Leo

I rode a 162 Heritage so my flex experience will differ than if comparing a Heritage and Cobra of equivalent size.

I found the 162 Heritage to be quite a bit stiffer than the Cobra and also noticeably more damp. I weigh around 180 to give you an idea of where I'm coming from.

In equal size, I'm pretty sure the Heritage is still going to be stiffer and more damp. This is not to say the Cobra is super lively and flexy as it isn't that.

I saw your comments in wolfie's thread. Your style indicates the Cobra as being the better option for both pow riding and with a little playfulness mixed in. The Cobra was also a dream to ride in the trees with pow. It allows you to paint brush turns effortlessly which is very handy when navigating trees. It was also great for navigating moguls.

Normally, you'll catch me on the Evo for tree and mogul riding because of the soft torsional flex. Even though the Cobra isn't torsionally soft, the board by design turns great.

The only downside to this shape is that it works against you when in switch mode. It's not horrible as long as you aren't trying to tackle big lines entirely switch. It's also much less of a problem if you have experience riding true directional boards switch.

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www.aGNARchy.com Reviews and David Z's rants

03SVTCobra

I'm up in the air on these two boards. I may just try to demo them next season. I'm right up there at about 180 as well. 5'7" 9.5 boot
My thing is even though I do carry two boards when I go out west I end up riding the longer board just because I like the speed and am most never on trail because I'm looking for powder or in the trees but I always end up in areas that are just fun to screw around and throw myself off of anything and everything I see. I just started to notice more about the altered genetics on my last trip and realized I really wasn't able to hold my speed and plow through crusty shit with it. So now I'm hellbent on getting something to replace it for big mountain!

Leo

If it's any consolation, I was jibbing trees and boxes with the Cobra this season. Nothing special, just 50's and tail presses. It did good on those. I was doing plenty of jumping off natural hits and it was great. Lots of pop in the tail of the Cobra.

Swing weight was low too which was great on spins. Like I said, my experience on the Heritage was a bit tainted as I would never choose that board in a 162. I just don't see it being a good board to mess around on unless you go smaller on it.

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www.aGNARchy.com Reviews and David Z's rants

03SVTCobra

I think I'll have to try and demo them both. Never summer was telling me that the Heritage is just a more aggressive version of the SL with similar flex but from reading reviews it seems the Heritage is much stiffer.
Does anyone know how the flex compares to the T Rice? For me the amount of deep pow days I see is limited. I'm out west several times a season but its hit or miss.

03SVTCobra

Wrong thread but How does the rice compare to the heritage?

danm

I haven't ridden a Heritage but from everything I've read, T.Rice is stiffer but Heritage is more damp...

03SVTCobra

If that's the case then I may be sold on the Heritage even though I'm curious about the Cobra!

Leo

You really should try to demo one. The Cobra is a very fun board to ride both on groomers and pow. But I can see some people hating the Cobra's handling characteristics. It's very easy to over-turn on this board which is why I only recommend it for advanced intermediate+ all-mountain riders.

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www.aGNARchy.com Reviews and David Z's rants

03SVTCobra

I'm going to see where I'm going next season and try to demo them both.

hktrdr

Reviving this thread with a question to Leo: How did you find the combination of the Cobra and the Bosses? Did you ever feel like you wanted a slightly stiffer or lighter binding?
Background: I just got my order in for a 155 Cobra for next season and will initially go with my L/XL Bosses (and my size 10 Vans Fargos), but open to changing/upgrading...

Edit: I noticed that wolfie uses the Contact Pros on it, which are a similar type of binding to the Bosses (responsive base plate but soft-ish highback).