Neil Gendzwill Posted September 10, 2023 Report Share Posted September 10, 2023 Not sure if anyone has a lot of comparison experience but what is the general opinion on custom decks from our favourite suppliers vs carving focused boards from the mainstream? It seems like the big companies have access to a lot of tech the little guys don’t. Is one of Bruce’s or Sean’s boards going to outperform something from Capita or Jones? Or maybe the mid sized companies like Korua or Amplid are making stuff we’d like? To be clear I’m talking about softboot decks with either a pure carving focus like the Jones Freecarver or more general purpose ones that are thought to be good carvers like the Capita Megadeath. TBH the Megadeath looks pretty damn cool with the super lightweight carbon construction and Fawcett had some pretty glowing comments on YouTube. OTOH thinking of getting a Contra before Bruce hangs it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odd Job Posted September 10, 2023 Report Share Posted September 10, 2023 (edited) The only carver among those I would even consider is the 164 Jones 9000 with a 9.6m sidecut. I ride both setups (hard/soft) quite a bit, it seems for any given sidecut radius, trying to go for the "same" turn is like riding hardboots 2m, maybe 3m bigger. I don't want an SL-ish sidecut on a softboot board, so I want the hardboot equivalent of 12m+. It seems 10m sidecuts are "huge" and are for the "expert" riders only. Edited September 10, 2023 by Odd Job 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leeho730 Posted September 10, 2023 Report Share Posted September 10, 2023 I tried Burton, Neversummer, LipTech, Salomon etc… Am happier with Donek, Prior, Swoard, Rad-Air. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Donnelly Posted September 11, 2023 Report Share Posted September 11, 2023 Check out Stranda’s soft boot carvers . . . https://www.strandasnowboards.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhamann Posted September 11, 2023 Report Share Posted September 11, 2023 chapter 1: yep chapter 2: what is wide? chapter 3: directional vs. twin (shape, construction, scr, etc.) chapter 4: riding conditions/environment and intent of use chapter 5: rider skills and preferences chapter 6: exclusive or mainstream chapter 7: marketing and sales chapter 8: manufacturer's and builders chapter 9: alterations (plates and other equipment) not necessarily in that order, but these are some of the considerations when comparing what is suggested and there can be a bit of a grey area when it comes to both mainstream and custom. each builder/manufacturer knows what's best for you and you'd probably get different boards from each one if you told them all the same thing. none are wrong when compared to mainstream boards though. worth every penny. however, mainstream boards work just fine and there are some that may be better than others. most of these factors depend on the rider. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philw Posted September 11, 2023 Report Share Posted September 11, 2023 Good question. I've been riding "soft boot" boards for years, just because I found hard boot boards were not to my personal liking in powder. Those old GS style boards are like planks in deep snow; you can ride them, but they feel unresponsive to me. I didn't ride powder boards on piste though, because my Kessler SL was significantly better at that. Burton's Dump truck was maybe first more modern (short) powder board I tried on piste. I heard it was supposed to be good at that, but ... I concluded that it was too wide for me. I found it hard to get on edge with my negative boot-out. Then I mellowed out my stance because someone here suggested it, and at 40°/30° I found the Hometown Hero fit my boots pretty well. It just blew me away on piste. That wasn't what I expected. I've rarely been that surprised. I retired my Kessler immediately, and just switched to the HH for everything. It'll carve circles indoors, or rip closed piste with Fawcett at Mach 2. I love the 6.6m radius; I can ride closed piste as fast as I like, and still carve circles indoors, all on the same board. I don't actually think these are particularly novice friendly; novices tend to try them and swap for something a bit bigger, in my experience. I doubt anyone here is a novice though. I think the jury's out, and it depends what people want. I would look at the board width and what angles they're going to work with, then rent some and see. But overall this has to be a good thing for those who like to turn on the edge, irrespective. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack M Posted September 13, 2023 Report Share Posted September 13, 2023 Personally, for serious carving, I won’t be getting anything less than microbrew builds like the “kitchen sink” construction from Winterstick going forward. I think constructions like these don’t make sense for mass market boards. That said, the Ride Commissioner is pretty exotic, but it’s not a carving focused shape. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShortcutToMoncton Posted September 13, 2023 Report Share Posted September 13, 2023 Eh, you stick a good carver on a mainstream board and they’ll rip it well enough. Small builders simply allow the pleasure of tweaking to exactly what you’re interested in. “I wish this was a bit softer but felt more lively with a bigger sidecut.” Boom done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Gendzwill Posted September 13, 2023 Author Report Share Posted September 13, 2023 13 hours ago, Jack M said: Personally, for serious carving, I won’t be getting anything less than microbrew builds like the “kitchen sink” construction from Winterstick going forward. I think constructions like these don’t make sense for mass market boards. That said, the Ride Commissioner is pretty exotic, but it’s not a carving focused shape. Amplid is doing some pretty complicated stuff with their Centrifugal line. I thought the Commissioner was Ride’s carver, it’s essentially the new Timeless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack M Posted September 13, 2023 Report Share Posted September 13, 2023 Amplid does look cool. Are they mainstream/mass market though? The Commissioner is the new Timeless (ironic that they chose to rename the “timeless”) and while it’s probably their carviest board, it still has a powder nose and a significant tail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slopestar Posted September 13, 2023 Report Share Posted September 13, 2023 Small sidecut radii on most production boards I think are terrible. My opinion... as most are sub 10m. Why not go custom or at least find the sweet niche boards like Rad-Air to ride? I do love my Alloy boards and will have a couple new boards here in the next week that I will post in the New Board Porn thread. I think Custom is the way to go as most of us have done this for a long time and work hard enough to enjoy boutique/custom rides. For me, I really have found my sweet spot (for now) with high end production boards. The AZX I ride from alloy is a 163 with a 26 waist and a 14.6m radius and the DO Model i have ridden for several seasons (with small tweaks each season) Is a 165 with an average radius of 12.5 m at 26 waist. This season I am down-sizing to a 161/ we will see. Might have to grab last seasons 165. This is what pushes me to the opinion thta custom is where its at. My new AZX is going to become my new go to this year. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Gendzwill Posted September 14, 2023 Author Report Share Posted September 14, 2023 The Commissioner is up to 12 m radius depending on length. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fumbimo Posted September 15, 2023 Report Share Posted September 15, 2023 I've owned tons of production softboot carvers and really the vast majority of them just aren't on par with a custom board. Currently my main softboot carver is a coiler contra. It is noticeably more stable and damp than any production board. but also a lot heftier. 27cm waist, 165 length, and 12m sidecut. If all you want to do is carve, i would 100% say getting a custom board like a coiler is worth it. But its definitely less versatile of a board than a production board. That being said there really are some gems out there. Korua shapes bullet-train is an absolutely phenomenal carver. I'd put it up there with the best of them. Nidecker blade, amplid pentaquark are a couple others. these are all boards i'd be incredibly happy to own and daily drive. They carve incredibly well and are a blast to ride, and you don't feel restricted from hitting the occasional sidehit and goofing around. I think the biggest drawback with most production boards labeled as carving boards is the smaller sidecut radius. The korua bullet train is the best i've gotten to experience at 9.8m. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty Edges Posted September 19, 2023 Report Share Posted September 19, 2023 My go to every day ride is the Amplid Pentaquark 160 model. It can do it all. The Amplid Surfari has my interest and has gotten great reviews but there are few in north america to demo... If I know it will be corduroy all day I go with the Endeavor Hammer Head 163. I wish I could find the smaller version for smaller hills and busy days. Snow Soon.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShortcutToMoncton Posted September 28, 2023 Report Share Posted September 28, 2023 I looked at the Pentaquark last year and leaving their questionable “designed only for the real men” macho marketing aside, I think it had like a 260 waist with an 8.5 sidecut. Those numbers may not be ideal for all riders; and it’s designed for all types of riding, not carving-specific. The big benefit of custom is to be able to tweak those numbers to fit your preference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lordmetroland Posted September 28, 2023 Report Share Posted September 28, 2023 5 hours ago, ShortcutToMoncton said: “designed only for the real men” Who are these fake men other boards are designed for? Those sound like my homies so I’d better be on the right gear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leeho730 Posted September 29, 2023 Report Share Posted September 29, 2023 6 hours ago, ShortcutToMoncton said: I looked at the Pentaquark last year and leaving their questionable “designed only for the real men” macho marketing aside, I think it had like a 260 waist with an 8.5 sidecut. Those numbers may not be ideal for all riders; and it’s designed for all types of riding, not carving-specific. The big benefit of custom is to be able to tweak those numbers to fit your preference. The company (Amplid) call traditional camber “[b]urly man-camber”… Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slopestar Posted September 29, 2023 Report Share Posted September 29, 2023 Beats wavy gravy edge technology and banana hammock camber profile 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobdea Posted October 1, 2023 Report Share Posted October 1, 2023 On 9/12/2023 at 10:15 PM, Jack M said: Personally, for serious carving, I won’t be getting anything less than microbrew builds like the “kitchen sink” construction from Winterstick going forward. I think constructions like these don’t make sense for mass market boards. That said, the Ride Commissioner is pretty exotic, but it’s not a carving focused shape. The commissioner is too narrow! The first couple years when it was the reintroduced timeless was as close to a BXFR as you’re gonna get… replaced mine with a BXFR and I’m happier for it.. wescott pro in kitchen sink trim? That might be something….. Stay tuned on that one, and, I did just sell my tanker 177…. Maybe it will be the “roundtail plus” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack M Posted October 1, 2023 Report Share Posted October 1, 2023 57 minutes ago, bobdea said: wescott pro in kitchen sink trim? That might be something….. Yeah. I’d want it longer though. Like 168. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Gendzwill Posted October 1, 2023 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2023 Got my name in with Bruce but his reduced schedule is already pretty full. Decided I’d like to get one more from him before he hangs it up for good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShortcutToMoncton Posted October 2, 2023 Report Share Posted October 2, 2023 What did you order? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack M Posted October 2, 2023 Report Share Posted October 2, 2023 7 hours ago, Neil Gendzwill said: Got my name in with Bruce but his reduced schedule is already pretty full. Decided I’d like to get one more from him before he hangs it up for good. I said the same thing to myself in 2014. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Gendzwill Posted October 3, 2023 Author Report Share Posted October 3, 2023 On 10/1/2023 at 6:19 PM, ShortcutToMoncton said: What did you order? Details TBD but it will be a Contra soft boot carver. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShortcutToMoncton Posted October 3, 2023 Report Share Posted October 3, 2023 Enjoy! I got a 163/28.3/10m last winter and other than occasionally second-guessing my request for Bruce to make it stiffer than he wanted to, I had a blast on it this winter! Zero boot out on softies with BX-type angles is pretty amazing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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