aurfalien

Hi all,

billygold and I have been exchanging feedback on this board so I thought I'd share.

First a little about my boarding.

My first board was a 99' Burton Custom 164 with Burton Custom Bindings matched with some Northwave boots.

Stopped boarding in 02' due to splitting my head open in Mammoth, back side of chair 3 before they had parts of it roped off.

Started back up in 08' and do Corness and Daves run in Mammoth, but nothing more intense so my boarding is about average.

My current set up is Lib Dark C2 158, Drake Mentor bindings with a mid flex rating of 2 (from 1 to 3) and Northwave Decade SL boots with a flex of 7 (from 1 to 10).

I demoed a GNU Billygoat C2 on a powder weekend so not a real good test. It did hover unlike my old setup but felt like a plank.

At first, I regretted buying the Dark out of fears that it was way too advanced and stiff as my old Burton was very loose and that's what I preferred (so I thought).

After riding my Burton for so long, it felt like I was trading in my woman for a new one so I felt odd, sort of guilty.

Having 11.5 boots I also thought the board may be too narrow, but due to the built in riser plates and my bindings, the only way I could have rubbed was at a perfect 90 degree angle.

For our first few runs we hit chair 3 in Mammoth and man, the thing made childs play of ice and turned on a dime, WOW!

So I kept going and dropped in while others were stopped trying to find a line. Damn, this thing killz!

Then after some chair 5 etc, we hit the back side; chair 14 and wow, it just plowz but with finesse.

The next day we hung at chair 9 for a while and man what speed! I still have to get used to it, 2 days is not enough.

This thing seemed to generate its own speed, so long traverses were a non issue.

Powder was what I expected; a hover craft, and moguls were very fun.

I did have issues with tracked out stuff but that's due to putting more trust in my board and needing more snow time, I board 6-8 days a year.

All in all, don't get this board as only I want the unfair advantage

rasmasyean

I think you have 2 “modern” advantages going on here. The banana makes it float on powder and turn on a dime. The magnetraction makes it hold on edges.

As for the dark series, that’s a pretty serious board. It’s very narrow so it can turn pretty fast and the those riser plates in it makes it even more responsive. I’ve riden one for a while in the past, and haven’t rode another board that compares to it. It’s not very forgiving though (probably the least of any board I tried), but if you have the skills, this is one killer deck to ride. Works great switch too.

aurfalien

I forgot to mention the graphics, very very cool.

Understated but if you look real close, twisted indeed. Lotta crazy things goin on there, almost holographic.

That unforgiving aspect you mention may explain why I struggled through tracked out stuff.

rasmasyean

I think it also has a pretty deep sidecut relatively too. I think this might add to the unforgivingness...not entirely sure to what degree.

And the part where the widest decends to the contact point I remeber was pretty short. So it's very easy to catch if you're not careful. You can detune it some and maybe it will help.

aurfalien

Funny you mention that.

Both billygold mentioned detuning his and so did the shop I got it from, so I did.

Not the entire board, just certain sections of the edges.

Besides, I'm not having issues catching an edge, just with being tossed around a bit when I hit tracked out stuff at high speeds.

rasmasyean

Without having seen you in those tracks...depending on what's happening, "tossing arround" can be a degree of catching...just not to the point that ends in a slam. The design of the shorter feature of that "corner" is supposedly to give you the ability to engage a turn with shallower edge angles...hence faster transtions for the "critical lines" in the lib tech description of that board I guess. If that area is frequently engaged, it might cause instability. It could be that in your case, you are just able to endure it as a skilled rider.

aurfalien

Have you tried this board on half pipe?

I've always wanted to at least just touch the edges. I'm a bit stronger on my backside which also holds true for my surfing.

rasmasyean

I have tried it in the half pipe. I'm not very good but I would say the edge hold is pretty good and it picks up a lot of speed if I'm not careful. Not ready for big airs, myself yet. I find the half-pipe the scariest trail so I don't try to "advance" too fast in it. It got me to wear a helmet...after the fact. It smashed my goggles and cracked them...where if it wasn't for said helmet, my nose prolly would have cracked as well. Many of my hardest spills were in this short little trail. LOL!

billygold18

Yo aurf,
Took this board out for a fourth time on some Spring Slush. I widened my stance this time, which seemed to make a world of difference. Really loving this board. And, once you master it's ability to pop, it will send you into the stratosphere. It's a little scary at first, because it is like a pogo stick. Although I am a very experienced freerider, I am not much for the park. However, this board really does make the park more interesting as well. Dying to get this board on to a big, long rocky mountain run next year.
Also I am starting to really butter this thing pretty well. It takes a considerable amount of force compared to a noodle park board, but I paid for something stiff to hand the steeps, so I got what I paid for.

As for everyone else, if you are considering the T. Rice for all mountain, buy the Dark instead. I hear the T. Rice is heavy as hell.

-Billy Goat

danm

Funny, I have the 157 T.Rice C2 and it's definitly not heavy as hell, granted I haven't tried the Dark but compared to other boards it's pretty average and has insane pop. I was actually considering a 158 Dark but couldn't find one and was fortunate to find my T.Rice they're hard to find too. Either way, they're both great boards, C2 is the real deal.