This is a good thread, looking at a soft boot carver again, I wish I had nerve to pull the trigger on the C4 but am looking at Jones stratus, free carver, Not sure I want a long Standa, and its hard to find a good carver in a park oriented eastern environment. I bought a long NS Valhalla last year in a 164 and after 10 days on it at the local midatlantic ski hill, a couple at Big Mountain in MT, and Park City for about 5 days I am looking to sell the board take a loss and find something that doesn't drag on the the flats. (ripsaw edge is not conducive to long cat tracks and keeping up with skiers) 

@highliner what’s your height, weight & boot size?

5'9" 165 lbs naked on scale in the morning and size 10. hmm lets convert that to Canadian:)

• Height: 175 cm

• Weight: 75 kg

• Shoe size: EU 41–42 I think my Tele boots are 28.5

Id like to think I'm a James Cherry Doppelgänger

I'm 5'8", 180lbs, mondo 260.  The 154 Freecarver 6000 is a fun board.  You're not altering turn shapes, or going very fast, but you do get lots of turns in.  It's even okay on ice, but you may not like the magnetraction.

Stranda has the Biru, which may be more versatile, but it doesn't have near the effective edge.  It's a quality board though... and the base is faster.

I like the Standa Boards but they rare out here, never seen one in the wild. I probably have a better chance to find a free carver.

After reading reviews of the Capita Navigator I am looking at a used one, close by for this season as a daily driver. Hoping it is similar to my NeverSummer premier, which never failed me anywhere, even as a deep pow board.  Hoping it turns out to be a good all mountain board thats good for long cat tracks fun carves and no ripsaw wavy edge tech to slow me down on long low angle runouts to the base of the lift, Snowshoe has a few that are grueling on a warm day. and Timberline WV has me straightlining and taking ludicrous chances to avoid skating.

I'm hoping to get a chance to demo a board like the C4 or even a Knapton twin this season. Keeping my eyes open for something on the used market though. I suppose if I didn't plan two out west trips this season I could just send JC the dough for one of his boards and trust his experience...I'm not ready for a quiver I guess.

Posted by: @highliner

↑

Id like to think I'm a James Cherry Doppelgänger

Can you try to upload that photo again?  I want to see my doppleganger!

For production boards, I trust The Good Ride to compare the carving capabilities of these, and I would advise you to buy the widest one you can find.

Your pic didn’t load the last time… nice beard! 😎 

What board is that one?

The Navigator could be a fun board in the trees, but I couldn’t see it as a daily for myself.  I have an Aeronaut and even its tail seems a bit weak on the groomers. Note that a Paulownia core with biax glass tends to get pretty soft with use.  My 6000 (and other boards) have lost a lot of their stiffness.  But people want light boards and the manufacturers like it as well… pay a premium for the Paulownia and then come back again when it claps out.  

Any local deals on a Telos Back/slash?  Telos is the brand name for their own GP87 factory boards.  They make Stranda, Gentemstick, Moss, united Shapes and Korua now.  They made Cardiff until this year, and did the recent Kempers and the first season of Whitespace as well.  I just picked up a ‘23 Whitespace Powder, which should carve fairly well for a pow board.  I regretted not getting a Kemper Agressor a few years ago.  I was looking at the Cardiff Bonsai, but it wasn’t that wide… it’d be a quality board though.

I think my Stranda Shorty has the fastest base of all my off-the-shelf boards.  The Aeronaut has some glide when I’m one footing around the lifts, but I don’t really notice it at speed.  That Shorty was really fast and smooth… until I got on the C4.

If you’re looking for an all mountain that carves, check out the Salomon Super 8… though I bought a K2 Instrument instead (older one with the Bambooyah core).  That K2 is a turny board and carves surprisingly well.  Both have been discontinued, but you might see some used ones out there.

They are just mid-wide though… you might be better off with a proper wide board.

I demoed a Thirst and UPZ hard boots last winter in Park City with Chris Brooks it was challenging to be smooth...actually it was terrible for my ego, I was promptly humbled several times. It took several runs just to link smooth turns. Chris was really excited about the Thirst boards, they looked to be very well made. I recommend giving him a call if you're in the area to ride he's a super nice guy and fun to watch ride.

I nearly pulled the trigger on the Bonsai it looks solid. I might have to look at it again since they are only a bit over 500 use now.  Thanks for the navigator tips. I don't know a lot about Capita other than the board finish/base prep in the stores is nice, especially sitting next to all the Mervin and Burton boards.

Our local ski hill hasn't opened yet will make my first turns on Monday most likely, hope the rest ya are getting those early season bugs worked out.

The Blue Bonsai from last year should be a quality GP87 board.  The old specs are on evo.  This year it’s made in Canada at Utopie, and while it’s a bit wider, there’s less effective edge.

Here’s the that deal I recently grabbed.  Same factory (GP87), wider, softer.  Will they ship to USA?:
https://www.sportinglife.ca/en-CA/equipment/snowboard/snowboards/adult-snowboards/powder_-snowboard-2023/25667122_000_155.html?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=20549620970&gbraid=0AAAAADRfG5zLRLZqSxt_R9SX3uq7WMkPq&gclid=CjwKCAiAlrXJBhBAEiwA-5pgwpnRSKJOVLTyo8xs0-nUIOryD6_Lflq368CjsIzfJ21kmNlOtEtuHhoCxhMQAvD_BwE

We’ll see how well it carves!

Also, it looks like the sidecut radius is a bit longer at the tips, but rather than blending there’s a small disruption by the inserts.