United Shapes

[peruna]

I haven’t been paying much attention lately, but the Deep Reach just landed on my radar. I looked at the old one a few seasons back but didn’t like how tight the sidecut was. 8m on the 156 now is very tempting. Anybody have one?

Same story here. The new one looks sweet & I like the specs. Maybe a little soft for me like the cadet, but if it were closer to the transmission I'd probably want one.

I’m not a particularly big dude plus as I age I’m getting slower and chiller. As long as it’s not a noodle I think it will do me well. Struggling to hold off buying it right now until I can see some feedback or impressions from those who’ve got one in their hands already.

[kimchi]

I really wish the cadet worked for me. Still my favorite silhouette.

The Cadet 154 will be my DD this season, I only had maybe 5-6 days on it end of last season

pairing them with Karakoram free rangers

How do you like those Rangers?

I have a set of ConnectRs (Free Rangers before they added the surf sidewall) and just never got along with them. They don't tour as well as Sparks, they don't ride as well as traditional bindings to me. The underfoot feeling just seems off to me-- better than Sparks, but that's a low bar lol. I've been curious if the surf sidewall would change my mind at all.

[Kevington]

I hand flexed the Deep Reach side by side with the Cadet. Deep Reach 159 was softer than the Cadet 158. No noticable difference in overall thickness but the Cadet actually felt surprisingly stiff. Deep Reach felt 5-6/10. Cadet has a big carbon X running through the middle of the board whereas the DR just has a straight band in the nose. DR felt lighter in the hand and the Cadet more solid.

[benjinyc]

How do you like those Rangers?

I have a set of ConnectRs (Free Rangers before they added the surf sidewall) and just never got along with them. They don't tour as well as Sparks, they don't ride as well as traditional bindings to me. The underfoot feeling just seems off to me-- better than Sparks, but that's a low bar lol. I've been curious if the surf sidewall would change my mind at all.

I haven't rode with the free rangers yet, but riding with the Straightlines on my solid was fine, the connection felt really good. I actually performed pretty well in a banked slalom contest with them.

I see all those Gentemstick riders on Connect Rs and Freerangers turn super smooth, so figured why not, esp since I got them pretty cheap.

Having said that, I did ask Alex Yoder how they compared to the Continuums (which are basically the same as FR but no touring ability)

"yes it’s similar but the feel under foot and overall flex is different due to how they mount directly to the board vs. with the quiver connectors."

[Kevington]

Looking at this spec sheet that someone kindly posted and am freaked out by the EE measurements. Maybe they mean running length?
Cadet 158 has only 115EE! I usually ride the middle or one up from middle size in most boards which usually means an edge of around 119-124.
From the whole US line the Transmission is the only one with an acceptable edge length. I'm I over thinking this? Are they all 'volume shifted'?

The weird thing is I picked up a 2021 Horizon 155 over summer and it claims a 119EE, surely it cant have lost 5cm of edge via a minor reshape from one year to the next?
I had written it off as too short to be a viable DD but its effectively a longer board than the new Cadet and Horizon, even in the largest sizes.

It's too close to the start of the season to be this confused.

[benjinyc]

it probably wouldn't seem as drastic if they posted the actual running lengths of each of those sizes rather than tip-tail.

[kimchi]

That’s in the ballpark. The OG Cadet 162 shape is only 118 cm of edge. One of my biggest complaints of the shape (plus a pretty soft nose).

[alex]

First week of snowboarding this season is done, mostly on 159 Transmission. First impression – wow. I had way too long list of boards I want, but not anymore, after I rode the Transmission.

I was able to immediately adapt to the new board (which was not the case with Pentaquark or Cheater), which means that it is very balanced and intuitive to control. It is more locked-in, than Pentaquark, edge feels much longer, almost as Cheater, but it is much more balanced overall, than Cheater and steers better, than Pentaquark. It is stiffer than Pentaquark, but still much easier to “bend” for tighter carving turn, thanks to better steering geometry. Stiffness seems to be just right for my ~180 lbs for (even tight) carving.

Also, Transmission does not have weird unpredictable edge hold lost on heel edge, as Cheater does, yesterday I spotted other guy with Cheater on slope, and he seemed to have same issue.

Quality seems to be also very good, much better, than my Chinese Cheater, which is already disintegrating after very light and little use. Transmission is made in Europe, better quality, and still cheaper price.

Even base seems to be much better, than “9000” Jones, Pentaquark, Cheater and many others. If I need to guess, it must be something like Burton's clear/opaque (= not really recycled) “wax infused” base material. First good black base, I own. I have a theory (based on my experience) that clear/opaque bases are working for me better, because pure HDPE material is clear/opaque, and any additional dye will not make it any better, but this is the first exception.

[Spenser]

Good to hear about the transmission. We're still having a slow start to winter, so I can't ride mine yet.

Weird about your cheater. I don't share your experience at all - total opposite. Mine is super high quality, and I find it very predicable and smooth... best heelside carves of my life, too. I would contact Mats if you're having quality issues.. he really stands behind his boards.

GP87 is an excellent factory, so I wonder if yours randomly came out poorly.

[alex]

Weird about your cheater. I don't share your experience at all - total opposite. Mine is super high quality, and I find it very predicable and smooth... best heelside carves of my life, too. I would contact Mats if you're having quality issues.. he really stands behind his boards.

I did contact him last season, immediately after I noticed those issues, but worst of all, he has not admitted any quality issue, in fact, he wrote “As you probably know we have a 4 year warranty against manufacturing faults. If we had weak boards this would not be possible.” and stopped communicating with me without any further explanation why. Probably he googled what I am worth in “social media influencing” (nothing)…

We have 14 snowboards and lots of skis in the household and Stranda is the only one which is starting to show signs of disintegrating, and the most expensive one. But let’s continue this in Stranda thread, I just need to gather some strength to summarize this negative experience…