[obviousregbloke]

Any experiences with this board. I'm obviously a fan of Ryan knapton and focused primarily on switch carving the past 2 years. used a never summer proto synthesis but booted out a bit and don't like the 'swimmyness' of the rocker in the middle.

thoughts?

Was also thinking of getting prior snowboards to make a wider stiffer version of their wildcard if the donek twin doesn't make sense....

 

[MrDavey2Shoes]

I might also consider the Nitro Suprateam for Knapton style hijinx.

 

[mjayvee]

You might consider an asymmetrical board for an emphasis on carving switch.

 

[Birddog]

I have a knapton 162 (30cm waist) and had the NS proto 162df
The knapton is so much more stable at speed but weighs a good bit more

 

[Winterzahn]

regarding Bootouts:

1st measure (downsize outer boot dimension):

you can try to use a boot with smaller outline like Boot manufacturers Burton and Adidas provide.
(Adidas offers the smallest outline on market for a given Foot Mondopoint, Burton is second). Also try to get with the Boot Mondopoint as close as possible to Footmondopoint.

2nd measure, Binding:
use a Flow NX2 CX fusion straps , they are super stiff and supportive (new supportive stiff ankle strap 2022!) and have no heel cup to drag on snow and causing bootout.

I ride the NX2 CX straps on a Rocker Wide board with Burton Ions. Pretty happy with it, best combo for Piste Carving of wide boards.


Camber: this makes precise edge changes (slow FS BS edge transitions) easier and speed flatbasing (bombing) more stable, especially if your camber board is heavier and has good damping.
Regarding playful Butter carves and Eurocarves, Rocker has less bad influence than you might think.

I have still a wide Rocker in my Quiver for Eurocarving and Buttercarves, and it is doing fine.. Flatbase Bombing is more of an issue.. but I stay below 50mph with this board and take more care if terrain is bombed out or spiced with icy bumps and steps, it is fine.

for more locked in feel on your Rocker board try to file a steel edge angle of 0degree at base and 88degree at the side. And keep your edges sharp. (a good service shop may be the easiest way to get these precise steel angles on particular request)

So for playing around with butters and euros: keeping the proto and downsizing boot and using bootout free binding is an option.

If you say, I want to add stable bombing, then a heavy stiff camber board with good damping makes sense. But Butter Tricks are harder to learn on these boards.

And Downsize Boot and Bindung as much as possible, a 1.5cm wider board is much harder to ride, I would recommend this to do even if you chose a Knapton Custom board where you can get any requested waist width.

my specs:
Boot Burton Ion MP280 outer size 30.5cm
Flow NX2 CX Size L (for MP 300 change to XL)
board Voelkl Dimension Rocker 282mm min waist. (I guess the Proto Synthesis has some similarities but probably performing better than my old Voelkl).

 

[Etienne]

For production boards you could look at the T3 or UNW8, but they will have way smaller waist width. If not booting out and both side carves are your priority, you probably won't find anything better than the Knapton twin. But with that kind of specs, I suspect you're also pretty much limited to wide open, smooth blues. If that's ok for you, then go for it!

 

[MrDavey2Shoes]

Oh yea, T3 is probably a bet rec than the suprateam.

 

[obviousregbloke]

I have a knapton 162 (30cm waist) and had the NS proto 162df
The knapton is so much more stable at speed but weighs a good bit more

how long did it take you to get used to the Knapton Twin? Im not going to large with the waist(28cm) given my previous one had a 25.4cm waist.

 

[Birddog]

how long did it take you to get used to the Knapton Twin? Im not going to large with the waist(28cm) given my previous one had a 25.4cm waist.

Couple runs and I sold on the extra width but towards the end of the day I felt the difference due to its mass. Now my most narrow board is my Cheater at 275

 

[weather_nerd]

I have a Knapton Twin. I had it custom built with a 30 cm waist. For context I'm 5'8" 165 lb with a size 10 boot. I got it because I wanted a board I could eurocarve in a duck stance without booting out. I really like it. It's playful compared to some other carving boards that I've been on (also have an SG Soul). It is a true twin so switch carving is totally doable, which goes without saying if you've seen Ryan's videos lol.

The 30 cm waist took some getting use to. I was already used to waists in the 27-28 cm range, so the extra 2 cm was not terrible. I think that you will love the 28 cm waist with your size 9's. My recommendation is to spend half a day on easy runs just so you can get some moderate speed and see what it feels like to get it on edge. It will feel pretty unresponsive to subtle ankle movements - you really have to use your full body to lean out over the edge. But once you figure it out, it is an absolute blast. That board has become my go-to for days when my inner park rat wants to do some butters.

For bindings, I have really enjoyed Nidecker Carbons on this board. They are probably 8/10 in terms of stiffness but still have enough flex to feel playful if you ride aggressively. I wouldn't want to go much stiffer - I think it helps to bring out the freestyle character of the board. I think Ryan rides Cartel X's, which sound ideal for this board. Something stiff and responsive but not too stiff.

Shameless self-promotion of me carving on this board:

https://www.reddit.com/r/snowboarding/comments/tdr4an