2010 Good Wood Board Test Is A Wrap
anniefast
- April 21 2009
- 20,690 views
- 66 comments
Tester Alex Grzankowski checks for stalefish grab-ability in the Freeway pipe at Breckenridge. PHOTO: Chris Wellhausen
It’s a wrap! The annual Good Wood Board Test has come to a close and we’re so stoked on how it all went down. In response to a huge demand from you, we added an all-mountain category in addition to the park and pipe categories. We had testers charging through the double black diamond bowl on Peak 8 (oooh), blasting off cornices, and shredding the jedi tree runs into the park—seriously all mountain.
Believe it or not, this shred shot of tester Alex Lopez burnin’ a freeride test board out of the trees at Breck was shot on April 17th. PHOTO: Chris Wellhausen
TransWorld set up at the base of Peak 8 in firing range of the Freeway park and pipe and the Park Lane park with 23 testers, 441 boards, four techs, and a couple pallets of Java Monster to keep us going through the week.
We had what you might call a fleet of boards to test, and yes, reverse cambers were well represented. PHOTO: Chris Wellhausen
The 23 man and woman test crew was stronger than ever; testers included Winter Park Head Coach James Mammelle, High Cascade Snowboard Camp Head Coach Dave Reynolds, Fourteen year HCSC veteran James Jackson, Breck Ride School Instructor and AASI Trainer & Examiner Greg Davis, HCSC Coach and Pro Colleen Quigley … the list goes on.
Tester Ryan Thompson checks for pop off the big jump in the Freeway park. Gnarly. PHOTO: Chris Wellhausen
The full results of the Good Wood Test including the top ten best park and all mountain boards will be in the Buyer’s Guide and in the October issue coming at you this September. Click here to subscribe.
The 2010 Board Test Categories
Top Ten Men’s Park and All-Mountain Boards Under $399
Top Ten Men’s Park and All-Mountain Boards Over $400
Top Ten Womens Park and All-Mountain Boards Under $399
Top Ten Women’s Park and All-Mountain Boards Over $400
Top Five Men’s Pipe Boards
Click here for last season’s Good Wood winners.
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April 21st, 2009 at 12:50 pm
Can’t wait to see the boards.
April 21st, 2009 at 5:16 pm
burton v rocker is where its at wont be surprised at all to see a couple v rocker boards in there come september got to ride it and it works its so much fun
April 21st, 2009 at 5:28 pm
I rode the 2010 omatic “sweet”…if that isnt in there, Id be shocked. It was without a doubt the best board Ive ever had the pleasure of riding.
April 21st, 2009 at 5:42 pm
they should add a category for reverse camber boards. id like to know the pros and cons of each companies reverse cambers
April 21st, 2009 at 6:12 pm
We’re going to explain all the different kinds of “alternative” cambers in the Buyer’s Guide, they’ll also be in their own section so you can see all the models available.
For the Board Test, we just wanted to see which boards rode the best whether they were reverse, flat, or regular camber. We’ll see if the winning ten have representatives from all the different categories.
April 21st, 2009 at 6:12 pm
Only reason why they show the actual graphics and brand name is cuz burton boards sucked balls and they werent being rated as some of the top boards
April 21st, 2009 at 7:54 pm
chyeah dude that makes perfect sence
April 21st, 2009 at 8:48 pm
Does seem to be quite a few peoples “favorite board EVER”.
April 21st, 2009 at 8:53 pm
Dude. The rep or somebody let me shred his for a few laps yesterday. Holy shit is that a rad snowboard!!! Love the skate shape and “operation” Graphic, but like I said, holy crap is that a rad board!!! Thanks again Curt!
April 21st, 2009 at 9:30 pm
I hope the Santa Cruz X-Type is in there so people check it out - hands down the best deck I have ridden in 16 years for EVERYTHING. Those guys don’t get enough press
April 21st, 2009 at 9:42 pm
yeah because there different sidecuts for heels and your toes does not work and throws you on your head when you spin frontside
April 21st, 2009 at 10:16 pm
Props to Alex G. Still killing it.
April 21st, 2009 at 11:44 pm
I’m stoked on the Forum Shaka binding coming out. I tested them out during a demo at mount st.louis/moonstone this season. Amazing.
April 22nd, 2009 at 12:19 am
Breck 94′
April 22nd, 2009 at 12:43 am
I wish there was a category for wide footed riders too cause it can be hard to find good wide boards.
April 22nd, 2009 at 2:10 am
Next years Forum Grudge of course! I got the 07/08 model with a half teal base.
April 22nd, 2009 at 7:00 am
yea that would be nice.. I rode the new 2010 Burton Love 157 Wide w/ the infidel bindings at the Stratton US Open. Never thought in my entire life I’d ride a complete Burton setup but I said screw it, it’s a free demo. It was the best setup I’ve ridden in my 11 years of riding, Now I’m considering buying the exact setup.
April 22nd, 2009 at 8:45 am
agreed. transworld has promised this in the past and then all that’s come to light is “hey, this particular board comes in a wide version as well.” not too helpful considering the wides will have a completely different sitecut. i do think burton is one of the only companies to have dialed the shape of their wide boards so that they don’t ride like a 2×4.
April 22nd, 2009 at 11:07 am
i dont have any experience with wide boards, but i can second that experience with the burton setup. i never had a desire to ride anything burton in my life until the demo at waterville valley this march. i figured i might as well give it a shot and the setup i rode (un inc 157 w/ co2 bindings) was out of control. hands down my best day of riding all season, if not ever. if only it wasnt so god damn expensive…
April 22nd, 2009 at 2:37 pm
Never Summer Evo 158 shreds hard anywhere…backcountry to park. Hands down the most fun I’ve had strapped to a piece of wood.
April 22nd, 2009 at 2:54 pm
there so expensive because they are made by chinamen
April 22nd, 2009 at 2:56 pm
Lib and Gnu will crush the competition.
April 22nd, 2009 at 6:04 pm
Rome artifact 1985 looks so dope this year can’t wait to get one
April 22nd, 2009 at 8:33 pm
for sure they make some sick boards. just don’t get bindings made with aluminum baseplates cuz i made that mistake. then i picked up the rome targa and my skate banana has way more flex and pop now
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:00 pm
yeah girl youre fiiine
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:44 pm
mervin makes the best wide boards hands down.
April 22nd, 2009 at 10:34 pm
snowboards made by snowboarders on weed with low paying jobs………but we’re sceaned out.
April 22nd, 2009 at 10:35 pm
buy Union, buy mervin made. seattle represent.
April 22nd, 2009 at 11:43 pm
The FLOW “Era” with 3 stage rocker and Lago’s “Quantum” are super good. Flow will prolly get two or three “Good Wood” awards again just like they have for the last four years in a row.
April 23rd, 2009 at 12:53 pm
tadashi needs a signature board again!!!
April 23rd, 2009 at 2:28 pm
Hahahahahahahaahahaha! That board sucks! It’s about time Burton became a follower. Comin’ in a day late, and dollar short on the reverse camber craze.
April 23rd, 2009 at 3:47 pm
this shit isnt even real companies pay twsnow to put their boards on this list
April 23rd, 2009 at 9:36 pm
photo number two is at my mountain son!
April 24th, 2009 at 5:21 am
Hey Annie Fast, down here in NZ the 2010 boards will be hitting the stores in a couple of months time. The board test results are no good to us in October when the snow has melted and it’ll be another 9 months until we get to shred again (by which time the 2011 boards will be in the stores). I’m just sayin’, it would be nice if you could give us a sneak peak at the results.
April 24th, 2009 at 5:04 pm
all the boards have the graphics so companies can send a bunch of different sizes. a couple years ago when the boards were blank they didn’t have enough sizes for all the testers…
April 24th, 2009 at 5:18 pm
The 2009/10 Signal Omni snowboards are available now at sierra snowboards online shop. These boards are so good and you can get next years boards now.
April 25th, 2009 at 1:42 am
A rome rep let me ride the machine 157 (2010)
Amazing
super light super pop…
i’m buying it
April 25th, 2009 at 11:43 am
Your dumb
April 25th, 2009 at 1:47 pm
He was kind of pussy-footing around all week. You guys must have a pretty boring sex life. All things considered, I’m hardly surprised. On the other hand, he did report to me that you chipped his tooth on the headboard…
April 26th, 2009 at 7:08 pm
there aren’t pros and cons because its 90% rider, 10% board and someones con is someone elses’s pro
April 26th, 2009 at 7:10 pm
sneak peak? its the internet, that shit will get around fast, sorry, the SoHe is about 5% of the market and you guys don’t get special treatment
April 27th, 2009 at 7:16 am
I think it would be good if u guys get blank boards for testing. IT’s just normal that you have some kind of opinion about a board as soon as you read the brand or see a graphic before you even have ridden it.
April 27th, 2009 at 8:40 am
Mervin doesn’t make Union/ Mervin make Bent Metal, GNU and Roxy Bindings
April 27th, 2009 at 12:19 pm
you guys should also do “Top Ten Freeride Boards”
April 27th, 2009 at 3:35 pm
http://southofthenorth.blogspot.com/2008/12/ed-hardy-snowboard-and-obama-snowboard.html
April 28th, 2009 at 12:41 pm
TransWorld has definitely looked into testing just wide boards every year. We’ve put the feelers out to get input from board designers to get their opinion on whether a separate test is needed. K2 Board Designer Sean Tedore says that as far as K2 boards go, “When I design a board, everything is a derivative of first board designed in the series. The shape and overall construction of the board directly relate to all sizes. So in my opinion, I would say you don’t have to do a wide board test because the only real difference is the waist width.”
At Burton, JG says, “Usually the wide models are exactly the same as the normal width, sometimes a tad stiffer, but the feel rating is the same.” He adds, “In the case of say the Custom and Custom Wide, same board, for same type/style rider, just a different boot size. I would say it would be worth noting if the same board comes in a wide size, it would be good for your readers to know this information.”
Both designers agree that if a board is designed from the ground up as a wide model it should be tested separately —nether K2 or Burton produce individual lines of wide boards, they’re all “in line” (a trend we’ve seen throughout the industry), but if a board wins the Good Wood test and is available as wide, it’s considered a winner, too. We’ll do a better job of pointing out which Good Wood boards are available in wide sizes.
On a similar note, JG wanted to add that just because you’re a size 11 or 12 doesn’t mean you can’t ride a 250 mm waist (25 cm) width. He adds, “I often tell riders they should ride the narrowest board they possible can, more performance oriented, less tiring to ride longer. It’s not like riders are out Euro Carving around, creating toe drag.” But that’s a different conversation.
April 28th, 2009 at 3:48 pm
dude rome is fucking poor as shit they cant afford to buy votes. but i wouldnt be surprised if thats what burton did
April 29th, 2009 at 6:53 am
what burton ics board is in the picture, the purple one with the green writing? it is so dope
April 29th, 2009 at 11:08 pm
Fortunately we do get the boards first…
May 1st, 2009 at 8:19 am
I think Annie and Adam did a great job with the test. The past 3 years have seen a lot of improvements and they are listening to what people and snowboard companies are saying. There is a ton of boards tested and now more categories, only problem is you have more categories than boards that can be entered for many brands. Yeah the test isn’t blind, but then again there is a better chance of getting the exact production board instead of cheating by changing the construction and/or sending in another shape. Keep the comments coming, they are listening.
E
May 5th, 2009 at 8:54 am
NeverSummer snowboards were in this year’s test ?
May 6th, 2009 at 11:56 am
where dat kid kyle martin at? i heard he making moves in da industry son. word up to allthe mt. bachelor homies on the westside!
May 17th, 2009 at 12:20 am
ride one then talk trash
July 15th, 2009 at 7:10 am
Dudes! I know what you’re talking about. I had a pleasure to test Sweet in L2A this spring. I’m more interested in their B.S. technology they put in EXTR-ECO. Has anyone ridden that yet?
July 15th, 2009 at 7:14 am
… and Union sucks! They look pretty, but they just don’t do the job. This year I’m going with Flux, don’t care about costs - these are the best bindings I ever used!
August 12th, 2009 at 10:59 am
where can i get the guide and when will it be available?
August 12th, 2009 at 2:31 pm
I rode that Hero and I could not agree more. Unstable and chattery. Unless all you do is ride rails, v rocker doesn’t work
August 25th, 2009 at 9:42 pm
which snowboards from female specific companies were tested? it seems like in years past you have only test the larger brands?
August 26th, 2009 at 9:02 pm
The Good Wood feature is in the October issue. Subscribers will be receiving it this week—on newsstands Sept 9.
August 29th, 2009 at 1:03 am
How come you say "these are the best bindings I ever used" and als o say "this year you are going with Flux " .:-) If you are going to use it this year first timne in your life how do you say they are the best!!! Is this someone from Flux writing here??
October 14th, 2009 at 5:25 am
I wasted many seasons hating on burton till I got my first custom. 2 decades later I'm on a reverse camber Hero. Unreal in the park, even better in the powder. It's strong with 100+ days on it already. Working at a ski resort, a lot of my coworkers took it for a spin. Some loved it, some nearly died on it… I think he thought my board would make him ride like me. It took me a few days to really settle in and ride heavy as I usually did, but it all came together and kept going. Now I can say that I will never go back to a cambered board unless all I was into was speeding down the mountain. Not that it can't be done, but it's design makes park and pow easy with style.
November 7th, 2009 at 2:53 am
Thx, this has definitely made my day!
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