2015-2016 Amplid UNW8

Groomers

Riding the UNW8 on groomers gave me an immediate sense that this board has something to offer—I felt like I could run through a giant slalom course on this thing. The cambered shape and stiff nature really allowed the board to hold, and I was able to lay it over on edge—both heel and toe—without feeling like I was going to wash out.

The UNW8’s fast base also really stood out. I had been riding the K2 Slayblade for a long time, and it’s been my benchmark for base speed. But the Amplid’s base is much faster. (At Taos, there’s a return trail that runs from the backside of the mountain to the base of chair 1 on the frontside that deters some snowboarders due to a long, flat section. But I was passing skiers all the time on the UNW8.)

The UNW8’s sidecut radius is very playful, and allowed for tight turns. Edge to edge was very quick, and with the camber, the turns could be linked up in a “bouncy rhythm.” It was similar to riding a long board that has a lot of “bounce” in the deck. The stiffness and the camber allowed for spring-like releases out of a turn, before then setting the board back into a deep carve.

One thing to note regarding the UNW8’s design (and it could be viewed as a potential flaw), is the board’s limited stance options: only four possible configurations are possible.

I usually ride with a wide stance, a stance wider than the board would allow. It wasn’t a big problem, but at times I wish I had a wider stance. (I was able to tweak these to get a wider stance with the K2 Cinch bindings since their baseplates provide lots of options.) Still, I was able to ride as hard as ever and feel confident on edge going fast.

The UNW8 seems to be designed with carving in mind, by setting the rider up in the position best suited for cruising fast. It is dropped back 10cm, which is great for keeping the nose up in powder and for enhancing stability in other conditions.

Pow

If a board is going to feel light when there isn’t any powder, then it will feel even lighter when there is deep snow.

And the UNW8 is effortless and fun in pow. I’ve talked in other reviews about the ‘porpoise feeling’ that certain boards produce, where the sense of a rhythmic in and out of the snow is felt. The UNW8 rode powder very much like this. At any point when the nose went under the snow (either on a landing or when going for a face shot), the nose would rise out extremely quickly. I didn’t expect this given the UNW8’s traditional camber profile, but because the board is so light and easy to move around, it worked. The UNW8’s tip and tail are also tapered, which reduces the board’s swing weight and allows for better planing in deep snow.

At the beginning of March, Taos Ski Valley had one of the largest storms in its history; in about a 10 day period, storm totals approached 70 inches.

The snow came in super light at first, then later came down wet and heavy—a classic upside down pack. But before it got heavy, there was a chest-deep pow day. I was able to keep speed and move through the deep snow incredibly well on the UNW8. It isn’t a heavy board, so it wasn’t forcing me into the snow.  And shedding piled up snow from the front of the board was easy, too, with a few quick micro turns.

Most snowboards are good in powder, so it’s hard to make comparisons in this category. But given that this is not a reverse camber / rockered board—which are usually favorable in powder—I’d say that the UNW8’s performance was excellent.

Moguls / Tight Trees

Taos has many moguls and many trees. It’s also quite steep, so a lot of the riding is about speed control in these conditions and not just about how many tight turns you can make.

I rode the UNW8 in Fernie B.C. (unfortunately in the rain), but found incredible turning precision and responsiveness in the lower angle trees and moguls.

But back in the steeps of Taos, the responsiveness that I noticed in Fernie was similar, but the sturdiness of the board became more apparent. There is a lot of speed scrubbing, going down fall line, and getting a lot of feedback and chatter in those spots is bad. But on the UNW8, I not once felt that chatter or a sense of washing out while going fast or scrubbing speed.

Super quick, tight turns were easily accomplished—but you have to be intentional and not ride lazy. To make this board perform, it took a willingness to let the board work trust its ability to recover or hold things together. Because its built well and designed for higher level riders, the payback from the trust was huge. At times in the moguls, I would get going fast and have to start jumping the transitions. But at any point where I felt like I was losing control at high speeds, I would throw a quick scrub in and could get back on track. The UNW8 is incredibly responsive.

And the low swing weight and semi-stiff tip and tail seemed to contour to the moguls troughs really well.  Sometimes if the nose is too soft, it can buck you, and if its too stiff, you lose responsiveness in tight turns.

Chop—Firm and Soft

This was another set of conditions that surprised me. I was on the lift one day at Taos with Jonathan Ellsworth, and we were (per usual) doing Reforma laps. I was having trouble deciding whether, in theory, a light board was better in chop than a heavy board.  The conditions that day were semi hard and chalky choppy moguls, a favorite condition at Taos.  I have always felt super comfortable with heavy boards in these conditions, and they’ve always felt like a safety net.

But I found that I could rally the UNW8 as fast as I’ve ever ridden any board, but with more stability and control. The control was maintained by the ability to make quick turns and not have to rely on simply shutting down the speed.

At the end of the season, there was an event to support the Taos Freeride Juniors by raising money and pledging laps on Kachina Peaks new chairlift. I ended up with 31 laps after finally breaking the UNW8 on lap 18. I continued to ride the broken board for the remainder of the day, and still felt the same stability and comfort straight lining and making deep turns with board. It maintained its rigidity throughout.

NEXT: Jumps, Who It’s For, Etc.