Titanal BX?

Board Doctor!  Is this the very same Board Doctor from ASB and the snowboarding forum?  So glad you made it!

Gotta recommend titanal/rubber for you.  Only four companies make wide boards with this construction: Prior, Winterstick, JJA, and Coiler.  Coilers are simply unavailable, Prior and Winterstick make race board style BX boards, JJA has the only wide freecarve models available.

Korua is using some titanal around the edges in their "plus" models, but word is that it's not the same feel or grip as the two sheets of metal sandwiching the rubber layer.  

Yeah, that’s me.  My Shorty has titanal and ash stringers and I really do like the feel, but I would like to try the full sandwich. I’m not sold on going super wide though.  I like a forward stance and with size 8 boots I like some leverage across the board.  The Jones FC6000 is fairly wide, but it still rolls onto the edge really smoothly with the 3D shaping.

I’m not sure if I want a race style BX or more of a Freecarver.  Maybe both? 😂 I honestly don’t really know all the differences.  I presume the race has a longer sidecut in the tail for exit speed (like the Trench Digger), while a Freecarver would finish tighter for more of a C carve. Is the turn initiation different?

If I found the right used boards I could dabble with both these styles.

I like the FC6000, so the FC9000 might be a consideration as well.  The ash feels really nice.  Again I’m not sure about the width and edge to edge time at speed.  Maybe it would be a good Freecarver to go along with a more race oriented board. I really want to go more than 9.5m though, and the reference stance width on the 160 is a wide 60 cm (I’m 172cm and I like 52-54).

Hey Doc!

Yeah, 60cm is very wide!  55cm is my norm, 56 on big boards.

The difference between a race board and a freecarver is not subtle.  You're right, racers exit their turns early to hold speed and the boards are designed for this fast open turn shape.  Freecarve boards are designed to keep the rider lower in the turn for longer and finish with a pop across the fall line.  It's a more satisfying turn.  Higher g-forces and longer C shape turns with a closed shape.

The Jones Freecarver line is a great all mountain board with a carving focus but the 6000 is a bit of a joke for a real carver.   6m sidecut radius is gonna pop you out too early for a real deep long carve.  9m is acceptable for an all mountain carver but I don't own anything less than 12m for real dedicated carving.  (Well... I do have one 10m Coiler but that was purchased in an emergency situation when I was injured and needed something slower to protect my fragile body.)

If you can afford it, the new JJAs will not disappoint.   I rode the second prototype today on decent groom and I think we're very close to the production specs.  I was very happy with it.  Much better than V1.  The target is the intermediate or advanced carver who is limited by their production glass board and wants to take their skills to steeper terrain and feel more Gs without chatter.  I was very impressed with Jasey-Jay's work.  A couple of small tweaks for V3 and we might be ready to blow people's minds!  (And by people, I mean the Jones and Donek riders who can't even conceive yet of what's possible on a snowboard...)

The 6000 is a fun, playful little board... and it's a really good workout at slower (less consequential) speeds.  It's certainly not a long carve, but it is A LOT of turning.  Sidecut depth is 27mm, so it gets RIDICULOUSLY tight with higher edge angles.  I do like the width when the snow is soft, but unfortunately that has been a rarity this year with so many freeze/thaw cycles.

I should probably look into a JJA board, but 293mm sounds more like a tail width than a waist width to me! 

@board-doctor You're in Kelowna???  Come ride these prototypes on Wednesday or Thursday before the warm up!  I'd love to get your feedback.

@wild-cherry Oh man, that's a really tempting offer.  I just don't know if I could handle that board though.  My Mondo is really only 255 and my boots (outer length) are 287.  What are the tip & tail widths on that 293 waist?

Posted by: @board-doctor

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@wild-cherry Oh man, that's a really tempting offer.  I just don't know if I could handle that board though.  My Mondo is really only 255 and my boots (outer length) are 287.  What are the tip & tail widths on that 293 waist?

Not totally sure about the other measurements, the boards are in a box checked through to Kelowna, I'm at LAX now on my way home.

Certainly you can handle it.  It may be a little wider than your ideal size but these are designed for the intermediate carver and quite friendly.   My narrowest custom softboot carver is 290mm at the waist and I ride mondo 26.5.

It's certainly intriguing (I had never measured the outter length of my boot before), but I think if you took 20 mm out of the width I'd probably still think it was a fairly wide board.  Though one of my pow boards has a 280 waist and I can carve it, so I'm sure it's possible...

I can't swing it this week, but maybe another time.  Thanks for the offer!

@board-doctor If you like the Freecarver 6k so much are you sure you would like a BX board?

I picked up an F2 Eliminator World Cup Titanal. The edge hold was absolutely incredible, however for the hills I ride (very small) I could do 2 turns. I could put it on edge and then just wait for it to come around. My hill and my ability just didn’t make it nice to ride.

I’m used to a K2 Excavator (6.3/7.3m) and a Stranda Cheater (8.0/8.5m) and can actually get some turns in and enjoy the hills I frequent.

Yeah, I’m not sure… that’s why I threw it out here. If a used one pops up I might give it a try.

The 6000 is fun for a workout on modest slopes, but when I want to really rail turns it’s the Shorty or Trench digger.  All of them are fun, but I’m looking for something more!  I love the 10m sidecut, but would like a bit more width and better construction. Interested in going a bit longer too.

That 13.2m on the F2 might be getting a bit large.

I’ll be trying Cherry’s prototypes in a couple days.  I’m really stoked, but also concerned if I’ll be able to handle that width!

 Very interested to hear how you feel riding the Proto.

They’re already sold out, but will be neat to hear the feedback.

I have the non-titanal eliminator WC 166W. Really fun board but way too soft for my liking. Would love to try the titanal version. I don't know how much stiffer the titanal version is but the "normal" WC turns pretty tight with extreme edge angles due to the rather soft flex. Here's some footage from last season when I was practicing posi/posi:

The third run is from my go-to black slope which is just over 20m wide.

Posted by: @board-doctor

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I’ll be trying Cherry’s prototypes in a couple days.  I’m really stoked, but also concerned if I’ll be able to handle that width!

You'll be fine. Just don't try to lean into the turn at first but initially throw your weight into it and only after that start to feel the sidecut. If you just try to lean as if you were riding a narrower board, it can feel hard to engage the edge. Once you have done couple of those a bit exaggerated edge changes, you'll be calibrated and then you can go back to smoother style. I'm sure James can instruct you in person about the correct amount of initiation.

@xargo My Eliminator is older (~2017) and doesn’t feel crazy stiff. I thought it would turn easier, but where as I normally get 6 turns on my regular board, I was down to 2 with the Eliminator. But I do recognize that is both due to hill size and skill level.