Hey drc13 . . .
. . . how’d your Charlie Slasher work out in Japow?
<img src =“https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-jmQqWSaCm5M/UHf7Hdp-71I/AAAAAAAAAq8/y6CAM1VSkw0/s837/IMG_20121012_220318.jpg” width =“800”>
Haha I was fully expecting a “.....nothing” when I opened this thread.
Just rushing to get ready for work (my sleeping patterns are completely out of whack) but once I get there and settled in I’ll get back to you with all the details. I’m glad you asked though!
Haha I was fully expecting a “.....nothing” when I opened this thread.
2012 Capita Charlie Slasher
Rider: David Courtney
Rider weight: 70kg
Boot size: 9.5 US
Board category: Powder board that you can use All-Mountain
Board size tested: 154cm
Test location: Myoko Kogen and Nozawa Onsen - Japan
Snow conditions: Long groomed runs, varying depths of Powder.
GENERAL REVIEW:
Before my 2013 trip to Japan I was in the market for a new board. I ended up changing my mind multiple times.
I was fairly sure at this stage that I only wanted to take one board with me. During my 2012 trip to Hakuba I had a week of bluebird conditions with no fresh snow. This experience showed me that even in Japow you need a board that can handle the long/fast groomers. On the other hand I was thinking positively and planning on riding some deep pow so wanted a board that would let me have as much fun as possible in those conditions.
Initially I was looking at hybrid profile All-Mountain boards that I would get a lot of use out of in Australia. I then briefly looked at dedicated powder boards (fish shapes etc.) Finally at the last moment I snapped up a 2012 Capita Charlie Slasher 154 for a bargain price from BSC.
The Charlie Slasher is Capita’s Pow board. It features a tapered nose (wider nose than tail), an interesting profile (rocker in the nose and flat from the midsection back) as well as a setback stance. All of these features are designed to keep the nose up and the tail down whilst riding pow. I was also happy to find the 2012 model came with a sintered base.
What I also liked was despite these pow board features it was still essentially shaped like an All-Mountain board i.e. it had a tail!
Picking a size was also a tough decision. Charlie’s come in a choice of 154/158/164 with increasingly wide waists. My DC board I had been using up until this point was a 153 which I had been happy with. My only other experience was a few hours on a 158w hire board after last year’s ice pick incident which I hadn’t enjoyed at all (slooow turn initiation and generally cumbersome)
On one hand in pow bigger is generally better (more float) on the other this was going to be my one board and I didn’t fancy revisiting my 158w experience on Japans impressive groomers. I ended up grabbing the 154 hoping I would feel more comfortable riding it All-Mountain whilst still being able to ride pow with more ease than a non-powder board.
So how did I find it…..?
I arrived in Myoko to a bluebird day. It had snowed a couple of days earlier so it wasn’t terrible but was a good test on some slightly firm groomed runs. I got off the gondola, strapped in for the first time and nervously slid off not knowing what to expect. Once I reached the bottom of a long run I felt relieved. With its odd shape and profile it hadn’t felt completely alien to ride. Turning felt slightly different with the tapered nose and the tail seemed pretty keen to play but overall it was a very easy ride. With its nice sharp edges it had held nicely. You could get nice quick turns in or hold a nice long turn taking advantage of the sidecut. By the end of the day I was very happy with my decision to go for the 154 as I hadn’t missed having a true All-Mountain board at all despite being on groomed runs for most of the day. As the trip progressed I can also happily report that it is a lovely board for bombing at speed. It felt very stable under foot at speeds of 80km/h+. I was also able to ride in switch. Whether it was down a groomed run for something different or getting out of sticky situation in moguls/tight trees it proved to be handy having the tail. I’m no good at tail pressing at the best of times but did find it particularly tricky on the charlie but that’s hardly what it was bought for.
Fortunately I can report that during my trip I got some famous Japan pow, lots at times! Now you have to keep in mind I’m still new to this game so it was my first time riding in pow and especially riding pow in trees. With the aid of charlie I was powering down in conditions from boot to nearly chest deep. It’s not a miracle worker though. I still needed to keep my weight back and speed up. On lower gradient slopes I still got bogged and on the times I didn’t keep my weight back and let the nose down I got launched. I have to say it wasn’t uncommon to hear people muttering the words “too much snow” and “too deep” so combined with my learner abilities it wasn’t an easy ask of the board.
The charlie did provide some of the biggest stoke I have ever had on the snow though. When I found the steeper gradient runs the board absolutely excelled. I was riding with 3 other guys and ended up having to wait down the bottom of a 39 degree run for them to catch up. I had absolutely taken off and felt completely confident surfing over the deep pow and a decent speed. The nose would punch through most things in front of me so all I had to do was stay loose and shred!
It also proved to be a great board in the trees. I still need to work on my technique but I never felt it was the board letting me down in tight situations. I had some of my best fun shooting off the side of a run into the trees as quickly as I dared before working my way back and launching off the lip back onto the run (felt solid on landings), rinse and repeat. The board was great for this.
I also have to note the build quality/durability of the Charlie. I hit my fair share of trees in varying sizes over the fortnight but you wouldn’t know it looking at the board. I have been very impressed with the build quality/durability.
I’m not that fussed about graphics but have to make mention that I had a couple of guys compliment the looks of the charlie particularly the base artwork which is always nice.
So overall I was very happy with the Charlie Slasher by the end of the trip. It had truly performed as an all mountain/powder board. Sure at times when it got really deep I would have loved the 158 or even a fish and if I had known I would have got such good conditions I would have given them more consideration. I also didn’t get around to setting back my stance further from the default settings which would have helped. Having said that though I still had a few days of bluebird and I don’t know how I would have coped on those days where the 154 really showed its versatility. Will it get a whole lot of use in Australia… no probably not. Do I consider it a good purchase/investment for the Japan trip I’ve just had… you bet!
P.S I managed to get a fair bit of video footage while over there. Keep an eye out for it when I get around to making an edit as it will give you a far better idea of how it rides.
great gear report, drc, loved reading it! Can I ask how much you ended up paying for it (PM if you need to)?
You keen on getting one, Mud - perhaps a 158?
You keen on getting one, Mud?
Nah just curious. I would be interested if I had a trip to Japan on the cards, but with a house extension coming up soon, all discretionary expenditure will no doubt get knocked back. After the coming season I will probably try to rationalise my quiver down to something more reasonable, and am trying to get a feel for options.
Nice review….but u snowboard at 80km/h+ ????????
U go as fast as a car on the highway!
Nice review….but u snowboard at 80km/h+ ????????
U go as fast as a car on the highway!
Going down a steep hill on a stiff board, it shouldn’t be too hard to get that fast. 80km/h is quite achievable to be honest.
great gear report, drc, loved reading it! Can I ask how much you ended up paying for it (PM if you need to)?
No worries mud glad you enjoyed it! With a combination of it being on sale/being a previous customer and a BW member I got it delivered for ~$250.
Nice review….but u snowboard at 80km/h+ ????????
U go as fast as a car on the highway!
Thanks mate. Haha yeah not in the pow or in the trees but on some of the longer steeper groomed runs (better quality grooming than Aus) you could build up speed pretty quickly and my GPS readings seemed to correspond with the readings I’ve had in oz. I’d almost say that was a conservative number at times.
80kmh
Pfft! That’s cruising speed!!!
Nice review man!
Looking forward to some footage too!
Nice review….but u snowboard at 80km/h+ ????????
U go as fast as a car on the highway!
have you not heard about the shred chinese downhill??
there was like 15 of us going down mt perisher at the same time doing in excess of 80km/h, that was some sketchy shit at times 
I’ve just finished my video edit which includes the charlie slasher doing it’s thing! 