Board: Wired Devun Walsh Pro Model
Size: 157
Camber Option: Traditional Camber.
Bindings: Rome Black Label
Stance: 21.5 Wide 15 Negative 12 Goofy
Boots: K2 Thraxis Size 10
My Weight: 200lbs
Resort: Arapahoe Basin
Conditions: Overcast skies, warmer temps, snow falling, 2 to 4 inches of spring sugar snow, crust, chop, chunder, ice, and soft groomers.
Flex: Here’s the thing the boards flex just past the inserts feels like it’s past a middle of the road all mountain flex, but the tips are a little softer feeling more like a true middle of the road. The torsional flex is there and noticeable but not overly abundant. There’s a key flex point midway between the inserts and the contact point that you will notice.
Stability: This board feels consistently smooth. Not damp just smooth. That means you do feel some of the vibrations underfoot and there will be a little flap in the nose and tail at speeds in rutted out terrain. It does a good job of absorbing larger hits in deep ruts and crushes death cookies with ease.
Ollies: As it’s traditional camber you do have to load it up to get it to engage and when you do the rebound is about what you would expect. There’s a level of consistency to it that just feels like you’ve ridden this board all season long.
Pop On Jumps: It has enough pop for jumps, as A basin has the most questionable post season jump on earth it’s not a true gauge of how well it will work, but it got the job done. Knowing that this is Dev’s promodel it’s going to be fine on just about any jump size so just send it.
Butterability: That key flex point in the tip and the tail comes into play and this board just locks into presses and holds. There’s a tiny bit of fight but that’s only from inside the flex point closer to the middle of the board. Lock it in and just get weird you’ll be fine.
Jibbing: A little speed goes a long way with this board but it slides well. You notice that flex point lock in a press and hold it but still gives you enough snap to boost off the end of the feature. When you’re sideways it hugs the feature.
Carving: There’s a consistently smooth transition from edge to edge with very minimal effort. It just rides like a board you’ve turned a hundred times and never have to worry about it. When you do crank it on edge you can somewhat lay it over but there are limitations, which is fine as that’s not what this board is meant for. It does give you power out of the camber when you drive hard off the tail out of a carve. Overall it’s best suited for mellow ankle steered turns and medium carves.
Rider in Mind: All mountain freestyle guy that wants a smooth ride.
Personal Thoughts: There’s something about hoping on a Wired board that just sticks out. Maybe it’s the fact that Rob the owner has designed so many boards since the 90’s and perfected his process or maybe it’s just his way of knowing how to make a board feel like a board you’ve ridden all season. Either way they’re always a delight to get on and stick out as a solid option for those that want something they don’t have to overly think about when they ride it. It’s also nice to see Devun still have a promodel this late in his career.
Comparable Boards: Capita Super DOA, Yes Standard UnInc., Ride Shadowban
Binding Recommendations: Rome Katana, Now Select Pro, Union Ultra
3 Comments
Hi Avran! First of all, I want to thank you for recommending me Rossi Sashimi LG (size: 152 cm) a couple years ago. That board has been a blast to ride on! I am looking to add another board to my quiver and would really value your advice. I am 30yo male, 5’9″ in height with a US 9M boot size and weigh 145lbs. I am an intermediate rider with 41 days of experience on the slopes over the last two seasons. I mainly ride west coast groomers, trees and moguls. I want to start adding a bit of freestyle flair to my carves on groomers and get better at riding switch and buttering (and maybe even ride park one day). My ideal board won’t kill my knees/ankles when I am riding through moguls and will hold an edge in icy conditions while not being too unforgiving of mistakes. Here are the boards I am considering: Wired Devun Walsh 155/153, Wired Directive 155/153, Ride Algorythm (21/22 model) 151, Ride Shadowban 154, Academy Masters 155, Libtech Dynamo 153, Salomon Dancehaul 147, and Bataleon Golliath 153 (too washy in icy conditions because of 3BT?). Which one should I go with? Or, do you have another board on your mind that fits my riding needs better than these boards? Any advice is much appreciated!
53 Devun.
Thanks! Picked it up from Wired in Vancouver and got a free factory tour. What a cool bunch of people! And, they said they get a lot of customers because of you!