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  5 of 5, "Gnu Riders Choice PTX. The BEST board i have ever had the pleasure of riding!" 27/01/2012 @ 17:31 |
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| Price Paid |
| £457 |
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| Bought From |
| Evo.com |
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| Times Ridden |
| 15 Times + |
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| Review Detail |
I decided to hunt one of these down after reading good reviews in this years product guides.
I owned a skate banana at the time, but also own a salomon salvadore sanchez for dome/jib/mess around use, and thought rather than run two "rocker" boards, i would sell the skate banana on and get something with a little more edge hold for all mountain use (not that the skate banana is bad, dont get me wrong)
The c2 power banana seemed like a great choice .... all the buttery goodness of a banana, with the added pop and edge hold at speed of a cambered board. Win win???
I thought as i was going to be spending a fair whack on this board, i might as well go all out and spend the extra on the pickle tech version!¬ what i didnt realise is how much of a headache this would be trying to find one. After 3 months of trying to get one ordered in by 3 seperate retailers, i decided the only way to get one of these would be to order from the US of A (hence ordering from evo) ..... believe me it was WELL worth the trouble!
I weigh about 154lbs, so decided to opt for the 154.5cm version.... still short enough to arse around on, but comfortably within the weight range so i wouldnt sink in the deep stuff. Despite being only 1.5cm shorter than my previous banana, as this board has blunted tips, it looks a fair bit shorter underfoot, which i liked, a little bit easier to grab, and a slight reduction in swing weight :)
The board itself rides AMAZING! .... i took this from the piste, to hardpack, to the trees and everywhere inbetween, it never let me down once.... love at first run!
I noticed when really really charging, the c2 profile felt that extra bit more consistant than the all out rocker of the banana, there was occasions where 2 friends of mine (with skate banana's) who previously are around the same speed as me, simply couldnt quite keep up, maybe it was the 9900 sintered base, or maybe it was the camber underfoot that gave me reassurance on high speed turns, but either way it worked.
It looked like the magnetraction on the gnu was slightly less prominent than on the banana, i'm guessing again this is due to the c2 shape compensating for a reduction in edge hold this would cause, and it was spot on. Combine this with The pickle tech shape and low speed turns are easy as hell too,.
Despite this edge hold, the board was still really really good fun for buttering around on the hill, the first couple of times it didnt feel quite loose enough, however, the last few times i had ridden i was on my 151 sanchez, not only is the board soft as hell, and shorter than my riders choice, but it is purely rockered, so there is no suprise the Gnu felt a little less playful at first use. However, after a few runs there was nothing i couldnt do with the Gnu that i could do on the sanchez, so no worries there.
This board has plenty of pop, notably more than my banana and significantly more than my sanchez, was a joy to just ollie/nollie about, especially on down flat down sections between runs in Les Arc. Flatland 1s etc were no problem either.
Looks wise, i was a little worried initially i wouldnt like the Denim look top sheet, but it is SO much prettier in person than in photos, i loved it. The base graphic really stands out too..... cant beat an illuminous green glow coming from under your board on a sunny day :)
To sum up, if you want a board you can take anywhere and do anything on, this has got to be up there with the best. Plenty edge hold, plenty pop, buttery, and the pickle tech really works when you're going slow, i cant fault this board at all ....... i'm even tempted to replace my sanchez with a 151.5cm version, and get a 157.5cm version for the deep stuff! (if only i had the money, hehe)
so if you fancy something a little different from the skate banana, or never summer sl, look into one of these! ..... i'm sure the regular version (none ptx) is great too, and will not feel any different at speed |
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| Strengths |
Edge Hold
All Around Fun
Rare? (certainly didnt see another one whilst i was out (7 days Tignes/8 days Les Arcs)
Great looking |
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| Weaknesses |
| Weight??? Not really a weakness, but as with most Mervin made boards, they are a little on the heavy side (this is due to being made from eco friendly materials so its worth it) .... really being picky here just so i could put something in this section, you dont notice when you're riding |
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| Similar Snowboards Ridden |
Lib Tech Skate Banana
Salomon Salvatore Sanchez
Gnu Kass
Pamler Pulse
Rome Artifact |
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