RCrobar Posted March 3, 2019 Report Share Posted March 3, 2019 (edited) Hello For the past couple season I have been riding the Fullbag Diamond blade as one of my boards in a regular rotation. After riding in a variety of conditions and with a few different binding set ups I feel that I can provide a bit of feedback for those that might be interested in this board. I have ridden this board only with hard boots as my feet are too big for the 26.5cm waist width and soft boots. Mig thought that this board would be ok with plates, but not a lot of guys that he knew locally had tried hardboots on this board. Set Up #1 Fullbag Diamond Blade and F2 Carve RS Standard Bails and hard boots. The conditions with this set up was several days after a powder day, really soft groom, harbor chop powder. On these days there was a lot of slashing and slarving in the chewed up crud and a bit of railing carves on the really soft grooming. This board and binding set up is very forgiving, fun and easy to turn. Set Up #2 Fullbag Diamond Blade, F2 Carve RS Standard Bails and Apex Stealth plates 1.5cm high with the softest ORANGE bumpers. The conditions with this set up was icy and hard, days after +10C and melting followed by -18C. The board railed very well in the hard conditions. I am all of 220 pounds and I 'thought' that I was overpowering the boards flex even though it carved well, I felt like I had to throttle back how hard I could push the turns and had to be careful to not push too hard. I wanted to make sure that this guess was correct, so I went to test Set Up #3. The board made really nice turns and had solid grip in the hard conditions. Set Up #3 Fullbag Diamond Blade, F2 RACE Titanium's and Apex Stealth plates 1.5cm high with the hardest RED bumper. Again the conditions were very very hard, groomed nice and flat, but very hard; hard to kick your hardboot and make a dent into the snow. The improvement in performance was dramatic! The board railed and popped from turn to turn like a glass board should, the harder I pushed the more it railed and shot me into the next turn. The tight 8.8m SCR made it like a super fun go cart that had me grinning ear to ear! The problem with set up #2 was not the board, I was overpowering the F2 Carve RS bindings. The board was able to take all that I was able to dish out in a hard turn and more! Flex When I was considering this board I asked Mig if the standard flex could hold my weight, he sent me a 30 video of him riding on some hard ice. Mig is a big dude that just said ... ''I'd be fine":) Man was he right, the harder I pushed into a full 'C' shaped turn the more it grabbed and held on. For an off of the shelf softboot board it carves really, really well. I'll be leaving the F2 Race bindings and the Apex Stealth Plates on this board as I had too much fun to change it any further. Bottom Line The fun I had making tight fully shaped 'C' turns all over the hill reminded me of the fun I had years ago with the Burton M6, Burton Rat Trap Plates and Raichle Snowboarder Mountaineering boots. If you have big feet, like flatter stance angles or want a turny go cart ... I'd recommend the Fullbag Diamond Blade as a steal of a deal fun board. Cheers Rob Edited March 3, 2019 by RCrobar 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chouinard Posted March 3, 2019 Report Share Posted March 3, 2019 Good review but did you go back on same conditions with the orange bumpers again to determine if the good performance is a function of the bumpers or a day of experience on the same conditions. The reason I ask is because I’ve heard comments that there is no discernible difference between the red and orange bumpers but your comments indicate there may be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCrobar Posted March 3, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2019 (edited) Hello Chouinard Good question, I have been thinking about writing a quick review about the Apex Stealth Plates, that I think were designed for softboots being used with hard boots and wider carving boards. There is definitely is a difference between the red and orange bumpers and how they affect the way the ride feels, but this affect seems to be less dramatic with the Stealth plates as they have a foot print about the same as the bindings. My plan for future testing is to test the F2 Race Titanium on the front foot and an F2 Carve RS on the rear foot. The 'Freecarve' stance angles I have be having fun with lately use the FRONT boot side of the boot to leverage the edge of the board while the BACK boot uses more of a heel and toe to leverage the edge of the board. The F2 Carve RS on the FRONT foot was not able to generate, particularly on a heel side turn, as much force on the side of the boot as the F2 Race Titanium. Hope this helps Rob Edited March 3, 2019 by RCrobar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chouinard Posted March 3, 2019 Report Share Posted March 3, 2019 It does thanks for the link to the previous gecko plate review. I am currently using plates on a Coiler VCAM with red bumpers. I split a set with Lurch and am going to put 2 orange bumpers at all four extreme end positions thinking it will soften up the ends and see what they do. My first impression using the plates was that I could hear the board running over/thru the crappy surface but I could not feel it. I’ll post feedback my findings after next weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mig Posted March 5, 2019 Report Share Posted March 5, 2019 (edited) Super stoked you like it Rob! Hearing it is on regular rotation in your quiver makes me very happy! Thanks for your support! Edited March 5, 2019 by Mig 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCrobar Posted March 5, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2019 (edited) Hi Mig I really have been having a LOT of fun on the Diamond Blade, it is a cool design that is fun, easy to ride, forgiving in a variety of conditions and performs all at the same time! Next step will be to twist your arm to build a WIDE version of one of your boards for the big footed Sasquatch soft boot carvers! Cheers Rob Edited March 5, 2019 by RCrobar 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueB Posted March 6, 2019 Report Share Posted March 6, 2019 3 hours ago, RCrobar said: Next step will be to twist your arm to build a WIDE version of one of your boards for the big footed Sasquatch soft boot carvers! Yes, and while you are at it, let's get him to do a narrower version, too, for small feet and forward angles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mig Posted March 6, 2019 Report Share Posted March 6, 2019 18 hours ago, RCrobar said: Hi Mig I really have been having a LOT of fun on the Diamond Blade, it is a cool design that is fun, easy to ride, forgiving in a variety of conditions and performs all at the same time! Next step will be to twist your arm to build a WIDE version of one of your boards for the big footed Sasquatch soft boot carvers! Cheers Rob 14 hours ago, BlueB said: Yes, and while you are at it, let's get him to do a narrower version, too, for small feet and forward angles Hey! Get me 15 paid pre-orders for each width, then get them to agree on the same basic specs, and I will gladly do both boards!!! LOL Getting people who are used to custom carving boards to agree on the same specs for one model is not an easy task... LOL 1 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.