# 07/08 Skate Banana vs. 08/09 Skate Banana



## Guest (Oct 24, 2008)

07/08 = banana tech
08/09 = banana tech + magnetraction


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## Holmes (Sep 17, 2008)

I actually just bought an 07/08 banana and it has magna.


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## Guest (Oct 25, 2008)

all banana has MTX. except the banana hammock TRice powder/surf board.


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## Guest (Oct 25, 2008)

I just got my 09 in yesterday! it looks similar to last years model..


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## Guest (Oct 25, 2008)

same internals.. why mess with one of the most in demand stiks our there?


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## Guest (Oct 25, 2008)

Pretty sure they're the same.


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## Triple8Sol (Nov 24, 2008)

oneplankawanka said:


> all banana has MTX. except the banana hammock TRice powder/surf board.


ding ding ding


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## jmacphee9 (Nov 11, 2008)

alildusty said:


> 07/08 = banana tech
> 08/09 = banana tech + magnetraction


wronggg.

i assume the topsheet delaminiation problem has been fixed or at least somewhat improved


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## Guest (Nov 29, 2008)

I was told by a shop here that the 07/08 banana had a continuous rocker where as the 08/09 has a 3 stage rocker (flat under your feet). Looks like a slight change in the way the rocker is implemented.


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## Guest (Dec 1, 2008)

mbhakti said:


> I was told by a shop here that the 07/08 banana had a continuous rocker where as the 08/09 has a 3 stage rocker (flat under your feet). Looks like a slight change in the way the rocker is implemented.


DING!DING!


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## switchface (Nov 18, 2008)

Im trying to demo the skate banana (among others) to get better impressions...but do you think this change in the rocker is the reason why some people say its squirelly on the groomers (maybe referring to the 07/08) and others say it performs great (maybe referring to the 08/09)?


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## Guest (Dec 9, 2008)

One of the main complaints, well actually the only complaints I have read anywere online was with the non-fully wrapped edges the top sheet begins to peel to easily. But I wouldn't be too sure about it. I demoed the GNU vertighoul btx and Im totally sold on the banana tech and magnatraction.


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## Guest (Dec 9, 2008)

lonewolf99701 said:


> One of the main complaints, well actually the only complaints I have read anywere online was with the non-fully wrapped edges the top sheet begins to peel to easily. But I wouldn't be too sure about it. I demoed the GNU vertighoul btx and Im totally sold on the banana tech and magnatraction.


^^^^thats exactly right. 


skate bananas are hand made so they dont have full wrap edges and evryone who bought theres early in the season is finding that after a few months of hard riding the top sheets are coming up on the nose and tail. its another stairmaster incident, and a repeat of the problems people had with last years skate bananas. Mervin makes gnu and lib tech though, and gnu's boards all have reverse camber and are all full wrap edges. same pros with one big different con. the decision is easy. save your money even if it is on last years model.


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## Guest (Dec 9, 2008)

Sick-Gnar said:


> ^^^^thats exactly right.
> 
> 
> skate bananas are hand made so they dont have full wrap edges and evryone who bought theres early in the season is finding that after a few months of hard riding the top sheets are coming up on the nose and tail. its another stairmaster incident, and a repeat of the problems people had with last years skate bananas. Mervin makes gnu and lib tech though, and gnu's boards all have reverse camber and are all full wrap edges. same pros with one big different con. the decision is easy. save your money even if it is on last years model.


Being "hand made" has nothing to do with them not having full wrap edges. It's just a different perspective on which method is better, full wrap maybe slightly more durable, non-wrap much easier fix. Gnu's also don't have full wrap edges. Also, the rocker has not changed, rocker between the feet, flat from the bindings to the nose. I think the only thing that changed is the color combinations.

I'd love to see pictures of this "delamination". Everyone talks about it but I've yet to see someone post a picture. I wonder if people are just confusing chipping the top sheet with actual layers of fiberglass delaminating. Not saying it doesn't exist, just suspicious of what people mean by delaminating.


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## Guest (Dec 9, 2008)

iggnew said:


> Being "hand made" has nothing to do with them not having full wrap edges. It's just a different perspective on which method is better, full wrap maybe slightly more durable, non-wrap much easier fix. Gnu's also don't have full wrap edges. Also, the rocker has not changed, rocker between the feet, flat from the bindings to the nose. I think the only thing that changed is the color combinations.
> 
> I'd love to see pictures of this "delamination". Everyone talks about it but I've yet to see someone post a picture. I wonder if people are just confusing chipping the top sheet with actual layers of fiberglass delaminating. Not saying it doesn't exist, just suspicious of what people mean by delaminating.


i havent seen pictures either. being handmade does have to do with it. this is why they dont make them full wrap, it takes to much time and theyd have to charge alot more for them. what gnu model isent fully wrapped?? loveland is overwhelmed with kids on skatebannas ill try and snap some picures on my phone this sunday if i see any with the mentioned problems.


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## Guest (Dec 9, 2008)

Sick-Gnar said:


> i havent seen pictures either. being handmade does have to do with it. this is why they dont make them full wrap, it takes to much time and theyd have to charge alot more for them. what gnu model isent fully wrapped?? loveland is overwhelmed with kids on skatebannas ill try and snap some picures on my phone this sunday if i see any with the mentioned problems.


Appreciate the pictures if you can find some.:thumbsup:

Currently all GNU's are made without fully wrapped edges, see below "stadard features":

GNU Snowboard Tech

Nothing personal but I completely disagree with the "hand made"=no wrap idea. Why would it be all that much more time consuming? Do you work in a snowboard factory? Have you seen the efficiency and P&L reports of companies that wrap vs. don't wrap?

Besides, Mervin's claim of "hand made" boards is in many ways mis-leading if not completely arbitrary. ALL boards are made with a combination of humans and machines. CNC machines mill the wood cores, fiberglass is laid by hand, machines press the boards, humans trim the excess with a bandsaw etc.. If either humans or machines were eliminated from the process QC and consistency would be complete crap. 

I'll give credit to Mervin for a more DIY approach to manufacturing their products. From milling their own tools, milling their own lumber for cores, to their forward thinking attitude towards recycling, using new materials and techniques, tweaking old ideas and developing new ones. Ultimately their marketing department does an exceptional job of reinventing the wheel, like their revolutionary designs (i.e. co-opted and tweaked --> rocker) or framing standard industry practice as something unique to them (i.e "hand made", built by snowboarders with jobs wtf?) 

I like Lib/GNU boards, just don't buy all the hype and everything they write on their website.


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## Guest (Dec 9, 2008)

Yes !! I ride lib too...but they are overly hyped...extremely so.. So do you own research and talk to RIDERS ABOUT HOW THEY RIDE.


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## Guest (Dec 9, 2008)

iggnew said:


> Appreciate the pictures if you can find some.:thumbsup:
> 
> Currently all GNU's are made without fully wrapped edges, see below "stadard features":
> 
> ...


Very well said. It also gets frustrating at times trying to read about their different tech for each board (base materials, core, etc.) They don't really go into much details. Not sure why they have to be so ninja about some of their stuff.


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## Guest (Dec 9, 2008)

oneplankawanka said:


> Yes !! I ride lib too...but they are overly hyped...extremely so.. So do you own research and talk to RIDERS ABOUT HOW THEY RIDE.


They are definitely one of those love it or hate it type of boards. Most of the people I've spoken to on the mountain love what MTX does for them. The only main complaints I've heard were the delaminating (also waiting to see pics) and "loose" feeling at high speeds. I've never ridden one myself so cannot speak from experience but I have friends who love theirs (older ones with only MTX)

For me I had a 08/09 banana and decided to return it before even riding it. I went with a NS Evo-R based on reviews.


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## Guest (Dec 9, 2008)

iggnew said:


> Appreciate the pictures if you can find some.:thumbsup:
> 
> Currently all GNU's are made without fully wrapped edges, see below "stadard features":
> 
> ...



nope. i simply post what ive heard like anyone else. 

it sounds like you should use the contact form on there website about why its more time consuming. it seems pretty simple to me more metal = more time.


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## Guest (Dec 9, 2008)

snowaddiction79 said:


> They are definitely one of those love it or hate it type of boards. Most of the people I've spoken to on the mountain love what MTX does for them. The only main complaints I've heard were the delaminating (also waiting to see pics) and "loose" feeling at high speeds. I've never ridden one myself so cannot speak from experience but I have friends who love theirs (older ones with only MTX)
> 
> For me I had a 08/09 banana and decided to return it before even riding it. I went with a NS Evo-R based on reviews.


My riders choice BTX has no problem what so ever at high speed. I think the banana might be more subtle on this board. At first I didn't feel any big difference between it and my regular cambered boards, took a few days to appreciate the differences. It noticed not detuing my tip enough and the deeper sidecut more then anything.

Sick-gnar, hope I didn't come across like a d*ck. I respect your opinion on the matter, just disagree. Looking forward to delam pics if you can find some.


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## Guest (Dec 9, 2008)

The skate banana is soft...so the edge to edge loose feeling I love so much on my TRS btx may feel a bit sketchy at high speeds on a skate banana... I agree, it either love or hate with these boards I love em!! the future of the sport IMO


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## Guest (Dec 9, 2008)

iggnew said:


> My riders choice BTX has no problem what so ever at high speed. I think the banana might be more subtle on this board. At first I didn't feel any big difference between it and my regular cambered boards, took a few days to appreciate the differences. It noticed not detuing my tip enough and the deeper sidecut more then anything.
> 
> Sick-gnar, hope I didn't come across like a d*ck. I respect your opinion on the matter, just disagree. Looking forward to delam pics if you can find some.


yeah i dont mean to be either some people on this site really piss me off though. it makes me kinda edgy tword evryone.


i went to my local bc surf and sport in colorado springs today woot woot! best shop on the planet.

they told me they have sold a tonnnn of the skate bannas and havent had any complains about them. 

anyone rember the stairmaster incedent a couple years ago?? where there topsheetes bubbled and like fully came off? she said when that happened they had evryone returning them and they pulled them all and sent them back. I have read about 15 user reviews on backcountry.com and there affiliate websites that state that people are having top sheet problems after a couple months of hard riding. sooo idk. 



and iggnew you are correct man. no mervin boards have full wrap edges. including t rices pro model, and the vertighoul. they just dont do it.


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## arsenic0 (Nov 11, 2008)

The season is still young, only time will tell if it happens. Although i havent seen any pictures of it happening on last seasons boards so who knows...


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## Holmes (Sep 17, 2008)

I have this year's skate banana and my first impressions are this:

Awesome for buttering, doing presses, riding some pow and just messing around while riding.

Lacking in pop as opppose to other boards I rode, and not great for hauling ass, gets a little swirly. Not so much on carves but just pointing it down hill.

Also, I got the slight delam on my nose which sucks but I figured when you ride hard its something you deal with.


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## Guest (Dec 10, 2008)

Holmes said:


> I have this year's skate banana and my first impressions are this:
> 
> Awesome for buttering, doing presses, riding some pow and just messing around while riding.
> 
> ...


can we get pictures of the delam??


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## Holmes (Sep 17, 2008)

I'll post them when I get access to a camera for sure.


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## Guest (Dec 10, 2008)

right on thanks man.


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## burritosandsnow (Nov 22, 2008)

put in over 125 days on my banana from last year and havent had a single issue. i even put a huge split in the nose early last season and had it repaired and havent seen any further damage occuring on it. i dont understand how folks cant get more pop from one. im 37 and have the pop of a opened 3 week old sprite but after i got used to the banana im ollieing the shit out of stuff again like im 18 again.


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## Guest (Dec 10, 2008)

you all sound like you dont know what your talking about.

Go here dummies!

YouTube - Lib Technologies Skate Banana Tech Video


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## Guest (Dec 10, 2008)

mtHOODrider said:


> you all sound like you dont know what your talking about.
> 
> Go here dummies!
> 
> YouTube - Lib Technologies Skate Banana Tech Video


Seriously? Correct me if I'm wrong, but earlier in this thread you seemed to affirm that the banana changed from a continuous rocker (07/08) to a 3 stage deign that was FLAT between the feet (08/09). This is of course patently false, always been 3 stage, always been rockered between the bindings. Did you actually watch that video?

Also the last half of this thread was about Mervin hype vs. actual experience on the board, this video is a perfect example of the former. Don't drink the kool-aid man, just try out the board.


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## Guest (Dec 10, 2008)

Well considering I have a Banana and Just bought a 09 T.Rice with BTX. I can put my vote in.


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## Guest (Dec 10, 2008)

mtHOODrider said:


> Well considering I have a Banana and Just bought a 09 T.Rice with BTX. I can put my vote in.


Good to hear you like them and are speaking from experience, but who exactly are the dummies you speak of? And which one of those boards has a continuous rocker past the bindings and which has the flat area between the feet?


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## Guest (Dec 10, 2008)

iggnew said:


> Good to hear you like them and are speaking from experience, but who exactly are the dummies you speak of? And which one of those boards has a continuous rocker past the bindings and which has the flat area between the feet?


That video was not aiming at anyone or specific post just throwing some FAQ up because not many REALLY know about the reverse camber.Some what of a new concept to most people


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## Guest (Dec 10, 2008)

mtHOODrider said:


> That video was not aiming at anyone or specific post just throwing some FAQ up because not many REALLY know about the reverse camber.Some what of a new concept to most people


Fair enough. Have any problems with delams or the board getting to soft on the skate banana?


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## Guest (Dec 10, 2008)

iggnew said:


> Fair enough. Have any problems with delams or the board getting to soft on the skate banana?


Well it is a soft board for i usually run a 163 this is a 159 so my 210 lbs makes it a softer park board. Still love it


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## switchface (Nov 18, 2008)

mtHOOD - what are your thoughts on how the Trice compares to the skate banana? I know on paper its stiffer and I think the btx is slightly detuned compared to the sb, but how different does it actually ride?


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## legallyillegal (Oct 6, 2008)

It's a stiff, agressive freeride board.


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