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  5 of 5, "Fantastic board - glad I risked buying it" 03/02/2012 @ 09:25 |
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| Price Paid |
| £360 |
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| Bought From |
| Subvert (Manchester) |
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| Times Ridden |
| 15 Times + |
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| Review Detail |
I'd had my eye on this board ever since it attracted me with it's dark graphics. So I looked into the tech involved. The graphics are of real electric chairs in US prisons which were used, and lightly etched into the top sheet are the last rites of a person who was executed in the chair. Don't ask me why I like it, guess it's just an extension of my inner emo. lol
The board itself:
The Destroyer comes with two possible camber profiles, a regular camber board (which I haven't actually seen for sale anywhere) and the DoubleDog profile which I went for.
DoubleDog - This camber/rocker combined profile has a rocker profile overall with 2 camber sections, one under each binding. This gives it added pop and stability whilst still leaving it flexible and forgiving for playing around on. It's very similar to the Burton Flying V profile (as Forum boards are made in the same places as Burton as I was lead to believe this explains their similarities.)
Base - The Destroyer has a super fast Sintered base with 2 carbon strands running from each binding position to til and tail to give it added pop (booter boosters).
They also shave the tip and tail down to make them thinner in these areas to save weight to allow you to get an extra rotation in.
I was unable to test this snowboard before buying it but I love pressing and learning to butter so wanted something which I could progress on, which would hold me at speed and allow me to do everything. After some reviews about it being mainly a big kicker board and it being rated a bit stiffer than I'd liked I decided to risk it and buy a size smaller than what I was used to by downsizing to a 152cm board from a 155cm.
I checked out the stats online to ensure I was within the weight range of this board and I was just within it so hoped it would be OK. (Weight range for the 152cm board is 52-86kg and I weigh about 78kg).
First run out in the Chill Factor was fantastic! It felt stable, it held and edge well and I could press the hell out of it! Super soft. I then took to ollie's on it to which it responded with quite a push up! So far it was fantastic!! Loving it!
Although the above still holds true I have found that I need to get more confident on it at higher speeds, for some reason I start to bottle it on this thing. I think my main reason for this is that when I turn onto an edge to stop at speed on a slope, if it's remotley icy, the board seems to wash out from beneath me, or it seems to bump real hard over mounds of snow when stopping. Whether this is the board itself, my techniquie or because I'm too heavy for this sized board I'm not too sure. I havent had the chance to try a longer version of the board to see if it's my technique.
My other gripe with it is that the top sheet seems pretty weak. It takes the slightest knock and it seems to leave a scratch, or chip the top sheet away. I know a snowboard's meant to take a beating but for that shiny black finish they give this board it really makes the marks on it stand out. :(
The base however takes a huge beating and takes no damage at all. I've taken it over boxes, rocks, other boards (lol) and it doesn't show a mark!
I've now had chance to ride it on the park, piste and in the POW. It's held it's own in every area. It was great fun in the park being so short/light and playful but also managed to hold it's speed (until I wimp out with it) on the piste. On the last day of my holiday I had chance to try it in powder. Here I found it excellent. It was my first time in powder so might not have been great in it my self but the board carried me through it no problems! :)
Overall - This board is excellent, I always have a great time on it! It's quick, stable (at the speeds I get up to, well until I stop sometimes). The base takes and absolute beating and the board gives back great pop while it still being soft enough to press and butter all week long! Think the only down side is that I should have just gone with the 154cm version. I'll stick to my diet though and hope I can shrink into it, lol |
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| Strengths |
Fast board
Soft and playful
Fantastic pop ability
Super durable base
Gnarly graphics |
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| Weaknesses |
Seems to wash out or bounce over mounds when coming to a stop from speed.
Probably went for too short a board length for my weight
Top sheet seems pretty weak and chips/scratches easily. Marks also show up more due to the polished finish of the top sheet |
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| Similar Snowboards Ridden |
Burton Custom Flying V
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