kirk
12-12-2007, 01:29 AM
After having them stare me down for several days now, I finally got to try out my new boards.
Taking a first look at these things, and they look huge. Something about the width of them sitting next to other boards just makes them look massive. I don't think the pictures really do them justice. These things are really fat!
Before getting them to the slopes, I was actually a little worried the width might have been a little overkill, but as soon as I strapped them on, everything changed. They only look so huge next to other boards because the other boards are so skinny. As soon as I strapped in and looked down at my feet it was like they had shrunk. Something about their width sitting next to other boards distorts how big they look. Once they were on my feet, they looked perfectly proportional.
Having never ridden anything this fat, one of my main concerns was how the width would affect skating. How long did it take to adjust? About two pushes. As far as skating goes, these things feel pretty much exactly like the BWPs. By the time I skated over to the lift, I knew these things were going to be amazing. There was absolutely no awkwardness from the width. Awesome.
Normally I would have gone straigt to the park, but the kid I was riding with wanted to take a normal run to warm up. I figured this would be good to test out the feel of the boards anyway. Conditions were what you would expect from PA... slush, ice chunks, and bare spots randomly placed throughout. The run started out pretty slushy, so I started skating fast to lay down some carves.
Holy shit... these things can cut some trenches! Carving on the soft snow was amazing. These things would dig in tight and gouge their way through carves. Their width not only puts more leverage into your caves, but also keeps you safe so you don't have to worry about your boots dragging when you really lay it down. I had more fun carving on these than I do on Revolts. I hadn't expected this.
A little further down, it started to get into ice chunks and bare spots. On the ice, these did fine. Not as dramatic as the soft snow, but pretty much identical to hitting ice on BWPs. The real bonus here was the extreme width made it so you didn't have to pay as much attention to what was coming up as other 100cm boards. They pretty much just plowed over any irregularities like ice chunks or soft spots without you even noticing. Pretty sweet.
After one run in the terrible PA conditions, we knew it was time for the park. The park was set up half decent for early season. A few beginner boxes, a street rail, a long flat rail, a C-box and some other garbage that only PA parks would throw together. Here's where the real test of the day would come. I was a little worried up until here that the width might make rails a little harder...
I started to eye up my first rail of the day. The single rould street rail. Bam! This width is amazing. It makes grinding even easier. The extra width gives your feet even more support on grinds, almost like a royale groove on skates does. I was impressed. Rolling out of the street rail fakie, i hit the flat rail with a switchup, then headed down to the C-Box and hit that fakie and 270'd out. Thank god for the rope toe, because I hit that line like 30 times in a row. Every grind just felt so solid, and I didn't want to stop. Then came the real shocker. Backslides.
This extra width is amazing for one footed grinds. It just feels like you have soo much more support and balance, it is incredible. This was about the last thing I would have expected about these boards, but it was a great suprise. I bet this effect is even more dramatic on the Condors.
I can't wait to actually try these with more than 10% of a mountain open.
Before riding them, I was worried that the width might adversely affect the boards in someway, but so far, I have seen nothing but benefits. These might look fat now, but I wouldn't be suprised if boards start to come out even fatter. I'm heading back up again tomorrow with Kirk S. and Hardcore, I'll post more after that.
Thanks G for making these boards a reality!
Taking a first look at these things, and they look huge. Something about the width of them sitting next to other boards just makes them look massive. I don't think the pictures really do them justice. These things are really fat!
Before getting them to the slopes, I was actually a little worried the width might have been a little overkill, but as soon as I strapped them on, everything changed. They only look so huge next to other boards because the other boards are so skinny. As soon as I strapped in and looked down at my feet it was like they had shrunk. Something about their width sitting next to other boards distorts how big they look. Once they were on my feet, they looked perfectly proportional.
Having never ridden anything this fat, one of my main concerns was how the width would affect skating. How long did it take to adjust? About two pushes. As far as skating goes, these things feel pretty much exactly like the BWPs. By the time I skated over to the lift, I knew these things were going to be amazing. There was absolutely no awkwardness from the width. Awesome.
Normally I would have gone straigt to the park, but the kid I was riding with wanted to take a normal run to warm up. I figured this would be good to test out the feel of the boards anyway. Conditions were what you would expect from PA... slush, ice chunks, and bare spots randomly placed throughout. The run started out pretty slushy, so I started skating fast to lay down some carves.
Holy shit... these things can cut some trenches! Carving on the soft snow was amazing. These things would dig in tight and gouge their way through carves. Their width not only puts more leverage into your caves, but also keeps you safe so you don't have to worry about your boots dragging when you really lay it down. I had more fun carving on these than I do on Revolts. I hadn't expected this.
A little further down, it started to get into ice chunks and bare spots. On the ice, these did fine. Not as dramatic as the soft snow, but pretty much identical to hitting ice on BWPs. The real bonus here was the extreme width made it so you didn't have to pay as much attention to what was coming up as other 100cm boards. They pretty much just plowed over any irregularities like ice chunks or soft spots without you even noticing. Pretty sweet.
After one run in the terrible PA conditions, we knew it was time for the park. The park was set up half decent for early season. A few beginner boxes, a street rail, a long flat rail, a C-box and some other garbage that only PA parks would throw together. Here's where the real test of the day would come. I was a little worried up until here that the width might make rails a little harder...
I started to eye up my first rail of the day. The single rould street rail. Bam! This width is amazing. It makes grinding even easier. The extra width gives your feet even more support on grinds, almost like a royale groove on skates does. I was impressed. Rolling out of the street rail fakie, i hit the flat rail with a switchup, then headed down to the C-Box and hit that fakie and 270'd out. Thank god for the rope toe, because I hit that line like 30 times in a row. Every grind just felt so solid, and I didn't want to stop. Then came the real shocker. Backslides.
This extra width is amazing for one footed grinds. It just feels like you have soo much more support and balance, it is incredible. This was about the last thing I would have expected about these boards, but it was a great suprise. I bet this effect is even more dramatic on the Condors.
I can't wait to actually try these with more than 10% of a mountain open.
Before riding them, I was worried that the width might adversely affect the boards in someway, but so far, I have seen nothing but benefits. These might look fat now, but I wouldn't be suprised if boards start to come out even fatter. I'm heading back up again tomorrow with Kirk S. and Hardcore, I'll post more after that.
Thanks G for making these boards a reality!