grafta

Yep, I got the 2009 Evo.

It's like cars, you don't notice a particular car much until you own one.

Was at Apex last season and they were having a Neversummer demo day. I was like WTF. Had the new cobra and all that hype hype

canbc

So I've put around 8 days on the Evo now. I figure I should give an update because my opinion of this board has changed for the better.

The more I ride the Evo, the more I'm loving it. I didn't like how the board flexed at first but now I'm getting a good feel for it. This is my first RC board and it took me longer than I expected. It feels like the flex comes from the middle of the board rather than the tips which I think was opposite from my last board. Now that I'm more used to it I'm getting some really nice pop and it feels flexy and fun.

The base is really fast and tough. I've run over plenty of early season rocks and the base just has minor scratches on it. The top sheet still looks almost new. There's an unfinished white ring around the edge of the top sheet that hides all the little dings you get from waiting in the lift lines. That's just minor cosmetics but it's a nice touch.

The board is forgiving. The edges don't feel catchy on boxes or bad landings and I've put plenty of ugly landings on it.

It feels stable and the edge hold is good. I feel really confident controlling it and setting up with it. Hard to explain but going edge-to-edge feels so nice, smooth and easy. It's nimble and easy to control.

In powder, this is a short board and I burn up my back leg. It's not exactly awesome at powering through tracked out powder either. Just have to work harder and pick out a good line. Overall though, I think it performs better than I expected for a board I bought mainly for park use.

So yea, I'm stoked on this board now. It's going to be a lot of fun to progress my freestyle skills with it. I'd like to try a Lib-tech or GNU for my next board but I'm sipping on the NS kool-aid right now.

poutanen

Hey I didn't know you've been on Doneks and Priors before... What were your thoughts on them? The GF is looking to get a more freeride oriented board now that our riding is 50%+ of the time in the off-piste. She's looking at the Donek Incline (they'll make one in the exact size she needs), and the Prior Brandywine, among other things (Nidecker Princess, Arbor Push).

I'm just stoked she is getting to the point that she wants a stiffer, longer freeride board!

seriouscat

Oh man... Must contain myself at bad jokes....

The mystery package is suppose to arrive today!

__________________
“I train every day of my life as they have never trained a day in theirs.” – Alexander Karelin

poutanen

I have a bad habit of leading people into bad jokes... STOKED for the mystery package!

lonerider

The Donek Incline that I rode in 2004 (155cm model made for 140 lb rider) was *very* stiff... compared to boards people like to talk about now on a scale of 1 to 10, it was like a 12. Traditional camber, lively (not very damp) and rather narrow. It railed a carve extremely well, but wasn't particularly forgiving in icy, cruddy frozen snow (I could feel it crash through every chunk of snow). The narrow profile really made it sink in powder and the stiff flex made it hard to swing in trees... you should check with Sean Martin to see if he has modified the design in the last 8-9 years (he is the guy making the board and usually the person you will talk to when making an order). To me, that board is for high speed carving down smooth groomers, which are common in Colorado resorts. I liked the Phoenix model, which is a much more moderate flex (somewhat like a Never Summer SL).

I rode a few priors... including the AMF, MFR, and Khyber. They were much more damp, so you got a Cadillac SUV smooth ride over variable snow conditions of snow, slush, icy, frozen crud (which is common in Whistler). Good edge hold. A little lacking in pop though. They have both style of camber (I have only ridden their traditional camber boards).

For both I would see if you could demo a board.

poutanen

Awesome thanks for the info. Yeah I'm not sure if Prior does demo days in the Banff area. Burton does and I've seen a small company from Revelstoke called Trapper there as well, but haven't seen too many others.

Prior is willing to give me a bit of a deal on the Brandywine for her, so it'd be about the same price as the Donek.

I keep trying to sell her on a stiffer cambered Burton, but she said she's seen how much damage the topsheets on my T6 and T7 sustained in the last couple years. It's too bad beacuse other than the topsheets they've were/are great boards. I grew a lot as a rider with the T7...

She did demo some alternate camber/rocker shapes last year and wasn't thrilled with any of them. Thanks again!

nayytawnn

So, I've put in about 5 runs on my 2013 EVO so far.

My first impressions were it was playful but not too playful. Butters we're easy but the board still had a lot of pop due to the camber. The board is surprisingly fast for being a park oriented board. It may be that sintered base thats helping out.

Since its a little on the less damp side, going through steeper bumpier runs are not that fun because you could feel every little bump and chatters a bit so i wouldnt suggest going down steep moguls with this thing cause when you pick up speed and try to carve it out your going to just hit a bump and wash out trying to slow down.

I hit up some tree runs and the control on this thing is pretty damn amazing. I feel like a ninja on it. Edge to Edge is smooth and quick. That extra torsion flex helps with tight turns. The Blunt Edges make a big difference. The board feels a lot lighter than it looks.

Overall im really enjoying the board, but im still getting used to it. It's a more park oriented board, but can still kick ass anywhere else in the mountain if used correctly.

Unfortunely today I was going down the mountain and some douche cut me off and clipped my board that gave me this little ding. Not sure if I need to repair it or anything. Doesn't look too bad but I hope it doesnt get worse.