2013 Flow Merc Used and Reviewed

Thursday, May 3rd, 2012

Sometimes you have to take a step back and ride something for a beginner from time to time. This was one of those such occasions. Flow while known for loving the backdoor of the binding realm also has a fully competent board designer who understands the needs of the people. Here’s how the Merc handled.

Board: Flow Merc

Size: 156

Camber Option: EZ-Rock. Mellow reverse camber between the feet with a slightly convex base, camber under foot, then flat out to the tips.

Bindings: Raiden Phantom

Stance: 22.5 Wide 18 Negative 15 Goofy

Boots: K2 UFO Size 10

My Weight: 165

Resort: Breckenridge

Conditions: Sunny morning with snow clouds moving in and turning the skies gray with temperatures dipping and firming up the snow.

Flex: Directional middle of the road all mountain. Softer nose gradually getting stiffer through the middle into the tail.

Stability: For an entry level board this thing was stable. You would notice a bit of nose chatter going at high speeds down groomers and feel it get bounced around in the trees/moguls if you weren’t paying attention.

Ollies: The tail had snap if you loaded it up and prepared to get after it. Otherwise it wasn’t anything over the top.

Pop On Jumps: I felt it just lacked here the last minute set up snap you want when hitting an icy lip just wasn’t there. Sure it got the job done but if I was taking it to bigger jumps (over 25 feet) it would be severely lacking.

Butterability: Due to the directional shape and flex this thing was not meant for buttering. If you’re a competent rider of course it will work but otherwise don’t expect it to do the work for you if you’re a lazy ass.

Jibbing: The softer nose was fun for locking in on nose presses. While on the opposite side of the coin the stiffer tail made you work harder. Over all it’ll get the job done but not it’s most shining point.

Carving: The sidecut is super mellow due to it being an entry level board. Trying to rail hard fast sharp turns was a chore and a half. If you wanted to be lazy and draw out carves though it worked wonders.

Rider in Mind: Beginner to lower level intermediate. It’s a board you will out grow if you really push what you’re doing and want to take it to a higher level.

Personal Thoughts: The stability was nice when in the trees/moguls which for a board of this caliber they usually piddle out and turn to mush. The sidecut although mellow wasn’t bad you always felt locked in on edge. What sucked about it was when trying to pop off edge hard on rollers it just didn’t give that extra oomph it needed to.

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