Changing Order From MFR to Khyber

Mike T wrote:

Definitely get on the phone with Chris Prior and get his opinion.

I'd second that - talk to Chris if you can, and not one of his salespeople.

Neil

"Mike T" wrote in message
...
The Donek 161 *was* too much board, thus the concern.

I keep trying to type up a reply and new messages keep appearing!

Brian, I was going to caution you about having a powder-specific board
such
as the Khyber as your "one and only", and then I came back to write that
post and saw that you'd already had second thoughts.

To best complete your quest for the Right Board, I recommend figuring out
specifically which aspects of the Donek were "too much" and what was OK.
Given that your troubles were in moguls and low-speed, tight turns (if I
recall, skidded ones) your three candidates for "too much" a

Too much stiffness (especially torsional stiffness)
Sidecut to big
Too much effective edge

I suspect that torsional stiffness played a big part in this.

If you have already put your money down on a Prior, you might even
consider
the AMF (all-mountain freestyle) 162W. 124 cm edge length (1 more than
the
162W MFR), but an 8.4 sidecut. That's still a bigger sidecut than a lot
of
freestyle boards. But smaller than the MFR. ask Chris about the
stiffness. Or, maybe have him custom-build something. The website lists
a
price of $110 USD for waist widening. Maybe a 158 MFR w/ a wider waist?
Or
maybe one of the AMF boards with a wider waist? Definitely get on the
phone
with Chris Prior and get his opinion. It might be as simple as softening
the flex to your weight! If Chris is anything like the other "boutique"
boardmakers (Sean Martin @ Donek, Bruce Varsava @ Coiler) that I've dealt
with he'll find you the right board for what you want. Remember, paying
a
little extra for a custom waist with or flex ain't that much more than a
set
of risers!

Good input. Your right on the custom waist versus risers too. I'll contact
Chris today.

Very helpful as always! Thanks again.

Brian.

Just got off the phone with Chris Prior. He was quite familiar with the
Donek Wide and highly recommended I stay with the MFR 162, and even thought
the 165 wasn't out of the question. He says it is considerably softer than
the Donek, and based on my description of riding style, weight, etc, said
its definitely not too much board. His exact words were that the Donek is
"quite a plank", which pretty much coincides with my thoughts. So,
therefore, I guess I'll stick to my original plan and go with the MFR 162
Wide. Thanks for all the input.

Brian.


"Mike T" wrote in message
...
The Donek 161 *was* too much board, thus the concern.

I keep trying to type up a reply and new messages keep appearing!

Brian, I was going to caution you about having a powder-specific board
such
as the Khyber as your "one and only", and then I came back to write that
post and saw that you'd already had second thoughts.

To best complete your quest for the Right Board, I recommend figuring out
specifically which aspects of the Donek were "too much" and what was OK.
Given that your troubles were in moguls and low-speed, tight turns (if I
recall, skidded ones) your three candidates for "too much" a

Too much stiffness (especially torsional stiffness)
Sidecut to big
Too much effective edge


Reducing the stiffness will make it easier to carve the board in a tighter
arc; reducing the torsional stiffness will make it easier to "lead into
the
turn" by turning with your front foot a bit early. It will also decrease
your stability a bit.

Reducing the sidecut will make it so you can carve a tighter turn at lower
speed, meaning you can carve a turn in some places where you are skidding
them now. It will also put a lower "speed limit" on your carved turns.
(Perhaps that's a good thing?)

Reducing the effective edge will make it easier to initiate a skidded
turn.
However you'll need to pay closer attention to maintaining a carved turn,
it
won't "just carve" as easily and you will also sacrifice some stability in
your carved turns.


Donek Wide 161 - Prior MFR 162W will decrease your effective edge,
probably
enough to notice. Having not ridden one, I can't say how it will compare
stiffness wise. I would be very, very surprised if you could notice the
difference between a 9 and a 9.1 m sidecut, so let's call that even.

Going down to the 158 in a Prior... you only lose 2cm more of effective
edge
and .1 m more of sidecut. I still think you would have trouble noticing
the difference in sidecut between 8.9 on a MFR 158 and the 9.1 on a Wide
161. The effective edge might make a little difference though.

If you have already put your money down on a Prior, you might even
consider
the AMF (all-mountain freestyle) 162W. 124 cm edge length (1 more than
the
162W MFR), but an 8.4 sidecut. That's still a bigger sidecut than a lot
of
freestyle boards. But smaller than the MFR. ask Chris about the
stiffness. Or, maybe have him custom-build something. The website lists
a
price of $110 USD for waist widening. Maybe a 158 MFR w/ a wider waist?
Or
maybe one of the AMF boards with a wider waist? Definitely get on the
phone
with Chris Prior and get his opinion. It might be as simple as softening
the flex to your weight! If Chris is anything like the other "boutique"
boardmakers (Sean Martin @ Donek, Bruce Varsava @ Coiler) that I've dealt
with he'll find you the right board for what you want. Remember, paying
a
little extra for a custom waist with or flex ain't that much more than a
set
of risers!

-Mike T

Just got off the phone with Chris Prior. He was quite familiar with the
Donek Wide and highly recommended I stay with the MFR 162

That's great news! I'm definitely looking forward to hearing about the
difference between the two.

In the end, I suspect my "alpine tendencies" give me a taste for freeride
boards that some others might call "planks". (Note, however, that it was
my first Incline 160 that gave me a taste of Life On The Edge that led to me
getting a pair of hard boots - at the time I actually spent quite a bit of
time doing jumps, albeit not going very big ones... I might again, but I'm
waiting a full year after a sprained ankle to get back in the park...)

Mike T

By they way, this is the topsheet I'm getting:

http://www.priorsnowboards.com/winter05/data/Khyber.pdf



Brian.

"Mike T" wrote in message
...
Just got off the phone with Chris Prior. He was quite familiar with the
Donek Wide and highly recommended I stay with the MFR 162

That's great news! I'm definitely looking forward to hearing about the
difference between the two.

In the end, I suspect my "alpine tendencies" give me a taste for freeride
boards that some others might call "planks". (Note, however, that it was
my first Incline 160 that gave me a taste of Life On The Edge that led to
me
getting a pair of hard boots - at the time I actually spent quite a bit of
time doing jumps, albeit not going very big ones... I might again, but I'm
waiting a full year after a sprained ankle to get back in the park...)

Mike T

Nice... that was mostly "our" concern - that the boards would be too
similar to the Donek Wide 161, but all of us trust the board makers
own opinions. The Doneks are rather stiff boards (my Salomon
Definition was stiffer but was more dampened) and can be unforgiving
boards. Priors are much more damp, now that we know that they are
softer I think the board would be great for you. One of these days,
when I retire one of my current boards, I'll check out a Prior.

--arvin

"Brian" wrote in message ...
Just got off the phone with Chris Prior. He was quite familiar with the
Donek Wide and highly recommended I stay with the MFR 162, and even thought
the 165 wasn't out of the question. He says it is considerably softer than
the Donek, and based on my description of riding style, weight, etc, said
its definitely not too much board. His exact words were that the Donek is
"quite a plank", which pretty much coincides with my thoughts. So,
therefore, I guess I'll stick to my original plan and go with the MFR 162
Wide. Thanks for all the input.

Brian.


"Mike T" wrote in message
...
The Donek 161 *was* too much board, thus the concern.

"Brian" wrote in message ...
Just got off the phone with Chris Prior. He was quite familiar with the
Donek Wide and highly recommended I stay with the MFR 162, and even thought
the 165 wasn't out of the question. He says it is considerably softer than
the Donek, and based on my description of riding style, weight, etc, said
its definitely not too much board. His exact words were that the Donek is
"quite a plank", which pretty much coincides with my thoughts. So,
therefore, I guess I'll stick to my original plan and go with the MFR 162
Wide. Thanks for all the input.

I'll second that. Demoed '05 MFR 162 in March @Whistler, and it was a piece of
cake to ride compared to my 158 Palmer Carbon Circle and my old 158 Timeless.

I'm ~160lbs 5'11" and it was a very good board for me in size/stiffness. I would
probably not be getting one because I've grown to like the stiff hard to ride boards
(the plan is to safe up for Nitro Darkhorse or Shogun 165 for next year), but
honestly MFR is probably what I should be getting. But then again I rode over
30 days last season, should be able to handle any board 8-]

--
Dmitry

"Dmitry" wrote in message
news:U1rEc.1853$%_6.1556@attbi_s01...

I'm ~160lbs 5'11" and it was a very good board for me in size/stiffness.
I would
probably not be getting one because I've grown to like the stiff hard to
ride boards
(the plan is to safe up for Nitro Darkhorse or Shogun 165 for next year),
but
honestly MFR is probably what I should be getting. But then again I rode
over
30 days last season, should be able to handle any board 8-]

--
Dmitry


That's good to hear. I've also received feedback from a Prior MFR 162 owner
via email and it is indeed what I was hoping to hear! For you, though, you
should consider a Donek. I have heard that the Nitros are stiff, but you
can't beat a Donek in that department! Priced right at $370, too.

Brian.

Be sure to post how the board works out for you this next season.
AIRC, you and I are pretty similar in weight, and about the same spot
in riding ability... so I'd love to hear what you think of the prior
after giving it some time.

I'll let you know mid-season! BTW, I'm 6', 165 lbs, and been riding about 3
years. Spend most of my time on the steeps, on and off the groomers.
Trying to get better at the bumps!

Brian.


"Jason Watkins" wrote in message
om...
Be sure to post how the board works out for you this next season.
AIRC, you and I are pretty similar in weight, and about the same spot
in riding ability... so I'd love to hear what you think of the prior
after giving it some time.