Options for the JJA C4 166

@wild-cherry Thanks James, so glad I have not yet pull the trigger on new board, now I can look forward to possibility of JJA C4 yay

I'm on the wait list and I wouldn't mind being on the priority wait list too if possible, but I understand if I'm too late for that 🙂 I don't want to cut in line..

As for me I'm

• 5'10"-ish (177 cm)
• 187-195 lbs (85-90 kg) and reasonably strong
• 25 or 25.5 mondo point size typically (will get boots as soon as stores get the new boots come October)

For snow quality, I'm in Sweden, which means we don't tend to get huge amounts of snow. My local "hill" has at most 60 vertical meters, at a steepish blue or mellow red steepness, with man made salt water snow that stays surprisingly hard even at temps a few degrees above freezing, it doesn't turn to slush even when it rains. I'll probably spend some time there this winter working on technique if (when) I get a board. I'm also making my friends go up north to the mountains with me as well, once for half a week in December to demo gear (as a Swede I'm super interested in Stranda, specifically Bowlrider and Shorty for something that would be a bit more allround than the C4) and I hope for a full week in February. Temps at that point will be between around freezing and -25 C and you'll never know. Last Feb we had -28 C and rock hard beautiful corduroy.

As far as skill level I'd say beginner-intermediate, almost definitely the worst snowboarder in this thread 🙂 I'm getting back into snowboarding after a 20-ish year break after having learned at 13-ish.

As far as EGS or not I would tend towards forgiveness I think, so no EGS.

For stiffness, like many others I'm between the soft and the medium flex. I do weigh a bit more than many others who have been suggested the medium flex over the soft, but I'm also a much less competent snowboarder. But also, considering that @board-doctor mentioned that the 164 Shorty is between soft and medium in stiffness mid board and much softer in the tips maybe I should go for a 159 or 165/164 Bowlrider or Shorty to have one more playful and soft board, and have the medium C4 be something that I can grow into over a season or two? It also feels a bit absurd to go with a prototype board as your first ever board 🤣  

@superfelix You've got smaller feet than me!  The 164 Shorty has some torsional rigidity between the feet.  I was riding binding angles of +21/+12 and didn't go any steeper because I was afraid I'd loose heel-toe leverage over the board.  At the end of the season I went to +24 and it really unlocked my carves.  Opening the hips really changes the dynamic. I intend to try +27 this year.  I think that's how you really ought to ride that board (and probably the C4 as well).  If you're trying to ankle steer with a duck stance it'll be more challenging.  And yes, the tips aren't overly stiff, so you can really tighten up the turn radius when you lean into it!  The Shorty would be a good start to get carving, and it's versatile in the pow too.

On the C4, I don't know what the EGS actually is (and don't know if Cherry does either), but it does seem to add torsional rigidity.  With your ability and smaller feet, you probably don't want to start with the EGS.

Hi James, Please add me to the priority list. 

Med Flex

EGS

Please let me know if you need anything else.

Thanks!

Posted by: @tuckeralvis

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Hi James, Please add me to the priority list. 

Done!  Easy.

@board-doctor Tiny feet gang! Thanks for your input!

I experimented a lot with binding angles when I was younger because the rental board had really funky step on bindings that had tool-less binding angle adjustment that could swivel infinitely and actually really locked you into the board really solidly. So I tried pretty much everything form +60/+45 to +45/-45 (yay youthful limberness) just to find whatever was most comfortable and the easiest to ride and hold the edge. Being a child with no preconceived notions of what's correct can be great sometimes! Something like +27/+12 or something like that was what I found most comfortable and easiest to ride.

@wild-cherry After having slept on it I think I'd also want to get on the priority list if possible, for a medium with no EGS. I think that'll be the right board for me if I get some straps to help with the leverage for the toe side turns! And if you do make a narrower run (I saw that being discussed in some other thread) I can say for certain that I will want one.

@wild-cherry 

I want to be on the priority list if possible.

@superfelix and @dosmankan you are on the priority list!

Good news all around:  The prep work is almost done for the first 30 C4s and the first batch is going into the press next week!  Keep an eye out for your shipping notification if you bought one!

@wild-cherry

If it's my turn, I'll be notified by email, right?

I don't know if it will be my turn before September.

Because I need to think about getting a new snowboard by then.

Posted by: @steven-cao

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@wild-cherry

If it's my turn, I'll be notified by email, right?

Yes you will.  I should have a better idea about the next batch of C4s within a couple of weeks.  Once the first batch starts to ship I expect Jasey-Jay will let me know about the next one.  I have every reason to expect another 20 boards before Christmas but I don't have a committment yet. 

Got an update from Jasey-Jay.  The new ETA on the C4s is mid October.  He's got all the parts prepped and cut, the topsheets are printed and embossed, boards are being pressed now at a rate of about one per day.  Then curing, trimming, tuning and shipping.  

It's later than I expected, sorry to keep you all waiting.  It seems he's building them assembly line style, so they should all ship out around the same time.  

The good news is that he seems pretty committed to the next batch.  He might start prepping parts for those soon.  He says 20 boards for January delivery.

Bad news is I've got to cap the priority wait list.  It's already at 10 people and I need to save something to bring to the main wait list because I made promises.  If you're already on the priority list, you will get an opportunity to buy before anyone else.

More good news: he's building me the first of a (hopefully short) series of asymmetrical prototype boards.  This one is 175cm, 14m sidecut radius, 306mm waist!  We've had some long conversations about the characteristics I want in my turns this season and how to create a board to deliver.  So if you're goofy, come test ride with me this season.  If you're regular, trust the process...

@wild-cherry an asym carver for goofy riders?! sign me up!

Posted by: @parkcityguy

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@wild-cherry an asym carver for goofy riders?! sign me up!

For sure!  There are probably going to be a few iterations though.  A lot of these ideas are untested and Jasey is regular, so I'll have to be the primary tester this time.   We both agree that pure test riding requires that only one variable at a time is changed from proto to proto.  On the other hand, I have very high confidence in JJA's ability to nail the target parameters and achieve the turn characteristics I ask for fairly quickly. 

We did six protos for the C4, even though the second board was extremely close to the target.  Some of them were built strictly for my own education so that I could feel and understand the resulting ride characteristics of different shapes, materials, resins, and layups in different combinations.  I would probably have to test ride another 50 boards before I came anywhere close to Jasey's level of sensitivity and understanding, but I can tell right away whether a board is a hit or a miss and I'm starting to develop a sense of how to make the right changes.

This Asym won't look anything like my old Factory Prime or Asym Air from the 90s.  There will be some wildly new tech in this model that's never been tried before.  Whether it will work or not remains to be seen; I'll know a hell of a lot more on opening day!

I would of course appreciate help from any qualified goofy test riders.  Be warned though, the prototypes will be my size this time; I spent too many days testing C4s last season while craving bigger, faster turns.

So @parkcityguy, any chance you'll be in Revelstoke this season?  

@wild-cherry it’s kinda early for travel plans but i’m pretty highly motivated. are you going to make any trips stateside do you think? maybe MCC?

Posted by: @parkcityguy

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any trips stateside do you think? maybe MCC?

Yeah, I expect to be at MCC with some demos, and I hope for a repeat of my Pow Mow trip, but like you, nothing is set in stone yet.  In my dream, clients fly me around the world for private lessons and I find a translator/chaperone and turn some heads at the Asian Technical Riding Championships too.  But also, I'm a homebody and I chose to live in Revelstoke for a reason; I'm usually pretty content to just be here and ride lots.

Will you be at MCC? Registration is open now at montuckyclearcut.com.