pow_hnd wrote:
In a perfect world, which we know doesn’t exist, a deck from Korua with the Otto shape, 15mm of setback and 10mm of taper would be a board I would probably ride 98% of my resort days. That would be my ultimate quiver killer.
SJF_NH wrote: ↑Sat Mar 09, 2024 11:40 am
... if Korua built a board spec'd as you described, they would sell a shit ton of those, something kinda in between the Otto and TF.
K2 Instrument. @pow_hnd would never buy a ski board, but might be the closest thing on the market to that wishlist. 20 mm setback, 10 mm taper, Otto-esque silhouette with a bit less switch friendly tail.
I only bought the Instrument because I wanted something that carved comparably to the Korua Stealth and wasnt as sketchy switch... and Korua didn't make an appropriately spec'd board for me. Convinced to buy one when I saw Tim Eddy cruising through the park and riding in Japan on his year one.
I'd love the Korua version, but Instrument rips in its own right.
pow_hnd wrote:
In a perfect world, which we know doesn’t exist, a deck from Korua with the Otto shape, 15mm of setback and 10mm of taper would be a board I would probably ride 98% of my resort days. That would be my ultimate quiver killer.
SJF_NH wrote: ↑Sat Mar 09, 2024 11:40 am
... if Korua built a board spec'd as you described, they would sell a shit ton of those, something kinda in between the Otto and TF.
K2 Instrument. @pow_hnd would never buy a ski board, but might be the closest thing on the market to that wishlist. 20 mm setback, 10 mm taper, Otto-esque silhouette with a bit less switch friendly tail.
I only bought the Instrument because I wanted something that carved comparably to the Korua Stealth and wasnt as sketchy switch... and Korua didn't make an appropriately spec'd board for me. Convinced to buy one when I saw Tim Eddy cruising through the park and riding in Japan on his year one.
I'd love the Korua version, but Instrument rips in its own right.
I forget if I mentioned it here somewhere, but last year early season/late fall sometime I emailed Korua with basically that exact request/query if something like that was in the pipeline. They told me they didn't want my money lol. I'm paraphrasing here, "there's a tonne of boards like that on the market already and we like being different, buy one of the other brands."
@kimchi the Instrument didn't ride like I'd hoped for whatever reason. I rode a 154 a few days off and on one season, the turning wasn't what I wanted, and it felt stiff? Like it rode stiffer than an OG TF54 and a Lib Quiver Killer 154. Oddly, even though the OG TF54 has a tighter number for sidecut, it still did drawn out turns more to my tastes. But ultimately not well enough for me to keep either. Shockingly the Lib was so close to being perfect for me, but it was loose in the tail when not leaning over to carve. Great sidecut, smooth shape, and floated well for a daily. If I rode softer snow exclusively (like soft groomers or "packed powder" in between pow days) I'd really look hard at getting one again. Even though they switched up the sidecut from that first version I had.
the instrument might be on paper in the ballpark but the flex profile killed that one for me.
the nose felt to soft compared to the rest of the board and the sidecut was fine but does not have the korua magic.
im not saying the nose is soft but compared to the rest of the board it was jaring.
i loved the otto and realy liked tranny finder and pencil.
been out 3 days on my pencil 64 carving groomers and had a blast but went back to my taka today and hade even more fun ^^
The new TF isn't so far off from that, really. Depending on your preference for aesthetic shaping, it could arguably be closer than the otto. Still, I agree something right in the middle would be sweet for a lot of people, but can't blame them at all for not being interested in making it.
I rode the OG yesterday, and confirmed that I like having both. Back on the new one today. Notably more traditional feel, more natural on groomers and variable terrain, feels like I can bite harder on firmer snow, notably better switch, and all the other obvious things. I guess I'd just say it shouldn't be overlooked as a pretty close option to what you guys are describing. Which, for the record, is more or less what I like in my DD as well. New TF is hitting the mark for me, though. Little shredder. Love it.
Where I do like the OG over the new one is in pow. New one is totally fine, but old one just has that special sauce. I feel a little more playful on it in soft snow (slash, butter, whip it good), while I feel a little more freeride/charge on the new one. I still think it's largely the taper change.
Funny enough, considering I typically like a more diverse quiver and long boards, the two of these would work for me as a two board quiver to cover everything. Was thinking the other day, I could take these two on a trip and be happy mostly anywhere. Hammerhead 71 would come to Japan for sure, though.
