# REVIEW: 2010 Nitro Team Gullwing snowboard



## Triple8Sol

Snapped a few pics. The 3rd one shows the detail better than what I've seen previously.


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## ETM

Looks and sounds like a nice board mate, if you can try to do a weight comparison between the 2 aswell


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## nzboardlife

I ordered the 159 nitro wiig, can't wait, i have heard the gulwing is a bit loose for a freeride board so i went for the wiig.


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## zk0ot

its a shame well have to see wiig decked out all ganster next year head to toe with forum and SB.


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## 604al

i just picked up a wide 157 and have similar impressions versus my Never Summer Revolver 156. While the quality in Never Summer decks is obvious, the Gullwing even at 1cm longer and slightly wider is WAYYYYY lighter. The tradeoff may be worth it, I'll check back in later once I get a chance to ride this deck.


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## fattrav

Can either of you give an actual figure of the weight difference please?


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## jimster716

zk0ot said:


> its a shame well have to see wiig decked out all ganster next year head to toe with forum and SB.


Foursquare outerwear...guess he ditched Vans along with Nitro. Not sure whose boots he'll be in.


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## nx_911_turbo

Looking forward to seeing your take on this, though I'm sure you'll absolutely love it! It's a wicked board, that's for sure, and definitely a better looking board in person than most online pictures suggest. Have fun on the hill! My season's ended with injury before I got a chance to properly test mine in conditions other than straight ice (missed 6 planned days on the mountain, and 4 more in the next week, which were ALL going to be on the Team Gullwing, thanks to a fall that resulted in first aid kicking me off the mountain almost 2 weeks ago).


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## Triple8Sol

Only ended up getting up to the hill once this weekend. Paired it with my Flux Super Titans today, but my Flux Feedbacks should arrive tomorrow, so I'll be running those when I go up again in the next couple days. I'll report back after I get another day out on the board.


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## hanzosteel

i'm anxious to read your full review. i had a very short season on my 157 TG. aside from the reverse/dual camber profile, i had no idea how similar the specs are to the sl-r. 

btw - TG has an extruded base, which is probably why it feels so lightweight. nitro uses the sintered stuff on their more high-end decks like the misfit, rook and pantera.


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## Triple8Sol

I was under the impression it was a sort of hybrid sintruded type deal, but I could be wrong. I will say that it actually felt pretty damn fast, at least as fast as my NS. Yes, I waxed it before it's first use, like I always do.


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## supadupa

what the F?!? Man, if it's really extruded my new 159 going straight back


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## ETM

I was wondering about this too as on the website they dont mention that its a sintered base. They call it "HI-DEF FH BASE: OUR ULTRA CLEAR BASE MATERIAL BLEND - FAST AND DURABLE" and then on other models the go on to reference "SINTERED SPEED FORMULA II BASE: SPEED FREAKS ONLY! OUR EXCLUSIVE NANOTECH WAX INFUSED FORMULA".
It seems the team only has an extruded base which is a big let down, and there is no such thing as a blend of the two, go to wiki and have a look at the production methods of sintered plastics and extruded plastics and you will see there is a big difference between how they are manufactured.


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## gsrrr

supadupa said:


> what the F?!? Man, if it's really extruded my new 159 going straight back


please send it back so that i can order it thanks.

i have the subpop (last years subzero) and i think the base is fast enough. if you are looking for something to bomb down the hill on, i would look at stiffer, cambered board.


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## Triple8Sol

I don't want to get into it too much further in this review thread, but extruded & sintered are made from the same materials, the difference being how the base is formed. In general, extruded is cheaper to produce, but stronger and easier to repair, while sintered is more expensive to make and more difficult to repair properly, but faster. Keep in mind that not all sintered bases are created equally, same goes for extruded bases.

I've always chosen sintered, ever since I understood the differences, b/c I value speed above all else. However, I've owned and ridden all kinds of boards from Arbor, Lib, Gnu, Ride, Bataleon, NS, etc... and learned that some sintered bases are definitely faster than others. Whatever the base is on the TG, it's FAST. It _feels_ just about as fast as other sintered and hybrid bases I've ridden, and noticeably faster than the few extruded ones I've tried. Granted, it's a brand new board with a perfect undamaged base, but so were most of the other boards I've owned (either bought brand new or nearly).


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## patongue

Wow, I did not see there was a review topic right above the one i replied to, what a coincidence.

From the other thread:

so i took this board to whitefish. well first of all, i should note that this is my first "real" board so everything would probably be awesome. But this board performed much better than my expectations, I could turn much sharper than i was ever able to (even on a sprained ankle), and it held its edge perfectly in ice. felt very stable at speed, and loved the way it reacted in powder/deeper snow. As for the base, it was as fast as I expected reading comments online. No problem whatsoever clearing traverses, and this is probably the first time it felt like I was accelerating from a stop on a very, very flat area. but then again, new board. However, judging from friends, i felt my base was faster.

As for the shiny top sheet, I'm still slightly worried because it looks damageable. The nose has a small nick from lift lines, and the sticker's peeling off abit, so I'm glad it's not a $500 board. 

Regarding the board wanting to pull in tight, I think I have felt that. When going down, it's not usually a problem, but there were a couple times when i was zoning out (basically not moving), then the board pulled in and i caught an edge, which doesn't usually happen. I also felt it when I was trying to clear a very flat area, the board wants to turn, and you need to consciously keep it under control. Got used to it without realizing - it was only on switch that i realized this as something different from my past board. Shouldn't be a problem if you have experience. But yes, i love the way this board turns, and i can't wait to try it out soon with a fully healed ankle.

EDIT. I will update this review on Friday, screw the ankle, season's ending and I've only taken this board out once and a half.


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## nx_911_turbo

supadupa said:


> what the F?!? Man, if it's really extruded my new 159 going straight back


What'd you end up paying for it? I'd gladly take it off your hands for that cost plus shipping.

And, while this base may well not be an extruded base, it sure as hell is fast. First time I took it out, I decided to take a lesson (first time in years, put both my brothers in lessons, and got mine free, so why the hell not?). My instructor failed to keep up to me anywhere we tried to carry speed. And yeah, I'd just waxed it before going (always do), but he'd done the same for his board.


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## Triple8Sol

So far that's like 4-5 of us that all agree this board is f'ing fast, despite not having a sintered base. I'll be taking it out in 30" of fresh pow tomorrow, so let's see how well it floats.


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## nx_911_turbo

Triple8Sol said:


> So far that's like 4-5 of us that all agree this board is f'ing fast, despite not having a sintered base. I'll be taking it out in 30" of fresh pow tomorrow, so let's see how well it floats.


Lucky... Had 50cm of fresh, unridden snow (overnight for most of it, and hill was closed yesterday) locally today, and I went to work to cover for someone instead... Got the call this morning, tried a helmet on, and it still hurt to put on a helmet, so boarding is out of the question as of yet. May have to finally go see a doctor, as it's now been over 2 weeks, and I think I've come to the realization my season may well be over.

Still can't wait to see what you think of this thing!


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## Triple8Sol

I maintained the directional setup when I mounted my bindings. I also did a mild detune on the tip/tail. Of course I wsxed, as I do with any new board, this time using some OBJ 4x4 all-temp that I'm working through. To be honest, I did a shitty job of scraping, which I noticed when throwing it on the ski rack the next morning--oh well it was too late at that point. Didn't wax again for the second day but I did scrape again.

I've taken the Nitro up twice so far. The first day was rough in most spots, really choppy and bumpy. We hiked a few runs that day and managed to find spots with 4-6" of untracked snow, although it was a bit heavy. When I took this board up for the second time, it was in 30" of fresh untracked pow that had fallen over the two days in between. It was a nice cold bluebird day.

I said it before and I'll say it again--this board is fast! I actually thought that to myself during my very first run on it, and that's despite the shitty scraping job! It really picks up speed quickly when you point it, and seems to carry that speed pretty well on flat spots.

This board is light! Combined with my fairly light Flux binders (Super Titans one day and Feedbacks the next), it was so much nicer for all the hiking we did both days vs. carrying my heavier Never Summers. It was also great when I got myself stuck feet-first in a 4ft deep treewell, as I was able to climb out without unstrapping. Despite the light weight, it still seems pretty durable. Surprisingly, even though it's not one of the more damp boards I've owned, it actually did a good job of absorbing chatter on the groomers. Where it did struggle is in the really choppy stuff on day 1. You really feel the unevenness of the snow as you move over it. I really found the nose/tail to be too soft for those conditions combined with my weight. It's billed as a mid-flex, but I'd put it towards the softer end of the middle.

Now on day 2 in the deep pow, this board kicked ass! I barely had to lean back and it floated so nicely. I was in total control of the board without having to put any extra effort into it. The Nitro was just as happy kicking up rooster tails in long high speed turns, as it was making small soft turns through the trees. I was literally all smiles that entire morning. All this without adding any extra setback besides what's built-in and rocking my usual stance width.


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## Triple8Sol

The board felt catchy when bombing straight down the groomers, but nothing I couldn't easily correct. I think it's mainly due to being a brand new board with razor sharp edges, so I'll probably extend the areas of detuning a bit before I take it out again. Hopefully that'll alleviate it. On the flip side, it gripped surprisingly well in carves, without any fancy edge tech like Mervin/NS/Nidecker use.

The only thing I would say I was a bit disappointed in, was that it didn't pop as much as I was expecting. I guess I assumed it would have more than my SL-R because it's so much lighter and because they put the camber zones a little more underfoot. Then again the SL-R has a surprisingly good amount of pop, probably due in part to the carbon V's at the tip/tail. We'll see if my opinion changes if I ever get the TG on some man-made jumps.

I have to say I think I might actually _prefer_ Nitro's placement of the camber zones over Never Summer's for freeriding. Having the camber zones a little further in and slightly more underfoot seemed to help with control. What I noticed is that the board really responds immediately to your inputs, since even small adjustments had a noticeable effect on the TG. I'm still learning the board and getting used to it, but I really liked the feeling of complete control in long carves.

Overall I'm very impressed with the Nitro Team Gullwing. I was skeptical, but it exceeded my expectations in several categories and represents a fantastic bang for the buck. It's one of those decks that anyone can have fun on, beginner through advanced. It has that mid-soft flex that seems to be so popular these days, so you can rip both in the park and on the groomers. I plan to use it some more, but am also contemplating selling it, possibly to get a shorter size. As a brand, Nitro seems to fly under the radar. If this board is any indication of the rest of their line, I would have to say they're totally underrated. Their Gullwing tech is based on a solid philosophy, and works in the real world too. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone looking to get into a new board with up-to-date tech. I'd take this board over any so-called all-mountain board with a plain rocker shape, any day.


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## $Lindz$

Agree with you saying Nitro has flown under the radar. And it's a little strange with the pretty popular riders they have (to those of us who actually snowboard and don't just watch the X-Games).

I suspect that their profile will shoot up on people's radar after Ben Bilocq's killer Videograss opener... 

Anyways, I just picked up a Sub Pop for an awesome price, and it's got Gullwing camber, plus a shit ton of other tech. I'll do a proper review of it after this weekend of riding it again, but my first shred out on it, I was SUPER surprised and happy. I bought it just for a rail board to thrash, but it's legitimately super fun to ride.


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## patongue

took the board out again.. like above posts I love the feel during a long carve, and the grip does seem very good.

one thing that bothers me though, not sure what's happening but there has been a time i am going straight flat (eg on some long traverse) and the board just catches and gives me falls that i've never had since my first year of boarding. Not sure if it's due to new edges. Just have to be on guard alot, but I do feel less trusting of myself on this board in these situations and compensate by staying on edge alot more.


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## Triple8Sol

I mentioned the same thing in post #22. The edges are very sharp from the factory, so try detuning a bit or just wait until it dulls on it's own.


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## Triple8Sol

One of the homies just picked this board up from me, and should get a chance to ride it at least once before season end. I'll report back with his impressions. Should be interesting (to me at least) since we are similar in stature, riding style, and equipment preferences.


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## DC5R

How is it that you guys still have snow?! My snowboard has been packed away and I've been golfing for the past two weeks!! Sooooo jealous!!


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## Triple8Sol

:cheeky4: Best storm of the season just rolled through over the past couple weeks! Conditions are prob all downhill from here though. Crystal and Stevens close this weekend but Baker is open for 2 more weeks.


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## DC5R

Bastid :cheeky4:


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## surfstar

I've been on my 2010 Nitro Team Gullwing almost 10 days since I picked it up 50% off from Sierra Snowboard. Previously I'd only ridden cambered boards and spent one day on a demo'd 159cm Legacy-R. Loved the rc tech, but didn't want to shell out the full price on a NS (missed the mid-season sales), so I went with the Nitro TG. 

Me: 190lbs, 6', size 12 boots, '09 Ride NRc binders
I went with the 162 TG (not wide) after reading that the effective edge is shorter on these boards. Basically the 162 is the same EE as the 159 Legacy-R I demo'd. SS was out of 162W so I ordered the 162 regular width over the 159W as the TG wide's are REALLY wide. Also with the Ride cant beds, my boots are high enough off the board that toe drag is not an issue at +18 -9.

LOVE this board. Very fun all over the moutain. My first day was riding some afternoon chop and I thought the board had way too little dampning, but all of my friends were feeling the chop too. Stable off jumps and the gullwing is very fun to play around buttering on too. Very stable at speed when bombing runs. Basically one board that does it all, and quite well. The base is definitely something better than extruded, as it takes more wax and doesn't have that plastic feel of a 100% extruded base. 

Compared to the NS Lagacy-R I demo'd: Overall I'd say the Nitro feels like a cheaper/lighter version of it. Not necessarily in a bad way. By cheaper I mean mainly that it doesn't seem quite as durable (NS are known for being well built, though - and it still carries a 2yr warranty vs 3yr for NS), but it is also noticeably lighter weight. I'd say the NS felt more damp over chop, but the Nitro still does well. The NS also had more pop. Both carve equally well, still not the same clean feel of a camber, but after not riding camber for a while you start to forget that feeling and are happy with the way these carve. 

Overall, great board, especially when you can get a great deal on it. Look forward to at least one more trip to Mammoth on it. Had to get up there this past weekend when the whole mountain was open for the last time this season - and this board handled the whole mountain very nicely.


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## buggravy

Here's my review. Kind of long, and restates some things already said, but I'm copying and pasting from another forum.

I just picked up a Nitro Team Gullwing in 157, and rode for the first time yesterday. Conditions were grimy, slow, Socal slush. Virtually every review I've read of this board compared it to the SL-R. From those reviews I took away that it was much the same, though slightly softer and less damp/more playful. I've been dabbling a bit more in the park, and wanted something that was ever so slightly more park friendly than the SL-R, but still all mountain capable, as I'll never be and all day park guy. I thought this might fit the bill. For comparison purposes I took both boards up to the hill, and switched back and forth through out the day. Visually, the Nitro has a pretty dramatic rocker/camber profile. Definitely more so than the NS. When I first rode the SL-R last year, after having only ridden cambered boards previously, the thing that jumped out at me was the pivot sensation from the rocker that enabled the board to turn on a dime. I suspected that the Nitro, with it's more pronounced rocker, would even elevate that, but that wasn't the case for me. I don't know if it was the degressive side cut or what, but I just felt like response and turn initiation were pretty lack luster. This board was definitely softer than my SL-R, yet I found myself feeling like I had to really muscle it through turns. I guess when I wasn't getting the immediate response I was looking for I was instinctively giving more input, and as a result found that the tail had a tendency to snap out slightly. I guess I just wasn't allowing the board to do what it wanted to do, but I just couldn't get it to feel natural for me. I only got a few runs of semi-hard pack in the morning, but could tell that the edge hold was not as good as the NS. All things said, I felt like this board was a bit of a dead fish compared to the NS. Being softer and less damp, I was expecting a board that I could manipulate more, and throw around easier, but that just wasn't the case. I didn't dislike Team as much as it may sound. Had I never ridden an SL-R I'd have probably thought it a perfectly decent board. Riding both back to back though, it was much more similar to the SL-R than I thought it was going to be, but for me, slightly inferior in almost every way. 1 very notable exception to this was the base. This base is goddamn fast. I'd waxed both boards with Hertel Spring Solution. The Nitro was noticeably faster right off the bat, and as the day progressed that difference only grew. My 1 and only beef with NS, is that in my experience, the black bases hold wax for shit. My experience with the Team Gullwing backed this up, as with a similar number of runs on them, with the exact same wax job, by the end of the day the NS was noticeably dry, and filthy from picking up all the dirt and pollen in the snow. The Nitro on the other hand looked exactly like it did when I left the house. I was really surprised how clean the base stayed. Judging speed for jumps was pretty challenging in today's slow conditions, and I really had to be careful in adjusting when I swapped out boards, because the difference was that profound.


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## Triple8Sol

Hey, thanks for adding your input here. Hopefully this thread will help more peeps discover Nitro and realize they make some dope boards!


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## buggravy

I'm anxious to get back out on mine. I was giving thought toward selling it while it's still in virtually new condition, but I don't know if I gave it a fair shake. I'd only ridden Never Summers for the last 2 years, and toggled back and forth throughout the day when I took it out. Conditions were amazingly shitty too. I think I'll get it out one more time and really give myself a chance to get used to the board, and see if my opinion changes.


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## Triple8Sol

$Lindz$ said:


> Agree with you saying Nitro has flown under the radar. And it's a little strange with the pretty popular riders they have (to those of us who actually snowboard and don't just watch the X-Games).
> 
> I suspect that their profile will shoot up on people's radar after Ben Bilocq's killer Videograss opener...


Hopefully they get more exposure from Eero Ettala too. He's moved from killing it on rails, to big kickers in the backcountry and his own tv show, all on his Nitro boards :thumbsup:


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## IndEleven

$Lindz$ said:


> Agree with you saying Nitro has flown under the radar. And it's a little strange with the pretty popular riders they have (to those of us who actually snowboard and don't just watch the X-Games).


Started riding Nitro boards in 2001 and haven't rode anything else since. Great company, quality products all around.


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## Triple8Sol

Well I ended up getting this board back from my friend. I decided I missed having it, and basically traded a board for it. So now this is gonna be my AM FS stick this season.


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## jojotherider

bumping an old thread here.

So does this board have an offest stance? I've currently got a 157.5 BTX Riders Choice and a 160w k2 Raygun. The RC is great in the crud, but lots of work in the pow. the Raygun is great in the pow, but lots of work in the crud. I had more fun riding the Raygun than I expectd. mostly because there were a lot of pow days at the end of the year. The problem that I had were the days where I knew I was putting in a full day. Pow in the morning, crud in the afternoon. Which board do I take? most often it was the Raygun because the float in the pow was amazing. But man did the afternoons suck. I think a good portion of the problem was due to the width of the Raygun with my size 10 boot. So I've been keeping an eye on the classifieds for a new deck this year. A Team Gullwing 159 came up today and i came across thread in searching for reviews.

Anyone have any experience riding a Riders Choice (or any BTX board) and tried the TG?

-joel


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## Triple8Sol

Yes, the TG has some setback. The Riders Choice was one of my favorite boards, which is why I owned several of them in MTX and BTX versions. The TG is faster and floats better, while the Magnetraction was better on icy conditions.


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## Leo

Holy shites Trip... Where have you been broski?

P.S. I am completely Flow binding free in my quiver now lol.


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## Triple8Sol

Leo said:


> Holy shites Trip... Where have you been broski?
> 
> P.S. I am completely Flow binding free in my quiver now lol.


Waddup! I've been busy trying to maximize the small window of time we call summer here in the PNW. Lots of biking, hiking, and some running and wakeboarding.

Congrats on being Flow-free hahaha...I'll be back on here in full force soon enough :laugh:


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## SGoldwin

A little bump and perhaps some update to current season version. I am looking for a new board. My StephChild everythingsucks (salaryman) is really fun in park and pow. But when riding the slope (specially during afternoon) the board feels a bit unstable. The nose wobbles. Last weekend I had an hour trying out Nitro Blacklight. A supernive board, stable in the slope and really fun and quick in powder. 
The Blacklight is a bit expensive, hard to found and perhaps a little bit to stiff. So I looked for other Gullwing boards and found Team Gullwing. 

He me figure a few things out. 

What differs 2010 and 2011 version of TG?
Which size should I go for? I am 5' 7 (170cm) and 140 lbs (67 kg). 
How soft is TG compared to Blackligt and StephChild Everything sucks?


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## Triple8Sol

I've always kind of regretted getting rid of this board, so I came across another one for cheap locally, a barely used 2011 model in the same size, so I'm picking it up to use as a rock board.

Not sure how I missed the previous poster's question, but I know the 2010 and 2011 versions are identical, save for graphics. To those out there that have a newer 2012/2013/2014 model, has anything else changed with the board? (i.e. wood core, gullwing shape, base material, flex pattern, etc...)


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## jojotherider

Triple8Sol said:


> I've always kind of regretted getting rid of this board, so I came across another one for cheap locally, a barely used 2011 model in the same size, so I'm picking it up to use as a rock board.
> 
> Not sure how I missed the previous poster's question, but I know the 2010 and 2011 versions are identical, save for graphics. To those out there that have a newer 2012/2013/2014 model, has anything else changed with the board? (i.e. wood core, gullwing shape, base material, flex pattern, etc...)


Are you picking it up in Issaquah?


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## Triple8Sol

jojotherider said:


> Are you picking it up in Issaquah?


That's f*cking hilarious! Does this mean I get a forum discount? :laugh:


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