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#1
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Yet Another Donek Question
Yes, I've googled and read many posts to this board about Donek snowboards.
My question is this: Would the Donek Incline be a suitable board for me as a relative beginner? I just started riding in the past two weeks. I've gone 4 times (including 2 1-hour private lessons) and have made (what I think to be) pretty good progress. I think I'm enjoying the sport enough that it makes sense to get my own equipment. Problem is I don't really seem to have much opportunity to demo equipment before buying. None of the shops around here (southeastern Michigan -- yes I've been learning on one of our local "is it slag pile or landfill?" "mountains") offer rentals or have any sort of demo programs. None of my friends do snowboarding, so there's not any opportunity for trying stuff that way. The shops around here seem to be in a major push the remaining merchandise out the door because it's the end of the season mode. So I realize I could pick up something cheap if I knew better what I was looking for. But I don't want to end up with cruddy equipment I'm going to want to replace in a year. Also, as someone new to the sport I just don't feel confident in my ability to judge equipment. I've tried to pay some attention to the feel of the rental boards I've used, but so far it's been more about learning the basic skills of the sport rather than evaluating the performance of the equipment. I weigh 170 pounds and have had 4 different rental boards -- 155 cm, 158, 160, and 162. Frankly, I couldn't tell much difference at all between the different boards I used because each time I went out I was getting better and doing different things. Trying to make sense out of what the salespeople in the shops say is hard too -- I get into this mode I call "feature blur" where they're talking on and on about all these minute and terribly important distinctions that I have no way of understanding or appreciating at this stage. Anyhow, that's where this newsgroup comes in. Sounds like there a lot of people here very satisfied with their Donek boards. So I wonder, does it make sense for me to just get one of those too. My concern and reason for posting is that I wonder wheter an Incline might be too "advanced" for me at this stage. So what do folks think? Is such a board suitable for someone who's ridden only a few times but thinks he's making great progress? I'm thinking I'll be able to go again maybe 10 more times this season. (Maybe a weekend or two to a bigger hill in northern Michigan or elsewhere, but nowhere serious yet this season.) I'm not interested in the park or tricks or stunts -- just cruising down the hill and learning to turn better and having some fun. Thanks for any input! Mike Matola |
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#2
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Yet Another Donek Question
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 |
#3
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Yet Another Donek Question
"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 |
#4
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Yet Another Donek Question
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've been doing a half-degree bevel on my base edges which seems to do wonders for reducing unwanted grabbiness. I don't notice any difference when I'm going edge-to-edge although I've read that racers can easily notice a half degree. But running flat is much easier for me with a little bevel. 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. I agree with Arvin, consider the waist width carefully. If you have a solid carving technique, then yeah, on size 8's with mellow angles you *will* drag a toe or a heel cup on an Incline. For reference I'm size 8, 15/6 to 24/15. If you're not getting as much inclination (edge angle w/ snow on your turns), you might very well prefer the Incline with a size 8 - 10 boot. Of course, these boards do want to carve and you may find yourself wanting a little more width later. That's exactly what happened to me and why I went Incline - Wide after a year. |
#5
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Yet Another Donek Question
Mike,
I know you're looking for advice from customers, but I did want to let you know that we have a mail order demo program which will allow you to try before you buy. I don't have a lot of models available for demo, but from what you've said, I probably have something that will work for your needs. Give me a call. I'm gone til Friday for SIA in Vegas, so give it a couple of days. Sean Martin Donek Snowboards Inc. http://www.donek.com/ phone:877-53-DONEK "Michael G. Matola" wrote in message ... Yes, I've googled and read many posts to this board about Donek snowboards. My question is this: Would the Donek Incline be a suitable board for me as a relative beginner? I just started riding in the past two weeks. I've gone 4 times (including 2 1-hour private lessons) and have made (what I think to be) pretty good progress. I think I'm enjoying the sport enough that it makes sense to get my own equipment. Problem is I don't really seem to have much opportunity to demo equipment before buying. None of the shops around here (southeastern Michigan -- yes I've been learning on one of our local "is it slag pile or landfill?" "mountains") offer rentals or have any sort of demo programs. None of my friends do snowboarding, so there's not any opportunity for trying stuff that way. The shops around here seem to be in a major push the remaining merchandise out the door because it's the end of the season mode. So I realize I could pick up something cheap if I knew better what I was looking for. But I don't want to end up with cruddy equipment I'm going to want to replace in a year. Also, as someone new to the sport I just don't feel confident in my ability to judge equipment. I've tried to pay some attention to the feel of the rental boards I've used, but so far it's been more about learning the basic skills of the sport rather than evaluating the performance of the equipment. I weigh 170 pounds and have had 4 different rental boards -- 155 cm, 158, 160, and 162. Frankly, I couldn't tell much difference at all between the different boards I used because each time I went out I was getting better and doing different things. Trying to make sense out of what the salespeople in the shops say is hard too -- I get into this mode I call "feature blur" where they're talking on and on about all these minute and terribly important distinctions that I have no way of understanding or appreciating at this stage. Anyhow, that's where this newsgroup comes in. Sounds like there a lot of people here very satisfied with their Donek boards. So I wonder, does it make sense for me to just get one of those too. My concern and reason for posting is that I wonder wheter an Incline might be too "advanced" for me at this stage. So what do folks think? Is such a board suitable for someone who's ridden only a few times but thinks he's making great progress? I'm thinking I'll be able to go again maybe 10 more times this season. (Maybe a weekend or two to a bigger hill in northern Michigan or elsewhere, but nowhere serious yet this season.) I'm not interested in the park or tricks or stunts -- just cruising down the hill and learning to turn better and having some fun. Thanks for any input! Mike Matola |
#6
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Yet Another Donek Question
make sense for me to just get one of those too. My concern and reason for
posting is that I wonder wheter an Incline might be too "advanced" for me at this stage. So what do folks think? Is such a board suitable for someone who's ridden only a few times but thinks he's making great progress? I'm I learned to snowboard on my donek wide 161. I don't think the board was any problem, in fact, I think it's been a big advantage. A more forgiving board would have been easier my first few days trying to link turns on blue slopes. However, the slight difference in flex and sidecut of the donek board compared to say a burton custom, really forced me to learn more polished technique. Once you get past the beginner stage, the difference in effort between a donek and something softer or with a tighter sidecut radius is really not a problem. As an intermediate, I definately liked the advantages the flex and sidecut gives you: stability and smoothness at higher speeds. |
#7
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Yet Another Donek Question
Arvin ""
Mike T "" 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. I agree with Arvin, consider the waist width carefully. If you have a solid carving technique, then yeah, on size 8's with mellow angles you *will* drag a toe or a heel cup on an Incline. For reference I'm size 8, 15/6 to 24/15. If you're not getting as much inclination (edge angle w/ snow on your turns), you might very well prefer the Incline with a size 8 - 10 boot. Of course, these boards do want to carve and you may find yourself wanting a little more width later. That's exactly what happened to me and why I went Incline - Wide after a year. Points taken. Never thought of myself as having particularly small feet. I generally wear 9 or 9-1/2 wides in street shoes. In the crappy rental snowboard boots I've used, I started out with an 8 and have moved down to a 7 to prevent heel lift. The shops around me are really out of merchandise for the year, but the best-fitting boot I've found so far is a Salomon F22 in size 8 (at a great sale price, but I don't want to buy not having tried the next size smaller). (I have Salomon inline skates and cross-country ski boots and have always liked how their stuff fits my feet.) I think I'll have to mail order a bunch of boots and send back all but the ones I settle on. I don't know that I have a preference yet on stance angles. Twice the rentals were set to 15/0 and twice to 15/-5 (I think). I don't think I noticed any real difference. Just figured something out. Twice (155 and 160) the rental boards were these narrow green and red Rossignols and the angles were 15/-5. And twice (158 and 162) the rentals were wider Rossignols with orange and blue graphics and the angles were 15/0. Haven't tried a higher/positive angle for my rear foot yet. |
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