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Hardbooter gone soft. Cobra X ?

4K views 21 replies 10 participants last post by  Loftness 
#1 ·
Hi guys, 6'3 , 180 pounds, 11.5-12 size boots. Hardbooting I consider myself Advanced, laying it down the Blacks and soft boot I score a low intermediate. Carving some blues.

Looking for my next board for apocalypse style snow condition: Golf balls, too soft snow, ice and throw in some hardback with sticky snow here and there. When those condition show up I usually go for the woods (reads Quebec style tree runs....think hard/icy moguls in between trees). Currently riding a Head Holster-I camber 163W. Not really wide enough and bit too stiff for bump and not loose enought. Not enough float either.

Exchanged some PMs with Linvillegorge and reading Dreampow review seems like a NS Cobra X would keep me happy. Bit nervous about the board rocker/camber profile since I've been riding heavily cambered boards.

Today had apocalypse style condition and demos tents were up :yahoo:

Tried a Burton Custom Flying-V. Hated it ! Too loose and heel side carves were impossible for me. Poor Edge Hold for the way I ride.

Next Lib Tech Skunk Ape. WOW ! Absolutely loved it. Finally able to lay it down heel side without having the cups touching the snow, now that's wide :thumbsup:

Alright still there ? Cool. My question the Never Summer Rocker/camber profile would feel like the Lib tech or the Burton or is it a whole other feeling ?
 
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#2 ·
Next Lib Tech Skunk Ape. WOW ! Absolutely loved it.
Sounds like you've found your board. If you loved it, I fear the Cobra may be a little soft for your liking. It's not a stiff board. Like I said via PM, pretty middle of the road in terms of flex. The Skunk Ape is definitely noticeably stiffer. The magnetraction (though I'm not a fan) may be beneficial for your conditions too.

If you like the Skunk Ape, the Never Summer you may want to be looking at is the Heritage X or maybe even the Raptor X.

In terms of camber profiles, the NS RC profile is similar to the C2 in the Skunk Ape.

My opinion, if you've demo'd one and loved it, I'd get that one instead of rolling the dice on a board I'd never been on. Been there, made that mistake.
 
#3 ·
I though Neversummer had magnetraction too ?

Talking with my instructor he said that the magnetraction was probably why I enjoyed the Lib tech over the Burton. He then explained why I got my ass handed to me by the flying V. The mother !%!# can out carve my WCMR with his flying V grrr.

Going softer is not scaring me, easier Ze knees for bumps and might be able to score an instructor priced board from Never Summer.

But yeah Buying a board without trying can wields bad results. Head Holster-I for sale.

Trying my luck to see if anyone as ridden both. Lib does have a lead but the cobra 's blunted nose sounds awesome for vacation out west.
 
#4 ·
Never Summer doesn't use magnetraction, they use vario-grip which is essentially a sidecut with multiple radii to create more contact points. I like it here out west because it creates better grip without the catchiness that magnetraction can have in soft snow. But, it doesn't grip on hard pack and ice like magnetraction does.
 
#5 · (Edited)
Sounds like it would be more Burtonesque type of profile. Seems like magnetraction is the patch to my lack of time working on my soft booting skills. Great Band aid if you ask me.

Again thank you very much for all the information. If somebody has more info to share feel free to chime in.

Meanwhile the hunt for a 166 skunk ape begins.

Funny how video reviews are saying it's a big big that rides like a big board and doesn't do well at slow speed.
I felt the exact opposite, felt very nibble and awesome at slow speed.
 
#6 ·
Sounds like it would be more Burtonesque type of profile. Seems like magnetraction is the patch to my lack of time working on my soft booting skills. Great Band aid if you ask me.

Again thank you very much for all the information. If somebody has more info to share feel free to chime in.

Meanwhile the hunt for a 166 skunk ape begins.
A 166 is fucken monster sized for your weight.

I'm about your size, wear size 11s, weight slightly more than you, and my Hot Knife is 158. And I wouldn't consider going bigger than that, unless you're going to be riding in pure pow.

Side question: If you're use to hard boots, why not get stiffer bindings and boots?
 
#8 · (Edited)
I currently use Burton Driver X and malavita for boots/bindings. Apparently Driver X are supposed to be pretty stiff. Personnaly I do not want to go any softer then that. I started snowboarding in hard boots so my flex values are a bit weird.

I usually ride a 170 that fellow softbooters call: a H beam with edge :laugh:
I have a Coiler on order that's going to be 175.

The board I demoed was a 162. Checking lib tech's web site it looks like the 162 and 166 have the same weight recommendation. 1 finger length isn't that much more board to throw around. At 6'3 I got quite a large stance and leverage. Other "logic" behind the 166 is the 163w I have didn't have enough float for powder. Then again might have something to do with the board profile....hmmm...

Food for thought :thumbsup: Keep it coming !

EDIT: enlighten me: what is the TS weight reference you speak of ?
 
#10 ·
TS = thread starter, a.k.a. "you" :laugh:

I think you'd be far better suited with the 162 you demo'd over a 166. A 162 is already on the big side for your weight. You've already said you loved it. You're overthinking this whole deal. If you demo a board and you love it, there ya go. You found your board.
 
#11 · (Edited)
166 is not huge & like you said.

One finger length isn't going to make a difference.

I'm about 160lbs:unsure: & I was on a Never summer Summit 172 last week.:bowdown:

I think 162 is too small for you:thumbsdown:, especially if you already ride big boards:eek:k:

People around here only variate in length by a cm or two tops, their park board board is a 155 & their pow stick is a 157:icon_scratch: anything more than that, is just unrideable:giggle:

A lot of people in this forum have been brainwashed into getting smaller boards:giggle:

Smaller than I'd recommend anyway:bowdown:


To someone who has never ridden something that big, it might be over whelming:dunno:

but someone that rides boards that big, & bigger.

That 162 is going to feel like you're driving this.
 

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#13 ·
The lib tech darker series is their best go fast carve hard board. comes in 164W. It is stiffer than the custom x. The C3 camber feels really close to regular camber. But if you want better float in powder the skunk ape HP would be the way to go. All this years libtech boards are on sale at backcountry.com right now.
 
#14 ·
I'm a big proponent of going with what already feels great. The bottom line is that if the two boards felt the same they wouldn't have two different sizes. You would probably be ok with the larger, bc you're used to larger boards, but if cutting through the trees is your thing from time to time, I'd go with the shorter one that you already love.

As to the original question, the Cobra is a great board, and the Vario edge holds very well, but unless you're jumping on the Raptor (which might be more in line with what you're looking for) or the Ripsaw, you need to demo one. Imo their R/C profile is a different feel than you're probably used to. Not bad (I own three), just different.
 
#15 ·
If you're set on one of the Libs, Empire (as you seem to be in Qc) has them on sale. They're a good shop to give your money to.

Skunk Apes C2BTX 165 Wide - Empire Online Store - Skateboards, Snowboards, Street Fashion

Darker Series C3BTX 164 Wide - Empire Online Store - Skateboards, Snowboards, Street Fashion

I do ride Never Summer. I demoed Burton's Flying V and Lib Tech's C2BTX. I'd say NS's grip is somewhere between the 2. I do find that Libs are a bit too grippy on softer snow. On hard/ice they can't be beat though!
 
#18 ·
Big thank you to everybody for the help. linvillegorge was right and I have a bad tendency to over think everything.

So finally pulled the trigger on the 165 skunk ape. Only 2 cm longer then my current softy board. I have spent the last 2 weeks in Vermont trying it out in jay peak,stratton, stowe.

The 165 feels very nibble and is still 2 inches away from my chin. Overall very happy. That camber profile is great :yahoo: Carves very well. Speaking of which I can't believe they are recommending this board for people with size 13-14 feet. I'm getting boot out on size 11.5 Driver X and scrapping my malavita's straps carving.

The magnetraction is a love\hate thing. Absolutelty love it on scrapped off, icy condition. Although on soft snow sometimes you want to slide off a feature and it grips you to a stop :dizzy:

All in all I am very happy and managed to get a 2014 on sale. The 2015 top sheet is ...well... not that good looking.
 
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