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Review on 2013 Ride Machete w/ 2013 Burton Carel

2K views 4 replies 3 participants last post by  kimchijajonshim 
#1 · (Edited)
I finally took my new set up to Tahoe for the first time, after riding on a Burton Dominate w/ K2 Forum bindings for about 8 years. I consider my self an advanced snowboarder, splitting my day up with the following: 70% free ride, 30% park (free style).

This board was nothing short of amazing. The condition of the snow was shit, pretty icy and bare at a lot of the resort but I maneuvered flawlessly. It had a very surfy like feel and I was able to carve nice in the ice. I read a LOT and I mean a LOT of reviews before I bought this board, not one person referred to this board as a surf like feel. Usually a camber type board would be considered "surf like", but I would say this board felt the same.

At high speeds I had great control, the board was not wobbly at all. I went to North Star resort in Tahoe and there is a long cat walk that comes from a small side run; with my old board it was difficult to gain enough speed to get through the full cat walk without either clicking out, or trying to butter my way to the end. With the Machete I had no problem gaining and retaining speeds through out the whole cat walk, never having to click out.

At the park, I felt comfortable straight lining to a kicker, had very nice pop, and my landing was a little "iffy" but the board corrected me fairly well. Also, the weight of this board is perfect, light to carry, feels nice when I hit a kicker, but not too light where I would be nervous to take it at high speeds.

The cartels complement this board and my riding style unbelievably. A typical day for me is from 9:00-4:00, and the padding on the base of the cartels are amazing for a long day of riding. They have a soft padding, with a gel feel pad for long days and landing absorption. I click in and out with no hassle and the comfortable level is A+. When I hit a kicker, I felt no vibration through my legs, and as I stated, the absorption of a landing feels like world of difference compared to my last board.

Ride Machete is truly one of the best overall boards for a rider who wants to be able to ride anywhere. It is aesthetically pleasing, backed up with its' performance. I would recommend this to anyone.

I have still not rode this board in powered, but if anyone has any questions feel free to ask.
 
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#2 ·
Good review,

Did you demo any other current boards before deciding on the Machete or just take the plunge?, in particular the Machete GT, did you try/look at that at all?, interested in the riding differences between the two.
Unfortunately the GT is super ugly compared to the Machete, but it does have some different tech. Interestingly GT doesn't have the pop rods, but more carbon stringers under the bindings, so keen to hear if you or someone has ridden both and can compare?
 
#3 ·
I did a lot of research before I bought my board, I mean a LOT. I knew what style rider I was so I read reviews on the type of boards that fit my style, Low Rise Rocker. So in a way yes, I kinda took a plunge because I didn't demo the board before I bought it, but I trusted user reviews enough which paid off in the end.

The GT just has some updated technology. It is also a Low Rise Rocker, but has a bit of a camber towards the center. GT doesn't have the pop rods, but it has a similar technology towards the end/sides of the boards that will give you that same playful feel. Personally I've heard it rides just like the Machete, but the GT gives a more playful feel, I'm gonna assume its more for a park rider or someone who wants more responsive feel.

Hopefully this helped!
 
#5 ·
To revive an older thread, I bought a 162 Machete last year very cheap. I'm 6', 215 lbs currently, reasonably advanced rider (not much of a park guy but I like bonking random signs and stuff and hitting small to medium features). I was expecting to love this board because it had so many accolades in reviews and rewards but I thought it was tremendously overhyped.

Especially flat based, it just didn't work for me. It reminded me of the early days of the Skate Banana... I constantly felt like I was on a too-short board, about to catch an edge at speed (even though I never caught an edge). It feels just a fraction of a second slow initiating an edge, you have to lean in a bit more to get the the contact point to bite because it's lifted off the snow. Once you actually get it on edge, it holds nicely enough, but I didn't feel much pop and power transitioning from turn to turn. Just not much fun for me on piste.

I also couldn't find the ollie point on this board. I tend to struggle with this a lot on reverse camber boards, and wasn't expecting it on a flat board, but I just couldn't get comfortable.

It did feel really fun and surfy in soft snow, so I get the sense it'd be a fun pow board, but in no way shape or form is this the quiver killer for all conditions I had wanted an anticipated. I didn't hate it, but I was really disappointed and will be going back to the Proto as an every day stick. I may keep the Machete around as a pow board, but most likely I think I'm going to sell it.
 
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