"Mike T" wrote in message ...
My question is this: Would the Donek Incline be a suitable board for
me as a
relative beginner?
I'd say that if you can confidently turn on both sides while going
down a steepish blue run, then you'll be fine.

Agreed. The board will encourage you to make crisp, carved turns, as
opposed to slide-turns, helping you accomplish your goal of "making
better turns".

FWIW my wife's cousin borrowed my old Incline 160 while he was visiting
us after riding 4 or 5 times on rental equipment. He rode it with us
for 2 days, enjoyed it a lot, and markedly improved his riding skills.
I sent him home with it, since I was riding my Wide 161 most of the time
anyways!

Mike T

I say it's fine for anyone who has 4-5 days under the belt. It's
definitely not like my old Salomon Definition, which was an expert
only board. I think that's what make the Donek's ideal (are extremely
good for a wide range of abilities and riding styles). I don't think I
will endorse the board quite as much as Mike T, but I would definitely
recommend it to *anyone.* I think it is a very, very good board at a
good price made by a company that really cares if you like the board
(if you don't like it after 30 days of riding, they will pay for you
to ship it back and give you a full refund).

I've noticed that the edges "grip" a little bit unusually when sliding
down icy slopes. I'm guess that's due to the 0 degree bevel on the
edge. It's not terrible, just noticible that the board is definitely
"asserting" itself a little, like it wants to carve and not just
slip-slide down the enter mountain.

I must reiterate my continually warning about the board width and boot
sizes. The waist is small, but the board doesn't flair much, so the
width at the binding locations are noticeable *narrow*. I have small
size 8 feet the Incline is even narrow for me (I have to ride like
20/15+ degree angles), I suggest getting the Wide for most people if
they don't like high angles. I have small feet and I don't mind high
angles, so it wasn't too bad for me, but it could really cause some
trouble for people with bigger feet or more neutral angles.

--Arvin