2013 Rome Butterknife Used and Reviewed
Now that everyone has figured out the whole alternate camber thing and it’s pretty much a done deal base shape is the new thing. You have TBT, BS Tech, 3d Base, Snake Transition, blah blah blah etc. etc. Rome is playing around with this diamond shape that elevates the contact points but keeps the majority of the board flat. Here’s how this stacked up in yet another review.
Board: Rome Butterknife
Size: 152
Camber Option: No Hang Ups Rocker. A flat rocker that is diamond shaped till the last 20mm’s of the board then there’s a concave in it like a skateboard.
Bindings: Raiden Phantoms
Stance: 22.5 Wide 18 Negative 15 Goofy
Boots: K2 UFO Size 10
My Weight: 165
Resort: Keystone
Conditions: Slightly over cast in the morning with winds clearing up to sunny bluebird in the afternoon.
Flex: Stiffer between the feet and loose and sloppy in the very ends of the tips. If anything I would call it mid flex between to soft flex in the tips.
Stability: Stable if centered and flat basing but if your weight is forward or in the backseat expect some chatter.
Ollies: You had to work this board to get the snap you wanted out of it. I attribute this to the flex in the tips they would go to mush before you could initiate the single hot rod in the tips.
Pop On Jumps: Do able but not something I would write home about.
Butterability: For a board labeled the Butterknife it wasn’t that buttery which was a bit of a disappointment. The center flex of the board is too stiff to let you bend at the outside of the bindings which pushes you out into the tips. This causes a plank like feel while balancing way out on the tips. Some people might like this but I found to be an all around butter stick it wasn’t that great.
Jibbing: The sweet spot is weird for presses but if you find it you can lock in. Between the feet there isn’t a lot of give to make you feel fully locked in on slides.
Carving: I constantly felt like the sidecut wasn’t gripping as it should. When on edge laying hard into a carve it would do that micro wash out where it slides a little grips and then slides more only to grip again. To compensate for that I found that doing hard quick edge to edge transitions didn’t cause this.
Rider in Mind: Someone that wants something stiffer than say the Artifact but not as stable as the Shank if they’re looking at the Rome line.
Personal Thoughts: Wasn’t overly impressed with this board. It’s a snowboard it’s there it’ll do its job. I had a great day with friends hitting features and having fun but the board was a severe hindrance to what I could have been doing in the park that day.
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Yeah it definitely doesn’t live up to its name as the butter knife that’s for sure. I’m on the very end of the weight range for the 52 at 135, do you think the 149 would be more buttery? Im diggin everything about it I just wish it was a little softer especially since its called a butter knife.
Just about any time you downsize it gets softer.