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Donek Saber (155)


JRAZZ

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saber.jpg.89479b50b080a51cfba6ec69174d5680.jpg

 

This is the least friendly board I have ever ridden... and I love it!

 

That was the short version, now for the details.

8-11 sidecut, 155cm long, 25.5 waist, really really stiff. Bindings are at 30/12 right now (could change)

None of this tells you how this thing rides, it's super catchy, it's scary! It's almost as though it doesn't matter what you do, it will do what it wants. Want to turn there? Well too bad! Yeah, I'm working on being more aggressive and it's a good thing too because this thing doesn't take any crap. It really reminds me of the Steepwater plow 171 in the way it turns. Slooooo. 

So it's a catchy, slow turning board. What's to like? It absolutely rails! Tons of energy, super easy to hold a carve, FAST! If you got open groomers it absolutely rips! It might turn like the Plow but that's where the similarities end. This thing is energetic! It's not energetic like the Alloy DO. The DO explodes out of turns. This just takes in the energy and quietly turns it into speed. It's like magic.

To me the Alloy DO is like a happy Border Collie, the Steepwater Plow is like a dense Great Dane and this is definitely a German Sheppard. Just strong, focused, willful, and will eviscerate you if you don't control it. Certainly not what I expected but not sorry at all!

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5 hours ago, scottishsurfer said:

I'm curious as to how its so aggressive does it have alot of camber? My incline is spec'd with one of there stiff cores and the side cut range is actually smaller 9-11 and its not really that difficult to ride but it doesnt have a huge amount of camber.

This is actually harder to ride that @slopestar's 165 which is a beast. This might be down to a couple of things: 

  • More SCR per length. This is a shorter board. I think the 8-11 SCR is more like a 12 or 13 on a larger board.
  • Stiffness per length - again, this is a "short" board and it's really stiff. It's surprisingly hard to bend.
  • Poor choice of binding, boots or angles. I find that heel side is easier to initiate than toe side. This could be down to the stiffness of the boots, the stiffness of the bindings or just the angles. Don't know. I'll work on it.

I will continue to experiment and report!

 

4 hours ago, Poloturbo said:

Good review. 

I got one in the mail. With your feedback, anxious to try it.

Always like one hard to tame.

Thanks!

Please share how you like it!

Not all Sabers are the same. I think that a different setup and/or length could make for a totally different board. That being said I have not ridden one that I didn't like.

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I think we got our boards from the same person 😄 (and yes, they are awesome and great to deal with!)

I would love to hear what you think of it.

 

BTW, I took a good hard look at it and with the boots on it does seem like there's slightly more heel overhang than toe. In a very uncharacteristic move on my part I am only changing one thing at a time and moving my bindings one hole towards the toes. It does look more centered now. I will have to test it and see if there's any improvement on toe side initiation.

 

Edit: Wow, even looking at the picture above the heel loop seems way off the back. Weird! I've had these bindings for 5 years and never noticed that!

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On 12/7/2019 at 8:40 PM, JRAZZ said:

BTW, I took a good hard look at it and with the boots on it does seem like there's slightly more heel overhang than toe. In a very uncharacteristic move on my part I am only changing one thing at a time and moving my bindings one hole towards the toes. It does look more centered now. I will have to test it and see if there's any improvement on toe side initiation.

It would explain why heel was much easier than toe to initate, Ive noticed that im pretty sensitive to not being centred on the board.

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1 hour ago, Poloturbo said:

Wow!! Beast of a board and wayyyyy stiffer than all my other boards.

Will be interesting to try.

Thought my D.O. 165 was stiff....not.

Haha, right? It's surprising! Tons of camber too.

BTW, I've tried to mount my flows on it and it seems to carpet carve better. Should be able to try it out this week.

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Changed the Cartels for the Flows. At least now I can initiate a toe side turn. 
Still, my assertion stands. Super rail type board. Unfriendly to the extreme. Very fun. 
 

What I really like about it is that it takes no bull. It will punish you if you’re not on your game. If you are you’re flying. 

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I'm so glad you all are loving the pre xmas gifts.  I'll keep an eye out for any other doneks that pop up in the northeast.  I love these little boards with attitude, I often talk to them and say we are going to become friends or you will become a bench.  Happy shredding peeps, lots of love and stoke, and if you find a package coming your way it's this angry child. Lol

Duffy 

20191214_144620.jpg

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  • 2 months later...
1 hour ago, Modobigdog said:

Is the flux easier to ride than the saber?

Remember Donek makes a lot of custom boards, not all are the same. I get a feeling my board is not totally stock and when you ask about Flux it really depends on how Sean designed the sidecut and flex of that particular board.

But, in general, yes. I think the Flux is easier to ride than the Saber. It's built more as a freeride board rather than a race board. Mind you, that doesn't make it *easy* to ride. Doneks in my limited experience are high performance but somewhat unforgiving. 

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