Demo day snowboards quick thoughts
Nidecker list YES among their partners in their 2013 catalogue.
It just seems improbable that Nidecker would even allow YES to break their partnership, but still keep using their technology. ‘Camrock’ and YES snowboards go hand-in-hand - but the tech belongs to Nidecker, not YES.
Rather than a YES/Nidecker split, I’d say it’s a new Nidecker/Elan partnership which benefits the existing YES/Nidecker partnership.
Or perhaps Nidecker have partnered with Elan in board manufacture for ages?
Might be that Nidecker made a deal with Elan like you said? Maybe Amine can clear this rumor up
I heard from a pretty direct source (not Amine) that they are indeed moving production to Elan. I would also like to hear more about this though.
Hey SKip and Chucky - I will try and answer your question regarding the YES. production.
Nidecker are still very involved with YES. They are very much part of the the reason the boards have gained such acclaim in such a short period of time - because their technology works!! CAMrock, ULTIgrip, HUMPS core profiling etc.
The only change is that the boards are now going to be made in the ELAN factory (in Austria) instead of the Nidecker factories. All these above listed Nidecker technologies will be used on our 12/13 boards (and beyond), so ride-ability will not be jeopardised.
Hope this helps.
Cheers mate, I thought that was more likely to be the case.
So all YES boards will now be made in Austria, or just some? Jones too?
I wonder if sometime in the future, any YES or Jones boards will incorporate Nidecker’s amazing new “Swiss Core” technology (which is only produced in one place - their factory near Geneva)?
Figured I should throw in some feedback from the demo boards I tried out.
Just some basic info firstly, I’m around 5’11” ~75kg and Size 10 boots and both boards were tested with a 24” stance.
For my thoughts on the NOW bindings check out this link - https://www.boardworld.com.au/forums/viewthread/4399/P120/
1st board was the new 2013 YES ‘The Public’ 151 which is a new model being released next year aimed moreso at urban rails and jibbing. One thing to note is that we were riding prototypes which were made by Nidecker but we were informed that the mass produced boards which we’ll see in stores later this year will all be made by Elan so there could be some slight changes but overall I’d take a guess that the boards general performance should be very similar if not identical but overall a more durable product at the end of the day which is what I’m lead to believe with the switch in manufacturers.
I rode The Public both with the medium stiffness NOW bindings and also with my 2012 Burton Malavita’s. It’s got a similar CamRock profile to all the other Yes boards but seemed to have a lot more lift in the nose and tail and has more of a rounded nose compared to the Tasman which is slightly blunted. It’s a super poppy and playful board which is softer than the Tasman which is rated as a 6 - I’d probably call this a 4-5 when comparing to the Tasman which some people here are familiar with.
Given I’ve been riding the 154 Tasman(iac) and rode a 156 Typo all last season going down to a 151 was a bit of a step and definitely on the shorter side for me but given the boards intended purpose a downsize to a 151 would be about spot on for me. I grabbed the board early on in the day with the NOW bindings when the snow conditions were still very hardpacked so not exactly ideal but I found the board to handle these conditions extremely well. With the camber between the feet it was still able to hold a solid edge and bombing down runs it didn’t once feel unstable at high speed.
Off side hits the board was brilliant, great pop and very stable on all landings, I actually found that with riding the shorter length board I was having a lot more fun and it took a lot less effort with rolling front 180’s off the nose along with both switch and regular back 180’s off side hits. Buttering was one area this board really excelled at over the Tasman which was to be expected and I can definitely see the rounded nose and tail matched with the accentuated rocker was a definite contributor to this.
2nd time riding the board with my Malavitas was later on in the afternoon once the snow had softened up and was quite similar to the spring slush conditions you see in australia. Once again the board definitely held it’s own and was tonnes of fun doing all the same stuff as before.
After riding this board I spoke to Jill in the Yes tent about looking to purchase it as an ex-demo as it’ll be a great board for me back in australia and for spring/park riding here in Whistler - unfortunately I didn’t have time to jump into the park with it so I can’t comment on how it handles rails and boxes but given it’s simliar camber profile to the tasman and typo I have a feeling it’ll be just fine. Overall I was stoked on this board and the way that it performed in all conditions and would highly recommend getting your hands on one to demo if you’re looking for a shorter board with a very playful nature.
The Public on the left with NOW bindings
Base of The Public
The only other board I demo’d was the Never Summer Evo 152 with my Malavitas - I only had a little bit of time to demo as the demo day was wrapping up so I was limited to only one run on the board which I don’t think was enough to really get a proper feel for it. The main reason I chose the Evo was because I’d heard great things about them and i’d never never previously had a chance to demo NS before.
It’s camber profile is the complete opposite to the YES CamRock with rocker between the feet and camber in the tip and tail and a medium to stiff flex which I’d call around a 6. Having the camber definitely made for a lot of pop which was great, definitely a bit more than what I’m used to from the camrock but very similar to what I’d expect from a regular camber board.
Given I’d never ridden a board with the camber profile I think I’d definitely need a bit more time to get completely used to it as its a little awkward having a pivot point between the bindings and the camber on the tip and tail. I found that when flatbasing I had to pay a lot more attention and couldn’t get lazy as it was a little catchy on the cambered points. I don’t know as to whether the edges had been detuned aswell so that could be one thing that could eliminate this feeling. As for carving though the board was great, I had high expectations after speaking with some friends with NS Evo’s and the board definitely met them.
As stated previously I needed more time on the board before deciding whether I’d buy a NS as I’m very accustomed to having Camber between the feet but at the same time the pop that is delivered from having camber outside the bindings is something that I really do like having so it’s a bit of a catch 22. I know Shaner has spent a lot more time on this board in a larger size so he may be able to shed some more light on it.
It’s camber profile is the complete opposite to the YES CamRock with rocker between the feet and camber in the tip and tail and a medium to stiff flex which I’d call around a 6. Having the camber definitely made for a lot of pop which was great, definitely a bit more than what I’m used to from the camrock but very similar to what I’d expect from a regular camber board.
Given I’d never ridden a board with the camber profile I think I’d definitely need a bit more time to get completely used to it as its a little awkward having a pivot point between the bindings and the camber on the tip and tail. I found that when flatbasing I had to pay a lot more attention and couldn’t get lazy as it was a little catchy on the cambered points. I don’t know as to whether the edges had been detuned aswell so that could be one thing that could eliminate this feeling. As for carving though the board was great, I had high expectations after speaking with some friends with NS Evo’s and the board definitely met them.
This is the exact thing that I didn’t like about the Lib Tech’s C2!!!!! Even when De-Tuned it still behaved that way!!!!!
I put it down to havin the squirilly feel of the rocker in the middle as bein the culprit, as my regular cambered board doesn’t show this trait!!!!!
Finney, can you tell us about Now vs Malavitas?
Pretty hideous graphics on the public.
The base looks like somethin went wrong in production, and it’s in need of half a wax job!!!!!
@Mizu: Yeah C2 or anything w/ rocker is definitely more squirly. I realize this when 1 footing w/t the YES and rossi boards, they just tracked straight where my T.Rice needs a little more attention (I’m finally able to 1 foot from top of red to light board on my T.Rice lol).
Gamblor: its a bit hard to compare them at this stage as the NOW bindings I was riding were the prototypes. One thing I will say is that the toe strap design of the NOW isn’t as good as the malavita and marc commented that it was quite similar to a union. Ratchets were great and id call them a lot better than my old rides and pretty much on par with burtons. Overall they were great but I won’t be rushing out to grab a set as my malavitas are still doing a great job.
Mizu: the board was definitely in need of a wax haha
The base looks like somethin went wrong in production, and it’s in need of half a wax job!!!!!
I was going to say the same thing!
Is that a huge dye cut down the center of the board? I don’t think I’ll ever buy a dye cut board again after the problems I’ve had with them.
^ I’m not a fan of them either.