Description
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Loken El Bajong 99.5cm Skiboards |
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| Utilizing the latest technology and the best materials, combined with the best graphics and throughly tested designs, Loken Industries are extremely proud to present their skiboards for the 2005/2006 season, after five years of intense development.
Based on the Cruise Tool 8, the El Bajong Freeride skiboard is a tribute to a different style of riding. It is designed for those who love to get out early in the morning to catch that fresh powder on the mountain. Whether you’re oscillating down a mountainside, or blasting through the glades, the El Bajong Freeride will provide you with solid performance. If the powder is absent, the 5 meter sidecut radius of the El Bajong ensures top notch carving abilities for the groomers. This is a limited edition product, only 30 pairs will ever be made. This means that out of 6 000 000 000 people on this earth, 5 999 999 970 people will not be riding the El Bajong Freeride skiboard. Will you? |
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Lars Hasvoll Bakke –
Just got home from two days of skiboarding in Sweden. This was the first time I got to try the El Bajongs out properly. IÆve only been able to ride them a few times on very very short distances earlier, but now, IÆve been been to a proper hill with lifts and prepared runs, and I have a much better view of how they perform.
Ridiculous.
Thats what went through my mind on my first rund down. And the second. And the third.
With what IÆve been used to riding, I had to be real carefull under most less-than-great conditions, especially later in the day, when the snow in the groomed runs gathered in heaps, with hardpack between the heaps. The problems then was that the grip usually slipped somewhat on the hardpack, and the snow-heaps would slow me down so quickly that I would have trouble keeping my balance. A lack of stability is something I have lived with in my five first years of skiboarding, and it was a price I thought I would have to pay for the other advantages of skiboards.
The conditions in the morning this first day where fairly good, but at a level that still would have me holding back a bit with the boards IÆve used before. After the two first turns on Saturday, I wasnÆt holding back anymore. The grip on these things are absolutely ridiculous. They grab hold of the pitch, and refuse to let go. IÆve never experienced anything remotely like it. Even when the snow got heaped up, I slammed through the heaps, and cut the hardpack perfectly. I may even be tempted to say that carving the hardpack is even better with these, than going on a freshly groomed run, because they cut so firmly innto the stuff. None of the chattering IÆve allways gotten from hardpack.
[IMG]http://www.lokenindustries.com/images/bajong i farta1000.jpg[/IMG] (Thats me :))
This was what struck me most vividly with these skiboards. Another thing that really grabbed me from the start, was the speed. With a fresh layer of wax and NotWax, I was booming down the hill. Its a bit harder to say anything certain about this, than the carving part, but I did feel like I was going faster than IÆve done before. Its not unlikely either, with such a big base area on each foot.
I was hoping to be able to say something basic about doing jumps and such too, even though IÆve not been that much innto it before. But I twisted my ankle quite severly on new years eve, so I did not want to risk ruining the whole season just for a few jumps. There was only around 40 cm of snow where I went (Galtispouda, near the town Arjeplog, Sweden), so there was no opportunity to try them out in powder, which was a real pity. IÆll report back when I find a proper load of that soft stuff :)
Lars
PS: The review was done with a pair of Bomber Elite bindings.
PPS: This review basically allso covers the CT8, in terms of riding quality.
Bruce McDonald –
I have been riding "blades" as we call them in Canada for a few years and have given up my old style skis and poles last year. When my el cheapo "blades" started to have worn out bindings and my nephew broke his leg on his cheap ones too, I thought I would look around and see what was available on the net. The day I got them I went night skiing on these babies and wow! what a difference from the chattering 90cm foam core crapholes I had before. I only wish I had these for the powder of the rockies last month! Great product and 1 week shipping to Canada. My brother admired the machine work as a machinist on the SnowJam II all aluminum bindings that you bundled with it. Thanks again, I will recommend these to anyone and maybe start thinking of becoming a Canadian distributor of these products, there isnt much selection up here for these products yet.