Amplid Pentaquark/UNW8

Yeahti87 said:

I wanted to post my findings today after another day on these but unfortunately due to a late night change plan of one of my friends on the logistics (a new girl, he’s apparently not aware that such decisions are detrimental in a long run but whatever) I’ll miss my today’s shred.

Anyway, my take on my friend’s Surfari 157 (2018) and my new UNW8 159 (2020) at 85 kg, Adidas Tacticals ADV 10 US. Both with Katanas 2019, the ankle strap at the very top and a lot of forward lean. The binding angles + 24-18 / - 6 to -12.

The UNW8 in 159 (I sit at the top of the recommended weight) is still super stiff (but energetic), probably it will break in a bit but as for now I’d rate my UNW8s 159 2020 and 163 2019 as 9/10. I ride the 163 per reference stance, the 159 with a max setback (on reference I feel like the nose digs in/hooks too easily in the mix of slush and ice I’ve been exclusively riding for the past 3 weeks if I put too much weight on the front foot). They both rip super hard carves. The 159 is just more versatile with an 8-meter sidecut to dodge a Jerry while the 163 provides a better float in slush even without the setback and should have even better grip due to 4 cm longer effective edge (I haven’t felt it yet). I haven’t found a speed limit on either, it’s always me slowing down, not the board telling me to do so by chattering.

The Surfari 157 (biax glass) is softer. I’d give it 7/10 overall feel with a medium-stiff nose and a stiff tail.
They say it’s a camber with an early rise at the tips but it’s more of a back seat camber with plenty of rocker that starts just after the front binding.
Grips icy shit well (though the UNW8s do it even better) and is more user friendly due to the softer flex, especially torsionally. Obviously floats great in slush. You can charge hard but it has no problems with slowing down. It can wash out in a hard Euro if you don’t weight the tapered tail at the end of a carve but that’s on the rider. I’d say it feels semi locked-in, the UNW8 is a full lock-in to me. It has a nice rebound exiting the carve so you don’t have to work for that spring changing edges mid-air. For the flex reference I’d rate my Optimistic 154 2019 at my 85 kg as 7/10 as well (a bit stiffer tail than the Surfari in 157). I change to the Optimistic when it gets really crowded to carve around while keeping the float in slush. I can push it at the same time with its great grip. It’s my ’party’ board.

As the Pentaquark is also biax glass and similar weight to the Surfari (and lighter than the Unw8 for the same surface area) I think these two actually share more with each other than with the UNW8. If Amplid gave 8/10 stiffness to the Unw8 (triax and imo underrated flex) and 7/10 to the Surfari (biax, I agree with the flex), I’d expect the Pentaquark to actually sit in the middle, with the Unw8 being 9/10, the Penta 8/10 and the Surfari being 7/10.

So I’d say that the Surfari is a rad dad’s freeride board while I expect the Pentaquark to be a rad dad’s carving board. They must have left it biax for a reason while obviously their super stiff triax would be more appealing from the marketing’s point of view for that hefty 840 EUR price tag.

That’s my guess on the Penta but based on my experience with the two Centrifugals and @trpa_ec describing his previous model UNW8 (biax and lighter than mine) to be more comparable to what I feel riding the Surfari than my UNW8s.

Click to expand...