Actually, my friend's comment after riding my wide was "it's great for
bombing." Perhaps it is a difference in riding style, but with the
wide, when you're skipping accross the top of chop, I feel very
secure... the board is going to keep going exactly where I tell it,
and while it is a bit lively over the bumps (you feel the bumps,
instead of just punching through them on something super stiff, like
MikeT's salomon FRS), it's certainly damp enough that I don't have to
worry about something throwing me.

Actually, just before I switched to hardboots at the end of last
season I was getting quite good at holding carved turns through 6" to
12" chop, the kind of stuff that shows up in the early evening in the
spring when it's setting firm again as the sun sets. It definately was
a mental commitment thing, but once I committed, it was surprisingly
easy.

It's not really a fair comparision, because the only other board I've
ridden in softboots last season (other than my donek) was for only 2
hours or so. It was a burton balance around 160 (163?), with one of
the stiffer sets of flow bindings. What I noticed in that comparision
was that the tail felt very 'loose' compared to the wide. It was super
easy to swish around, even on quite steep slopes. But once I got up to
a little speed, the board would dance around underneath, which did not
inspire confidence. I also wasn't able to carve worth a crap on it,
but that's probibly just my technique.

Anyhow, I love my donek, and I think it's a great board for
freeriding, not just softboot carving. But, people have different
styles, and I can see there's freeriding advantages to the 'burton'
feel of a softer board and tight sidecut, particularly making slow
turns on steep slopes. Me, I'll take the donek or the salomon. If you
like the burton instead, that's just fine. The key is to get a board
that has the qualities you want. And the great thing about donek is
they're about the only company providing an option with bigger
sidecuts and stiff twist, and at great quality and price.