Diablo 209 Powder Board

[shane groshong]

To all who have been waiting I apologize for the delay in posting this report. I am a 6' 1" 230 lb riding who has been riding for quite awhile. I rode a bunch in the late 80's and early 90's. I quit cold turkey for about twelve years and got back into four years ago. I am completely addicted again.

The board is a 209 powder board built by Diablo Composites. The board has a 22.5 waist. Other boards I have ridden that compare are the 200 tanker, and the 192 tanker.

I have always liked the 192 tanker. I really liked the board for the way I ride. For some reason the 200 never took for me. I messed with it, and never got it to feel the way I wanted it to feel.

One thing I am a believer in is riding the same or close to the same angles that I ride for carving. I just feel the more comfortable I am in all conditions the better I will be rather than switching stances for different boards and conditions. The stance I am riding is a 56 front and 54 back.

So to the board. I have ridden the board three days. The first thing that I noticed was that the board did not feel like a 209. It feels and rides like my 192 tanker with distinct advantages. The biggest advantage I see is the completion of the turn. My 192 always has felt hooky at the end of the turn. The 209 has no hookiness at end of the turn. Where this is really evident is when you go from the powder and hit a groomed run. The board completes the turn like many true carve boards. I believe the 2 cm of taper, and the stance set-back, along with the 13m sidecut are what make this happen.

The board is extremely soft when hand flexed, however the board feels like it has substance under foot when riding. Even at my 230lbs I don't feel the board is too soft. The flex is very consistant to the length. It feels continous rather than just in the tip and tail. Also I believe the length helps to span the bumps and variations in terrain.

When riding powder the board is an absolute dream. The wide nose floats high and above the snow. It seems to gain great speed when pointed straight, which is because of both the length and nose.

The biggest thing I enjoyed about this board was the ability to make short choppy turns if needed. I thought this board would be difficult in the trees, but this is not the case. The taper and softness of the board allows me to make quicker turns than one would expect with the length of the board. Sometimes I find my toe side turns to be difficult on the steeps because of the angles that I ride. This is the easiest powder board I have ridden on the steeps.

All in all I would suggest this board to all who want a board that floats high and goes fast. Great board, easy to ride, and commands attention in the lift line. Good enough to sell both the 200 and 192 tankers. I am confident that stepping up to the 209 Diablo will only take your powder riding to the next level.

[Mike T]

I rode the 209's shorter and wider cousin, a 192 with a waist that looked 24-25 wide, last day of NOES in the afternoon. My boots are size 25 and this particular board is pretty soft. I decided to mount it up with soft boots instead of hard.

Long story short, I've never had a better time in soft boots on something other than powder. It's grippy and holds a mean edge. Carving it felt more like hard boots than soft. It feels soft but the length gives it some stability, very easy to bend in softies. It's not a damp board but it doesn't need to be with all that length, longer boards give a smooth ride. Very nicely balanced flex. The tail is long enough that it gives you a little pop but tapered enough so that it likes to go fall line unless you tell it to do otherwise.

I was told in advance that the Daiblo boards have quite a bit of torsional stiffness. This is true, and it's probably a big part of why it carves so nicely even in softies. I was really liking the combination of torsionally stiff / longitudinally soft.

I've ridden 192 and 200 Tankers myself. I thought those boards felt rather unwieldy in both hard boots and soft boots. The Diablo on the other hand feels quite friendly. Clearly grippier than the Tankers, and doesn't bounce around on late-day groom or scraped-off ungroomed the way the 192 Tanker did for me, and not hard to move around the way the 200 Tanker was for me.

My only criticism at this point is that I'd like the nose to be a little heavier and have a more new-school shape. It's got a abrupt kick that is common to all Diablos that I have seen. When I really throw it on edge it does, well, what those shapes do and destabilize the initiation a bit... and I cam't imagine it is going to do much *for* me in powder given that it's kinda sudden. A little more weight in the nose might help it track a little better when thrown hard on edge too. Small quibble though, because most of the time I am not going to be pushing it in a way where this becomes an issue.

I just bought the board from Eric... it's my favorite of all softie carvers that I've ever been on, and if I like it in powder, bonus. I need to check with a few folks who expressed interest in my Steepwater, if they don't want it you'll see it in the Classifieds soon. Even given my thoughts on the nose I can't pass up the demo board at the demo price... and I've learned that when you ride a board you like, sometimes it's best to just get that one.

[Mike T]

Yeah, it's good in powder too :D