Splitboard.com Forums

Has anyone ridden the Abacus? I just bought the 2013. Thanks, It is snowing at Schweitzer now. snowbortz

Someone let me know too. I just picked one up.

The Arbor Abacus was my "go to" board last season, I really liked it. The board does great in any and all conditions in my experience with it.


Here's an article and video on it.

http://www.splitboard.com/index.php/fea ... oard-specs

Nice, I had a great season up @ Schweitzer when I worked there.
Hope you guys get in some good turns. Please post some TR from up your way.

What year were you here? Nicely done. Looks like a lot of fun. Are you using Blaze are they Lt any suggestions on bindings. I do not ride a stiff binding so I am leaning toward Blaze LT. Thanks, snowbortz

How did the topsheet look after the season? Curious about how the Arbor held up through a season of splitting. I love their boards but have seen the edges on the topsheet look a little beat.

BC, Just checked out your review of the Arbor. Great video! I thought you were going to hit the rock at 2:14.

I spent a good 3 tours on this years abacus and overall I had a pretty good ride on it. I had a 156 which typically I would not choose for a split, but I was testing for Board Insiders so the size wasnt an option.

The biggest issue I had was no matter how I oriented the pucks, I could not get away from having heel drag. 4 people also rode this split, and every one of them had the same issues. For normal riding it didnt make much of a difference, however for steep stuff, it was down right SKETCH!

We rode near Mt.Rainier in June and were riding a fairly steep pitch that was over a huge rock field. With the heel drag I literally could not use my heel side without slipping out and sliding towards the rocks on my ass. It was frustrating to say the least.

The board toured well with the addition of crampons (spring slush + rocker is not ideal, but when you add crampons you are good to go) and I only had minor issues with grip when the snow was frozen (early starts). However, that is typical for rockered boards so it was to be expected.

One thing I did notice, and I wonder if anyone else has seen it. The board we tested appeared to not have the wood on the edges sealed. They would soak with water and you could actually see the water under the top sheet around the edges. By the end of a soggy spring session, the board would be noticeably heavier! I know that Arbor builds the boards as solids and then cuts them and lays in the edge, and they use bamboo sidewalls, but I found it very strange to see the sidewalls get soaked with water. I had all friends who were out with me look and they all agreed that it appeared they were totally soaked

B-P,

The waist width on the 156cm is 25.1 which seems normal for a board this length. In my experience the pucks aren't going to have as much effect on toe-heel centering as adjusting the binding's heel cup.

Re the top-sheet. Anything you rode last year was from their first batch of boards. These sample boards had an issue with the top-sheet lamination near the edges that has been rectified for the production boards available this year.

They've also moved away from the bamboo sidewalls (much to the feedback from us). The bamboo sidewalls are part of the eco-friendly efforts Arbor puts into their products and helps make their boards a little lighter but from a practicality and durability standpoint in splitboards it didn't make sense. The production boards wont have bamboo sidewalls.

I agree for sure that the size of the board seems to be normal, we had 4 different bindings and all had this issue. I only have a 9.5 boot and I think the biggest we had on the board was a 10.5. All spark r&d binders, m and L respectively. No issues on other boards this size, but no matter what we tried we could not fix it.

Even my girl noted it as a minor issue and she wears a womens sz 8 and has the 12/13 blazes in a med.

I measured everything out and nothing stood out as being horribly off, but regardless it was def something that left a noticeable impression. Very hard to take to anything with any level of steep or risky lines. I had a pretty good scare at rainier and i stopped riding it after that.

I'm pretty sure they kept the bamboo sidewalls.

I just cut one of these in half for a customer. He pretty much only rides Arbor snowboards, and the Abacus is his favorite. The one I cut is about 3 years old, and was still in great shape, with plenty of life left. Can't beat Arbors 2 year warranty either. Can't wait to get feedback from him on the split!! Will share pictures when done.

So this year I bought my first split. Originally I had a never summer sl 163, but ended up returning it for an arbor abacus. I had the chance to take it out last weekend. We dont have much snow yet so i was only able to ride it on a groomed run at my local resort. I have never been on a split board before and I couldnt wait to see how it felt so i just had to use the chair. I have no idea how it skins, or any board for that matter. I only did one run on it and then got back on my park board before risking any core shots on crappy conditions.

The board rode great. It felt very light and had much more pop that I would have though on a full rockered board. My solid is a GNU altered genetics 162 and I went with the 64 abacus. The board feels very nimble and fun to turn. I have karakoram split 30s for bindings. The only difference that I could tell from riding solid boards in the past was that the bindings felt different than my unions and that it felt a little grabby when reverting to ride switch. I am almost positive that that was because i have not yet detuned the contact points, very sharp new board edges. Very impressed. My buddy was riding with me and he commented that the board seemed playful.

I think this board will suit me well. I am so stoked to ride it as much as possible this year.