# 2011 Snowboard Highlights



## Leo

Well, I just got back from three straight days of testing 2011 Snowboards. I'm exhausted! I went through 32 boards so I will just briefly describe the ones that stood out to me.

First, a little about my experience and style. I have been riding for 5 years and am a freerider that likes to throw freestyle moves along the way.

These are the boards that I liked in descending order.

*Burton Custom Flying-V:* ICS, EST, Flying-V, a load of gimmicks right? Wrong. I went into the Burton tent expecting very little from them this year. Same old Customs, Custom Xs, blah blah blah. Oh was I wrong. The Custom Flying-V was easily the most fun board out of the 32 I rode. The rocker between and outside the bindings and camber underfoot is just sick. I love to bomb steeps every now and then and rockers have been giving me problems with edge hold and board chatter. The Custom Flying-V killed the steeps with great edge hold and very little chatter. On flats, the board was very playful just like a normal rockered board. The board also felt very poppy. Just load the nose or tail and up you go. Edge to edge control was almost effortless and the board had a very nice flex to it. Not too stiff, and not too soft. Needless to say, I am completely sold on the Flying-V tech. As for the ICS/EST? Not too much has changed. The screws have gotten a little thinner. I rode ICS boards with both EST and normal bindings. The ESTs do make a noticeable difference. The flex is affected positively and you do feel less shock on landings. The only negative thing I have to say about the Custom Flying-V is that it does still have slight board chatter on faster runs off steeps, but hey, that's why we have the Custom X right?

*Lib Tech Banana Magic:* This board was so much fun! I kind of wish I never got on it because it totally dwarfed the Skate Banana. Although I still love the Skate Nana, the Banana Magic is like a much lighter version of it. The board was nice and poppy and it is a bit stiffer than the Skate. The stiffer and lighter Magic makes bombing down the slopes super fun. And oh, the MagnaTraction. This was my first time experiencing MagnaTraction. Let me tell you, I live in Michigan and it works. The Magic shred the ice so hard that I made snowcones mid-run. The negative about this board is that it is stiffer so presses aren't as easy to perform on it. Great board.

*Burton Hero:* Well, it is pretty official to me. Burton doesn't suck lol. Although they do still have crappy ass boards *cough* Crash, Bullet, '11 Shaun White Standard *cough*. So here's the deal, I have size 10 boots and currently weigh 177lbs. They gave me a 156 wide with X-Large bindings. This board is doomed for an inaccurate review right? Not really. Even with bindings that didn't strap me down all the way and a board that was too wide, the Hero was surprisingly fun to ride. Even with the wide size, edge to edge was nearly effortless. I can only imagine how great the edge to edge control would have been in a normal width with snug bindings. The rocker on the Hero is nice and mellow (as per the V-Rocker norm) making the board playful yet stable on fast runs. The downside of the Hero is that it lacks a bit of pop. My nollies just didn't have that oomph.

*K2 Turbo Dream:* Well, the hype turns out to be mostly true. The Turbo Dream was a dream to ride. The rocker made catching an edge a conscious effort. Where I would have caught an edge with other boards, the Turbo Dream didn't. Remember when I said I dislike rockers for steeps? Well, the Turbo Dream has Harshmellow. It's not just good for dampening your landings, but it also greatly reduces board chatter. This board held it's edge and stayed mostly silent on steep, fast runs. Flats and kickers? Awesome! Buttering and pressing on this board was effortless. Popping off natural features was stable on the Turbo Dream. Negatives? Not really anything. I wish I was able to ride this one more.

I'm going to end it for now. I'll add more as I go.

By the way, I was really impressed with Rossignol. I didn't expect much from them, but the three boards I tested were all good boards. Taipan, One, and Angus. The One Magtek was my favorite for just pure bombing. The Angus was a more playful board to carve and butter on.


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## Suburban Blend

*Try before you buy...*

My favorites from the Denver Demo.

Capita Quiver Killer - Directional All Terrain Attack Vehicle
Arbor Wasteland - Arbor's most advanced directional-twin
Forum Scallywag - reverse-camber freestyle board
My top two pics were cambered boards! I rode a lot of different reverse camber type boards. All were fun, but... I rip a lot harder on the camber ones. Other standout companies were Steepchild, Battalion, and YES. I also rode Jones Snowboards and I felt like I was in AK as the double overhead plumes I was creating while turning created a visible shadow in front of me.


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## Leo

Suburban Blend said:


> My favorites from the Denver Demo.
> 
> Capita Quiver Killer - Directional All Terrain Attack Vehicle
> Arbor Wasteland - Arbor's most advanced directional-twin
> Forum Scallywag - reverse-camber freestyle board
> My top two pics were cambered boards! I rode a lot of different reverse camber type boards. All were fun, but... I rip a lot harder on the camber ones. Other standout companies were Steepchild, Battalion, and YES. I also rode Jones Snowboards and I felt like I was in AK as the double overhead plumes I was creating while turning created a visible shadow in front of me.


Yea, I was pleasantly shocked with the quality of the few cambered boards that were around. Especially the Rossignol One Magtek. Camber + Magnatraction is a beast for bombing down icey steeps.

I really wanted to test the Capitas, NeverSummers, and Arbors. Sadly, I couldn't because we don't carry those brands yet and weren't a priority.

I never knew Flow and Arbor were a part of the same company. They shared a tent at the show.


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## Guest

What size K2 TD did you ride? Whats is your height weight?
I like that board but I'm torn between the 156 and 159. 
East coast riding & AT-Rocker - not sure if I should size-up or size-down - similar riding style (75% allmtn / 25% park).


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## Leo

bisbers said:


> What size K2 TD did you ride? Whats is your height weight?
> I like that board but I'm torn between the 156 and 159.
> East coast riding & AT-Rocker - not sure if I should size-up or size-down - similar riding style (75% allmtn / 25% park).


Height doesn't matter. The board only knows how much you weigh and how big your feet are. I'm 175-180lbs with size 10 feet. I rode the 156 Turbo Dream and it killed the slopes.


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## Guest

Leo said:


> Height doesn't matter. The board only knows how much you weigh and how big your feet are. I'm 175-180lbs with size 10 feet. I rode the 156 Turbo Dream and it killed the slopes.


Thanks Leo. Although I'm a little bit bigger than you (200 lbs, size 11), I think I might still try go with the smaller option. Coming off a board that is too big stiff and heavy, I'm worried about buying another that is too large.


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## Guest

Leo said:


> Yea, I was pleasantly shocked with the quality of the few cambered boards that were around. Especially the Rossignol One Magtek. Camber + Magnatraction is a beast for bombing down icey steeps.


Could you elaborate on your impressions of the One Magtek. Did they make any significant changes from the 2010 model? Did you find the mtx catchy at all? Thinking this might make a good ice coast board for me, hopefully i'll get to demo one of the 2010s soon.


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## Leo

darckeen said:


> Could you elaborate on your impressions of the One Magtek. Did they make any significant changes from the 2010 model? Did you find the mtx catchy at all? Thinking this might make a good ice coast board for me, hopefully i'll get to demo one of the 2010s soon.


I have not ridden the 2010 version, but rep stated that it is the same board. I live in Michigan so I ride 90% ice here. The One Magtek was great on steep, icey runs. It is a little softer between the feet, so I wasn't expecting the One to handle too great on steeps. I was wrong. The tail is also stiffer giving the board a playful pop which is fun off the kickers. I really think that this is a great all-mountain board. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a board to kill icey slopes.


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## Guest

Leo said:


> I have not ridden the 2010 version, but rep stated that it is the same board. I live in Michigan so I ride 90% ice here. The One Magtek was great on steep, icey runs. It is a little softer between the feet, so I wasn't expecting the One to handle too great on steeps. I was wrong. The tail is also stiffer giving the board a playful pop which is fun off the kickers. I really think that this is a great all-mountain board. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a board to kill icey slopes.


Was it this one?

Sneak Peak at 2010/2011 Rossignol Board Technology | HouseJunkies


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## Leo

darckeen said:


> Was it this one?
> 
> Sneak Peak at 2010/2011 Rossignol Board Technology | HouseJunkies


Oh nice, it did have a camber rocker combo in it. The rep told me it was just regular camber lol. Yea, that is definitely the one. Ugly graphics in my opinion, but the board itself rode like a dream. Either way, the camber between the feet definitely makes it bomber friendly.


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## djsaad1

bisbers said:


> What size K2 TD did you ride? Whats is your height weight?
> I like that board but I'm torn between the 156 and 159.
> East coast riding & AT-Rocker - not sure if I should size-up or size-down - similar riding style (75% allmtn / 25% park).


I am 175-180 and ride the 159, I love it but if my foot would have fit on the 156 I would have gone with it.


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## Kwiekie

I am a boarder who likes to:
- carving, as well big as small carves, and making some speed
- to play around in the powder
- go to the funpark, trying out some jumps(grabs), rails, boxes.

Now, I would like to buy a new all mountain board.
I am 1m88 tall and weigh 70 kg. My feet are size 45 (Europe)

These are my options right now:

-Burton Custom flying V 160
-Burton Hero 162
-Salomon Grip

Whick one would you prefer, and is the best?

I'm a little afraid that those rockerboards will chatter at high speeds, is that really a problem?
I also want a board that is forgiving on jumps, because that's where I still got a lot to improve.

So, should I choose the Custom (€550) or the Hero (€450), or something else?


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## tribalsounds

Hey Leo, how would you compare the stiffness and overall ride fell of the Banana Magic to the Attack Banana? Have you gotten a chance to test it yet?


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## RaID

Kwiekie said:


> I am a boarder who likes to:
> - carving, as well big as small carves, and making some speed
> - to play around in the powder
> - go to the funpark, trying out some jumps(grabs), rails, boxes.
> 
> Now, I would like to buy a new all mountain board.
> I am 1m88 tall and weigh 70 kg. My feet are size 45 (Europe)
> 
> These are my options right now:
> 
> -Burton Custom flying V 160
> -Burton Hero 162
> -Salomon Grip
> 
> Whick one would you prefer, and is the best?
> 
> I'm a little afraid that those rockerboards will chatter at high speeds, is that really a problem?
> I also want a board that is forgiving on jumps, because that's where I still got a lot to improve.
> 
> So, should I choose the Custom (€550) or the Hero (€450), or something else?


Damn youre light for your height. Cant really comment on the boards as ive never ridden any of those, but id be looking at 158 or even 155 based on your weight, especially if you have some interest in doing park. Work out what is more important for you: stability when going fast and carving or a more forgiving board that sacrifices carving and speed stability but is better in the park. From my understanding the Hero (softer more playful) and Custom (stiffer better for high speed carving) are 2 very different boards.

The chatter of the boards wont be because of the rocker profile rather due to the dampening and stiffness of the individual board, so take that into account.


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## Nivek

RaID said:


> Damn youre light for your height. Cant really comment on the boards as ive never ridden any of those, but id be looking at 158 or even 155 based on your weight, especially if you have some interest in doing park. Work out what is more important for you: stability when going fast and carving or a more forgiving board that sacrifices carving and speed stability but is better in the park. From my understanding the Hero (softer more playful) and Custom (stiffer better for high speed carving) are 2 very different boards.
> 
> The chatter of the boards wont be because of the rocker profile rather due to the dampening and stiffness of the individual board, so take that into account.


Do you realize you have quoted a post from nearly a year ago...


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## RaID

Nivek said:


> Do you realize you have quoted a post from nearly a year ago...


my bad______


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## Kwiekie

RaID said:


> Damn youre light for your height. Cant really comment on the boards as ive never ridden any of those, but id be looking at 158 or even 155 based on your weight, especially if you have some interest in doing park. Work out what is more important for you: stability when going fast and carving or a more forgiving board that sacrifices carving and speed stability but is better in the park. From my understanding the Hero (softer more playful) and Custom (stiffer better for high speed carving) are 2 very different boards.
> 
> The chatter of the boards wont be because of the rocker profile rather due to the dampening and stiffness of the individual board, so take that into account.


I bought the Custom, and I'm fond of it. I rode it hard and it carved well, and it was still very forgiving in the park.

I'm already looking out to go to Mayrhofen, Austria in februari 

And my weight is now 71kg


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## Leo

Wow, I didn't even realize I had questions on here... damn email notifications not working properly.


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