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K2 Alchemist Alternative

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
Hello my fellow snow boarders... I am in search for a new primary daily driver. I demo'd the Alchemist recently at Mammoth for three days and really enjoyed the board. Very stable, absorbed the rough terrain, fast,, awesome edgehold, and great carver. One thing I did not like as I felt it was not the most nimble in the trees.

The only thing keeping me from buying it is that I really try not to buy expensive products from China. I know this might sound weird to some people but with all the things going on in the world I prefer to spend my money elsewhere.

What are some alternatives that you might suggest?

I am an advanced rider, focused on resort riding, all mountain, back country. Size 11, 205 pounds. I normally ride something in the 160W range.

Other boards I am looking at... Jones Flagship, Burton Hometown Hero, Capita BSOD, Nidecker Smoke, Never Summer Hammer, Libtech BRD, Cardiff Powgoda, Yes PYL....

Please let me know of any suggestions or feedback based on direct comparison to the Alchemist. Thank you
 
#2 ·
Heres a list of where the diffrent boards are made, it should be roughly accurate

snowboardingprofiles.com

Where are Snowboards Made: The Major Brands | Snowboarding Profiles

The question "where are snowboards made" is a pretty broad one - there are a large number of different snowboard manufacturers, and the factories where they produce their boards are spread across different locations across the world. A comment on another post sparked my interest in wanting to...
snowboardingprofiles.com snowboardingprofiles.com
 
#3 ·
Unless things have changed, you can cross off the Cardiff Powgoda, their boards are pressed at GP87 in China…

Jones/Yes/Nidecker makes most of their stuff out of Dubai... if those issue bother you.

And out of all the bindings, I think only Union and Bent Metal don’t make their bindings in China.

Boots… idk, everything I’ve owned from Ride to Vans to Burton.. all made in China
 
#4 · (Edited)
Where can I get a made in the USA smart phone or computer to respond?

All kidding aside, if you want to support made in the USA decks, stick with Mervin and Never Summer if you like their non-standard designs/profiles. It bugs me that 90%+ of their stuff has to be 'different' and 'innovative' in profile, edge, base materials or horrible artwork/graphics... otherwise I would be all over them.

BTW, the '23 Nidecker Smoke is made in China.
 
Discussion starter · #5 ·
Revvi said:
Unless things have changed, you can cross off the Cardiff Powgoda, their boards are pressed at GP87 in China…

Jones/Yes/Nidecker makes most of their stuff out of Dubai... if those issue bother you.

And out of all the bindings, I think only Union and Bent Metal don’t make their bindings in China.

Boots… idk, everything I’ve owned from Ride to Vans to Burton.. all made in China
Click to expand...
dwdesign said:
Where can I get a made in the USA smart phone or computer to respond?

All kidding aside, if you want to support made in the USA decks, stick with Mervin and Never Summer if you like their non-standard designs/profiles. It bugs me that the 90%+ of their stuff has to be 'different' and 'innovative' in profile, edge, base materials or horrible artwork/graphics... otherwise I would be all over them.

BTW, the '23 Nidecker Smoke is made in China.
Click to expand...
Thank you both for the feedback…. I get it and I can’t get rid of it completely but I at least try, makes me feel good.

Any board suggestions comparable to the Alchemists? It’s a fantastic board!
 
#6 ·
GNU look at the: Grenlin, Banked country, 4x4 and antigravity

LibTech: Rocket, Rocket LTD, and jamie lynn 96


Never summer ill have too look at again l, not sure on their stuff never been a big fan of them
 
#10 · (Edited)
The Dynamo fits that bill. I've been riding my pow boards that past few weeks and hadn't ridden my Dynamo in a while. This afternoon was early spring conditions- firm and crudish. I was thinking how great of a board it is for variable conditions. It rips deep and hard carves like a boss, it'll take what you throw at it.

I ride fast and hard, it's one of my best boards for charging in variable conditions like today. It holds an edge though bumps comfortably because of it's stiffness and just the right amount of dampness. But it's still a fun board that's not overly stiff. While not my one of my main powder boards, it does very well in the deep. I've hit it 12"+ in the trees many times and it's fine. It also rides switch extremely well because it has very little taper. It's one of my favorite boards in the quiver. I also like it more than my Gremlin as I prefer traditional boards. Also made in America..
 
#11 ·
Capita is as good as it gets if you're concerned who, where and how they make their boards and how their factory impacts the environment.

CAPiTA Snowboards | NA

Official website of CAPiTA Snowboards handcrafted with 100% Clean Energy in Austria at the Mothership. Shop CAPiTA mens, womens, and kids snowboards & apparel + get the latest news and updates from our international snowboard team.
capitasnowboarding.com capitasnowboarding.com
 
Discussion starter · #12 ·
parkcityxj said:
The Dynamo fits that bill. I've been riding my pow boards that past few weeks and hadn't ridden my Dynamo in a while. This afternoon was early spring conditions- firm and crudish. I was thinking how great of a board it is for variable conditions. It rips deep and hard carves like a boss, it'll take what you throw at it.

I ride fast and hard, it's one of my best boards for charging in variable conditions like today. It holds an edge though bumps comfortably because of it's stiffness and just the right amount of dampness. But it's still a fun board that's not overly stiff. While not my one of my main powder boards, it does very well in the deep. I've hit it 12"+ in the trees many times and it's fine. It also rides switch extremely well because it has very little taper. It's one of my favorite boards in the quiver. I also like it more than my Gremlin as I prefer traditional boards. Also made in America..
Click to expand...
That is actually one of the boards on my list (forgot to add it) how’s does it compare to the BRD?

Anditwasstillhot said:
Capita is as good as it gets if you're concerned who, where and how they make their boards and how their factory impacts the environment.

CAPiTA Snowboards | NA

Official website of CAPiTA Snowboards handcrafted with 100% Clean Energy in Austria at the Mothership. Shop CAPiTA mens, womens, and kids snowboards & apparel + get the latest news and updates from our international snowboard team.
capitasnowboarding.com capitasnowboarding.com
Click to expand...
Have you ridden the Black Snowboard of Death?
 
#13 ·
PowPow_Chaser said:
That is actually one of the boards on my list (forgot to add it) how’s does it compare to the BRD?
Click to expand...
I haven't ridden the BRD yet but heard great things. From what I understand, you get better float and give up some of the hard riding/carving compared to Dynamo. I have a Mullair 164W/Dynamo 162W/Gremlin 158- they are all awesome but overlap heavily. They all perform great in variable conditions, carving, hard riding, and pow but with different ride characteristics/flavors.

I'd also check the Lib Rig too, kinda split the difference between the BRD and Dynamo.
 
#15 ·
I've got a BRD. Had the split, liked it so much I bought the solid too. Its really well rounded. Does great in anything up to a 16-18in. We've had a few 20-30in days this season in the PNW, and its been back leg burn on those days, but those are rare.
The cool thing about the BRD is that is does really good in deep snow, and then once its cut up after 2-3 runs, it cuts through chop REALLY nicely - doesn't get hooked in tracks like some volume shifted boards can. And you can make pretty much any shape. It straight lines a LOT faster than my Dancehall. On groomers its not the best carver on super hard snow, but we don't get a lot of that. And you can carve or skid any radius. Really shines on steep jump turn technical lines. All while not beating you up. Don't really see myself ever giving it up in my quiver.
 
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