Donek boards?

Anyone own a Donek board? I'm thinking about picking up a 161 wide to
replace my Joyride 165. I'm a freeride fanatic, haven't been to the park or
pipe, but I might try it this year. I'm trying to find a board that is wide
enough for my size 12 boots and will perform well for all types of riding (I
know thats asking a lot).

Thanks,
Rick

"Rick Wilson" wrote in message
...
Anyone own a Donek board? I'm thinking about picking up a 161 wide to
replace my Joyride 165. I'm a freeride fanatic, haven't been to the park
or
pipe, but I might try it this year. I'm trying to find a board that is
wide
enough for my size 12 boots and will perform well for all types of riding
(I
know thats asking a lot).

I have an Incline 155, so not a Wide like you're thinking about. And I'm not
vastly experienced (~2-2.5 months boarding), but what the hell: here's my
opinion anyway.

The Incline (and I think this extends to the Wide and the Sasquatch) is
pretty damn stiff. Much more so than most of the Burtons/Rides/other
mainstream boards out there. As far as I was concerned, this meant that it
held a line like it was on rails, but became a bit of a handful for slower,
tighter stuff. I've since gotten hold of a softer freestyle/freeride board
to 'play' on, but the Donek is best for wide-open, blasting down the hill
type riding. I imagine my (iffy) technique probably has as much to do with
this as the Donek, though.

Construction-wise, it has a really nice base and a slightly fragile
topsheet, but apparently this was toughened up last season. It really was
dirt cheap for the build quality and materials, and it does come highly
recommended by much more experienced boarders than me. Sean Martin (the guy
behind the company) answered all of my emails quickly and helpfully.

Keith

I think Keith's right on the money. I have a wide 161, and I'm very
happy with it. Very solid and confident bombing, tons of edge hold
when you want it to bite, a bit more effort to make tight slow skidded
turns though. I wouldn't hesistate to buy another, and it's proven to
be very durable for me.

I'm not a park rider, so I won't review on that... other than to say
that while the donek wide might not be the *ideal* park board, there's
certainly nothing about it that'll stop you from doing anything.

Jason Watkins wrote:

I think Keith's right on the money. I have a wide 161, and I'm very
happy with it. Very solid and confident bombing, tons of edge hold

Same here. I'm very happy with my Wide 161 and glad that I got rid of my
old board. The edge holds unlike the old board.


I'm not a park rider, so I won't review on that...

Ditto.

Dean

Anyone own a Donek board?

Quite a few of us. Sean who makes them posts here; he probably has a
few himself too ;-)

Anyone own a Donek board? I'm thinking about picking up a 161 wide to
replace my Joyride 165. I'm a freeride fanatic, haven't been to the park
or
pipe, but I might try it this year.

I own several Donek boards and have a very high opinion of them. I've
written quite a bit on this topic, do a Google search through this newsgroup
to read more.

IMHO Donek and "freeride fanatic" go hand in hand. I suck suck suck at the
pipe, whether it's on a Lib Tech, a Burton Custom, or my Wide 161. I
prefer the stability of my Wide (or even my Axis 172, ridden with hard
boots) for doing straight airs in the park, to something more flexy and
fresstyle oriented. But that's just me.

I'm trying to find a board that is wide
enough for my size 12 boots and will perform well for all types of riding
(I
know thats asking a lot).

If you're mostly into freeriding and want to dabble in park and pipe then I
would certainly recommend one of their boards. Sean Martin, the owner,
can help you pick the right length and width. There are varying opinions
on width... some err on the narrow side to get faster edge changes, some err
on the wide side to ensure they don't have any boot overhang. This is a
general concern, not limited to Donek boards! I have a pretty strong
carving-oriented style so overhang bothers me and I can get the wide
edge-to-edge no problem even with my size 8 boots, so if I personally had
size 12 boots I'd go with a Sasquatch. But that's just me. If you are
newer to the sport, or don't leave pencil-thin trenches in the sbow when you
ride, you might find the Wide to be a better choice. Again, search the
newsgroup for old posts regarding width...

Mike T

"phil" wrote in message
om...
Anyone own a Donek board?

Quite a few of us. Sean who makes them posts here; he probably has a
few himself too ;-)

Actually, after reading the first reply I sent Sean an e-mail. He's already
gotten back to me twice. It looks like I'm gonna go with a Sasquatch of
162. It should be long enough for the freeriding and short enough to play
in the park.

Thanks for all the responses!
Rick

Rick Wilson wrote:

Actually, after reading the first reply I sent Sean an e-mail. He's already
gotten back to me twice. It looks like I'm gonna go with a Sasquatch of
162. It should be long enough for the freeriding and short enough to play
in the park.

Thanks for all the responses!
Rick



Good luck with your Donek. You'll love it and you'll love dealing with
them. I'm an olde pharte rider with an Incline 160 and I love it.

I don't know what you're used to, but the Donek is going to be a VERY stiff
board. To me, it felt like it belonged on the race course. It was effort.
Be aware of that up front. That may or may not be up your alley. Many
here, as you've seen love it.

That said I owned a Wide 161 for two seasons before it was stolen. I, too,
am a freeride fanatic, and loved to carve the board. This along with
stability at high speed were its strengths. Off the groomers, it was
another story. It is a little rough through crud, and very difficult to
navigate through moguls. And tree riding was just off limits due to its
lack of precise agility. Now, I'm not sure how big you are, but I too wear
size 12 boots and rode the Wide as opposed to the Sasquatch and it worked
for me. I did only weigh 165, however.

I've recently ordered a Prior Mens Freeride to replace my Donek. It is
going to be a less stiff board, and from all accounts still very stable. It
was time for a change of pace for me, and I can't wait to get on the snow
this winter!

FWIW

Brian.


"Rick Wilson" wrote in message
...
Anyone own a Donek board? I'm thinking about picking up a 161 wide to
replace my Joyride 165. I'm a freeride fanatic, haven't been to the park
or
pipe, but I might try it this year. I'm trying to find a board that is
wide
enough for my size 12 boots and will perform well for all types of riding
(I
know thats asking a lot).

Thanks,
Rick

"Rick Wilson" wrote in message ...
Anyone own a Donek board? I'm thinking about picking up a 161 wide to
replace my Joyride 165. I'm a freeride fanatic, haven't been to the park or
pipe, but I might try it this year. I'm trying to find a board that is wide
enough for my size 12 boots and will perform well for all types of riding (I
know thats asking a lot).

Thanks,
Rick

Pretty much everyone has already covered all the bases for freeriding
and you've posted that you are probably going to be getting a
Sasquatch. I have an Incline 155 and while it's not my primary park
board (Neversummer Evo 154), it isn't that bad in the park and pipe.
The stiffness makes it a little bit harder to ollie, bit harder on
rails, and a little bit less forgiving on spins, but not terribly so.
It's pretty decent in the pipe (although the offset stance makes
riding switch up wall a little awkward). For all around riding I would
definitely take it over my NS Evo. Definitely if all you are going to
do is a straight air over a jump, the Donek should be great as it is
snappy on the takeoff and stable on the landing.

However, one thing about Doneks is that are finicking while skidding
(they don't skid very evenly and occasionaly one side of the board
will grab onto the snow more) so no speed checks before or after the
jump - this is actually what you are *suppose* to be doing anyway (to
all of you out there who slam on the brakes immediately after you land
your jump, that's bad habit and it screws up the landing for everyone)
just carve towards the jump to control your speed and ride out the
landing straight and flat.