REVIEW: Chemical Storm Skullteeth Octorocker
REVIEW: CHEMICAL STORM SKULLTEETH OCTOROCKER
Rider: Jeremy Sheridan
Rider weight: 65kg
Boot size: 9 US
Board category: All-mountain / Freestyle
Board size: 155cm
Stance: 22” and centred
Test location: Whistler, Canada
Snow conditions: Everything
GENERAL REVIEW:
Chemical Storm is a snowboard brand based in Brisbane, Australia. They have a unique approach to design and product development. You can find them on Facebook here.
The Chemical Storm Skullteeth Octorocker is an incredibly fun board to ride. I tested this board over a six week period in Whistler, Canada. During this time we were blessed with copious amounts of fresh snow. I was lucky enough to test the Skullteeth Octorocker in virtually all snow conditions and terrain.
First and foremost, the Skullteeth Octorocker is an amazing powder board; it floats like an absolute dream. The Skullteeth Octorocker refuses to sink, even in light, waist deep snow. The board is full of energy in the powder; it gives you a very energetic and ‘bouncy’ ride. Between turns the board just wants to bounce off the surface like a surfboard. As more snow fell and powder days became aplenty, I didn’t once think of riding another board (and I have fair few to chose from). Keep in mind, this is a twin shaped board and I was riding it with a centred stance.
The Skullteeth Octorocker excels in soft, choppy snow. Super agile and playful, the board contorts between the bumps to destroy everything in its path. The Skullteeth Octorocker features a noticeable rocker profile between the feet, and throughout the nose and tail, with a very slight amount of camber just under the feet. This rocker profile and forgiving flex pattern enables you to ride over anything; a perfect balance between playfulness and stability. I was able to ride in soft, choppy snow like never before. The Skullteeth Octorocker absolutely loves fresh snow - untracked or not.
Being a twin shaped board with a twin flex pattern, it’s not surprising how well it rides switch. The carbon tentacle through the length of the board gives it a nice amount of pop, especially for a rockered board. All of this combines for an extremely fun freestyle board, whether your preference is natural terrain or the terrain park. The Skullteeth Octorocker is great for buttering, pressing, and jibbing natural features.
The sintered base on the Skullteeth Octorocker is lightning fast. This board is just as fast as any board I have ever ridden; it accelerates and hits top speed very quickly. On the groomers, the Skullteeth Octorocker is fast and playful, yet surprisingly stable. I would expect a rockered board with this flex pattern to be less stable, however I was blown away on a daily basis. The camber underfoot gives you just enough edge hold for carving tight turns.
The terrain park is yet another arena this board excels. The twin shape and twin flex, rockered camber profile, carbon tentacle, and soft to mid range flex pattern, makes the Skullteeth Octorocker an obvious choice for the terrain park. Nice and smooth, and stable on landings - there’s nothing in the park this board wants to shy away from.
Worth mentioning is the unique octagonal shaped nose and eye-catching graphics. I was approached countless times by strangers asking me about the board. The Chemical Storm Skullteeth Octorocker is not just unique and visually appealing - most importantly, it is a high performance, all-terrain, powder and park destroyer. If you love fresh snow and/or the terrain park, this board should be at the top of your shopping list. I can’t wait to get back on it next season in Whistler.
PERSONAL RATINGS (out of 10):
Best use: Powder, softpack, park
Flex (10 being the stiffest): 4
Carving: 6
Groomers: 7
Powder: 9
Jumps: 8
Jibbing: 8
Overall: 8.5 (as a powder / park snowboard)
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reply to this thread.
Awesome review. does the unique shape of the tips affect riding?
Rider: Michael Finney
Boot size: 10 US
Board category: All-mountain / freestyle
Board size: 155cm
Stance: ~24” and centred
Test location: Whistler, Canada
I’ve been riding the 155 Chemical Storm Skullteeth Octorocker that Jeremy has here in Whistler for the past week or so in a whole lot of mixed conditions and figured it was only fair that I post a review up here for the great board that Jeff has produced. The board is definitely a real eye catcher and has drawn a hell of a lot of attention wherever it goes with a huge amount of people (including one DC team rider on the gondola the other day) asking me ‘what is that board?/graphics looks sick/can’t stop checking out the nose and tail shape’ etc.)
For the whole time I’ve been testing the board I should also add that I’ve been riding the board with a centred ~24” stance -15/15 and 08/09 Ride Beta bindings.
At first I was a little scared of what I’d think given my previous riding has been done mostly on cambered and hybrid boards with varying levels of flex and the limited time I’ve spent on rocker boards had left me wondering what all the fuss was about since I just couldn’t seem to get comfortable but after a few turns on the Octorocker I was wondering what it was that had left me being skeptical about rockered boards since I instantly felt comfortable on it.
First day riding it was after 20+cm of fresh snow and whilst this board is designed as a park board it is just phenomenal in powder, floats on top effortlessly which leaves the back leg having to do a whole lot less work meaning for longer days on the hill and less breaks for the legs. Its also insanely fast yet surprisingly stable when bombing through big powder fields which is something that I had previously found to go hand in hand with a much stiffer board. It took pretty much everything I had to throw at it and just said ‘what, thats all you’ve got?’ back at me. I couldn’t fault the board in any way shape or form when it came to riding powder even with my centred stance. It was extremely responsive through tight tree lines and it’s ability to float and hold speed on the flatter sections left me grinning from ear to ear as I continued on to snake more fresh lines off those who had come to a stop.
Obviously throughout the day the powder gets chopped up along with the groomers and you’re left with a mess which isn’t always the easiest to navigate and you can’t always ride through this both quickly and comfortably at speed but with this board I was far more comfortable riding at speed flatbasing through these sections and throwing in the odd turn here and there. The boards stability at high speed is not something that you’d expect from such a soft board but by just shifting the weight back a touch the tail just absorbed everything and allowed me to ride faster than I ever have previously in those conditions, no doubt had mountain safety seen what was going on I may have had a bit of explaining to do hahaha.
One downfall I’ve noticed of softer boards in the past is that they aren’t always fantastic at landing drops/hits even the slightest bit tail heavy. WIth the Octorocker it lands side hits and what jumps I’ve hit with ease and even when I got it wrong with weight back a touch it just eased the nose down rather than sliding out from underneath me so it’s definitely forgiving with the hits where you don’t get everything perfect. I haven’t had a chance to ride too much park yet, just a few small hits in the park and it’s been great fun so far. Once all this powder decides to leave us I’ll have a better chance of getting in there and trying it out a whole lot more.
As I’ve mentioned previously the board is very quick and when looking at how it performs with edge to edge carving it’s great, super quick on the transitions from heel to toe and amazingly effortless with the catch free freedom of rocker, however, on hardpacked groomers first thing in the morning I did miss having my other board with camber between the feet. But really at the end of the day you’ve only got these conditions shortly first thing in the morning so it’s something I’m easily able to look past given just how it performs in all other conditions and the fact that this is a common trait of all rockered boards.
And now for the million dollar question as to whether I’d buy a Chemical Storm Octorocker… I can honestly say that I’m seriously reconsidering my next board choice after having ridden this for the past week and would highly recommend giving one of them a demo if you have the chance this Winter.
In Jeff’s introduction he stated “We ride everything from peak to park” and from my limited time on this board I can definitely say that he has created an amazing board that will do this with ease. In closing, a huge thanks to Jeff for sending the board over here and giving us a chance to ride it. I’ve had a blast riding it and wish him all the best for the release of the boards this Winter.
Cheers,
Mike.Chemical Storm roostertail off Peak Chair - Photo taken by Dan83
Awesome review. does the unique shape of the tips affect riding?
No it doesn’t. As far as I’ve been told, it’s only a cosmetic design feature and not a performance feature. However I have seen similar design features on other boards which those brands claim to make buttering easier.
Awesome review. does the unique shape of the tips affect riding?
For normal riding on groomers etc there aren’t any really changes that you’ll notice as the shape in the nose and tail doesn’t affect the effective edge of the board. When it comes to powder riding through the width of the nose is something that I did notice. It was actually a few mm wider than my 156 Yes typo and this increase in surface area on the nose may have also played a role in this boards great performance in powder.
I can see the flat edges helping lock onto certain butters a bit, but would have to ride to find out.
My Rome artifact sort of has edges like that, but not as much as that and its to help with buttering apparently . . .
Awesome review. does the unique shape of the tips affect riding?
No it doesn’t. As far as I’ve been told, it’s only a cosmetic design feature and not a performance feature. However I have seen similar design features on other boards which those brands claim to make buttering easier.
I was curious about that as well, good to know!
If anyone is heading to Thredbo or Perisher and would like to demo this board, please let me know. I have arranged for a demo board to be sent to First Tracks in Jindabyne for anyone who wants to demo the board.
If anyone is heading to Thredbo or Perisher and would like to demo this board, please let me know. I have arranged for a demo board to be sent to First Tracks in Jindabyne for anyone who wants to demo the board.
If only I could get to first tracks this weekend… if it was there yet.
I should probably mention this board is also available in the following graphic (same board specs and size).
The Shadow Octorocker…
We are about to order a limited quantity of Skullteeth/Shadow Octorockers next week for our team trip to Whistler/BAMF. We are going to offer an exclusive deal only to BW members. BW members will be able to purchase either The Shadow or Skullteeth for $500 which includes free delivery anywhere in Australia.BW member will save $249 from the RRP ($749). This exclusive offer closes on the 18th of September. You will be able to test ride the Octorockers on the 17th of September when we are down in Thredbo for the BW Shred weekend.
Don’t miss your chance to own one of these limited edition boards. As much as we love The Shadow and Skullteeth, they will no longer be availble as we will be releasing our new range of 2012/13 boards later this year.
For a full reveiw/specs, check out Jeremy’s article posted in this thread. Please note they are only available in 155.
If you wish to place an order or have further questions please send an email to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
Regards
Jeff
That’s a great deal Jeff 
Everyone going to the shred should definitely jump on one of these boards and give them a shot for a couple of runs. As I said in my review this board blew me away and completely changed my thoughts on rocker.
I’ll be in touch over the coming weeks Jeff in regards to grabbing one of these before I head back to Whistler.
Cheers,
Mike.
We are deciding whether to change the current matt finish to a superclear coat finish for our last batch. What do you think finney?
Personally I prefer a matte finish since it’s a bit gripper and easier to ride without a stomp pad but all in all I’m not too phased to be honest. If it makes the topsheet a bit stronger and more resistant to damage in lift lines then it may be something worth considering.
I quite like the matte finish too, for the reason finney mentioned. However I think durability is a more important factor. It might be an idea to try the superclear finish just so you have something to compare it to for future product lines.