Idk...but love my Creamer 163, it was a solid and cut it in half, great split and rides great as a solid. Surprisingly light, nimble, flickable, rips groomed, pow and tight technical...inbounds and out. Hammered it inbounds as a split and its durable, stable hitting 60mph groomers, moguls, chutes, trees. It has some magical sidecut and flex that can rip tight turns and long drawn out lines...LOVE IT!!!
Amplid Pentaquark/UNW8
Does anyone have any history they can share with these 2 rigs
The Pentaquark and the UNW8.
Some pros some cons and similar US boards , Cheers !
The Pentaquark and the UNW8.
Some pros some cons and similar US boards , Cheers !
1 - 20 of 240 Posts
I’ve lately got Amplid UNW8 2019 163. A lot of overlap in the quiver but I got a used one in a good condition for the best price ever so I didn’t hesitate for a second.
I haven’t ridden it yet but by hand flexing it is way stiffer than any other board I have, stiffer than Pyre, Kazu, Optimistic. It’s really light for its size with a little torsional give, the biggest difference with other boards is the really stiff tips. I don’t have Rossi XV anymore but as I recall its flex it was similar apart from the softer reverse flex tail on the XV.
Many people claim that it is like Burton Custom X and I tend to believe it.
I haven’t ridden it yet but by hand flexing it is way stiffer than any other board I have, stiffer than Pyre, Kazu, Optimistic. It’s really light for its size with a little torsional give, the biggest difference with other boards is the really stiff tips. I don’t have Rossi XV anymore but as I recall its flex it was similar apart from the softer reverse flex tail on the XV.
Many people claim that it is like Burton Custom X and I tend to believe it.
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Based off the marketing the Pentaquazoider sounds like it’s from those guys from Harold and Kumar that are EXTREME!!!!!
Have you ridden it yet? Is it really as stiff as the Custom X?I’ve lately got Amplid UNW8 2019 163. I don’t need it, my 7th board in the quiver now with a lot of overlap but I got a used one in a good condition for the best price ever so I didn’t hesitate for a second.
I haven’t ridden it yet but by hand flexing it is stiffer than any other board I have, stiffer than Pyre, Kazu, Optimistic. It’s really light for its size with a little torsional give, the biggest difference with other boards is the really stiff tips. I don’t have Rossi XV anymore but as I recall its flex it was similar apart from the softer reverse flex tail on the XV.
Many people claim that it is like Burton Custom X and I tend to believe it.
Not yet, so far I’ve taken the Mercury, Kazu and Archetype out of the wrapper only. I’m planning to try the Optimistic this weekend so I will ride the UNW8 next week probably. I’ll report back on how it compares to the other boards.
That's quite the selection. I'd love to hear your thoughts on all of those. The reason I'm curious about the unw8 is because I picked up the Amplid Surfari and it is just amazingly good. Very few people on this side of the pond know anything about or have ever ridden the amplid boards.
Thanks!
Thanks!
So I can fully comment on the Archetype so far as I have already like 4 days on it. It is more of a playful charger freeride board, not a full powder board and this makes it a better board imo. You have plenty of reports on this forum and they nail it. So treat it as something that looks like a full-blown powder board but what is a mid-stiff flexing freeride board in disguise with a perfect torsional flex. The only problem with it is the tricky sizing with this width at the front and back insert. I have a 160W and for me (185 lbs, 9,5 and 10 US Tacticals so the lowest profile boots, 1,7 cm outershell over the mondo is hard to beat) it is a touch too wide to be perfect for a hard pack but I’m afraid I might boot out truly Eurocarving the regular width sizes. Great but not perfect (275 mm at the backfoot close to 6-0 angle is cool but 287 mm front foot with +24 angle feels a bit wide). I’ve just bought another 162 and this time I will unwrap it and test it. If they lowered the taper by 6 mm (what would make it a few mm wider at the back insert) and downsized the sidecut by 0,3 m I’d honestly buy 3 x 158 as it would completely cover all my daily driver needs for anything but freestyle, no matter small or big mountain riding.
Thanks for your thoughts on the archetype. That's how I feel about the Amplid Surfari in a lot of ways so they sound like similar boards.
I almost bought a Surfari but wound up choosing the Sims instead. Is the Surfari slightly volume shifted? If so maybe I’ll add one! I was pretty close on a creamer and unw8/pentaxoiderager as well
It's wide, the 157 has about a 260mm waist. It only comes in a 157 and 161 and I'm 155lbs so a tad underweight with only size 8 boots but it RIPS. My favorite board I've ever ridden. I'm looking for something to complement it for when I want to ride more switch and be a little more freestyle but don't want to give up this insane carve. That's the reason I'm looking at the unw8.
So I rode the UNW8 yesterday in snowcreate/soft moguls. Stiff, I could barely tail press it more than 20 cm up. 360 tail butters ended quickly in hoo-ups. The stiffest board I’ve been on. Also stiff torsionally. The pop requires good timing and muscle but when I timed it properly it was a nice boost. That being said this board is a beast on carve. Due to the stiff torsional flex it’s hard to drive it with the ankles but I expected more work with all those ‚Custom X will kill you’ statements you can find. It’s like a train on rails. The sidecut feels like some radial mix, the turn initiation is really smooth and once you put it on the edge it just destroys everything in its path and holds the edge. The edge hold is very good, only a bit sub-par on ice to full magnetraction boards (I rode Rossi Jibsaw 157 of my friend that day too) but better than my Kazu. Confidence inspiring and I could say it can be a daily driver for someone in a good physical shape who likes to charge hard. You do have to squat on it. My solid-intermediate friend who is actually below the min. weight (he is 70 kg, the board is 163 wide) enjoyed the carving on it so much too.
Let us know what you think after a few days on it. Similar opinions of the Creamer's sidecut and initially felt the edge hold was a tad lacking but after riding it a few days, me thinks it is much better than any of my mag experiences.So I rode the UNW8 yesterday in snowcreate/soft moguls. Stiff, I could barely tail press it more than 20 cm up. 360 tail butters ended quickly in hoo-ups. The stiffest board I’ve been on. Also stiff torsionally. The pop requires good timing and muscle but when I timed it properly it was a nice boost. That being said this board is a beast on carve. Due to the stiff torsional flex it’s hard to drive it with the ankles but I expected more work with all those ‚Custom X will kill you’ statements you can find. It’s like a train on rails. The sidecut feels like some radial mix, the turn initiation is really smooth and once you put it on the edge it just destroys everything in its path and holds the edge. The edge hold is very good, only a bit sub-par on ice to full magnetraction boards (I rode Rossi Jibsaw 157 of my friend that day too) but better than my Kazu. Confidence inspiring and I could say it can be a daily driver for someone in a good physical shape who likes to charge hard. You do have to squat on it. My solid-intermediate friend who is actually below the min. weight (he is 70 kg, the board is 163 wide) enjoyed the carving on it so much too.
Full camber > mag
Thanks for the thoughts. I absolutely love my surfari and my buddy has a surfari and pentaquark and enjoys them more than any of his ~15 other boards. Can anyone compare the UNW8 to the Paradigma? I'm only 155lbs so I'd be getting the 156 unw8, but if the Paradigma has similar edge hold I'd maybe grab that as a bit more playful board. Completely sold on Amplid though...So I rode the UNW8 yesterday in snowcreate/soft moguls. Stiff, I could barely tail press it more than 20 cm up. 360 tail butters ended quickly in hoo-ups. The stiffest board I’ve been on. Also stiff torsionally. The pop requires good timing and muscle but when I timed it properly it was a nice boost. That being said this board is a beast on carve. Due to the stiff torsional flex it’s hard to drive it with the ankles but I expected more work with all those ‚Custom X will kill you’ statements you can find. It’s like a train on rails. The sidecut feels like some radial mix, the turn initiation is really smooth and once you put it on the edge it just destroys everything in its path and holds the edge. The edge hold is very good, only a bit sub-par on ice to full magnetraction boards (I rode Rossi Jibsaw 157 of my friend that day too) but better than my Kazu. Confidence inspiring and I could say it can be a daily driver for someone in a good physical shape who likes to charge hard. You do have to squat on it. My solid-intermediate friend who is actually below the min. weight (he is 70 kg, the board is 163 wide) enjoyed the carving on it so much too.
Have you ridden any other Amplid boards to compare the creamer too? From what I understand the unw8 is essentially an upgraded Paradigma and the creamer is more freeride focused?Let us know what you think after a few days on it. Similar opinions of the Creamer's sidecut and initially felt the edge hold was a tad lacking but after riding it a few days, me thinks it is much better than any of my mag experiences.
Paradigma
No, only the Creamer and yes the creamer is more freeride focused with setback, a tad of taper and early rise nose...instead of a directional twin...which I'd think the UNW8 would be a resort ripper.Have you ridden any other Amplid boards to compare the creamer too? From what I understand the unw8 is essentially an upgraded Paradigma and the creamer is more freeride focused?
If you don’t do butters, let alone rails and you are willing to work out the UNW8 will be a great pick. I see it as a powerful weapon for an expert shredder that charges, carves hard and spins 360s/540/ off small rollers he finds on his way. At my level I can only make it carve and charge well so I’m basically wasting some of its potential being a directional twin.
I am also starting to love Amplid. Bought a surfari 161 and took it to a powder day at Wolf Creek and it floated amazingly well, super fast edge to edge as well. I was also curious about the paradigms and unw8 so I was talking to the Amplid guys about it. Some useful info and some marketing spiel but in case you are interested in reading:
The Paradigma is probably our best selling board. It's certainly the most versatile snowboard in the collection. Its low camber (only 3-4mm) and directional twin shape means it works for freestyle riding, in powder, cruising the resort... you just can't go wrong with this board. It has a great balance of performance and playfulness.
"The UNW8 is something else. The board has a lot more going-on than the Paradigma. Despite the name (un-weight) I think the UNW8 is a little bit heavier than the Paradigma. Even though we use weight saving tech like honeycomb, its thicker core profile, its Triaxial fiberglass (the Paradigma is Biax) and the addition of Antiphase and other material upgrades adds a few extra grams to its waistline. The result is a board which is damper and more torsionally and longitudinally stiff than the Paradigma. It feels more powerful than the Paradigma and its edge-hold is incredible... but it is more demanding and does require an experienced pilot with strong legs. Additionally, the shape of the UNW8 is a little bit more directional, 20mm more nose than tail, a bit more stance set-back and just a hint of taper. I think the more directional shaping compensates nicely for the 9mm of camber underfoot! This board really appeals to technical riders that enjoy a very precise machine. If you want to make the most of it you'll need firm boots and responsive bindings."
PS. Two things before buying: 1) Amplid also sells used boards on their website. When I was looking in March of last year they had a lot of used boards of their lineup at a great price in various conditions with pictures showing how they look. 2) I believe their boards are now made in Taiwan (2019 was). I had some issues with the surfari I bought (the tail was starting to delaminate) and I read online about others having the same issue, but I hope they corrected this issue for their 2020 boards. Having said that I still support this company and wish to buy another Amplid.
The Paradigma is probably our best selling board. It's certainly the most versatile snowboard in the collection. Its low camber (only 3-4mm) and directional twin shape means it works for freestyle riding, in powder, cruising the resort... you just can't go wrong with this board. It has a great balance of performance and playfulness.
"The UNW8 is something else. The board has a lot more going-on than the Paradigma. Despite the name (un-weight) I think the UNW8 is a little bit heavier than the Paradigma. Even though we use weight saving tech like honeycomb, its thicker core profile, its Triaxial fiberglass (the Paradigma is Biax) and the addition of Antiphase and other material upgrades adds a few extra grams to its waistline. The result is a board which is damper and more torsionally and longitudinally stiff than the Paradigma. It feels more powerful than the Paradigma and its edge-hold is incredible... but it is more demanding and does require an experienced pilot with strong legs. Additionally, the shape of the UNW8 is a little bit more directional, 20mm more nose than tail, a bit more stance set-back and just a hint of taper. I think the more directional shaping compensates nicely for the 9mm of camber underfoot! This board really appeals to technical riders that enjoy a very precise machine. If you want to make the most of it you'll need firm boots and responsive bindings."
PS. Two things before buying: 1) Amplid also sells used boards on their website. When I was looking in March of last year they had a lot of used boards of their lineup at a great price in various conditions with pictures showing how they look. 2) I believe their boards are now made in Taiwan (2019 was). I had some issues with the surfari I bought (the tail was starting to delaminate) and I read online about others having the same issue, but I hope they corrected this issue for their 2020 boards. Having said that I still support this company and wish to buy another Amplid.
So I’ve spent more time on the UNW8 163, this time with Union Falcors at 185 cm / 85 kg. I’m athletic and I’ve been gyming hard and keeping at least a 4-pack for the past 10 years.
This is a super stiff beast. I give it 9/10 only because I’ve never been on a stiff bordercross board.
It rips carves hard as fuck. It just begs you to push it all the time and fly by the people. Awesome for euro carving, it just locks in. No speed limit, no chatter.
The ollie is very hard, I have to have a decent speed and muscle it a lot to start feeling the flex enhancing the ollie. Boosts of kickers and moguls very nicely.
Yesterday I spent 11 hours on the slope, I covered more than 60 km distance euro carving and hard charging. It hasn’t been snowing for the past 2 weeks so there is a thin layer of man-made sugary snow with snowcreate/ice beneath.
The edge grip is great. I changed for my Mercury for an hour but came back to the UNW8 quickly because of the difference in the grip while hard carving. I think I washed out only once or twice on a sheet ice being tired already.
The Mercury felt easier to spring out of the carve and change edges mid-air because I could access the rebound easier. With the UNW8 I had to push it way harder.
The UNW8 at this size fries my quads after a full day of hard pushing like that. It just promotes so aggressive riding and releases so much endorphines meanwhile that you feel the consequences the next day. Today I had to skip my snowboarding day what never happens otherwise.
So at this size I cannot call it a daily driver for me. I can ride it for like 10 hours a day with precision and power but I need to keep in mind that the next day I’m not gonna show up on the hill. For the reference, when I started this season in Livigno being rusty etc. I could charge and hard carve on the Archetype 5 days in a row, 7 hours a day. Yes, I was tired but I didn’t feel like after 3 hours of a super intensive crossfit session after a day.
All in all, a great board but truly physically demanding. I’m still debating getting a 159 to hopefully make it managable to ride for the whole weekend while not losing the grip on icy shit at the same time. And I’ve just ordered creatine online. I usually supplement it only periodically during my most intensive hard-pumping periods and riding the UNW8 163 is one.
This is a super stiff beast. I give it 9/10 only because I’ve never been on a stiff bordercross board.
It rips carves hard as fuck. It just begs you to push it all the time and fly by the people. Awesome for euro carving, it just locks in. No speed limit, no chatter.
The ollie is very hard, I have to have a decent speed and muscle it a lot to start feeling the flex enhancing the ollie. Boosts of kickers and moguls very nicely.
Yesterday I spent 11 hours on the slope, I covered more than 60 km distance euro carving and hard charging. It hasn’t been snowing for the past 2 weeks so there is a thin layer of man-made sugary snow with snowcreate/ice beneath.
The edge grip is great. I changed for my Mercury for an hour but came back to the UNW8 quickly because of the difference in the grip while hard carving. I think I washed out only once or twice on a sheet ice being tired already.
The Mercury felt easier to spring out of the carve and change edges mid-air because I could access the rebound easier. With the UNW8 I had to push it way harder.
The UNW8 at this size fries my quads after a full day of hard pushing like that. It just promotes so aggressive riding and releases so much endorphines meanwhile that you feel the consequences the next day. Today I had to skip my snowboarding day what never happens otherwise.
So at this size I cannot call it a daily driver for me. I can ride it for like 10 hours a day with precision and power but I need to keep in mind that the next day I’m not gonna show up on the hill. For the reference, when I started this season in Livigno being rusty etc. I could charge and hard carve on the Archetype 5 days in a row, 7 hours a day. Yes, I was tired but I didn’t feel like after 3 hours of a super intensive crossfit session after a day.
All in all, a great board but truly physically demanding. I’m still debating getting a 159 to hopefully make it managable to ride for the whole weekend while not losing the grip on icy shit at the same time. And I’ve just ordered creatine online. I usually supplement it only periodically during my most intensive hard-pumping periods and riding the UNW8 163 is one.
Thanks for the feeeback. Thats how I felt in my legs after a long day of charging and carving groomers on the surfari too.
How much do you weigh? That's my concern and why I'm considering the paradigma over the unw8, but if the edge hold on the paradigma is just the same as any other snowboard it may be worth it. The edge hold on the surfari is unreal so I imagine the unw8/pentaquark are the only ones in the lineup that beat it.
How much do you weigh? That's my concern and why I'm considering the paradigma over the unw8, but if the edge hold on the paradigma is just the same as any other snowboard it may be worth it. The edge hold on the surfari is unreal so I imagine the unw8/pentaquark are the only ones in the lineup that beat it.
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