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New Board: Rome Artifact, Arbor Draft, or Echelon Rounds?

3K views 9 replies 5 participants last post by  Honey Badger 
#1 ·
Tomorrow I get to go pick out a new board for the season. I have narrowed it down to three boards: The Arbor Draft, Echelon Rounds, or the Rome Artifact, in no particular order. The price isn't an issue, I have enough money saved to cover. Here is some info about me:

I rode for the last half of the 2011-2012 Season, I can boardslide a ride-on rail, and handle small kickers. I can ride switch decently well, I am going to work on 1's and 3's this season.

Personally, I am 5'9'' and 125 Lbs.

I would like to stick in the 147-150 cm range, as I am very lightweight.

I mainly ride in slushy groomer park conditions, or the dreaded midwest ice-park.

Please post experiences or benefits for these boards. Sway my vote! Thanks in advance, and sorry about two similar threads in the same sub-forum so quickly.
 
#2 ·
The artifact is ridiculous soft but for someone your size that might not be much of a problem. That Arbor does have the grip-tech edges which are nice but keep in mind that the edges on the Draft are made of bronze instead of steel and they're super soft. You may consider the Westmark instead of the Draft unless you're looking mainly for a rails specific board?.
 
#3 · (Edited)
The Westmark... how flexible is that? I learned on the Ride DHK which I soon learned was a super stiff board... I don't want anything that will break in a day either. I heard that those bronze edges burn out quick. I also like to hit small to medium jumps, boxes, and corrugated pipes. It's that durability with the Rome and Arbor that scare me most, and the limited availability of that Echelon.
 
#7 ·
T I learned on the Ride DHK which I soon learned was a super stiff board...
Uh, what? :dunno:

The DHK is not a "super stiff" board. The DH wasn't even a stiff board. StiffER sure, compared to other decks, but definitely not something I would consider stiff.

Check out the CAPiTA Horrorscope and the Ultrafear. Seems like they may be good options for what you're looking for. Horror is going to be softer than the Ultrafear due to the Ultra's added tech. I can go into detail if you'd like me to.
 
#4 ·
Were you looking at the Artifact rocker, or positive camber? I've owned the artifact (albeit, an old one) and had a great time on it. For your riding, I would think you'd go with the positive camber. Like david_z said, it's super soft. For a newer rider, you may like that. I'd go with the Artifact.
My two cents.
 
#6 ·
I want to try a rockered board. I see all of these guys in the park that are drilling rails and a few 3's and 7's on kickers, and they all have rockered or hybrid rocker boards when you ask them. It is what I will be trying this season, and I am going tonight. I am going on a cannonball run to all of the local ski hills.
 
#8 · (Edited)
Yeah, I got boots, board, and bindings for $210. The fact that I got that great of a deal was all I needed, at the time I didn't even know stiffness made a difference as extremely as it does. :rolleyes: But yes, I heard that those Capita's ride real nice from some friends, but I know they have some durability issues.

Also, I looked into the forum contract, and the Forum Rat. I hear they both are bulletproof, and are good boards, but the contract is much stiffer than they advertise. If you could go into some more detail with maybe a few pros and cons that would be great. I am still learning things, and could always use some opinions on things. Thanks a bunch.
 
#9 · (Edited)
Yeah, I got boots, board, and bindings for $210. The fact that I got that great of a deal was all I needed, at the time I didn't even know stiffness made a difference as extremely as it does. :rolleyes: But yes, I heard that those Capita's ride real nice from some friends, but I know they have some durability issues.

Also, I looked into the forum contract, and the Forum Rat. I hear they both are bulletproof, and are good boards, but the contract is much stiffer than they advertise.
Forum is rad, such a good company, and the people who represent the brand in Tahoe are awesome people. Too bad they got the plugged pulled on them. End of an era. If you do decide to go for a Forum board, you may run into issues with the warranty program IF the board breaks on you.

I loved all the old Midlifes I had, and I'm even more pumped on the Stairmaster Extreme I'm on this year. What durability issues have you heard about them?

Both the Horrorscope and the Ultrafear are Capita's rockered, true twin park decks. Both utilize Capita's FK technology, which is their reverse camber profile. Flat, until the insert pack and then angle out towards the tips. The Horrorscope is a board that a lot of rail kids and park rats love, a softer deck very similar to the Rome Artifact, K2 WWW, Burton Hero, etc. The Ultrafear is essentially the same exact board, just with added tech such as carbon in the deck to make it stiffer and beefier edges. It's geared for a more advanced rider, both in and out of the park, stiffer than the Horrorscope. The ride is actually very similar to Capita's Indoor Survival board.
I had an Ultrafear, and didn't like it. It washed out when I was spinning off of rails and jumps. Keep in mind that I am a camber kid, and found this problem with most reverse camber boards I ride. Both are killer decks, especially for the money, and lots of kids have been buying them.

The Stairmaster and the SMX are basically the same thing as the Horrorscope/Ultrafear, except they are cambered options.
I'm riding the SMX 152 this year, and love it. It may have stolen the place in my heart that the Midlife had. Really poppy, but still flexible enough to press.
 
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