Vanni wrote: ↑Wed Dec 06, 2023 5:49 am
Has anyone tried the new Korua boards made in China?
I want ride reports as well, especially if said rider has time on Nobile pressed boards too. In an *extremely* scientific outing to the snowboard store I handflexed a Polish made Otto 153 and a Chinese made Otto 157. FWIW the Chinese 157 felt softer than the Polish 153. While that may not mean a whole lot, the 157 also clearly had less camber, which caught me a bit off guard. I'm gonna try and go to the other location tomorrow and see if they have a Nobile made 157 in stock, I swear when I originally looked at the Otto 157 earlier in the fall it said "Made in Poland" on it.
let us know...
I have some money to spend on a new board, and I would like to (finally) buy a Transition Finder
My second rate detective work had me comparing a Chinese 157 with a Polish 161 in store and the difference in hand flex was *stark*. Assuming the Polish 157 lands in between the hand flex feel of the 153 and the 161 it would be a good bit stiffer than the current production 157, and like I mentioned after looking at the 153 it would have a noticeably different camber profile too. The Polish boards having higher camber for what looks like a longer length along the board.
I emailed a few stores asking about Polish vs Chinese boards and all I really got was that the Chinese boards are made at GP87. I really wish I could demo either of the 157s and see what the ride is like, I'd like to compare to the TF54s that I've owned, both OG and new shape. I think the Otto could be the quiver killer I've been looking for, with any of my remaining decks only coming out when I feel like a change or super deep days.
just changed up my stance on my TF '54 and going to see how it rides all the way up the inserts. wanted a little more tail for landings and riding switch, so we shall see how this experiment goes... something like 22 inch nose and 17 inch tail at 22 inches wide. will report back when i can
update -> big fan of this change and how the board rides now. much more stable on landings if things get a little backseat, and turning is still fantastic
After having beginning of season, lack of snow withdrawals, that had me for a minute questioning whether I wanted to try other boards again, I came back to reality.
Had my first Baldface trip of the year that reaffirmed how much I love the PinTonic 164.
Then came home and had two balling pow days in a four day time frame riding the Otto 161 and realized just how much I actually love that deck. Like I can ride the Otto 90% of my resort days and be perfectly happy, or actually more than happy, fucking stoked.
After being disappointed in the Korua Escalator, I ordered a Prior Khyber with carbon construction. I got it, weighed it, and there is not discernible weight difference between it and my TF57 split. I’ll keep it for a second split, but don’t really plan to ride it. Gonna stick with the TF.
After a shit load of money and decks over the past 6/7 years I’ve narrowed it down to these 3 decks for a complete quiver for me.
Otto 161
PinTonic 164
Tranny Finder 157 Split
That’s it, that’s all.
I can’t reiterate enough, how well the Otto rides for a deck with no taper in the pow, it floats amazingly well.
SLC, UT - Cardiff Snowcraft - NOW - Spark R & D - AK457 - DC - Anon - Milosport -
I forget, did you share your thoughts on the escalator? It ticks a whole lot of boxes for me other than a couple very small items, but I also don't split nearly enough to be thinking about this.
I'm considering trying a friend's rovers, and another's mtn approach. The drawback to not going uphill on a split may be lesser than the benefit of riding a normal board, for the days I actually do any of these activities. I would 100% keep the split setup for venturing away from Eaglecrest, though. And for that, I still very much like my squash 63.
Spenser wrote: ↑Sat Jan 20, 2024 8:52 pm
I forget, did you share your thoughts on the escalator? It ticks a whole lot of boxes for me other than a couple very small items, but I also don't split nearly enough to be thinking about this.
I'm considering trying a friend's rovers, and another's mtn approach. The drawback to not going uphill on a split may be lesser than the benefit of riding a normal board, for the days I actually do any of these activities. I would 100% keep the split setup for venturing away from Eaglecrest, though. And for that, I still very much like my squash 63.
It was deck that only liked to turn at high speeds and turned best on firmer snow. It was not low angle, deep Utah blower in the trees friendly at all. I’m sure it would have been a great spring corn splitboard or great for firm snow on big Mtn lines, but that is not my jam. It was also quite a bit narrower than I prefer these days.
I was bummed to say the least.
I tried it a few different times and it just did not match my riding style. It was stupid light, but that was not enough of a trade off.
SLC, UT - Cardiff Snowcraft - NOW - Spark R & D - AK457 - DC - Anon - Milosport -
Vanni wrote: ↑Wed Dec 06, 2023 5:49 am
Has anyone tried the new Korua boards made in China?
I want ride reports as well, especially if said rider has time on Nobile pressed boards too. In an *extremely* scientific outing to the snowboard store I handflexed a Polish made Otto 153 and a Chinese made Otto 157. FWIW the Chinese 157 felt softer than the Polish 153. While that may not mean a whole lot, the 157 also clearly had less camber, which caught me a bit off guard. I'm gonna try and go to the other location tomorrow and see if they have a Nobile made 157 in stock, I swear when I originally looked at the Otto 157 earlier in the fall it said "Made in Poland" on it.
I flexed a Polish and Chinese in the same size, 57, side by side and they felt identical to me.
SLC, UT - Cardiff Snowcraft - NOW - Spark R & D - AK457 - DC - Anon - Milosport -
Speaking of, had my first day of the season two days ago. Rode my new 53 Pencil that Korua added this winter. Tbh, the flex felt pretty much the same as the previous ones built in Poland (?). It was very cold (-19C), which made it feel extra planky tbh. Will def take it out on a warmer day with soft groomers to get a better, more accurate feel for it.
~180lbs | 8US Vans Longo Infuse | B CartelX | Now Select Pro | Nitro Banker 56 | K2 Passport 54 & 57 | Burton SK 58 | ON
I contacted Korua about the difference between the Poland and China produced boards and got this reply:
"That's right. We made our freestyle oriented shapes Otto and TF a little softer." It's actually got me more interested in those shapes again. I've ridden both models from the Poland factory and they are amazing for doing Korua stuff but simply having a tail is not really enough to call them freestyle IMO.
