Snowboarding Forum - Snowboard Enthusiast Forums banner

GNU Billy Goat C2

16K views 42 replies 12 participants last post by  djrflooring 
#1 ·
Hello
Does anyone have anything bad to say about this board for east coast riding like Jay or Sugarbush.
Was curious how the c2 rides for east coast.I like to all mountain ride and love the glades fresh or old.
Any suggestions on similar boards would be helpful. nothing park!

Thanks ppl
 
#5 ·
Arbor wasteland not stiff enough the a frame a little to stiff. Ride more freestyle than freeride. Dont like the flow for personal reasons. They might be good boards but just don't like them.K2 makes great products but not good freeride stuff. Salomon makes a nice board the burner Jones flaggship looks nice rossi has a new board this year that might fit the bill the krypto but its tuff to drop 500 plus on something you have never ridden. I ride east coast which is allot of hardpack most of the time, powder is great but don't see that much have to poach the woods for fresh tracks need something that can do 60mph on hardpack and turn quick in the woods while looking for fresh tracks.
 
#7 ·
K2 makes some of the dampest freeride boards on the market harshmellow is for realz. Jones and Rossi are both not worth the money. They are less stable and damp than you want if you're maching. I'm curious as to your problem with Flow. They do not make a board I would not personally ride. Even their pricepoint board would make for a fun softer powder killer in a bigger size. Flow has a huge Euro following so their sidecuts are freakin dialed.

Maybe also look into the Nitro Blacklight Gullwing. Gullwing is one of the best camber designs in my experience. It has a characteristic to stiffen up a board when on edge but when you need it to flex and give, it does. It really lets you rail a euro carve without having to man handle a stiffer board around. Super quick edge to edge too
 
#10 · (Edited)
Nivek, it's hard to take your anti-Lib Tech / GNU post seriously. For boards that handle the glades well, and can still be all mountain, check out:

Lib Tech - Banana Magic, TRS, Travis Rice - there is Dark Series but it's stiff
GNU - one brand I've never jumped on
Yes - Optimistic or Big City
Ride - High Life
K2 - Turbo Dream, K2 Slayblade (little stiff)
Burton - Custom X - you going 60? That board is fun, but stiff
Never Summer - Heritage

As far as the Mervin stuff, I have yet to ride a board, more fun, for my riding style than the Travis Rice. I have heard I need to jump on a Banama Magic. Several in this forum have said for a groomer board, they haven't ridden anything more fun (believe Leo mentioned that).

If it were me, knowing you were East Coast riding, looking to bomb groomer but still want some play, I would pick up last years Banana Magic. You can get it for $480 brand new at a lot of stores, and avoid the $699 price tag. The only thing that changed was the top sheet, and last year's was better IMO anyway.

The second board would be the Heritage on that list. Super damp, very thick and beefy board, but lighter than an SL because of that Carbonium system. And the vario grip is very good. You can mach on that board, but still have some flex so you don't feel like you are super stiff.

I ride a lot like you do. I like speed, and then as it gets chopped up in the afternoon, I start hitting the trees and natural features. If there is powder, I definitely want to ride that so I like some rocker in the board. So for me, the Travis Rice was it. But knowing you want to push 60 on groomers, the Magic might be the step up you are looking for. The Rice has enough free style features to keep me content when the groomers are chopped to hell.
 
#11 ·
thanks for the info everyone


I am still not sure which direction to go. Local shop pushing left over stock, not much help there. I need to check out the new gear for 2012 but not much of selection. I still think the billy goat would be fun board. Never summer boards used to be really heavy but would like to check them out. Burton custom x old school camber always fun but more money! Might have to buy two boards to get what i need.
 
#13 ·
I was set on a Lib (or Gnu) for all the tech they have, but the two Lib's my friends have just look like shit after a couple trips. looks aren't everything but these things were beat up. No idea why, and yes that is anecdotal but still.

Went with an SL. My girl likes Roxy (of course) so I'm not anti-mervin at all, just the way it went for me. Looking at an eminence for her possibly.
 
#14 ·
The billy goat is unique to the Mervin line smallest amount of mag and really mellow c2 btx plus has Anvitex Dampener only board to have this. This is why i thought it would be fun board to rip it on. I have a friend that is riding the attack banana he loves it and rides jay all year long. He said it made him a better boarder. He was riding the arbor a frame. His attack still looks really nice after 50 plus days of riding. I also really would like a Nidecker megalight but also allot of money.
 
#17 ·
I'm looking at a BG too. Have spoken to a guy who owned last year's and raves about it. Super damp, cuts through chop, etc. I wonder personally how C2 carves compared to camber but he said it's fine.

And Magne is a must being on the east coast unless you're really good at tuning.
 
#18 ·
Weird if magne is so good that all anyone can talk about is how they are trending to mellow it out. I stepped on an Attack, gripped more like Arbors system tech. Better than everything else? I find that hard to swallow if they're dialing it back and its starting to feel like someone else's. Was magne a breakthrough? Yeah, but since then better tech has come out. Are you really gonna try and tell me A New Hope is better than Empire Strikes Back?

Yes Makes one good board. One. The Optimistic. Though better can be had still.

I fail to see why you, Nolefan2011, can't take me seriously on Mervin. Have I said anything in my argument for other companies products over Mervin that wasn't true? No, The Goat with its lessened magne probably wont grip too much, my bad, but it's gonna grip like System if its magne is on par with the Attack. Mervin uses a wet layup that takes more resin, so they are heavier boards. There is no way around that.

Also I will rarely "hate" on a product. I know what it takes to make a board, but if I feel like something else is going to perform better or the same for as much or cheaper I will say so. And if I feel like a particular board is just bad, I'm not going to sugarcoat it. I will direct some significant dislike to certain companies though. Mervin's one of em. I feel they use more hype to drive their company than anything else. For instance, you know how Arbor is getting to where they are? Their boards are dialed. The hype for Arbor is not from Arbor claiming they will make you puke fairy dust if you ride their "chosen one" boards, it's from people like me who rode their boards, found they ride better than anything else, and tell everyone who asks.
 
#27 ·
I think you are sometimes blurring the lines of how the camber profile grip the snow vs how the MTX grip the snow. Mervin uses various MTX because it is a personal preference. Their pro models use the preference of the rider - some like more aggressive MTX while others like subtle. This is no difference between you and rest of the riders who disagree with you. But there is a distinction between a difference in opinion and difference of fact.

Does Lib hype their products more so than Arbor? I would probably agree with you. Every snowboarding company hype and market their products to a certain degree. But does it mean Mervin boards are crap and suck? No. That is where your opinion and preference clouds your judgement on recommendation to others that would otherwise enjoy the Mervin boards very much.

I have both NS and Arbor and their sidecut tech is no where near as good as MTX for riders on the east coast. This is even more so during night boarding here. I usually bring multiple boards and when the sun go down I always switch over to a MTX board for confidence. Until you consistently ride and understand these conditions, please do not make blanket statement that may seem true for you but not for others.
 
#20 ·
Have you ridden an Optimistic or Travis Rice?

I demoed about 20 boards last year. For my riding style, which is bombing groomers or powder in the morning, and then screwing around in the afternoon on natural jumps and park jumps, as well as back country stuff, these two boards were more fun than all those other boards I named.

For instance, you label Mervin's boards as being heavy and dead because of resin. Have you ridden a Ride Highlife? That thing is a freaking plank. Talk about a thick, beefy board, that is so damp you don't even feel the mountain. Yeah, it's stable at speed, but so would be a dresser with the legs cut off.

I honestly wonder if you have ridden the Yes board though, or any for that matter. Because they are about impossible to find as demos. To me, the Optimistic was the best combination of stability at speed, the tech was fun when really pushing the board to it's limit (CamRock), it floated in powder like no other, and for a mid-stiff board, was torsionally extremely quick edge to edge. Very damp, but far from dead. Had great pop. Awesome board. Oh, and edge hold was excellent. Didn't wash once on me. I haven't found a board yet as a bomber that wasn't pure Camber that was more fun. And I mention avoiding pure Camber for the float that the slight rocker provided in powder.

Which also leads me to my next question about Mervin. Did you just ride a Skate and Attack banana? The Attack is using that eliptical design, and isn't the straight C2 BTX. So the stability at speed is not there with the Attack, not like it would be with the Rice or the Banana Magic. It's supposed to be a very loose board, and have some of those skate board qualities, but more stability than the Skate Banana.

I just bring this up because you can't put every board in a box and generalize. I have ridden about 4 different Lib Tech boards, and they all are fairly different. It depends on what you're looking for.

As for the Billy Goat, it's supposed to be one of the most stable Mervin boards at speed outside the Dark Series. And like the poster said above, he lives on the East coast, not Colorado Springs, so I stress you might not fully understand the sheets of ice they get out there. Which I do because I have family out East, and it's brutal. Can tell you a lot of the boards mentioned would wash on ice days. There is a method behind the madness with Magnetraction.
 
#25 ·
I rode the Rice in camber, and C2. Sucked. Rode the YES Dudes. Also sucked. Only company doing camrock right is Signal, who brought it to the industy in the Omni. I worked at a shop and I know angrysnowboarder, I wrote some reviews for him. I'm not some kid from the suburbs who happens on some gear mags and fancy's himself an expert. I try really hard not to talk about gear I don't feel I have a grasp on.

Will the Goat ride different than the Attack? Yeah, but if the magne doesn't change then that aspect isn't going to either. Magne gripped too much on the BTX Banana and both Rice's. Certain tech's characteristics matter very little what board they're on. Like YES/Nidecker's serrated edge tech, doesn't do shit, across the lineup.

I rode the Westmark at Winterpark on a -40* day. It gripped fine. And the park there was goram bulletproof.

I reviewed the 2012 Highlife UL for BA. Ride's are smooth as hell, not dead. And they year after year create some of the poppiest boards on the market. They're lively and snappy.
 
#23 ·
I like it a lot. Not as fun as Camrock for me (nidecker and yes), but much better than flat line in K2, liked it better than the High Life from Ride. Haven't ridden much Arbor, so I can't compare there.

It really compares to Never Summer, but the boards feel different. The Heritage had that real thick, stable feel. The Lib stuff for me was torsionally quicker and gave you more feel. Both techs lock in with the sidecuts, and are fun to carve.

I can't speak of the Billy Goat, but the Rice was really fun to carve. And it sounds like the Billy Goat is just as stable, if not more.

Hope that helps.
 
#30 ·
I demoed a lib and loved it and then bought one, so maybe I am biased on this topic, but this comment seems a little off.

I'm sure Nivek gives great reviews and knows his stuff, but it is clear he has a hardon for hating Mervin. Unless Mervin boards truely suck and would be a bad choice for everyone, I'd say Nivek could steer people in the wrong direction (or at least in an un-needed direction) if a Mervin board would be a good choice for them.

I loved the C2BTX when I first jumped on it even after spending my prior 10 years of snowboarding on a camber deck. I haven't tried many other hybrid boards so I don't know how they all compare, but clearly lib does not suck for me. Could I find better? maybe, but I'm happy with the brand new lib that I bought 40% off....very happpy.
 
#29 ·
Couple points.

On the Mervin sucks subject, shayboarder and the goodride have both given the 2012 Travis Rice excellent reviews. Shay said she kept the board another week because it was so much fun. Hard to believe that a dead board filled with resin would be one she would keep for extended period, or rave about how it was one of the best boards she had been on.

Two, the reviewing for BA comment. That explains a lot. He hates Mervin. I respect that. He also states, to each their own and that there are different strokes for different folks. So he expresses an understanding that everyone likes boards for their own riding style. I have a small theory that his thoughts have rubbed off on your opinion...which is natural when you work for someone. But out of all the sites reviewing Mervin, you two are definitely the minority. Again, I respect BA...he rides a lot of stuff, but everyone has a riding style and some boards are better suited to that than others.

As a park to very free style all mountain, I can agree there are better options than Mervin. From a total free ride perspective, like the original poster stated, I haven't had more fun outside the Optimistic, Heritage, and Travis Rice.

Last, Nivek, ride the Optimistic / Big City before you write off Yes. They are very different from the Dudes. And as far as your comment about the BS serrated edge...they don't use that tech on the Optimistic.
 
#33 ·
He also states, to each their own and that there are different strokes for different folks.

IMO, from the time I spend reading threads on this forum, this is what nivek doesn't convey in his advice and suggestions, i'm sure he understands the concept. And i'm not saying this to take away from the dozens/hundreds of people that he helps, because if someone is asking for blanket gear recommendations, or 'what board should I buy' then they usually get some generic answers, and i'd rather have nivek making suggestions to them than some dude that says the www is stable at speed or a horrorscope is damp and good all over the mountain(real mountain, not mid west mole-hills)

The notion that there is somehow snowboards that are the best, and that what nivek, or anyone else, feels is the best is going to be the best for everyone else, is BS. The way a snowboard feels is highly subjective. Because some random dude on the internet loves the tech of this brand and says that this other brand is shit, that doesn't mean a damn thing to me on how the board is going to feel to me.
 
#31 ·
LOL this is awesome. Nivek says he might have been wrong on the mtx on the billy goat then you guys jump down his throat anyway. Then he says the optamsitc is a pretty good board just not the best and someone tells him to ride the yes optamistic. hahahaha it internet is awesome. L2R before you reply.
 
#32 ·
Check the Rome Agent Rocker. Like a C2/NS-RC/Gullwing, but better. Most those other suggestions are good boards too.

I remember Shay and BA had reviewed the same board (can't remember which deck), with completely opposite results. BA demoed it twice and said that the middle was softer than the tips, and then Shay said the middle was stiffer than the tips. So it goes to show that you can't put too much emphasis on a review by a person riding the board for a day or less.
 
#34 ·
I doubt Shay even rode it beyond one run on more than a blue for that matter. She probably guessed the flex based on pushing on it at the show.

IMO, from the time I spend reading threads on this forum, this is what nivek doesn't convey in his advice and suggestions, i'm sure he understands the concept. And i'm not saying this to take away from the dozens/hundreds of people that he helps, because if someone is asking for blanket gear recommendations, or 'what board should I buy' then they usually get some generic answers, and i'd rather have nivek making suggestions to them than some dude that says the www is stable at speed or a horrorscope is damp and good all over the mountain(real mountain, not mid west mole-hills)

The notion that there is somehow snowboards that are the best, and that what nivek, or anyone else, feels is the best is going to be the best for everyone else, is BS. The way a snowboard feels is highly subjective. Because some random dude on the internet loves the tech of this brand and says that this other brand is shit, that doesn't mean a damn thing to me on how the board is going to feel to me.
There is a difference between boards I like and boards I know work. I don't like every board that works. I didn't like the Optimistic, I do know that it is a good board. I didn't even like the Highlife UL, but knowing how it rides, for the right person it is a good board. I know what works and what needs improvement, or trashed.
 
#35 ·
Blah blah blah I love Mervin
Blah blah blah I hate Mervin
Blah blah blah Angry Snowboarder
Blah blah blah Shay Boarder
Blah blah blah The good ride
Blah blah blah blah blah blah Star wars reference
blah blah blah I can't read
blah blah blah you're an idiot
blah blah blah fuck off
blah blah blah east coast
blah blah blah colorado
blah blah blah west coast

See a point here?

For some reason people label me as a hater because I'm honest. Oh no a Burton rode like shit I'll say it. Oh no a Mervin rode like shit I'll say it. Oh no [insert your favorite brand] rode like shit and I'm the hater? In any brand there's boards that ride like shit and boards that are awesome. There's also variances in construction and wet laminate vs prepreg vs super awesomo lay up are all difference. Then there's the I'm a park guy riding a free ride deck or vice versa. You have to find the board that is 1. marketed to you 2. designed for your style of riding 3. ride it to make sure it's what you want 4. be stuck with what you got.

I ask you this to those that actually won't seek out demoing a product. Do you want someone that says a board is all rainbows, unicorns, and fluffy bunnies? Or someone that's not afraid to say hey look rode it this happened and is why I felt it sucked for me or why it was fucking the bees knees? Everyone has their style of reviewing some people it's a 1 run and done for others it's a day of riding it, and then others it's buttering around on a rug in their living room and talking about it. Different strokes for different folks and that's the beauty of it. Me personally I'm the guy that wants a direct and to the point review where it states everything that happened while using it.

FYI not a Mervin hater on their decks more their bullshit marketing and crappy people that work there. Yeah I said it fuck their people I don't care. And to this date I've always been a fan of the TRS in the concept of it and the ones I have ridden. I've ridden a Billy Goat a few years back and it's a hard charging freeride board for someone that wants to point it. If you believe in the hype of MTX go for it. I've lived on the east I've lived on the west I live in the rockies now and I dislike Mervins version of MTX. They have a more elongated style of making the serrations while Smokin uses a more S shaped this makes them hold an edge entirely different and if you ride a Smokin KT-22 and then a Billy Goat or Dark Series you can see the difference in the edge hold. Even looking at them shows the difference. Is it the best thing for ice? Eh maybe for you I think it doesn't disengage the way others do on sheet ice and yes we in CO do get sheet ice anyone that's ridden Keystones front face to River Run knows how deadly that is once the suns over the front side. Even little girls like Nivek can attest to that and yes he's a little girl and he did do some reviews because I doubt anyone understands how hard it is to do 100 reviews in 100 days.

I will say this about Mervin I'm over that wet lam construction, tucked edges, and boards that just lose pop after 20 days. All you NS fanboys take note their boards do the exact same thing with the pop they become dead after a while I start to notice it about a month in to riding the same deck. I like snap in my boards which Ride seems to make really well but fucking Paul the designer is like a mad scientist and drastically changes shit year after year so you don't get consistency through the line with a slight change like K2 which is why I opt to go towards them.

In the end of this giant run-on-sentence-ramble-fest. Fuck everyone, fuck your moms, fuck your sisters, and fuck snowboarding, ride what you want, do the research, and take advice from everywhere/everyone. Don't just take my word, Niveks, shayboarders, the good rides, board insiders, easy loungin, skierra patio and butt fucking, and whatever other site you use. Ask questions, inform yourself, question what companies say in their marketing, and above all else use that lump of flesh 3 feet above your ass.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top