Amplid Pentaquark/UNW8

40907 Views 239 Replies 32 Participants Last post by jsil, 2 mo ago

DauntlessDan

Discussion Starter · Oct 21, 2019

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 !

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edi414

· #61 · Mar 1, 2020

Yeah usually try to hit the more advanced resorts in the Alps with more confident skiers/snowboarders so rarely have the issue of very slow people around me. That's reassuring you haven't swapped the boards

.

I mean the Custom X also isn't great in powder and as it's also an aggressive full camber board I can imagine what it feels like. Just wanted to check if it's doable or not for situations when you don't really know what conditions are going to be like.

Trying to arrange a test ride maybe next weekend if I can.

Yeahti87

· #62 · Mar 2, 2020

I think that the Unw8 grips on ice the best due to being super stiff but it’s really hard to ollie. I wouldn’t take it in tight trees though. If you size it to be in the middle of the weight limit (163 at my 85 kg) it floats really well in slush for such a gnarly camber monster. The 159 does much worse in slush for me and I’ll probably sell my 159 and keep the 163 for these icy groomer days.

I think it’s the most versatile board from the three Amplids but it is also the most physically demanding. It has the biggest potential to handle all kind
of riding.

If you don’t care about switch you should go the Pentaquark for ripping groomers though the sidecut prefers more space to shine.

If you don’t care about switch and are ready to sacrifice a little on the groomers but make it a great powder board too, get the Surfari.

All of these rip a carve in crud or uneven snow.

edi414

· #63 · Mar 2, 2020

Yeahti87 said:
I think that the Unw8 grips on ice the best due to being super stiff but it’s really hard to ollie. I wouldn’t take it in tight trees though. If you size it to be in the middle of the weight limit (163 at my 85 kg) it floats really well in slush for such a gnarly camber monster. The 159 does much worse in slush for me and I’ll probably sell my 159 and keep the 163 for these icy groomer days.

I think it’s the most versatile board from the three Amplids but it is also the most physically demanding. It has the biggest potential to handle all kind
of riding.

If you don’t care about switch you should go the Pentaquark for ripping groomers though the sidecut prefers more space to shine.

If you don’t care about switch and are ready to sacrifice a little on the groomers but make it a great powder board too, get the Surfari.

All of these rip a carve in crud or uneven snow.

Thanks @Yeahti87 for the input.

You mentioned you put some lighter friends/family on the 163 and they seemed ok with the board too. Do you think with my 77kg I'd be ok float wise or would I also be better off with the 163? Same question re edge hold, did you feel any difference between the 159 and the 163? Would assume the 163 with more effective edge to hold a bit better at higher speeds.

And last question: have you taken the UNW8 into pow by any chance and if so how did it perform? I don't think I wanna go all the way to the Surfari as want a board mainly for groomer days but if there is some pow wouldn't mind if the board could handle it too. The Penta seems to much groomer specialist. Had some feedback from the Amplid guys as well and they said something similar too (and also that the Penta would require more space/is a board for the first couple of hours of the day).

Yeahti87

· #64 · Mar 2, 2020

edi414 said:
Thanks @Yeahti87 for the input.

You mentioned you put some lighter friends/family on the 163 and they seemed ok with the board too. Do you think with my 77kg I'd be ok float wise or would I also be better off with the 163? Same question re edge hold, did you feel any difference between the 159 and the 163? Would assume the 163 with more effective edge to hold a bit better at higher speeds.

And last question: have you taken the UNW8 into pow by any chance and if so how did it perform? I don't think I wanna go all the way to the Surfari as want a board mainly for groomer days but if there is some pow wouldn't mind if the board could handle it too. The Penta seems to much groomer specialist. Had some feedback from the Amplid guys as well and they said something similar too (and also that the Penta would require more space/is a board for the first couple of hours of the day).

They were ok on the 163 but only if the slope was free and there were no moguls, otherwise the board started to take over at their 70-75 kg and smaller feet. I think it’s better to size in the middle of the recommended weight if the given size fits your width preference (my friends are around 26,5-27 cm mondo, I’m 15 kg more and 27,8 cm longer foot). I don’t find the 163 that much more work than the 159. Very similar in stiffness honestly, obviously slower edge to edge but still fine (though I like boards with at least 273 mm at the inserts for Euro carving). The only real difference for me is how the 163 floats in slush.

At my stats the Unw8 163 doesn’t sink in slush. Unfortunately the very few powder days I’ve had this season were on my powder oriented boards so I can’t comment but I can assume both 159 and 163 will handle your odd surprise 20-30 cm pow day.

I haven’t noticed any less grip on the 159, there must be a difference at some rider’s weight point (as you said more effective edge) but the board in both sizes is very stiff with over 1 cm full camber rise so it grips great.
The 159 UNW8 grips for me better than the 157 Surfari (softer and directional camber) my friend owns and the latter still grips really well even when it’s undersized for me.

P.S. If you decided you want the UNW8 and in a 159 size I have a super mint 2020/2021 model (lime green base) that I can ship to Germany for 400 EUR. PM if you were interested.

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ridethecliche

· #65 · Mar 6, 2020 (Edited)

So color me penta-curious.

I rode @WigMar's penta today and it was wild. Trying to get moving I thought it would kill me because it's so torsionally stiff, but once moving it was awesome. I got some edge to edge hops down on the board and Carved harder than ever before. Way more of a leg and back workout though.

Incredibly dialed for what it is but I don't think the board is for me. I had a lot of fun on it ripping up groomers today though!

Reactions: 5

NT.Thunder

· #66 · Mar 6, 2020

ridethecliche said:
So color me penta-curious.

I rode @WigMar's penta today and it was wild. Trying to get moving I thought it would kill me because it's so torsionally stuff, but once moving it was awesome. I got some edge to edge hops down on the board and Carved harder than ever before. Way more of a leg and back workout though.

Incredibly dialed for what it is but I don't think the board is for me. I had a lot of fun on it ripping up groomers today though!

So did @WigMar ride your Yup and did he give it back

MrDavey2Shoes

· #67 · Mar 6, 2020

The Penta sounds like it rides like my Carbon Crown Palmer.

MrDavey2Shoes

· #68 · Mar 6, 2020 (Edited)

double post, new forum engine is sooooooo buggy.

WigMar

· #69 · Mar 6, 2020

NT.Thunder said:
So did @WigMar ride your Yup and did he give it back

Yup, I was on the yup. I'd been on a slush slasher all day before that, and the Yup felt playful and fun even in comparison. I was probably over the weight range by a bit. It carved well, and I really noticed the tail has a lot of grip if you want.

ridethecliche

· #70 · Mar 6, 2020

WigMar said:
Yup, I was on the yup. I'd been on a slush slasher all day before that, and the Yup felt playful and fun even in comparison. I was probably over the weight range by a bit. It carved well, and I really noticed the tail has a lot of grip if you want.

I feel kinda silly for not taking out the slush slasher. I've never ridden one and kinda wanted to see what all the fuss was about!

The penta really was wild though. Such a strange feeling to be able to center flex so easily while not being able to turn at all going slowly. Board is definitely a workout.

On the yup, WigMar was basically hopping around all the side hits like a bunny.

Reactions: 5

Mr.Sonne

· #71 · May 20, 2020

Gents,
I will be getting the unw8 in a 163. I found this thread very useful but have a couple questions I am looking for help with.

My context:
Advanced/Expert rider that is very technical (Misses was an L3 instructor in Canada for 15 years, so get lots of private lessons on my riding, especially turning)
I am 100 kilos, 184cm tall, not a fat guy just a big guy. I am quite fit and have legs like tree trunks. Size 44.5 (10.5) boot.
I carve, ride pow, ride switch and hit side hits/jumps. I don't jib or do park. That's a young mans game. I like volume shift boards a lot (Have a Amplid Dada, Lib Tech Short Fat and Twin Rocket)
I have ridden almost all the Amplids, especially the Pentaquark (Absolutely loved and the grip made me super confident) and Dada (I brought a Dada home to Europe as a pow/play/slush ride) with me as I spent last winter with my buddy in Salt Lake City who is a distributor for Amplid. Paradigma/Stereo were also rad but not stiff, responsive enough for me.

I want to ride the unw8 as a daily driver/quiver killer but it was the one he didn't have in stock. Of course by reading this thread I am aware of the concerns but my weight and riding ability should help with that. My two questions are:

1. Does anyone have extensive days on the unw8? How much does it soften up. I see 9/10 as the common stiffness. I know the Pentaquark felt still the first day(s) but to me softened up quite nice to stiff but not killing. I even rode it on a pow day. It did pretty okay actually.
2. How is it in lower angle pow? I know full camber will dive but wondering if the 3D nose and tiny bit of taper is enough to keep it up. General remarks on pow riding are also okay.

Again thanks for the thread. It helps. I am now waiting for the indoor places in the Netherlands to open up, order one and give it some runs. I know it sound silly but Snowworld Landgraaf is 50 minutes from my house and is 600 meters long with a chair. Biggest in Europe

Take care and stay safe.

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Yeahti87

· #72 · May 20, 2020 (Edited)

I spent around 15 days this season on my Amplid UNW8 163 2019 and a couple on a brand new 159 2020/2021. Both the newest 2021 geometry. The 163 was bought as second hand and still both were very stiff and there wasn’t any noticeable softening over time. It’s triax glass unlike Penta’s biax. I would call it a freeride board if not for its all-mountain shape.
I‘ve lately got newest Pentaquark 2021 but haven’t managed to ride it yet (the COVID outbreak). Hand flexing very much the same stiffness as UNW8 163, maybe a hair more torsional flex but I’d have to ride it to really feel it.

What Pentaquark model you’ve been riding? The Mothership Amplids seem to be softer than the newest ones from Taiwan (my buddy owns Surfari 2018) with the same flex rating.

About the float - I’ve noticed a considerable difference at my 85 kg between the 159 and the 163. The latter floats really well if you consider it’s a full stiff camber board. At your 100 kg it could be more like 159 for me. Just ok but the nose shaping definitely reduces this full camber dive-in feel anyway.

I’ve given some more feedback there:

www.snowboardingforum.com

Amplid Snowboards

Anyone heard of them and if so were they good?

www.snowboardingforum.com

www.snowboardingforum.com

You might find it useful if you’ve ridden some other boards I have.

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Mr.Sonne

· #73 · May 20, 2020

Yeahti87 said:
I spent around 15 days this season on my Amplid UNW8 163 2019 and a couple on a brand new 159 2020/2021. Both the newest 2021 geometry. The 163 was bought as second hand and still both were very stiff and there wasn’t any noticeable softening over time. It’s triax glass unlike Penta’s biax. I would call it a freeride board if not for its all-mountain shape.
I‘ve lately got newest Pentaquark 2021 but haven’t managed to ride it yet (the COVID outbreak). Hand flexing very much the same stiffness as UNW8 163, maybe a hair more torsional flex but I’d have to ride it to really feel it.

What Pentaquark model you’ve been riding? The Mothership Amplids seem to be softer than the newest ones from Taiwan (my buddy owns Surfari 2018) with the same flex rating.

About the float - I’ve noticed a considerable difference at my 85 kg between the 159 and the 163. The latter floats really well if you consider it’s a full stiff camber board. At your 100 kg it could be more like 159 for me. Just ok but the nose shaping definitely reduces this full camber dive-in feel anyway.

I’ve given some more feedback there:

Amplid Snowboards

Anyone heard of them and if so were they good?

www.snowboardingforum.com

You might find it useful if you’ve ridden some other boards I have.

The latest Pentaquark. From the TW factory. I didn't mind the flex at all but again, I am a big guy and ride big boards. Very interested in the triax vs biax torsional stiffness. I like volume shifted cause I don't want to ride a 170cm+ and yea they are more sluggish edge to edge but I don't mind. As a side note. I rode the Pentaquark in 25cm of fresh on top of bulletproof snow and it would just manage everything bumpy underneath so well. The anti-phase is a proper legit tech. And on groomers, basically a more all mountain border cross board. I hit 60mph on it and still felt it had another 10-20mph in the tank.

Reactions: 2

Yeahti87

· #74 · May 20, 2020 (Edited)

Mr.Sonne said:
The latest Pentaquark. From the TW factory. I didn't mind the flex at all but again, I am a big guy and ride big boards. Very interested in the triax vs biax torsional stiffness. I like volume shifted cause I don't want to ride a 170cm+ and yea they are more sluggish edge to edge but I don't mind. As a side note. I rode the Pentaquark in 25cm of fresh on top of bulletproof snow and it would just manage everything bumpy underneath so well. The anti-phase is a proper legit tech. And on groomers, basically a more all mountain border cross board. I hit 60mph on it and still felt it had another 10-20mph in the tank.

Pentaquark looks like UNW8 with a chopped tail and longer sidecut. I’ve got it to try this 8,6 m radius by Amplid. We have very similar preference for boards in this category. I also prefer wider boards to carve hard, I wouldn’t mind extra 3-4 mm width at the back foot there even though I’m 9,5 US super reduced footprint. I don’t find that flex ‚bad’ but I cannot call it playful at all. You aren’t locked in ‚hard charge mode only’ but you’ll eventually end up doing so since you just feel the board begs you to do so.
Personally I’d soften the UNW8 just a little bit, more to match its 8/10 flex rating and keep the Pentaquark as stiff as it is to differentiate between them more and make the UNW8 more ‚accessible’ because as it is now, to ride it dynamically for the whole day, you need to be in a really good physical shape.

Reactions: 1

Mr.Sonne

· #75 · May 20, 2020

Yeahti87 said:
fer wider boards to carve hard, I wouldn’t mind extra 3-4 mm width at the back foot there even though I’m 9,5 US super reduced footprint. I don’t find that flex ‚bad’ but I cannot call it playful at all. You aren’t locked in ‚hard charge mode only’ but you’ll eventually end up doing so since you just feel the board begs you to so.
Personally I’d soften the UNW8 just a little bit, more to match its 8/10 flex rating and keep the Pentaquark as stiff as it is to differentiate between them more and make the UNW8 more ‚accessible’ because as it is now, to ride it dynamically for the whole day, you need to be in a really good physical shape.

Yea man. Sounds about right. The Pentaquark never felt twitchy/scary to me as one (Even I had my concerns strapping in) might expect but again, everything get's reduced by my extra weight. At 158 and 260 wide, it's on the smaller size for me but the stiffness comprises that. My Lib's are 270 and 286mm waist width respectively. I like ~the 27cm waist for carving and I would like that for the unw8 for a carving board but we will just have to check it out. The Pentaquark was beyond fun and great for carving even with a "smaller" waist. I remember one specific turn in PC. Heelside carve, caught some loose snow, went airborne for about a meter across the ground, landed back on my heels, locked in and it just took off like nothing happened. I couldn't believe it. If your body is in the right position it won't let you down. Such a fun board. I was going to buy it but then I ride switch a lot (Probably should more) and got a sick deal on the Dada which I fell in love with in Jackson, as the Shapers Summit. Actually Rob Kingwill rode the Pentaquark and gave it a radical (highest) rating. Anyways if the unw8 is similar to the Penta with more switch, freestyle possibilities...I am totally down.

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Mr.Sonne

· #76 · May 20, 2020

Mr.Sonne said:
Yea man. Sounds about right. The Pentaquark never felt twitchy/scary to me as one (Even I had my concerns strapping in) might expect but again, everything get's reduced by my extra weight. At 158 and 260 wide, it's on the smaller size for me but the stiffness comprises that. My Lib's are 270 and 286mm waist width respectively. I like ~the 27cm waist for carving and I would like that for the unw8 for a carving board but we will just have to check it out. The Pentaquark was beyond fun and great for carving even with a "smaller" waist. I remember one specific turn in PC. Heelside carve, caught some loose snow, went airborne for about a meter across the ground, landed back on my heels, locked in and it just took off like nothing happened. I couldn't believe it. If your body is in the right position it won't let you down. Such a fun board. I was going to buy it but then I ride switch a lot (Probably should more) and got a sick deal on the Dada which I fell in love with in Jackson, as the Shapers Summit. Actually Rob Kingwill rode the Pentaquark and gave it a radical (highest) rating. Anyways if the unw8 is similar to the Penta with more switch, freestyle possibilities...I am totally down.

Kind of funny I was looking for the Penta video with Rob but I found my actuall Dada with my boy Dean from thesplitboardshop.com

Reactions: 1

Yeahti87

· #77 · May 20, 2020

Mr.Sonne said:
Yea man. Sounds about right. The Pentaquark never felt twitchy/scary to me as one (Even I had my concerns strapping in) might expect but again, everything get's reduced by my extra weight. At 158 and 260 wide, it's on the smaller size for me but the stiffness comprises that. My Lib's are 270 and 286mm waist width respectively. I like ~the 27cm waist for carving and I would like that for the unw8 for a carving board but we will just have to check it out. The Pentaquark was beyond fun and great for carving even with a "smaller" waist. I remember one specific turn in PC. Heelside carve, caught some loose snow, went airborne for about a meter across the ground, landed back on my heels, locked in and it just took off like nothing happened. I couldn't believe it. If your body is in the right position it won't let you down. Such a fun board. I was going to buy it but then I ride switch a lot (Probably should more) and got a sick deal on the Dada which I fell in love with in Jackson, as the Shapers Summit. Actually Rob Kingwill rode the Pentaquark and gave it a radical (highest) rating. Anyways if the unw8 is similar to the Penta with more switch, freestyle possibilities...I am totally down.

I also had concerns strapping in, even double checked if my insurance is valid that day. Turned out to be one of the most ‚glory feeling’ days this season, even with the borderline brick ice under a layer of artificial slush. Actually maybe that’s why cos like you say, the board grips so well that you feel secure and that you can trust it so you just go hard when most people around resort to skidding. With you being 15 kg more (and actually exceeding the recommended weight), it is very probable that the UNW8 will be easier to extract the pop. I’ve said I’d soften it up just a little to make it pop a little easier cos it’s hard. I’d still keep the tips stiff, that’s the reason it holds so well no matter the conditions and how hard you push it in a carve.

jsil

· #78 · May 20, 2020

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.

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Yeahti87

· #79 · May 20, 2020

jsil said:
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.

My buddy owns a 157 Mothership Surfari (surprise, surprise he got it after a ride on my UNW8), I’ve ridden it on multiple occasions. The new Surfari seems to be even better with more camber. If you’re not sure you want such a stiff monster as the UNW8 or Pentaquark, you can’t go wrong with the Surfari. If I didn’t own 10 plus boards and had to decide on a 2 board quiver, it would a top top contender for a directional freeride board. Much easier to handle while still very ’chargy’. And floats great.

Reactions: 1

jsil

· #80 · May 20, 2020

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.

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