Some reviews to help you out

Here’s some reviews of upcoming boards for this season that I got out on. Remember take every review even mine with a grain of salt its just here to help steer you in the right direction that is all.

161 Never Summer Premier F1 (08/09) with K2 Formula’s

Stance 22.5 with 18 negative 15 goofy

Boots: Vans Fargo boa’s size 10

Conditions: Soft snow, very sunny, light wind, blue bird skies, waist deep pow

One Word: Unique

I’d like to note that my board is the first off the production line so this is not initially the real production model. At first this board started out really stiff, but about after the first hour when I broke in the fiberglass and core it was flexing like how a premier should. The new F1 is a stiffer tail, with a bit more torsional give between the binding inserts and a softer nose forward of the contact point. You notice right away the stiffer tail which allows you to push it through a hard carve, while still having the added playability of the torsional give between the feet. I do need to detune my edges a bit as for some reason compared to my SL and Legacy they’re thicker and noticeably sharper. The board did seem a bit hooky, but I’ll get another couple days on this to add to the review. Anyways in pow this does what its intended for, the tail sinks, nose floats. One of the more noticeable features on this is the weight is drastically reduced. There’s substantial pop, which makes this fun for hitting little poppers. I wasn’t too happy with it off park jumps or in the half pipe, but then again I wouldn’t ride this board for that. Off rollers though it was fun.

162 K2 0 with K2 Auto Evers (08/09)

Stance 22 with 18 negative 15 Goofy

Boots: Vans Fargo Boas size 10

Conditions: Small amount of gray bird, sun poking through, fresh corduroy

One Word: Absorber

So the 0 is K2’s answer to all the environmentally green things coming out and the fact that people have pixie sticks for legs and need light weight boards. This board does have lightweight, but it isn’t the lightest I’ve ever ridden either. The side cut on this allows for great carves, while still being very stable under foot, and having great edge hold. The flex on this thing is definitely not rail friendly, park friendly, tree riding friendly, or people friendly. Flexed very similar to a NS titan with it just being very hard to bend. The harsh mellow padding under the bindings and in the binding is awesome, for absorbing chatter. I felt next to no vibrations while riding this. The pop in the tail has to be man handled to get it to actuate. The new Auto Evers are stiffer than the old Auto’s but way more responsive. The cable on mine was so new it needed to break in so getting in and out was a bit of a pain. The heel strap is very cushy and holds you in super well. The weight of this binding has been drastically reduces as unnecessary parts were eliminated and put into a better capacity for user use.

159 K2 Turbo Dream with K2 Auto Evers (08/09)

Stance: 22 with 18 negative 15 goofy

Boots: Vans Fargo Boas size 10

Conditions: Slightly windy, bit overcast, and 6 inches of windblown powder

One Word: Rocks

So the Turbo Dream has the all mountain rocker. This rocker makes it far more versatile for going any where on the mountain. The board is meant to be ridden centered, so if you ride in the backseat or with a forward stance you’ll be falling over. When initiating into a Tail press or butter it takes very minimal effort to achieve this, but over all press ability on this board is so good. In the pow this board does exactly what its intended to do and sinks right in and goes for it. Riding this board on hardpack is no different than a regular board. I was still laying hard carves and just charging as fast as I could with this board. Popping on it off rollers was very easy, if anything the Rocker allows for better pop as the board actually flexes more to initiate the tail. Just so everyone knows with K2’s rocker on the Gyrator and Turbo Dream you ride it bigger than you normally would.

152 K2 WWW LTD with K2 Auto Evers (08/09)

Stance 22 with 18 negative 15 goofy

Boots: Vans Fargo Boas size 10

Conditions: Overcast, windy, cold, real crappy out

One Word: Retards

Let me sum this up, if you cannot press a snowboard especially a jibstick then you are a retard. But this board is like training wheels for the retarded in how it allows you to get into the press position. Doing tail blocks was so easy I don’t even think I lifted my back foot off the ground it just went right into that position. The big problem with this board was the bindings; they were way to stiff for it so they kind of overpowered it. By that I mean if I wasn’t careful this thing would just get retarded and buck me around. Popping on this board would be better if it was a hair stiffer but then again it’s a WWW and we all know how soft that is. Edge to edge it did what it needed to do but was still slightly squirrelly.

153 K2 Jibpan with K2 Auto Evers (08/09)

Stance 20 with 18 negative 15 goofy

Boots: Vans Fargo Boas size 10

Conditions: Overcast, windy, cold, pure crap

One Word: 90’s

Seriously I didn’t realize in the 155 and down sizes with k2 the reference stance drops from 22 to 20. My god it was weird riding something that small with that narrow of a stance. The new Jibpan is basically the Super weapon, with a 5 cm longer effective edge, some minor tweaks to its flex, and what not. This thing charged like a 158 that’s for sure, was butterable even with my gay ass narrow stance, and had pop like a jibpan should. I’ll definitely be getting on the 156 to see how that rides.

158 Omatic Celebrity with Nidecker ACT Carbons (08/09)

Stance 22.5 with 18 negative 15 goofy

Boots: Celsius CLS 8 Double Boa size 10.5

Conditions: Overcast, windy, cold

One Word: Stability

The Celebrity is Louie Vito’s pro model for next year, replacing the Wig Out. It has a similar flex pattern to the old wigs but a bit jibbier in the nose/tail. The pop on this beast is amazing and the edge-to-edge control is super stable while coupled with a great side cut for laying carves with. Buttering with this board is a breeze and switch is super stable. The bindings were a bit on the stiffer side but whatever its what I wanted and they locked me down and I was good to go. The boots my god now I don’t know where to begin with this. It felt like I was in a knee high ski race boot the cuff was so high on them, the heel hold was amazing, but the side to side play was just too much. The boot didn’t fit my foot shape and probably will only fit a D plus width of a foot.

DC PBJ 155 with Atomic Mojito’s (08/09)

Stance 22.5 with 18 negative 15 Goofy

Boots: Vans Fargo boa’s size 10

Conditions: Pure shit

One Word: Work

This board needs work, for being there jib stick I’d feel more secure dropping off a 30 footer than hitting a 30 foot double barrel. For some reason DC has the side cuts and edge hold dialed in perfectly, but the flex patterns are so whacked out. It’s a bit of work to press and pop, but the ride is so damn stable and damp. It just needs a different core profile and a changed carbon array. The bindings from Atomic are solid except for the toecap it needs some work, and the ratchets have minor issues, which can be worked out. They have really great dampening in them and are super stable.

158 DC MLF with Atomic Mojito’s (08/09)

Stance 22.5 with 18 negative 15 goofy

Boots: Vans Fargo boa’s size 10

Conditions: Pure crapola

One Word: Plank

This board is supposedly there all mountain freestyle board, the only thing all mountain freestyle about it is the shape and that’s it. The flex on this thing is about the same as a NS heritage, which made it a choir to butter. Its very stable and the side cut is great for carve initiation. The board rides pretty damp too, but for something in their all mountain freestyle line I wouldn’t call it a contender at all.

157 Ellis Felix with Ellis Felix bindings (08/09)

Stance: I think 24ish inches with 18 negative 15 goofy

Boots: Vans Fargo boa’s size 10

Conditions: Crapola again

One word: Jibgnar

Ellis is a relatively new snowboard company from So Cal that I had a chance to hang out with in Vegas for a day. The Felix is a total jibbers dream the stance has a max of 27 plus and its retardedly soft. The bindings coupled with this board are super soft so its just jib on jibber. The board had decent pop for being so damn soft, but you can feel every little bump in the snow. The bindings still need a bit of work; I had some issues with them that are going to be resolved in production. It’s a unibody binding so the flex is more uniform, the toe straps need some work to become more like a dual-purpose strap, but the ratchets are quick in and quick out. The high backs have great padding on them and are very plush.

172 Smoking TK with Smokingtraction and Nidecker Carbon ACT 1’s (08/09)

Stance 22.5 with 18 negative 15 goofy

Boots: Vans Fargo Boas size 10

Conditions: Crap

One Word: Hauls

Jay from Smoking saw what Mervin was doing and created Smoking traction (called magnetraction on the board through the license he got from them) but his is completely different. Its not as defined as any of the MTX boards I’ve seen, you have to eyeball it down the sidewall to properly see it. All my average gripes about MTX were gone with STX. I was able to lay down a hard euro carve no problem, it didn’t buckle under the pressure, it was very stable, and super smooth. The board needed a bit more dampening even for being a 172. It definitely hauled ass and was a fun ride for sure. Pop wasn’t super great; a little more in the tail would have made me a bit happier. Jay uses the same base as NS so I was stoked that it glided the same as all my NS boards.

156 Smoking Super Park mid wide with Nidecker Carbon ACT 1’s (08/09)

Stance 22.5 with 18 negative 15 goofy

Boots: Vans Fargo Boas size 10

Conditions: poo weiner

One word: Responsive

For a midwide it seemed kind of narrow, but the edge hold was superb with the STX, and the side cut was great for carving. This board was stable off drops, jumps, and rollers. It was decent to butter around but not anything I’d super rave about. Big thing with STX is to know that Jay doesn’t order it from Mervin, he has it built for him using his design, which is a far mellower version of MTX, less, defined at the tip and tail contact point, and more between the feet. The pop on this board is great for boosting and felt fairly lively. At speeds there was minimal chatter so I wasn’t sketching out about that.

156 Ellis Bot with Ellis Lithium’s (08/09)

Stance 22.5 with 18 negative 15 goofy

Boots: Vans Fargo Boas size 10

Conditions: Fresh corduroy, sunny, perfect conditions

One Word: Hatchet

Rarely do I find a board that rides like my old Hatchet. This board did just that. Anyways I was out riding with one of Ellis’s sales guy so we were just doing warm up runs and seeing as he just got in from Sea level I had to take it easy on him. Right off the bat this thing was a pop o matic machine. Came close to landing a cab 5 flatland on this. Side cut was great for turn initiation and edged perfectly fine. Torsionally this board was perfect for what it is, a higher end park board. Switch was a breeze, and pressing was insane. Definitely a fun board. The bindings had a minor issues I was warned about but I didn’t notice it. The disk cover needs some work, but the straps and ratchets were really good.

162 Smoking Mike Basich Pro with Ellis Lithium’s (08/09)

Stance: 22 with 18 negative 15 goofy

Boots: Vans Fargo boa’s size 10

Conditions: Freshies with blue skies

One Word: Stiffmeister

Board is relatively stiff laterally, with a bit more torsional give. The STX grips really well at speeds. I ended up making speed runs with Jay the owner of Smoking and doing some pow laps on the backside of Keystone. This board was stable off the various drops I did with it, and maching through the POW lips was intense. Tree riding it was fun and nimble. The bindings actually complimented it pretty well too. The shape is a bit weird as it’s all blunted out and snow would pour over it onto the top sheet, which is no bueno for POW riding. Popping took a bit of effort with this board and it was a tad sluggish, but then again its Mikes pro model, so it’s his specs. As of this writing there’s only 2 of them in the world.

155 Smoking MIP (minor in possession) with Ride Contrabands (08/09)

Stance 22.5 with 18 negative 15 goofy

Boots: Vans Fargo Boas size 10

Conditions: Overcast, windy, and poop weiner

One Word: Poppy

The board is absolutely sick, super light, and poppy. While being stable at speeds with minimal chatter. The bindings however suck donkey balls. The board was stable off small drops, great for popping, easy to jib, has a great shape for doing tweaked out grabs. The bindings took forever to set up and ended up having 3 people work on it before they got it done for me. The toe strap is a weak ass design at best, it grips right over the big toe and the side of the big toe. The heel strap, which has too put way more torque on it to feel locked in, actuates it and even then I was still feeling play. The damn thing crippled my feet so bad its still hurting 5 days later. There was no cush to that heel strap and it just tweaked my foot bad. This binding needs serious work. The toe clip thing is cheap ass plastic and doesn’t do shit to hold you in tightly.

153 Ellis Heist with Ellis Lithium’s (08/09)

Stance 22.5 with 18 negative 15 goofy

Boots: Vans Fargo Boas size 10

Conditions: Some sun, tree powder, bit windy

One Word: Jibtasticulastic

This board is a jib stick took no effort to do weak tail blocks and presses. The pop on it was ok but nothing special, edge to edge it was fine but unstable. In the Pow Pow it sunk, but then again it’s a little 153. The weight of it is ridiculously low and its super soft. Put it in the price point jib stick category.

158 DC Devun Walsh Pro with Atomic Black Russians (08/09)

Stance 22.5 with 18 negative 15 goofy

Boots: Vans Fargo Boas size 10

Conditions: Overcast, windy, pure crap

One Word: Slaptacular

Normally I don’t perform slappy’s on boards but this one just called for it so it was slap, slappy, splaptastic. This one of the 3 DC boards I’ve ridden was the most fun. Great pop, just a hair stiff in the nose/tail, but with a fucking amazing side cut, and edge hold. This board was stable yet playful, but it’s a lot like other boards on the market so would I buy it probably not. The bindings have changed a lot with that new high back, straps, base construction etc. etc. Ratchets need some minor tweaks but other than that it was a good binding very damp as well.

164 Flow Solitude WX with NXT FX (08/09)

Stance 22.5 with 18 negative 15 goofy

Boots: Vans Fargo boa’s size 10

Conditions: pure shit

One Word: BLAH

I loved this set at Loveland, but this time around it was no bueno. Probably because my rep didn’t set me up it was one of their in house guys. Anyways the board is a hair softer torsionally, but due to the fact my bindings were so fuckered up and I wasn’t dialed in it sucked balls. It felt like my heel was lifting in the binding, while the toe strap was just held wickedly down. I felt like I was slipping out on edge because of this sensation and it just wasn’t that much fun at all. Bindings had the heel slip issue, I think they put forward lean on it which is the lame. All in all not a happy camper on this one.

155 Rome Agent with Rome Uniteds (08/09)

Stance: 22.5 with 18 negative 15 goofy

Boots: Vans Fargo boa’s size 10

Conditions: pure shit

One word: Limp

This board rode like a fucking graft. This board is not the agent I was so disappointed with it. Way too much torsional and lateral give. This is the first board in a long time I heard the death rattle from the chatter and got scared. I felt everything in this board. The pop was good, and the side cut was nice except when I hard carved it and then it was topple over time. The uniteds suck balls big time. Too soft, toecaps suck, flex is whacked out. There was no rigidity from the binding and it would just fold over. Felt like riding a Burton mission from 2000.

160 Salomon Sick Stick with Rome Targa’s

Stance 22.5 with 18 negative 15 goofy

Boots: Northwave Decades size 10

Conditions: Epic bluebird pow day

One word. Surfy

This board is a trip. From the get go it was face shots and pow slashers. This board is a giant surfboard whether you’re on edge or in a foot of fresh. I was doing such laid back slashers, boosting off huge rollers, riding all sorts of wondrous conditions. This board just dominated that mini rocker rises out of the pow like a sharks fin and the tail just sinks right in. Stable at speeds with minimal chatter. Downside is that metal sheet under the top sheet, mine was broken in 4 places, I also managed to pull out an insert that was so lovely to find. You can butter this board, pop 180’s like nothing, and generally just slay it all over.

156 Drake Player with Drake Supersports

Stance 22.5 with 18 negative 15 goofy

Boots: Northwave Decades size 10

Conditions: Bluebird soft snow, some push mounds.

One word: Plank

This board for an “all mountain” board is a fucking plank. Seriously whoever designed this should be kicked in the face. It was a slug edge to edge, the hold was mediocre at best, it wasn’t damp at all, and the flex was crap. It was so inconsistent with the pop it was crap. In the pipe it would start by charging the tranny but near the end just putteringering along as though it was geriatric. Off jumps it would pop good maybe half the time the other half it was poop. The bindings have been redone and the heel straps were very solid that’s for sure. I had to rock them cap because if I rocked them over the top there was only like a half cm between them and the overly large heel strap. Typical of Drakes I had to put on 2 degrees of forward lean because of how they fit with the boots, and yes Northwaves are made to mesh well with the drakes. Adjusting them was easy as pie and they’re a solid binding, but for this board I think it held back on the binding itself.

155 Burton Fix with Burton Triads (08/09)

Stance: My guess is somewhere around 23.5 since the kid was an ass hat with 18 negative 15

Boots: Vans Fargo Boas size 10

Conditions: Grey bird lightly snowing with soft snow on the ground

One Word: Broken

This goes out to any and all reps that might read this. If someone says 22.5-inch wide stance, give him or her a 22.5-inch stance, do not argue with him or her for a half hour about his or her stance then set it up to what you ride. It is their stance; it is what they know they are right you aren’t. I know my body, I know what works for me, and a gangster stance does not. Do I look like a snowmie, NO! Secondly do not argue about binding size with me, I’m a large, I have always been a large, I know what works for me. Don’t lie and say your bro bra guy that’s turning screws is a size 12 in a medium, I know you are full of shit. So anyways on to how this thing rode. The flex is pretty damn inconsistent with it it. I could butter it but at times it would be really soft, others stiffer. Pop was ok but not something I’d be like OMG wowza I’m all that is jibber. In the pipe this thing would get all squirrelly and it bucked me twice. Off booters it just didn’t feel stable at all. When tracking this board would pull either way at any given time. The side cut was blah, I just couldn’t get a hard carve down on it. Now on to the bindings, what the hell is Burtons issue with not giving me a true 0 of forward lean. Look I understand that the vast majority of Burton users are Euro Trash that ride straight legged and need it, I’m not Euro Trash nor do I ride straight legged. I need a true 0. Secondly the straps on this thing were the gayest on earth, they just aren’t that great. The toe strap reminds me of something MFM shit out on his bindings and said nope not gangsta enough for me. It holds ok, but gives you no option for over the top. The heel strap isn’t that great and ultimately because of the binding and the crappiness of this strap it tweaked my leg in the pipe. Not happy with that at all, I’d have given this board at least a full day of riding had the reps not been real ass hats about it. Fuck the Colorado reps seriously. As far as this board goes its not the fix it’s the broken and should be fixed.

Libtech McKink 157 BTX (08/09) with K2 Formula’s

Stance 22.5 with 18 Negative 15 Goofy

Boots: Vans Fargo Boas size 10

Conditions: Sunny, blue skies, storm rolling in, medium to high winds at times

One Word: Stiffy

Ok I was a bit excited to take this out, as I don’t know many people that have ridden it. But seriously what a fucking let down. First off the base is really fast, but waxing it, the damn thing wouldn’t absorb the wax, as I’d have liked. The MTX is less defined, and I think the BTX is minimal. I say that only because when I put a flat edge across it, there was some slight upturning at the edges, but not as much as a skate banana. Now on to why this board was such a let down. I figured it’d be a high-end park board; oh how I was sadly mistaken let me tell you. This thing is fucking stiff, and I’m not talking like a stiffer park board, no it’s stiff like a Riders Choice, K2 Podium, etc. etc. I don’t know how you’d jib on this thing; I had to man handle it into nose presses on bonks. Now on to riding pipe with this. What a slug in the pipe, sure I could push off the tail to gain speed, but dear god it wouldn’t boost or dampen when taking a tranny back in. Off jumps the swing weight is greatly reduced in the tips, which was fun, but the boards heavy, and clunky to fling around, and once again not damp. Charging this board hauls the base is fast, but you feel everything underneath you, I wasn’t impressed. Going on edge the MTX would grip and then slip as usual; sure it’s less defined on this board but whatever. I also can’t get over the shape on the tip/tail on this bitch its kind of like a K2 www fucked last years Salomon prospect and then got jizzed on by a steak knife.

158 Never Summer SL with Rocker (08/09) with k2 Formula’s and 1 day on Relay Pro’s

Stance 22.5 with 18 negative 15 goofy

Boots: Vans Fargo Boas size 10

Conditions: Everything

One word: Funster

This board is the epitome of fun all mountain slayer. I’ve tried to hate it, I tried to dislike it, and hell I even tried to break it. The new construction with the new side cut (I call it Never Slip Grip) is amazing, you can pop to the moon, yet charge and not feel shaky. The big thing with the side cut is its kinked, think a cross between a tri radial side cut and the Salomon equalizer. These kinks aren’t like MTX that it sticks out and is serrated it just creates two bends in the side cut then kind of flattens out and lets you steer between the feet if need be. Unlike other companies rockered boards this one rides different. I only notice the rocker when I need it or when I Ollie. I no longer have to preload my tails I can just slap it down and pop like a skateboard, if I do preload it then I just boost insanely high. Presses are a tad easier because the nose/tail is raised a bit so you just lean into it and go. With the rocker the center of the board sits a tad higher so buttering around on boxes and wall rides is easier. The big thing to note with this rocker is unlike the K2’s that I’ve been on where you have to stay centered, you can get nose/tail heavy and still ride comfortable and not go ass over teakettle. When riding on flats because the nose is lifted you don’t get that drag that slows you down so you can charge through cat tracks, I haven’t gotten stuck on it yet. A downside to rocker is the duck walk that takes a bit of time to get used to it. I did notice with this board it took me a good 3 days of riding to become fully adjusted to how it rides. You can carve on this board better than anything I’ve ever been on without any downsides. Those kinks just grip so much more. Flex wise this board has a different flex than the regular SL, its stiffer in the nose/tail because of the double carbon fiber x’s, but that also adds more pop, and better stability. In the dead center of the board there is a flex point, when you push it hard, you can feel it in butters, jibs, jumps. It’s a true center flex if you do a hand flex on it and look at the side you see it kink. This board is damp and stable, kills it in the pipe, dominates on jumps, and slays jibs. Now lets talk about those Relay’s. What a pile of shit, sorry but I like a rigid heel cup, I don’t like feeling like my ankle is unsupported when I go into a press. I had to exaggerate all movements to press it and by that point it was like oh shit rocker initiation time and it was crappy. I could ride them but I wasn’t happy at all, don’t say they weren’t dialed in; they were set 100% to my boot. I will say the heel straps were phenomenal I really liked them, toe straps sucked, and the footpad blew donkey dick. I felt like I had snow under my boot all day with them.

156 Never Summer Revolver with Rocker (08/09) with K2 Formula’s

Stance 22.5 with 18 negative 15 goofy

Boots: Vans Fargo Boas

Conditions: Everything

One Word: Parkgnar

Rarely do I think to myself well fuck this board just reinvented snowboarding. Such was the case after day one on this behemoth. So I got up to Keystone on this beast, strapped in and blam I was like pop from my nose to my tail like it was nothing, then buttered it around, and threw a cab 3 like it was nothing. After that I laid into a hard carve and the edge gripped like my SL, but had a tad more chatter as this board is noticeably softer. After that it was game on to the bonk line. I was a tail tapping, nose stalling, wall jibbing machine. I got close to a butter 5 on the big butter wall ride Keystone has. Took this sucker into the pipe, that edge hold grips and just lets you float a lofty air like no other. The shape of the revolver is better for spins than the SL in my opinion. With the flat kicks on it I was doing nose butters like no other. On jibs I would just have to do subtle movements and be locked in to presses and what not. This board is stable to a point, but not as stable as my SL. Which was fine for the size of the jumps I was hitting. Switch is so much fun on this side cut you just roll it around and blam off you go.

155 Salomon Official (08/09) with Rome Targa’s

Stance 22.5 with 18 negative 15 goofy

Boots: Vans Fargo Boas

Conditions: Sunny with clouds about 32ish degrees into puking snow and 6 inches of wind deposited POW

One Word: Ungripable

The only reason I rode this board was to compare its Equalizer side cut to the new side cut on the Never Summers. First off let me say I was highly disappointed in this side cut. When I’d initiate a turn it would get hooky at the kinks in the straight edge, then get chattery in the tail. The board didn’t track too well either. Riding switch was a chore and a half with this board because that side cut was sketch ball as hell. The flex was fun I liked that a lot and popping on jumps was great, but half pipe it wasn’t happening. On jibs the board was just how I imagined it’d be, its like a tweaked Prospect more than anything. But that side cut is just sketchy as hell. The base is incredibly slow and I waxed it. When waxing it though, it didn’t want to absorb as I figured such a higher end base would. All in all not impressed with the side cut on this board.

167 Never Summer Summit (08/09) with K2 Formula’s

Stance 22.5 with 18 negative 15 Goofy, set all the way back on the tail

Boots: K2 T1 DB (08/09)
Conditions: Untouched first track powder at the Legendary Mt. Baker Ski resort

One Word: Floaty

Yes I was at Mt. Baker for a K2 sponsored event and yes I was rocking a Never Summer. Fuck riding a Turbo dream 156 when it’s 2 feet of freshies untouched and no general public allowed. I definitely got some strange looks with the fact I had like 3 feet of nose and 6 inches of tail but it was well worth it. I’ve never ridden a board in any powder that didn’t give me leg burn till I rode this champ. My god that nose just swung right up and the tail sunk and I could just ride as normal as usual with it. I laid some sick ass slashes with this and boy was it fucking epic. Then I got a fire cracker up my ass and decided to get into some burlier terrain, now when you see Shane McConkey pro skier saying that doesn’t look good, that does not mean charge it, but what the hell do I know. I did a bunch of crazy ass chutes, spines, and drops on this thing. Man this thing is just so retardedly stable even with no tail at all. I did get into a batch of crappy edge hold on some 45 plus degree icy pitch that I slid down and some how managed to survive the drop of death. Riding the baker natural half pipe (banked slalom course) was fun as shit on this thing when just popping and what not. Now the boots were the goddamn saving grace of this trip. I obliterated my second pair of Fargo’s this year and well frankly I was in such a mind fuck because this trip was to be epic and I had nothing. But K2 saved the day or I should say my rep saved my ass. Anyways the T1 DB’s are a hair stiffer than my Fargo’s, but have a better natural flex to them. They come with a full heat moldable intuition liner that rocks and is so much more Cush than 90% of all other companies liners. Probably the coolest feature on it isn’t the double boa but the fact that the internal harness has Velcro on the top of it to reposition where it attaches to the tongue of the hell, this allows for unlimited possibilities for tightening. The new Harshmallow technology in the outsole is intense. Its so damp yet allows you to feel the board very well. The profile of the boot fits a wide array of feet I’m noticing since my feet are horribly mangled and guys up at Baker with wide to narrow were rocking them no problem, which can be attributed to the intuition liner.

159 Never Summer Revolver Rocker (08/09) with K2 Formula’s

Stance: 22.5 wide with 18 negative 15 goofy

Boots: (08/09) K2 T1 DB

Conditions: Low 30’s some sun POW and groomers with some park thrown in for good measure

One Word: Preloaded

The more I keep riding these rockered NS boards the more I feel they’re going to be the most dialed in shits in the world right now. I’ve been having a fucking field day on this shit riding around and just ollieing fences, small children, woodland creatures, etc. etc. The pop in the nose/tail is intense but unlike a regular board you don’t have to preload the tail anymore, but if you do preload it be prepared to boost higher than you thought. The side cut on this board allows for you to get carve nasty like no other and has superb edge hold. Buttering is a blast on this thing; I’ve been doing fs butter to pole slam 180 out so sick and easy on these. Tail presses are just locked like no other and ollieing up to bonk things from flat is easy as pie.

156 K2 Turbo Dream (Kamp K2 Ltd edition) with K2 Formula’s

Stance 22.5 with 18 negative 15 goofy

Boots: K2 T1 DB’s

Conditions: Heavy POW, groomers, sunny

One Word: Limp

This thing was just retardedly too soft for me. I liked the other TD I rode but this one just felt too soft. Right off chair 2 at Baker I strapped up and decided to go head over to Chair 8. I threw it into a nose butter and the rocker was just too much it over exaggerated what I wanted to do and I caught my front edge and scorpioned. Popping on this board was ok but I’d rather have a Jibpan underneath me. Switch was ok but getting up to speeds I sometimes felt like I was going to eat it hard. In the POW this didn’t do as well as the Gyrator, which disappointed me, but then again it was a 156. In the natural half pipe I was doing little poppers no problem on it.

160 K2 Darkstar wide with Cinch CTS’s (08/09)

Stance 22.5 with 18 negative 15 goofy

Boots: K2 T1 DB’s

Conditions: Groomers, chunked up POW, sunny

One word: Blah

Now this board replaces the Afterblack only in name. Essentially it was just the progression of a super fun, poppy, snappy, lively all mountain twin. This board was far from this past seasons Afterblack that really disappointed me. What minor changes it underwent just weren’t that great, it just didn’t seem as lively. In POW it was fine but still felt like I had to sometimes man handle it through turns and what not. On groomers the edge hold seemed to not grip as well as I’d have liked and did wash out once. The bindings just straight up sucked donkey dick. The straps were horrid; I just didn’t feel like I was getting the support I really wanted from them, the cable kept popping out of the harness hold on the back. These bindings are for the casual rider that wants comfort and ease not performance. They’re also ridiculously heavy which is surprising since some of my set ups are highly heavy.

151 Never Summer SL Rocker (08/09) with K2 Formula’s

Stance 22.5 with 18 negative 15 goofy

Boots: K2 T1 DB’s

Conditions: Sunny Blue skies, groomers, park

One Word: Jibber

This board was so small I could just pop onto anything and jib it. The rocker makes holding press stalls on things so easy and popping out is wickedly fun. I only rode this 151 to see if there was a flex issue, there was. I have another 151 sitting at the shop I need to get on this week to just compare it. But for the most part this thing was a sick little jib stick, I might have to cave in to the retardedly small jib board fade and get one.