So after putting alot of stress in the pipe and woods at Stowe Mountain Resort, its time for a new board. So I chose the 2011 Ride DH2. Here is the lowdown:Straight from Ride -“Habit Forming Without The Hook“”Satisfying the constant search for a bigger high, the DH2 has got your fix. Now featuringRide's new ProRize shape built to stomp big landings and lap the park like the pros. Withkey ingredients that keep you coming back for more, this twin includes PopRods 2.0 for a boost of pop, lightweight Membrain top sheet and smooth riding 85A Slimewalls.”The board comes with lots of “tech” that is suppose to make it special. Just like almost every other manufacturer, a lot of this “hype” is just that… hype. Or so I thought.Its a carbon fiber/wood based snowboard, like other high end boards. It has the new tria
So after putting alot of stress in the pipe and woods at Stowe Mountain Resort, its time for a new board. So I chose the 2011 Ride DH2. Here is the lowdown:Straight from Ride -“Habit Forming Without The Hook“”Satisfying the constant search for a bigger high, the DH2 has got your fix. Now featuringRide's new ProRize shape built to stomp big landings and lap the park like the pros. Withkey ingredients that keep you coming back for more, this twin includes PopRods 2.0 for a boost of pop, lightweight Membrain top sheet and smooth riding 85A Slimewalls.”The board comes with lots of “tech” that is suppose to make it special. Just like almost every other manufacturer, a lot of this “hype” is just that… hype. Or so I thought.Its a carbon fiber/wood based snowboard, like other high end boards. It has the new trial of technology of the carbon inlays to give it more pop, unlike the old schoolthinking of putting different laminates and wood cores, which I've noticed helps a great bit. And had they stopped here, they would have made my personal favorite setupever. Flat popping with this board is amazing, without engaging the tip or tail for added air. All of the carbon fiber instead of fiberglass and extra wood also keeps theswing weight way down, and you can hardly feel this board under your feet.So lets bring in the extra tech:PopRods 2.0 – This is a great idea…on specific days. When popping off of a jump, you can really feel the board load up. Its night and day from the old technology. The moreyou give this board on the load up, the more its going to help you out…almost double. I'm sure this fades off into the bigger jumps, I haven't tried it in a big park yet. Butsmall to medium kickers, you will definitely notice the extra air. Reverse Camber “ProRize” – Designed to make your edges harder to catch. I can absolutely vouch for that. This is my first time on a reverse camber board, so when pickingout one (because a regular camber board is pretty hard to find now that has everything you want) I went with the closest possible to my old board. The ProRize design is aflat bottom board that has the reverse camber only at the tip and tail. Sitting the board next to a regular cambered snowboard, the middle does not rise, and the tip and tailare higher off the ground, with their rise coming right after the bindings. Its a very small rise that you won't notice outside of a direct comparison. Sitting it next to a fullreverse camber snowboard, and you will also notice how mellow it is.My personal opinion on both of these is… odd. The flat out internet definition of reverse camber that I researched just makes the whole concept uninteresting to me. “Reversecamber raises your contact points off of the snow to provide a better ride and less edge catching.” My definition is that with the raised tip and tail, when you strap onto yoursnowboard you have already partially loaded it up for pop. So hopping around the mountain on natural features is easier on your knees. But just saying that you've takenmy contact points that I use to turn and pull them off the snow just sounds wrong.Sounds great right? I don't think so. Having your board loaded at strap in makes riding chop especially hard. Every time you hit a choppy trail, every bump ollies you. Thisis fine if its a few. Hit 7 or more of these things and it becomes a problem. After 1 or 2, you stop hopping these things and start just floating through the air and feelinga massive amount of compression on every hit. And in a mogul field, if you're not completely on your game the board will throw you hard. Also with the tail contact pointbeing bent up, I find that I feel my tailside heel edge alot less, if at all. That was my #1 complaint on the first few runs on this board, over compensating and washing outbecause I could not feel my heel edge engage.So here is the breakdown of all that jibberish:On groomed trail days, powder days, park days, (no pipe yet) this is my all time favorite board. It takes some getting used to, but once you find your points, this board willtreat you so well. Its extremely fast, very very snappy, and very responsive. Just don't get rid of your old favorite board, because there will be days you hate this thingas well. They're just not as often as the great days.
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