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What boards did you ride this season?


BlueB

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Bored... Summer thread... 

This season I probably rode the least number of boards. I've spent ungodly amount of time on the 3800, thinking I'll use that in the L4 exam... Now that got canceled... 

Anyways, here's my list: 

3800 163
4807 178
Tanker 192
OES SL 162
OES AM 167 S
OES Sputnik 178
WCRM 173
4WD 169
Nidecker Escape 176 prototype (R.I.P., delamed cap) 
Kessler 168 (borrowed from Patrick) 

Edited by BlueB
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How they rode for me... 

3800 163 - What a versatile board, does everything pretty well. 169 has even better flex for my weight, but I opted for 163, purely because of moguls and park on the exam... 

4807 178 - It absolutley rulled a heli trip! 

Tanker 192 - I love this thing! It's getting tired, I don't know what I'll do when it dies... It's not for ice carving or very tight/steep moguls/trees, but what a comfy board! 

OES SL 162 - Love it, carves great and it does other stuff ok.

OES AM 167 S - Oh boy, did this carve great, after riding the 3800 for long time. Another good do it all, but a bit tankish. 

OES Sputnik 178 - a fantastic aggressive carver. Excelles on good groom. 

WCRM 173 - One of my all time favorites, but getting too tired. I don't even know what's holding it in one piece. Not as confident on it as I used to be... Still love it though.  

4WD 169 - Meh... Does everything ok, doesn't excel in anything... 

Nidecker Escape 176 prototype (R.I.P., delamed cap) - I loved this thing! It was almost like a narrower version of my Tanker, with slightly better edge hold. Unfortunately, I delamed the cap just by the heel of the front binding. Maybe I'll patch it a bit this summer, just for another few days of sweet ride... 

Kessler 168 (borrowed from Patrick) - Wow, what a carving board! At the same time easy to ride and dynamic on demand. 

Edited by BlueB
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200 tanker, powder and a 2meter slalom board.195 virus, rides well, and small if you stay on top of it.  188 monster, easiest riding stick i have. 185 donek freecarve, burly, can get away from you with lapses of attention . 180 donek secret, very fun ride, but can get away from you pretty quickly if youre not careful. Spent a lot of time on the monster, followed by the secret.

Mario

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Not many.  This is the reason I'm swapping out almost my whole quiver.  168 custom Flux and softies.  Does everything well IMO. 174 NFCE.  Love it more and more with each day on it.  MK.  Super fun at my small home mountain.  177 Tanker.  Great powder board but not for me outside powder.

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In no particular order...  

Donek Saber 155 - Urm.... I have mixed feeling here. I love the topsheet. I have not yet come to terms with the board. Just like almost all other Doneks I rode it's stiff and doesn't like to turn. It's exhilarating though! Like risking my life every time I ride it. I'm keeping it as my early/late season board. Have not given up yet!

Donek Proteus 170 - Really sorry to see that one go but I had to fund the yet unridden Contra! The Proteus is the only Donek I ever rode that I did not instantaneously hate (looking at you Rev!). Since the first time riding it on a demo day I LIKED the Proteus. I like the way it turns and the way it flexes. Unlike other Doneks it does want to complete turns (you, Rev!!!). It's light (for an alpine board) and really responsive. I did let it go simply because my NFCB is superior to it in every aspect.

Coiler Nirvana Freecarve Balance 174 - Yeah, so everything I said on the Proteus but more. The NFCB is always amazing to me in how it rides over cruddy snow at mach speeds without me feeling it. Oh, and unlike the Proteus it does not submarine in pow. 

Arbor Cask - Really floaty and very friendly to ride. I was actually surprised how mellow it was. However because of it's width (27cm) I found it hard to turn on groomers. But yeah, pow, trees and steeps - it's great! 

Never Summer Swift 162 - I honestly love this board.Out of all the boards I have ridden this year this is the only one that I would consider as a quiver of one (and if I was forced to keep only one, this would be it). It floats amazingly well and turns super fast in trees. It's very friendly and can also carve on edge pretty well. It does NOT like going fast and flat basing but that's fine. I got other boards for that. This board allows me to go all over the mountain easily. Super fun even if it's not the highest performing board out there.

Never Summer East 161 - Demo - Oh no. No like. I mean yeah, it can carve and it's not super aggressive but it just scared the beejezus out of me when going fast. Unlike the Swift it's not fun in the trees and can't float. I just can't figure out why anyone would want that board. Maybe just for the marketing? Dunno.

K2 Simple Pleasures 156 - Demo - This one was fun! Easy to turn and somewhat forgiving. It can go fast and it is stable but the base is not the best. It was a demo so I don't know how tuned it was. I just had a feeling it can be a really fun, chill board.

Burton Story Board, Burton Free Thinker, Burton Skeleton Key - All were same day demos. Don't remember sizes. Mostly meh for me. They work but did not feel special. I guess if I loved Burton I could use them but compared to the other boards, meh. 

 

Finally...

Alloy DO 161 - Every time I ride this board I love it more and more. I rode it at night in Steamboat on really hard snow (for Colorado). I rode it in Winter Park in some of the best conditions I've seen. I rode it in Loveland on all the usual runs. I rode it in Eldora for a bit and stopped because I didn't want to run over rocks or loose skiers. I feel I can ride it everywhere except tight trees and pow (which is why it compliments the Swift so well!). For me it's very maneuverable and really easy to ride. It's very stable on rough snow. And the pop, oh the pop! The way this thing bounces out of turns is just addicting. I truly love riding this board and the better I get to know it the better it is.

 

Still to be ridden this year: Coiler Monster 184 and Contra 166. I was planning on riding the Monster the day Loveland closed. Doh!

I know the Monster overlaps my NFCB but I don't care. Need backups in case Bruce makes good on his threat and retires. I'm also really stoked on the Contra. I think it has the potential to be a killer all mountain/quiver of one type board. One board to rule them all. 

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Kessler 168 for icy days, early season, crowded days, SL racing

Kessler custom 175 general freecarving on good conditions

Kessler 185 for hero days at Ludicrous Speed, and GS racing

Winterstick Custom RS 166 for softboot days

Was hoping to get out on my vintage Coiler 196 SG for the first time this spring, but everything closed before I got a chance.

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F2 Axxis GTS 164 for all conditions.

The only board I do own now. Sold all other stuff (SL/BX based). One size fits all. Back to Basics. Old-School meets modern. Small 9ish radius, no taper, nose & tail rocker. Stiff Torsion. Medium/stiff longitudinal flex. A tad softer in the nose, stiffer in the middle, stiff in the tail. Easy intuitive surf-style riding, carves on hardpack like crazy. Vitelli turns are tight & easy. Race-style rules. Small radius does not go well with EC style carving. No taper makes it a bit "lively" @speed.Good for crowded terrains and typical EU ski resorts in Austria/Italy. Robust base-deck. 

Suprising how well a "modern glass shape" works

 

F2 Axxis GTS

 

Edited by wulf
typo
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I rode every board I own this year!  Longer ones in the mountains and at one local ski area, short ones at the other local ski area.  I LOVE changing boards often when riding boring terrain!  It's so much fun to change up how I approach the same run with differing boards. 

Standouts: 

Coiler EC 175 - This is my go-to board for mountain riding.  Friendly, makes big or medium turns even with the 14/16m sidecut.  I typically don't have to think about the board at all when I'm out on this one.  It was NOT a good match for MCC on those days though.  The runs felt very narrow for some reason, even though they weren't...  (OMG trees, OMG edge of groom!)  It was a little too much board for those conditions.  It was truly epic at a local hill and Kimberley BC!  

Coiler Revelation 180 - This one ate up Turner Mountain at MCC!  A little tighter sidecut than the EC with stiff race-based core profile.  This thing is a monster when you're ready to do some work!  

Coiler AM VSR 167 - My playful little friend with something like a 10.5m radius.  I've had this for 10+ years.  It's my go-to when I don't know what's on the mountain.  It'll carve tight to medium turns, do light pow, survive moguls (rider holds it back!), eat ice, plow through chop.  My avatar pic is on this board, on what I considered to be a tough day on very firm snow.  If I could have only one board, this is it.  

Donek MK-ish variant (20cm wide with rounder tip/tail) - This is the freak show in my quiver.  It turns SOO tight when you load it up!  It's exhilarating even at low speeds.  It makes my knees hurt, but I can't tell if it's because of the construction/design or because I end up pouring all my energy into every turn.  It's comical to lay down a morning's worth of turns on the Coiler EC on a steep face and then take the MK out to turn inside those same carves in way less real estate.  

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This season, being a bit short for me, I've settled into a 2 board quiver, the whole 9yds including extra layers fits in my dakine bag.

172 Thirst BX. you might call this a "jack of all trades" but, if versatility is your main criteria, it is a master. Carves great in most conditions including afternoon harbor chop, variably frozen spring corn off piste ripping fall line bumps. Surfs pow easily up to 6-8ins, deeper than that I bust out

169 K2 eldo (duct tape graphics are the best vintage) not as surfy as my Arbor D70 koa(2nd choice for 2nd board), but eldo eats rough terrain way better and carves like the Madd BX.

both boards carve switch nicely, I've given up skinny square tails which limited my Demo choices at MCC

Edited by b0ardski
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I managed to ride all my boards except my alpine boards!
I rode my Yes Optimistic when we had powder, it's super agile in trees with a sub 6m sidecut, loads of float, and super fun for tight carves on groomers. It's my "I don't know what to expect' board.

My Sims Terry Kidwell was great for blasting around all-mountain with clients who want what we call a 'Peak-to-Peak' lesson i.e. they want to cover one end of Park City to the other side of the Canyons and back, with more coaching than an actual lesson, thrown in. It was perfect for that, especially with some of the cat tracks and flatter sections in the canyons part. 

And just at the end, I got in 5 days on my new (to me) Nidecker Donuts 158...great fun! This board could easily replace both of the above, and with it's super fast base, would give my Coiler BXFR a run for its money!

I did ride my BXFR a lot in January and February in preparation for the Airline World Championships boarder cross event. A great board, super stable and perfect for the job.

Ironically I had just waxed my SG175 ready to use the following week, when my mountain, Park City/Canyons, shut without warning.I was looking forward to getting back in hard boots...I'll just have to wait until next season.

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Stuff I rode this year....

145 Sushi*- fun, but not by bag. Sold it.

155 Prior SL- Zippy, no taper. Semi nestogia ride.

155 JJA Molina small and mounted with my own plate. Fun to ride with new folks when I'm putzing

163 JJA Cyress/ system- what a suuper fun board. Feels like a race board

169 custom Donek Incline - 22 waist, 11-13 side cut. Great getting my legs back under me, and great all arounder

171 Prior glass WCR*- predictable, but in an inbetween size/ sidecut range. Sold it

178 Coiler NFCE Ptex top*- lots of fun. Great board to help me push towards higher angulation at lower speed

180 Stone Swallow tail*- got a little riding, but we closed right at peak powder season

183ish (marked 185) JJA Cypress/ system- my current benchmark GS board

185 Oxess RG17*- super fun for me, very stable, very predictable. Sold it to mix things up

185 SG Titan*- Replaced the Oxess. Lots of fun. Added a Bomber plate. 

185 Virus UPM WC*- I have a couple of days on it. Unlike any other 185 race stick I've ridden, I look forward to getting to know it more.

I also had the pleasure to demo a 180 Liberation GS board, older 185 SG Titan and a 169 Stranda Shorty. All fun, and I'd be pleased as punch to own any of them.

*I had the good fortune to sell a few and bring a few in this year. All great decks.

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On 3/30/2020 at 10:00 AM, b0ardski said:

169 K2 eldo (duct tape graphics are the best vintage) not as surfy as my Arbor D70 koa(2nd choice for 2nd board), but eldo eats rough terrain way better and carves like the Madd BX. 

Old Eldo, eh? I'd be damned... Better than Tankers, Steepwaters, MFRs, etc? 

Edited by BlueB
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This has been the first season since acquired that I did not put any time on my Thias Easy Jungle.

I got to ride my Virus Chimera, Ace Skwal 175 and Ace Skwal Green Mountain Proto.

All great days. All solo days however. First year in a long time that didn't get to ride with anyone let alone another hardbooter.

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This year I pared Paired my Fullbag HammerHead with some Jones Apollo Bindings at 30/+9. This is now my go to setup for carving....I feel dirty. Although I did try a Coiler Slice and I really want one with 28.5 width at the inserts. Just need to find loose $$$.

And for cruising around/ go anywhere good Ol' Blunt Diamond with Cartels.

Took the hardboots out twice: One perfect morning on my favorite run for 1 hour before customer could use the chairs on my Stubby2.0. and one cardio morning on a SG163. This thing is nuts. Fun to try, but I am glad I just paid 50$ for it. Not my cup of Tea. 

I have become too picky on which snow conditions and how much trafic I am willing to deal with on my hardboots.

 

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1 hour ago, BlueB said:

Old Eldo, eh? I'd be damned... Better than Tankers, Steepwaters, MFRs, etc? 

I'd put the eldo up against the short tanker, the old steepwaters are more of a plank, the  arbor steepwater is very similar, as is the 3800, and atomic radon comes close

the nidecker escapes (174x23, 166x21.5) were my go to all mt carvers till I got the Thrirst, they're feeling negleted the last couple seasons.

I've had 4 different eldos (all from Vashon) and 2 pairs of escapes

ps all these boards on hardboots & plates, oldies but goodies

Edited by b0ardski
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That's interesting, the old Steep that I had, was probably the best softboot board for carving and a great slush buster. I kept the Tanker, insted of the Steep, just because it was better in pow and a bit more comfortable/nimble... 

3800 I consider as a different type of board - when on it, I more play with chop/slush then bust through. 

I totally loved the Escape, but I've killed it 😞

Edited by BlueB
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Rode everything!...well, except the Fish which is for sale. I've got 9 boards in the quiver now, but I know I can get at least one more if I live by Mario's example. I'm in the same boat as Corey where riding a variety of boards makes a small hill way more interesting.

Mostly rode my quiver of 4 Thirst carving boards. Rode the 185 (my favorite) and 162 the most. The 175 was a close 3rd and the 171 probably the least. When conditions are good for carving, I'm riding one of these boards. And if I'm having fun on one of them, I'll ride it all day, but sometimes going up or down one size can make a difference in the level of fun.

I still have my 175 Donek Rev (11-12scr) and use it as my dedicated ice board with a 3° edge bevel and boiler plate. I can't quite crank the same tight turns with the plate, but the ride is amazingly smooth over the roughest terrain. Really saved my recuperating knee from further abuse.

My 180 Coiler Revelation (13-14scr) is mounted with Gecko Carves and td3 sw on bp cant discs. Often I don't have enough sense to go home, so this set-up really smooths out late day chop with an imperceptible change to board flex and handling.

A 185 Coiler Contra AT (23W, 11scr), replaced a 20 yr old 180 Incline for soft snow carving/surfing, when a carving board isn't ideal. Rode it a few times, and only once in about 6" of pow over soft groom. It has the soft and surfy feel I was hoping for, for slush, pow, soft groom, yet carves remarkably well on firm groom.

Liked it so much, Bruce made me a smaller version, a 165 with a 10m scr, to replace a 163 Squash. I've ridden it exclusively in the post-apocalyptic viral hike & ride season. So far, it's a great slush slasher/carver/surfer. Really like this one! Will have to wait til next season to ride both these boards in some real powder.

Already thinking about that 10th board....mmm...Mark has been developing some new designs to expand his offerings in the all-terrain and powder carver realm. A board to ride into the End Times?:ph34r:

 @Kneel said, "they're like potato chips, you can't just have one". I'm thinking they're really more like a box of exotic hand-made truffles, each one different and even though you're not really hungry (or thirsty in this case), you just want to try another one because they're sooo good.

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Rode everything but it was not equal between  the boards.

Coiler Nirvana Energy  174 T4, my goto board, incredible edge hold, use it on my lttle hill and in Aspen, it rides well everywhere.

Coiler Nirvana Energy 170, rode it 2-3 times only because of the 174. Was sold end of february.

Coiler Angrry 160, rode it to get some cardio training, very fun board, very alive ! 

Dynastar 3800 163,  I used to ride it with hard boots, I bought soft boots last year and I now ride the 3800 with soft boots, this board sees action only if there is a lot of soft snow. Very versatile board.

Nidecker Proto 167, this one did not see a lot of snow this last winter. I'll probably sell it.

 

Edited by Surf Quebec
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Demoed the Stranda Cheater 170 - Loved this thing! It would be fantastic in the powder, crud, and anything in between. Lots of pop and high energy. 
 

Demoed the Rad-Air 170. The conditions that I rode it in were not what this board was intended for - very firm. When on edge  it rails hard, but it’s like you are on a watermelon seed the rest of the time, kinda does whatever it wants. Would like to try this in some powder and softer snow to really give it a proper shake down. 
 

Thirst 8RW- what can I say, it’s damn near perfect!
 

Coiler 169 VSR - love hate relationship with this lady. On soft snow, crud and powder, she is amazing. On firm/ice I’m on the struggle bus from hell and I can’t wait to get off it and on the 8WR.  
 

wanted to try this year, but could not-

thirst PC

thirst SF

Thirst XC

any kinda Skwal

Donek Talon

Edited by Ohob
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1. Virus Spartan 195 Evo.

Probably the best board I ever had. Main one this whole season. Long, fast and beautiful. Everything in one. 

2. Virus Lightning 165 Evo3.

Fast, turny and fast. 17cm waist tells it all, you have to be quick. My friend told me it's broken by just looking at 4cm camber. Awesome board!

3. Rossignol Undertaker 185 Swallowtail. Powder? Here is the one!  Who rode it would understand it!

4. Kessler 185 custom with K WC plate.

Made for Olympic champion (VW). Great and fun! Lucky to have it. 

5. Dupraz 6++. 

Powder and trees... Nothing can be better (Undertaker)?!?

First in many seasons, nothing broke.. happy me))

P.S.

Was lucky to try Virus Gladiator 165, 2020 build. I was so impressed by it, quick, energetic, so capeble, amazing board...  Ordered something similar..

Got infected

Edited by b.free
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Donek incline 162 (29.5w 11-9VSR)

My go to ride and favorite board to ride i cant say enough good thing about it 🙂

SG Soul 159XT

Now having a happy retirement with my friend who's training for the para olymipics. A really good gateway board to riding Ultra wide soft boot carvers

Libtech Hotknife 156MW

Used abused what was once camber is now flat but as a result its a great  twin powder tree board that can still carve if im gentle and careful.

Libtech magic banana 158W

Stiff center rocker board playful and for just playing about with friends who dont ride that fast.

Rome reverb rocker 155w


Center rocker like the magic but without the magnatraction training wheels, its is a spinny silly mess of a board but like an over excited puppy its just fun to play about on.

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My season was somewhat truncated, so it's not a high score for me this time...

Kessler 156 SL
One day only. I rode the last day of the season at Vail Resorts' Whistler... mostly on Blackcomb but also the other side a bit. The venerable Kessler was doing its thing, leaving pretty much everyone behind. It was bitterly cold, but quiet, on-piste snow was perfect, off-piste wind hammered. Fast but versatile and playful.

Burton Skeleton Key 154
Probably the previous season's model, I'm not sure. This one's a keeper - it's a bit like the Dump Truck I own except a bit prettier and more pointy. Taper, set back, stuff you want in powder. Not like the Flight Attendent and similar Burton boards, the style of which doesn't work well for me.

IMG_20200314_141059.jpg

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I collect too much data.  OCD.  This thread was made for me.

Board                                Vertical Feet  Days % of total
Coiler Contra 178 V2 (alpine)           569,618      42    22.53%
Coiler Contra 178 Proto 3 (alpine)   387,988      33    15.35%
Jones Mind Expander 158                268,845      16    10.63%
Nidecker Megalight 163XL (3)         227,539      13      9.00%
Fisher 176 Watea 88 (ski)                 208,278      20      8.24%
Nidecker Megalight 163XL CR (2)   155,242      11      6.14%
Coiler Clubby 182 (alpine)                   88,718        8      3.51%
Coiler Nirvana XXX 170 (alpine)         83,780        8      3.31%
Coiler Contra 178 V1 (alpine)              72,958        8      2.89%
Coiler Skinny 174 (alpine)                    56,628        6      2.24%
Coiler Chubby 175 (alpine)                  50,048        5      1.98%
Other (alpine)                                         44,390        7      1.76%
Jones Hovercraft 160                           36,719        3      1.45%
Coiler Angry 160 (alpine)                     31,254        3      1.24%
Coiler Manic Nirvana 175 (alpine)      27,592        3      1.09%
Jones Ultracraft Split 160                    32,000      16      1.27%
Rossingnol 175 Stratos 80 (ski)         18,848         2      0.75%
Thirst Superconductor 175 (alpine)   18,508         2      0.73%
Thirst 8RW 185 (alpine)                       17,744         2      0.70%
Burton Cascade 163                             16,261         1      0.64%
F2 Eliminator LTD 164W                       12,780         1      0.51%
Nidecker Megalight 167XL                  12,660         1      0.50%
Flow Solitude 164W                              12,480         1      0.49%
Gnu Riders Choice 161.5                     11,712         2      0.46%
Coiler VSR 177 (alpine)                        10,916         2      0.43%
Coiler Monster 185 (alpine)                 10,400         1      0.41%
PBR                                                          10,000         5      0.40%
Other (freestyle)                                       8,380         2      0.33%
Kessler 168 (alpine)                                7,900         4      0.31%
Rossingnol 176 Bandit B2 (ski)             7,512         1      0.30%
Prior Khyber Split 165                             6,600         3      0.26%
Airwalk A-1 163                                        4,000         2      0.16%

Splitboards still getting days until the snow is gone. 122 days on snow and counting.  Not OCD enough?  I've got board totals going back to 2008.  Now that's a list.

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