Board: Korua Pencil Plus
Size: 164
Camber Option: Float Camber. Rocker in the nose camber throughout the board.
Bindings: Rome Black Label
Stance: 21.5 Wide 15 Negative 12 Goofy
Boots: K2 Thraxis Size 10
My Weight: 200lbs
Resort: Arapahoe Basin
Conditions: A mix of gray clouds and blue skies, zero wind, cold temps, a couple inches of fresh on top of perfect corduroy, and a few pots with some lumpy chunder for good measure.
Flex: It’s part of the plus line which automatically makes it on the stiffer side due to the carbon construction. It also has a full directional flex meaning softer nose into a stiffer tail, where the rocker is obviously will have the most flex. The torsional flex is there but not overly demanding which is nice as it allows you to micromanage the board when on edge.
Stability: Being full carbon it does make it highly reactive so you feel that kinetic energy. This means that the bigger shock waves from chatter are absorbed better but the small vibrations just linger. Overall this board actually just plows through most variable terrain with ease it’s only at high speeds when you hit something out of the blue that you really get jarred.
Ollies/Pop: The beauty of this board is how reactive it is so once you load up the camber profile you have engaged that carbon to rebound and it wants to pop you. It’s one of those boards where you want to be calculated but if you’re precise with the when and how you engage the snap you’ll be able to read the terrain completely different.
Butterability: Yeah no I didn’t bother.
Carving: Now on to the main course of what this board is designed for. This is a board that is fluid from edge to edge you notice the raw power from each transition. When it’s on edge you can manage the board with very subtle and nuanced movements as you apply pressure in different areas. When you’re laying it over and you want to pop out of the carve hard you just push the inside of the rear binding and it springs you up, but if you want to hold the carve longer you push it through the tail and disengage the front foot. This is a board that lets you go from long swoopy carves into a deep aggressive one to lay a trench. If you like turning on groomers and slashing the pow on the sides this is the deck to consider.
Rider in Mind: Resort ripping carver that wants to see the whole mountain as a bunch of banks and berms.
Personal Thoughts: This may be my second favorite board from Korua now. It just charges and carves so differently from the others of theirs that I’ve been on. It lets you be more fluid and dynamic with your carves while giving you raw power underfoot from the carbon. Overall it’s not a board for everyone but for those that understand what it can do they’ll utilize it to their advantage.
Comparable Boards: Amplid Pentaquark, Nitro Pantera, Bataleon Carver
Recommended Bindings: Rome Katana, Salomon Alibi Pro, Ride A-9
6 Comments
If it’s your second favorite, which is the first. Transition finder, Café Racer?
Nose Rider.
Of course, what was I even expecting?
That your expectations would be met and you would feel validated.
So this and the Ride Peace Seeker both lay absolute trenches, that much is clear.
But which is going to try and kill me less when the end of the day comes and the groomers have turned into rutted out mogul fields?
Pencil.