2010 Ride Machete Review

A guest post by David Zemens, snowboarder from Metro-Detroit and author of Shredding Gnar Snowboarding Blog.

2010 is the first year for the RIDE Machete, and it’s been getting rave reviews just about everywhere. I jumped on the bandwagon and bought one over the weekend, so I’m throwing my review out there for all the world to read, hopefully this helps you out!

Conditions: very-hard pack, light dusting of man-made + real snow, some ice, ~22F and windy

Length: 161cm Wide

Tech Specs:

• Available Sizes: 52, 55, 57W, 58, 60, 61W, 62, 64
• Sidecut: LowRize rocker
• Shape: Twin
• Stance: Center
• Flex: 6.5ish/10 stiff
• Retail price: $429

First Impressions: The Machete is flat between bindings and reverses from foot to tip/tail, a very mild rocker. I thought adjusting to this from camber was pretty much effortless. The edges are beveled 1 degree, and I’m pretty sure this saved me once or twice on the icy.

Switch/Pop: Rode switch nicely, but this is to be expected on true twin. It had a good amount of pop and was awesome stable landing ollies off rollers & small park jump (I didn’t go big).

Stability/Handling: The Machete handled speed very well (thank you, slimewalls!!!), landed jumps effortlessly, and pressed with the best of them.really suits me; even though I want a “park” board I’m really more of an “all mountain” rider who sometimes hits park jumps and very occasionally wipes his ass on boxes & rails. The Machete held its edge well on the very-very-hardpack, didn’t wash out on icy patches. The “slimewall” has an amazing ability to absorb chatter. I’d ride over frozen snowmobile tracks expected to get that chop-chop-chop-chop but nothing. Smooth sailing broseph.

Flex: RIDE says the flex on the Machete is 6/10 but I thought it had waaaay more flex than the most recent park board I’ve ridden (’09 Burton X8)—I was able to practically double the height on my tail presses. This flex lends to the overall playful feel of this deck, but don’t be put-off by that if you’re looking for a charger.

Overall: I probably wouldn’t use this for my “powder” board, and I might not prefer it for bombing black diamonds and steeps, but for an all-around board that’ll cruise the groomers and be equally comfortable rocking out in the park for a few hours, you can’t go wrong.

It’s almost February, and if you’ve been considering a new deck and you want to be able to use it for the remainder of this shred season, try and find one of these, but do it quick. Sources tell me that RIDE is selling out of the Machetes and quickly, so when they’re gone from the shelves, they’re gone for good.

2010 Burton Custom V-Rocker Review: It’s Not What You Think

There’s no better known snowboarding stick out there than the Burton Custom. And if there’s a snowboard that Burton is known for, it’s the Custom board.

In line with all the improvements, redesigns, reintroductions, etc… Burton added their own version of the reverse camber technology to their most popular snowboard and I finally got a chance to try it out over the weekend. Here’s my review:

Conditions: Very cold and icy.
Setup: Burton Mission Bindings.

Technology Worth Mentioning

Expectations - Given Burton’s Custom snowboard great track record, the rocker design, and more importantly the hype I’ve heard and read, I was expecting this thing to rock the mountain.

First Impression - Burton’s Custom V-rocker is a fun board to muck about and butter the snow with as the rocker shape nicely lifts up the tips and gives you a center base to pivot on. Unfortunately this meant the board did not hold any edge on icy/somewhat icy surfaces. I felt uncomfortable bombing down the mountain, and the V-rocker does take some getting used to. But boy did I have a blast switching and doing spins with the board.

Flex – The Custom V-rocker is a truly flexible board and you’ll feel it right away under your feet. Obviously this is where the rocker design comes in play.

Feel/Turning – The board feels light and steady through straight lines, but it’s when you start going faster that things get ‘iffy’. Although the board is stable under higher speeds, making turns is not the most natural thing with the Custom V-rocker. My guess is that the lifted tips make it extra hard to grab an edge if there isn’t enough snow on the surface. You’ll find yourself feeling somewhat off balance when making turns, so make sure you have enough space.

Park Riding - Naturally this board would fare well in the park and the reality is very close to that. Although I’m not a park person, I found myself wanting to spend more time in the park, because it’s a fun board for the park. Once again, the rocker design really helps as it softens the landings and makes spins easier to pull off. I highly recommend that you take this on boxes, but be careful with rails. The rocker shape will take some getting used to, but once you settle into it, you’ll enjoy the park very much. Unfortunately the half pipe was in bad shape so I couldn’t test this thing properly, but I felt a lot potential fun to be had from the few half pipe runs I got.

Stopping/Switching – Stopping with the Burton Custom V-rocker required more effort and space than expected. Like I said, the rocker design lifts up the tips so much that, unless there’s enough snow, holding an edge was more frustrating than expected. Switching on the other hand was SO MUCH fun. Given my disappointment with the turns and stops, I was stoked at how much fun this board was at switches. If it means anything to anyone, I’ve (un)officially renamed this board the Burton Buttertom V-rocker.

Pros

• Rocker design is a lot of fun
• Fun in the park
• Amazing for buttering/switching and overall mucking about

Cons

• Does not hold or grab as much edge as advertised/hyped

Overall Impression – Despite what Burton says about the Custom V-rocker being a “mountain monopolizer”, I regret to inform you that it isn’t. Unless snow conditions are great all over, you’ll find yourself frustrated with its stopping/turning abilities. Admittedly, snow conditions were (annoyingly) mostly icy, I still don’t think this stick is meant for all-mountain freestylers. But at the same time, if you’re going to stick around the park, you’re better off getting a park board. I feel the biggest culprit behind this is the imbalance between the traditional Custom feel and the V-rocker design. Needless to say, I’ve changed my mind about buying this board.

Who is this board for? If I really had to describe the ideal rider for this board, I’d say it’s for the intermediate freestyle rider that wants a bit more speed and more mountain ride time without sacrificing the goodness of effortless buttering, switching, and spinning.

Ride DH2 In-Depth Review

We’ve been getting a lot of requests for more details on the DH2 by Ride. There’s been a lot of buzz about this board among snowboarders for 2010. My friends that bought the board at the beginning of the season have fallen deeply in love with it and were hesitant to give it up for me to review it. After much negotiation, I managed to get my hands on one and really put it to the test on the slopes.

Setup: Ride DH2 155, ’08 Burton Cartel bindings, ’10 Burton Ion boots.

Location/Conditions: Mont Tremblant, Quebec, Canada. Machine groomed powder, kind of cold, North face of the mountain was a bit more on the powdery side.

Technology (worth mentioning)

• Low-Rise Rocker – The area at the center of the board running between the bindings is dead flat but the board pivots up slightly in shape just outside each of the bindings towards each tip.
• Carbon Pop Rods – Fiber-like structures in each of the tips give an added stiffness to the ends to enhance the pop of the board without adding stiffness to the core.
• Carbon Rays – A technology being adopted by a lot of manufacturers that features rods running from your bindings to the edges for quicker power transfer.
• Slimewalls – Ride’s coveted sidewall technology that features it’s own dampening system and is ultra durable for sliding on snow, metal, or wood.
• Membrain Topsheet – Ultra light topsheet to reduce board weight.

First Impression – As the bottom graphic so casually puts it… HELLSYEAH. This is one super fun board that translates really well over the mountain but finds its roots in the park. Past all the marketing and tech, pressing rails and landing jumps just felt a lot better on this board.

Flex – The board had a relaxed, fun feel to it. It’s definitely stiffer between the bindings than in the tips to give it the best of both worlds in terms of freeride/freestyle riding. Overall, a nice ride.

Feel/Turning – Although the way this board is built in a very complicated way, it all comes together for a very natural, balanced feel. My first couple of runs felt great going relatively fast and transitioning slowly on longer S-shaped turns. Transitioning into turns was easier than I expected and held onto a carve very smoothly as opposed to being aggressive. At even higher speeds the board felt stable and damp thanks to the stiffer core but would chatter if I pushed it past this point. The board felt relatively light under my feet and the base was waxy and fast.

Powder Riding – Took the board to the North face of the mountain that had significantly more powder and really enjoyed the way it floated. In deeper pow situations, I did need to ride the back seat a little to prevent it from sinking but it never really happened. In choppy areas the board did get a little bumpy but nothing to worry about too much. Pulling switches and buttering around in the pow was effortless compared to my Vapor and was definitely a lot easier to swing around.

Park Riding – This board is well equipped for the freestyle park rider. Despite being a reverse camber, it had really nice pop to it that made the entrance and exits to boxes and rails very nice. You can jib your brains out with this thing. The stiffer core wasn’t so nice for balancing the center of the board on rails but it was still very doable. The rocker made landings very smooth. This is definitely something I noticed in comparison to my regular board, a Burton Vapor. The Vapor is always shaky for the first split second or two after a big landing and I need to smooth it out. The DH2 however just felt a lot more comfortable getting back to the snow from the air. The one place I didn’t particularly enjoy this board was in the pipe. I wasn’t expecting it to perform because of the rocker tech on it. It felt a little fussy and couldn’t hold on to the walls of the pipe properly.

Stopping/Switching – I loved the way this board dug into the snow. It was effortless and did it in such a way that you would expect out of a freeride board without the aggressive grip on the ice. The board also has a twin shape to it, which made riding switch a lot more comfortable and controlled. The transition to switch was a lot easier because of the rocker. You could spend the day buttering up the slopes with this thing.

Pros

• Decent price for all the tech involved ($500).
• Park board that you can charge the mountain with.
• Natural, smooth switching.
• Durable edges will last you longer than most boards.

Cons

• Flex profile might not be suitable for everyone.
• Tailored mostly for park riders.
• Underperformer in the half pipe.

Overall Impression – Ride listened to snowboarders and tweaked the DH into this really cool all-mountain machine. If you live nearby a smaller resort and spend most of your time in the park, you’re going to love this thing. Outside the park, it will still keep up with your needs but won’t handle as well as a freeride board on very high speeds. Switching, buttering around, and just plain old fooling around just feels a lot cooler on this board. The jibbing experience on this thing is insane and to be honest, that might justify adding this stick to your arsenal. Definitely on my short list for 2010.

Burton Jussi 2010 Review

I’ve been wanting to get this board for a couple seasons now, and I finally did this season. After a few weeks riding the Burton Jussi, it’s time to put up a review.

Setup: Burton Jussi 159, Burton C60 (with the ICS adapters) bindings, Burton Ion Boots.
Conditions: machine groomed and very cold!

Technology
Twin Shape – this board is symmetrical and should feel the same whether riding regular or switch, though it has a directional flex pattern, meaning the nose has less pop/flex than the tail to maintain better stability at higher speeds.
Inifite Channel System – supposedly provides a more direct connection between the bindings and the board (I don’t buy it), while easily letting you mount your bindings any way you choose (this, I buy).
Freestyle Scoop – exaggerated spoon shape which creates a forgiving feel by turning the edges up at the tip and tail.

First Impressions: This is an excellent all mountain freestyle board for the aggressive rider in you with a lot of pop and spring to it. Given that this is Jussi Oksanen’s board (and designed by him), you can only expect it to be that good, but the board is a bit too stiff to rock just anywhere.

Flex/Stability: Stiffer in the tail, with more pop in the nose, but overall pretty flexible board and fun to ride. Burton’s feel/stiff rating is 6/10, but the board felt a little stiffer than that (think of it more of a relative thing). In any case, it works out well, because the board felt very stable compared to many other freestyle mountain boards. Buttering with the Jussi board was fun.

Park/Jumps: Taking off jumps with the Jussi is great, and landing is not too hard on the knees, but don’t get too excited, because this is not a park board. I definitely wouldn’t recommend jibbing with it too much, because it wasn’t designed for the park in the first place.

Carving/Switching: The board is stiff and tuned enough to hold its edge under pretty high speeds. Switching was a lot of fun and riding regular felt pretty much the same as switch – no board will ever feel the exact same riding switch or regular since humans are not anatomically symmetrical, but this is as good as it gets.

Pro’s:

• Very playful thanks to the exaggerated spoon shape
• Stable under high speeds
• Switching is as natural as it gets

Con’s

• $$$ – somewhat expensive
• Not a fan of the board art
• Not for the park and jibs

My thoughts: The Burton Jussie is a wicked board designed for anyone looking for a fun, yet aggressive stick. Moving forward, this is going to be my primary board (replacing my much more aggressive Burton T6)

If you have any questions about the board, please leave a comment and I will answer you!

Top 12 Snowboards for 2010

With so many snowboards out there to choose from, the addition of all the new technology made available the past two seasons just makes life a whole lot more complicated. Cambers, reverse cambers, dead-flats, rockers, cambered-end rockers… It’s a zoo out there. To make your life easier we took a look at twelve of the best boards for this season, researched the crap out of them, and helped breakdown some of the tech that goes along with them. Here they are, in no particular order…

#1. Lib Tech’s “Skate Banana” ($490)

Although many snowboarding companies have been familiar with reverse camber technology for quite some time, you really have to give props to Lib Tech for reviving it with the Skate Banana. Over the past 2-3 seasons, the company has also been tweaking this board with minor adjustments just to make it better and better. I absolutely LOVE riding this board and so does everyone else who tries it.

The board features Lib Tech’s take on the “reverse camber” where the board is kinked upwards between the feet and from there runs flat to either end of the board. The result? A very loose, fun board that will have you jibbing around and pulling tricks like you never thought possible. Critics will say that this thing is unstable at high speeds but they’re wrong with this board cause the length of it from tip to tail will be on the snow when you carve. With eight contact points digging into the ice on a turn, you’ll also be more stable thanks to the Magne Traction tech.

Sizes: 148N, 151N, 152, 156, 156W, 159, 159W

#2. Ride’s DH2 ($500)

There’s been a lot of talk about the Ride DH2 among the snowboarding community for 2010.  The board features a different kind of reverse camber technology with the board running flat underneath your feet and then kicking up outside the bindings. This allows for a fun, relaxed feel that makes it ideal for the pipe, jumps, and pressing rails.

Haven’t tried this board myself but fellow boarders out there have told me that apart from being incredible in the park, the board can be used with no problems for aggressive riding as well. Ride adds what it likes to call “Carbon Pop Rods” in each tip that give a lot of character to the feel of this board. Apart from being lightweight, it also has thicker steel edges to help with the wear and tear that happens from park riding over time.

Sizes: 151, 153, 155, 156W, 157, 159, 159W

#3. Burton’s Joystick ($530)

With a name like “Joystick” you know fun is just around the corner with this board. Had the chance to try out this board from a Burton demo tent early into the season and was thoroughly impressed with it. Featuring Burton’s “rocker” reverse camber design, this board is similar to the Skate Banana in it’s between-the-feet kinkness. The board’s got a slightly wider feel with tips that scoop up (technology similar to Morrow’s spoon).

The Joystick is very fun to ride, whether it be for jibs, jumps, or pipe attacks. The nice thing about it is that it is insanely forgiving, so you can go big trying new tricks on it. The scooped tips maintain the boards very free feel even when you lean hard on it. With a very balanced stiffness and quick edge-to-edge movement, the board can do pretty much whatever you want.

Sizes: 150, 154, 156W, 157, 159W, 161, 163

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