question about Donek boards

[freerider26]

Hey everyone,
I have heard that Doneks are just incredible boards- way better than anything Burton or anyone else makes. Is this true? I am considering getting a 169 Wide. Thanks

mark

[Mike T]

I'm a huge fan of Donek's freeride boards... but remember, what's perfect for me might not be good for you. If you do some googling on rec.skiing.snowboard, I've written in detail about Donek Incline and Wide there... to summarize, here's what I love about 'em:

1) They can carve. They are stiff crosswise, the wide model holds an edge nicely, they are very stable at speed. I prefer a nice wide board for powder float and carving with no overhang... Wide w/ size 8 boots - still carves well.

2) Easy to land jumps - stable, bad landings easy to rescue

3) Durable base and edges - incidents that would do major damage to my previous Salomon and Burtons does minor to moderate damage to Donek

The only negative I've experienced with my Wide, namely easily dinged topsheets, has apprently been resolved this season.

I also have an Axis 172 which I am very fond of and a Freecarve 163. I really liked the FC 163 at first... however my tastes have changed, I like my new Coiler PR 184 much more.... it's just, well, smoother. That might be as much the board size difference as the manufacturer difference... who knows.

[Biff]

IMO board performance is subjective, different people like different things.

That said, this is my first season on my Donek and so far it owns. The build quality is impeccable, the board is responsive and quick to edge.

If you get a Donek, it is likely to be more stiff, damp, and responsive than other boards you may be considering.

I have a 161 Wide.

[Randy S.]

How can you go wrong for $350??? I only have their freecarve and race boards so I can't comment on the Wide board. However, every board I've had from Donek has been great. I don't know if Sean does the same thing for Freeride boards as the carving boards, but all of mine have come with my name printed on them. Makes it look like a custom board and very easy to spot if someone were to ever steal it.

Hey Mike T, that 163 is way too small for you. No wonder you like the Coiler better. Find a midget to sell it to. That said, I just ordered the same Coiler to check it out. It should be ready right around the time the snow melts. If only Bruce could crank out boards as quickly as Sean does.

[freerider26]

Thanks for the replies. I am defiintely more carving oriented in my freeriding, so it sounds like a Donek would work well for me.

[Crispy23]

This years top sheet still is soft... I bought a axis in december and its a great board, just has a soft topsheet

[kjl]

Originally posted by Crispy23
This years top sheet still is soft... I bought a axis in december and its a great board, just has a soft topsheet

My friend got an Axis this year, too. It's topsheet is 'softer', but it seems like it is probably more resistant to collapsing and scratching than last year's... in the same way that kevlar feels soft but won't scratch or collapse as easy as hard plastic. Don't know for sure, though - we haven't tried to scratch it on purpose :) but that's the way it seems to me...

[philw]

I have heard that Doneks are just incredible boards- way better than anything Burton or anyone else makes. Is this true? I am considering getting a 169 Wide.

Don't know anything about wide boards, but the Donek stuff is well made and not at all the same type of thing as Burton. I haven't had mine long enough to really know, but you can tell from the feel, construction and ride of the thing that it's not a Burton 30-day fashion board.

You can even talk to the guy who makes 'em.

[lonerider]

Originally posted by Bob Jenney
As far as the ‘Wide’, I’d only suggest getting it if you have huge feet, weigh more than 200 lbs, and/or only want to use it for powder. Otherwise, I’d suggest getting an Incline or an Axis.

I would disagree about your comments about Incline vs Wide models. The Donek Incline is a very narrow board, especially because it doesn't flair out from the waist. As such it requires smallish feet and high stance angles.

I'm 5'8" 145 lbs, with size 8 (mondo 26) feet and so my Donek Incline 155 is just wide enough for me if I ride 24/18 for park, but if it's slushy I need to go to 36/30 or more to avoid booting out. Now I personally find this acceptable, but I could see people will larger feet (size 9-10) having trouble. Similarly, some softboot binding just don't always have the support needed to ride at +30 angles and so that might not be an option for a softboot rider.

If you read the specs the "Wide" is actually not very wide, it is kind of a cross between a regular and a normal companies wide (since the Incline is much narrower than a regular board). As such it is still acceptable for use by people who don't like using alpine stance settings.


From Donek's website
Wide for good reasons. Not everybody has size 9 feet. Lots of riders like mellow stance angles.

I know at least Mike T has size 8 feet, is 5'10" and 190 lbs and he rides a Wide 161. Jason W has size 10 feet and rides a Wide 161 as well. So wide isn't THAT wide. That's why they have the Sasquatch model.

Either way, I recommend you just calling up Donek and asking for
"Sean" he's the founder and master board builder and I think he knows best what type of board is for you. He also has a demo program where you could actually get BOTH the Incline and Wide to try out and see which one you like. Nothing beats empirical evidence!

[kjl]

Originally posted by lonerider
I would disagree about your comments about Incline vs Wide models. The Donek Incline is a very narrow board, especially because it doesn't flair out from the waist.

If you read the specs the "Wide" is actually not very wide, it is kind of a cross between a regular and a normal companies wide (since the Incline is much narrower than a regular board).

I agree with lonerider - the specs for the Donek wide say the board is only half-a-centimeter wider than my regular freeride board (a Never Summer Premier), which I, with only size 8 feet, overhang a little. I've been thinking of buying a powder board since the carving deck is my every-day board now, and am looking at the Wide. The Incline, on the other hand, is 1.5 cm narrower than my Never Summer, which makes it too narrow in my book..

lonerider - are you the one with the Never Summer Evo? Pretty great boards, don't you think?

[lonerider]

Originally posted by kjl

lonerider - are you the one with the Never Summer Evo? Pretty great boards, don't you think?

I am. Did I sit next to you on that chairlift at Kirkwood? (I remember talking with someone about it last season). Do you ride with err... "Craig?" (big tall guy who does 360s) and "Lisa?" who does all those nice frontside/backside boardslides?

I do really like the Neversummer Evo, it is an awesome park board, the only obvious problem is that it is a park/pipe *only* board and is too soft between the feet to do high speed carves. Still it's a lot of fun to ride. I haven't gotten to ride it this season as I'm supposedly "avoiding" the park until my knee sprain heals up more... maybe in March.

[lonerider]

Originally posted by Bob Jenney
I also tend to prefer a narrow board for it's tortional rigidity.

Had a 25cm waisted FR board a couple of years ago and felt it was way too much. Too hard to control on edge.


Yea I agree that getting a narrow board helps and even though the Donek are particular torsionally stiff you should get a narrow as board as you can comfortably ride. That is why I have the Incline and not the Wide. However, if you simple can't take the high angles or boot overhang, then obviously you are forced to get a wider board and that's what I'm saying.

Mike T and I have talked with Sean on this matter and there is no doubt that he prefers the Incline for carving compared to the Wide, but the Wide is not that bad (according to Mike T) since it is still very torsionally stiff, if you have "proper carving technique in the first place" (paraphrase from Mike T).

I don't know about the 25cm waisted FR board being "too hard to control on edge." It could have been the design or the materials weren't very good. But I don't think it was directly because of the 25 cm waist width of the board (it could have had poor torsionally rigidity, of which extra width aggravates). Maybe it could be that we just have different personal preferences.

Mike - correct me if I've misrepresented you in any way.

[kjl]

Originally posted by lonerider
I am. Did I sit next to you on that chairlift at Kirkwood?

No... I don't think so - I don't know a Craig or Lisa down here (certainly none that do boardslides or 360s) and I don't ride Kirkwood very often... I just kind of remember seeing you say you had that board in another thread somewhere. I had an SL (freestyle board) from 2000 I think that I really liked for freeriding, and then I moved to the Premier (all-mountain) in 2001, and the board has been with me since (maybe 100 - 120 days on it and then I got a carving board) and I really like them. The Premier is more suited to the way I ride, but it was clear that the freestyle board was an exceptional board as well (just too tight of a sidecut - 8.2, I think - for me).

If you come up to the north shore we should ride together, though. Are on you tahoecarvers.com ?

[lonerider]

Originally posted by kjl
I just kind of remember seeing you say you had that board in another thread somewhere. I had an SL (freestyle board) from 2000 I think that I really liked for freeriding, and then I moved to the Premier (all-mountain) in 2001, and the board has been with me since (maybe 100 - 120 days on it and then I got a carving board) and I really like them. The Premier is more suited to the way I ride, but it was clear that the freestyle board was an exceptional board as well (just too tight of a sidecut - 8.2, I think - for me).

If you come up to the north shore we should ride together, though. Are on you tahoecarvers.com ?

Ah, I see. Yea, I'm on tahoecarvers.com, I am mainly a Kirkwood rider, don't get out to North Lake much (almost never)... although my company is planning a midweek trip to Northstar... we'll see.

[Mike T]

As Arvin states, I strongly prefer a Wide to an Incline for soft-booting even with my size 8 feet. I generally ride softies at 24/15, 19.25" stance with size 8 Malamutes, and the Wide gives me 3/8" overhang on each corner (toe and heel, left and right boot) which I think is just about ideal. Keep in mind, when I'm on soft boots, it's usually because I *want* to slow it down - low visibility and thick heavy snow or slush are the two reasons I usually ride softies. Oh and really deep powder too.

But of course I still like to carve my turns when I'm on carvable snow!

Any loss in edge change speed due to the exatr width is more tham made up for with knowing that I can turn hard and never boot out. (Actually, I've caught heel cups in deep slush, probably deep enough so I shouldn't be trying to carve it, but I digress) As Bob states, the torsional rigidity helps it get from edge to edge and keeps it stable.

[Baka Dasai]

People appear to be making the assumption that a narrower board will be torsionally stiffer than an otherwise equivalent wide board. But is this true? From a laymans's perspective, I'd imagine that a wider board would be torsionally stiffer, or that there'd be no difference.

[Mark Jeangerard]

I have a 160 Wide. I didn't bring any freeride boards to SES and we got a significant dump a Breck. I took the Donek into trees I did not know with hard boots and TDs. I was floored. I bought it.

It's 2 years later, with soft boots and risers, and I'm still floored. I can't imagine riding anything else. Actually, I can. The new Atomic boards are so flimsy. I come in off my 185 WCR and hop on a friends Atomic and fold the thing right up. The Donek is such a treat. The only place I have any trouble is hard, deep bumps. Maybe because I don't like bumps and only ever ride them for my certifications. Even so, I loosen the boots and bindings some and the whole system becomes very ridable.

On pack, in powder, chop, and ice. I sure like mine.

[bboyd]

Hey all - new to carving, in my 3rd year of snowboarding. I have been trying to carve with a fairly stiff Lamar, and have just ordered a Donek Incline 164. Can anyone help recommend an appropriate binding/boot set-up. I currently have '03 Ride SPi bindings, and Vans World traveller boots. I am 160 and 5'10", size 9 boots. I ride primarily in MN (lots of ice/crud/bumps, etc.), and some in CO. I am thinking about going to Burton Driver boots or the Vans with the BOA system (Contra). I am also considering the Catek Freerides possibly next season. Is this a good set-up, or should I rethink this? Anyone riding hard boots and plates with their Incline? Thanks for any advice/info!

[gdboytyler]

Hey bboyd,

I ride my Donek Incline 160 exclusively with plate bindings and hardboots. I got my Incline towards the end of last season. The board carves way better than my previous carving board – a Burton Alp 157.

Since it sounds like you’re not doing much freestyle, I would recommend going to a hard setup with the Incline.

I just got back from a 2 day trip to Mammoth and I used the Incline with the hard setup all over the mountain. Everything from Eurocarves on the intermediate runs to bumps on diamond runs to some double-black chutes that had some good wind-blown powder. I haven’t used my Incline in a deep powder day yet. Hopefully soon.

I’m 5’7”, 130 lb with size 7 boots (25 mondo), so I can use moderate angles and not get any boot overhang. My setup is 19” stance, 39 deg front, 33 deg back. My stance is centered on the contact length. I use Burton step-in race plates and Kniessl Rail ski boots.

You’d probably have to go with a wider stance and steeper angles to avoid boot overhang.

[Mike T]

Take your pick, hard or soft.

If you go with soft boots, and still want carving performance, yes, stiffer is better. If your current softies are not making you happy, then just try the stiffest boots in a few different makes and pick the one that fits best.

I plates on an older Incline 168 with excellent results. Catek World Cup and Raichle 423 to be exact. At your weight, you may in find the board is even more fun in plates, you'll really be able to turn it hard!