[jsil]

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.

Have you ridden it yet? Is it really as stiff as the Custom X?

 

[jsil]

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!

 

[jsil]

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.

 

[jsil]

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.

 

[jsil]

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.

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...

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.

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?

 

[jsil]

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.

 

[jsil]

My buddy who turned me on to amplid has a surfari and a pentaquark. He says the Penta is unreal and his go to on groomer days. Can't compare to the unw8 but he absolutely loves it, but if the snow is variable he takes out th surfari. This dude has 15 other boards in his garage now collecting dust.

 

[jsil]

No, I fluctuate between 150 and 155 and I ride the 157. Can't say I love it in tight trees, but for everything else is SLAYS.

 

[jsil]

@jsil It’s there mate, 85 kg +/- 1 kg, 10 US. I don’t expect the Paradigma to be anywhere below the average level grip

So you're pretty close to the ideal weight for the 163? Sounds about right. I want a hard charger that can still be playful enough to butter around so the paradigma may be a better choice than the unw8. I'm just spoiled with the edge hold on the surfari and don't want to anything less at this point. I wish I could demo the smaller unw8 and paradigma!

 

[jsil]

Yup, pretty close to the ideal weight for it and I find no problems handling it. A precise and powerful hard charger. It just annihilates the groomers but so does with my quads. Even if I size down to be upper weight limit I don’t expect it to be anywhere near something playful. This is hands down the hardest board to butter around for me (my Kazu 157, Optimistic 154 and Archetype 160W feel like super playful compared to it). The idea behind down sizing is to make it feel a bit softer while keeping that edge hold and carving properties. I don’t need anything more than an average float with it and if I slow down it’s the crowded slope or my self-awareness rather than the board starting to chatter to the slightest degree. Just to make it a bit easier to ollie and possible to ride it 2 full days in a row. I was to drive to the mountains today with my ~~110 kg cousin. I wanted to put him on the UNW8 to see how the board rides under someone 15 kg over the recommended weight limit. I’ll try to do it this week and I’ll report back.

That's how I feel in the surfari on groomers. I've carved harder and hit higher speeds than I have with any other boards. When I say playful, I guess I mean just a bit softer like you say. I realize you'll never get something playful with this kind of edge hold. Reality is im looking for a board that I can ride all around without sacrificing edge hold. I'm not much of a jibber but a ride through the park hitting jumps occasionally is fun. All mountain freestyle is what I'm looking for with way more emphasis on all mountain.

If the unw8 ends up being mostly super stiff groomer only I'd rather pick up the pentaquark tbh

 

[jsil]

I picked up the 56 penta from the outlet too. If the 17-18 unw8 was triax rather than biax I would have also grabbed it. I had such a great experience with the surfari I really want to own all three of the centrifugal. I'll report back when it arrives and I have a chance to ride it.

 

[jsil]

I'm 150ish lbs and the surfari is the best board I've ever ridden.

 

[jsil]

I saw a few pentas on their clearance section

Edit : dang. Must have all moved out

Yeah they are gone now.. but still a lot of 157 surfaris... best boards.

 

[jsil]

Pentaquark is bomber and has a longer effective edge than you'd assume with the length. Unw8 I haven't ridden yet, but the triax will make it more torsionally stiff. You can ride the Penta switch but not as well as the unw8. Surfari is awesome too and def the best of the three in pow.

 

[jsil]

Also the surfari holds a mean edge ripping groomers in one direction.

 

[jsil]

Nah they are fine on crowded slopes honestly. Surfari rails turns on groomers and is very confident at speed. If say the surfari is a bit of a different beast compared to a custom x for many reasons and the unw8 is probably more similar to a custom x, but probably a whole lot better (as I haven't yet ridden one).

I own a surfari and a Penta. If the snow conditions are more variable or we have or are expecting pow I'll take out the surfari, otherwise I'll take out the Penta and I've never switched out either during the day.

 

[jsil]

Agree on speed. High 40s feels like your going 30 on another board... It's kind of like driving a Porsche on a busy commute, you can do it but it's just as much fun as empty streets.

 

[jsil]

Don't forget about the other board in the centrifugal series... the surfari RIPS groomers too. I own a 156 mothership pentaquark and a 157 taiwanese surfari and i love them both. I'd really like to pick up an unw8 in 156 too, but I don't know if there will be too much overlap... already is. BTW, I'm only 155lbs with my feet crammed into a size 8 boot and it's hard to ride anything else. I've never felt as comfortable at speed on any boards I've ever ridden.

 

[jsil]

Agreed. On a fast groomer carving day I will still grab the pentaquark (which I picked up for ~$250 new and couldn't say no to), but I'd still be SUPER happy with just the surfari. The difference is there but its very minimal IMO.

If you want to rip groomers and charge in one direction you could double up your groomer board and your freeride pow board with just the Surfari. It is biax though, so for the big dude the UNW8 may still be the ticket.

 

[jsil]

I want an UNW8 too... I ride my surfari and pentaquark switch occasionally, but I've ridden less switch since I got those boards.

I guess you have the Dada for pow, but the surfari is AMAZING in the deep stuff.