest to what I was looking for - it was *perfect*), and most recently the MK, which after talking with Sean and a few others who'd spent time on the MK (and after much hand-wringing on my part), I went with a stock MK design. (My concern was that I'm a lightweight, and that I wouldn't be able to sufficiently bend the board - its turned out not to be a problem - I'm actually looking for a workout when I ride :-), plus, I've put on about 5 lbs of winter weight, LoL...) Sean had offered to re-build my old (worn out) SL board in the MK materials/construction, but I'm very happy that I went with the MK, given the R&D that Sean and other very experienced riders had put into it. I love a narrow board - the fast edge-to-edge transitions are what really get me wound up, and with reasonably-sized feet (US 8.5-9), boot overhang isn't really a problem. I want a board that is itching to turn - going straight is of no interest to me, and going fast scares the Hell out of me, so the constant-turning and tight radius help me keep my speed down to the sub-relativistic range. (Though the MK is way more stable at speed than my old SL board, and I got a pretty serious concussion this season, as a result of piling in while going way faster than I should have been going on the MK...) I'd query a few others with more board variety experience than I've got - I'm sure they'd give you some great input on board design. (And, of course, Sean is always quite willing to talk to people about boards and board designs - he's an amazingly patient and accommodating guy.) My only real potentially-useful observation on the MK regarding width, is that the MK is more torsionally flexible than my old SL board, so I might be concerned about how that would translate to a wider board - you might end up with more torsional flex that you're looking for, but again, I'd defer to those with more experience in custom/customizable boards. (My other alpine boards were all older stock boards - a Checkered Pig and a Burton Alp.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
workshop7 Posted March 8, 2018 Report Share Posted March 8, 2018 (edited) @barryj I have a MK and have between 40-50 days in on it. I love it as much as the next guy. I wouldn’t change a thing about it. It is the perfect board for my local hill, with its narrow trails, often icy conditions and a lot of people around. However, I had Sean make a bigger version last spring. It’s 11cm longer, 1cm wider and has a 2m larger SCR. I did this because I wanted a board that rode just like a MK but would make a bigger turn. I call it my custom 172 and there are reviews on it by me and Jack in the carving board section. I have 15 days on this board. It is one of the favorites in my quiver right now. Sean nailed it. If you call him and ask for a MK like board that has some spec changes I’m sure he can give you what you are looking for. He just won’t call it a MK or put the MK graphic on it. Edited March 8, 2018 by workshop7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corey Posted March 8, 2018 Report Share Posted March 8, 2018 I have a 20cm wide MK (called a Proteus) on the way to me now. Only other changes are a blunt nose and tail similar to the Flux boards. I don't like pointy boards for purely aesthetic reasons. Once it's modified slightly, Sean won't call it an MK. I liked the MK in test rides, and I'm really eager to do some back-to-back testing with my 5-year-old Coiler Angry in about a week. They both turn stupidly tight, but I've never ridden them both in the same day/conditions. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barryj Posted March 8, 2018 Report Share Posted March 8, 2018 2 hours ago, Corey said: I have a 20cm wide MK (called a Proteus) Corey...... I would think Sean would have a heart attack if he read that blasphemy to put a MK and Proteus in the same sentence....much less as similar rides/boards. You think their that similar?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim_s Posted March 8, 2018 Report Share Posted March 8, 2018 (edited) 4 hours ago, Corey said: I have a 20cm wide MK (called a Proteus) on the way to me now. Interesting statement - is that your characterization or Sean's? I ask, because I'm curious if the two share materials/construction - the Proteus is claimed to be a combination of metal and glass construction, but I've never heard anything about the innards of the MK - I'd love to know, though! (Everything I've read says that the MK is sort of the 'anti-metal' board, but the description of the Proteus is 'a metal board that rides like a glass board (that rides like a metal board...)', so maybe there's some commonality between them? Edited March 8, 2018 by jim_s Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corey Posted March 8, 2018 Report Share Posted March 8, 2018 Don't read too much into the name. It's a wide MK, but the build ticket emails say 'Proteus'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Gendzwill Posted March 8, 2018 Report Share Posted March 8, 2018 I'd love to give your wide version a go when next we meet, Corey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim_s Posted March 8, 2018 Report Share Posted March 8, 2018 17 minutes ago, Corey said: Don't read too much into the name. It's a wide MK, but the build ticket emails say 'Proteus'. Ah, I guess they just needed something to put on the ticket, eh? (And Sean was definitely clear w/ me that if there's any real deviation from stock, its no longer an MK, so I guess that makes sense! :-) Ah well, some day, somebody's gonna need to rip apart their MK to see what's inside. ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barryj Posted March 8, 2018 Report Share Posted March 8, 2018 Corey...what's the SCR and length of your 20cm waist Moteus ?? Why did you go with the Moteus over the signature 161 MK ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
workshop7 Posted March 8, 2018 Report Share Posted March 8, 2018 The first guys to get emails that their MKs were being built said the same thing. Even the first MKs were called a Proteus on the build ticket. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corey Posted March 8, 2018 Report Share Posted March 8, 2018 2 hours ago, barryj said: Corey...what's the SCR and length of your 20cm waist Moteus ?? Why did you go with the Moteus over the signature 161 MK ?? Moteus, I like it! ;) Talk about a joke just for the inner group though... Sean said it'll be 164 with the slightly shorter nose and the longer round tail. Sidecut is MK standard secret voodoo sauce. Tight, with more tight in the nose. I just asked for a 20cm wide MK with Flux nose and tail. No other changes as the board rode well as it was, and I'm not smart enough to spec boards better than the board designers. Why go wider? I don't enjoy 18-waisted boards as much as wider ones. I'm not a big fan of the MK graphic, but I do appreciate the homage to the Madd graphics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim_s Posted March 8, 2018 Report Share Posted March 8, 2018 36 minutes ago, Corey said: Why go wider? I don't enjoy 18-waisted boards as much as wider ones. I'm curious, from a carving perspective (and only riding narrow-waisted boards for the past decade+, I can't reasonably compare wider to narrower, except for my ancient memory of my Burton Alp and even more ancient memory of my Checkered Pig), what do you find you don't like about the narrower board, and do like about the wider board (granted, we're talking 20cm as 'wide' here... :-) I remember the older boards (whether it was due to construction back then, or width, I can't say) being more relaxed edge-to-edge, being less nervous-feeling, and being far more willing to ride flat than the narrower boards that I've ridden more recently, but I actually like the 'nervous' and quick edge-to-edge part, and I compensate for the riding-flat problem by just never riding flat, aside from exiting the lift. Wider seems to be a growing preference though. (I guess maybe the requirement for higher angles comes into play, too?) 39 minutes ago, Corey said: I'm not a big fan of the MK graphic, but I do appreciate the homage to the Madd graphics. Top sheet isn't a decision factor for me in the least, but my favorite top sheet ever was the old silvery fabric that Sean used to use - I had that on my SL board. I definitely prefer a very plain-looking board. In fact, one of my requests was if I could get a different top sheet on the MK, but Sean is very particular about the MK being an MK. I'm kind of glad that I lost that discussion, though, as I really like the sort of artsy look of the MK now. I've even gotten quite a few comments/compliments from random people on the slopes and in the lift lines (skiers mostly, interestingly enough!) about the MK's graphics. (Even this past weekend, some approx 12 year old kid actually tracked me down at the end of a run, to tell me how "really cool looking" my board was! It brought a grin to my face when he did that. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corey Posted March 8, 2018 Report Share Posted March 8, 2018 I just hate crashing due to boot overhang and prefer lower foot angles. Combine those two things and my minimum becomes right around 20 cm. I don't understand it fully, but at about 19 cm it feels more like a Skwal than a snowboard to me. Skwals are fun and all, but I want to snowboard. In a perfect world, I'm riding my 22 cm wide Coiler EC on nice steep slopes at least 4 groomer passes wide. I debated asking for a 22 cm wide MK, but it just seemed counter to the whole concept. @big mario made lots of fun of my dislike of a 'skinny' 19 cm board while he was on an 18. LOL! He's a freak; but not in a bad way. Yeah, I really didn't like the MK graphic when I first saw it, but while looking at the demo up close I grew to appreciate it more. Meh, art is art and everyone likes different stuff! 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big mario Posted March 9, 2018 Report Share Posted March 9, 2018 2 hours ago, Corey said: @big mario made lots of fun of my dislike of a 'skinny' 19 cm board while he was on an 18. LOL! He's a freak; but not in a bad way. You're a funny guy. Just sayin' 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim_s Posted March 9, 2018 Report Share Posted March 9, 2018 2 hours ago, Corey said: Yeah, I really didn't like the MK graphic when I first saw it, but while looking at the demo up close I grew to appreciate it more. Meh, art is art and everyone likes different stuff! I'll grant that I might not be *quite* as enamored of it, were it not on the top of my favorite snowboard... ;-> (But its still kinda neat, either way! :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barryj Posted March 9, 2018 Report Share Posted March 9, 2018 (edited) Corey you hit on my biggest desire and concern with this!!........I currently have a new Coiler 177 EC SS 23w and Love it!...but like you mentioned, for the big Coiler you really want/need a trail that's 4 groomer passes wide to let it rip as it really eats up the hill......that's were my desire for a board that's a Wild Weasel that can carve up a drainage ditch comes in! My concern is when do you decide to ride this beast? ...and am I gonna abandon the new Coiler ! I already got 4 boards for totally different situations, rock board, pow board, all mtn. work board, EC board.... My confusion is in having two boards for groomers. Corey, you have a MK and an EC ...........how do you decide when and which to ride?? Is the MK so stiff you devote a day just to it knowing your legs will be toast after a half day?? Agreed - asking for a 22cm MK seems counter to the original concept of what a MK is designed and built for! Agreed - Also not a fan of the MK graphic but respect the homage to the original Mad graphic! Edited March 9, 2018 by barryj Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim_s Posted March 9, 2018 Report Share Posted March 9, 2018 FWIW, I'm a 135-140 pounder, and I can bend the MK w/o a problem - its work, don't get me wrong, but I ride it all day, and I'm always disappointed when the lifts close. (Tired, but disappointed... :-) The beauty of it is, you can carve up even the narrowest trails and cat tracks on the MK. (There's one cat track at my local resort that I need to take at the end of the day, and its almost always one of my favorite runs of the whole day - its all of 30 feet wide, and often not in the best condition, and the MK rips it up every time! :-) If you judge your day on the total number of carves you make, I'd put the MK up against just about any board out there, LoL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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