Author: Andrew

They Spin/Butters crazily too! I was impressed by two things theee most: First; going through crud was incredible,these boards had no idea they were riding on choppy snow, fast & stable! Second, the flex. Made it fun & smooth for me! Ok, third, 360 spins, they did just as well as the Tansho’s, but the Tansho’s feel more apart of me, more at home on them.

Background Info: I’m 27 yrs old, decent shape, 6′ tall, 185ish lbs. I wear Dalbello Krypton Rampage boots (mondo 29.5). I am a novice snowboarder, haven’t skied in 11 years, very comfortable on inline skates (skate w/my wife for exercise) about 3 times a week, and a first time skiboarder. My first skiboarding trip (4.5 days) took place down south at Los Tres Valles (El Colorado-Farellones/Valle Nevado/La Parva) in Chile (review to follow) from 25-29 July. Snow was mostly packed pow and temperatures ranged from 25-40 deg F. That about covers it. So here it goes:

These boards were used, but in great shape when I bought them. I put a coat of hot wax on them every two days and they stayed nice and slick.

My first ride down the hill (green run – ungroomed crud) was a little sketchy, at no fault of the boards. Once I stopped sitting in the backseat, everything smoothed out. These BWPs were almost as nimble as my inlines. Their soft flex ate up the crud without an issue. Soon I was on a groomed run and realized the true potential. Edge to edge was seamless and easy…no poles and no problems.

The following 2 days I upgraded to some blue runs (groomed packed pow) and a whole new world opened up. Even at 99cm, these boards were plenty of fast. I constantly had to check my speed. Hockey stopping took quite a bit more effort than on skis/snowboard (not-so-sharp edge probably played into it.)

Days 3.5 and 4.5 were spent almost entirely on packed pow red runs (south american version of blue-blacks). Once again, they performed like a dream on the groomers. I hit a few small jumps and the flex and wide design held up nice on the landings. My friends and I decided to hit a bowl on the other side of the mountain….that’s where disaster struck…

A 185ish pound dude on 99cm boards does not work too well in over a foot of Andean powder. I leaned back as much as I could without falling, but i just couldn’t get the speed (green/blue-ish steepness) necessary to maintain a good line. The boards just kept sinking.

Crud (hard top layer, mushy under): Just enough float, had to lean back on the heels a bit. It helped a lot when I set my bindings back a tad. This is in no fault of the ski design, as they are just not big enough to float for my weight.

Powder: Very maneuverable, enough float with the binding setback a tad.

Packed Powder: Good God, these things are incredible. Turns on a dime and super-fast! They were so comfortable, and I could stop on a dime. Absolutely amazing!

Ice: With sharpened edges, I had no problems maneuvering through big ice patches. The short length made it easy to transition from side to side and stopping was still a breeze.

Park: I’m not too much of a park person, but the small jumps had very comfortable landings.

Bumps: Easy to maneuver through these guys because of their short length.

Trees: I don’t understand how people go in these things without skiboards! Absolutely amazing. Although there is abundant powder, I sat back a bit on my heels and never had any issues. It was very effortless, and I didn’t even get fatigued!