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I must admit. It's looking mighty sexy.

http://venturesnowboards.com/index.php?inc=odin_splitboard.html

Killclimbz was demoing one. I think he did a write up over on Angrysnowboarder.com He is their official angrysplitboarder.

actually, here is the link.

http://www.angrysnowboarder.com/?p=9994

Its Bad-Ass for sure! I think it's the new heavy hitter for go-fast big mountain guys.

Will brought one to Scrubfest; I didn't get to ride it, but I am sure it would just dominate! If you like to go really really fast that is...

I like the design. Compared to the Storm it's stiffer, its got a bit more taper, its stance is a bit more set back, and it's got a bit less side-cut. I'd be interested to see how the thickness and rocker profiles compare.

The net result is that it will be more floaty and speed-stable than the Storm--the turbo coupe version of the Storm, if you will--which is good news for more advanced riders and in my opinion nicely rounds out Venture's line-up.

I am a bit surprised that it doesn't have even less side-cut (9.88 m equivalent is still on the tight side for a true big mountain board, though quadratics can ride longer that a standard radial equivalent).

It's noteworthy that the Odin's only offered in sizes medium, medium, medium and medium. While I understand that making boards outside the size bell curve can be costly for companies, Venture's size offerings are one of the things that sets them apart. I hope future seasons will see bigger and smaller Odins for the rest of us--I'd buy one.

I can't help but wonder whether the Odin is the board that the Storm was originally intended to be... Whether it took pairing Johan's riding skills with Klem's design intuitions to bring forth real big-mountain design. Whatever the case, Venture's evolution continues in a good direction.

I was really excited about this board, until I saw they were only offering it in limited widths. No love for the sasquatches.

I am with taylor:

"I am a bit surprised that it doesn't have even less side-cut (9.88 m equivalent is still on the tight side for a true big mountain board, though quadratics can ride longer that a standard radial equivalent)."

I really wish they had gone to 11 meter or bigger sidecut radius on the 173, I would've bought one then. This is still pretty close to the Storm... But is going in the right direction.

Barrows, I think this board is right up your alley. Don't let the specs fool you! Its still the fastest sidecut Venture has ever offered by far...

I hear ya Pedro, but I have a 168 Prior with a 10 m radius, which I still find too deep a sidecut, and I have a Winterstick TB (solid) with an 11 m radius I really like, so that's where I am coming from. I like my Storm a lot, but I know I would like it more with much less sidecut.
In fact, I would like to experiment with even less sidecut (maybe none, and only taper even) for pure powder boards. Maybe even just a 24 m radius... Just talking pure pow board now, where one does not need sidecut as the board will arc solely as a result of the flex pattern.
I find the less sidecut, the easier it is to control smears and slarves without committing to an actual carved turn and all implied by that. Rocker has really made me re-think my riding technique and incorporate lots of sliding, I feel that less sidecut would further advance the use of these techniques.

It's a pretty rad board. I found it to be a great "go fast" board. It is a quality big line slayer for sure, even if it doesn't quite meet barrows specs. I think most people looking for that type of board would really dig the Odin.

Killz et al. Just to be perfectly clear, I am not trying to be critical of the Odin in any way, I expect it will be a great option for many riders, and may still choose to get one.
I do have some frustration though at what I feel is a lack of innovation of amongst snowboard designs. The Odin is just a slightly different design from the Storm, with a very slight change in sidecut, taper, and flex pattern. I keep looking at all of the innovative design approaches in powder skis, and keep wondering where are the innovative snowboard designs? Think dps lotus series, the K2 Pontoon, and its predecessor the Volant Spatula, etc.
Most of the Big Mountain powder skis have gone to rocker shapes, with either very minimal sidecuts, or reverse sidecuts. The "shaped ski" revolution (inspired by snowboard's deep sidecuts) has proven to only be applicable for intermediate/recreational skiers at the resort-high performance free skiers are choosing low sidecut skis.
As far as snowboards go, we keep seeing the same designs being slightly fine tuned, perhaps with the addition of rocker-but we do not see any real innovation-where is the rockered, 180+ cm board, with 1.5 to 2 cm of taper and minimal sidecut: 20 meter radius or higher? For powder a board just does not need these ridiculously deep sidecuts, that just make the board squirrelly and hooky. Look at dps lotus 140, no sidecut, rocker, long, and it rips powder snow-and yes, you can make it turn quickly as well. I have seen the pics of the reverse/reverse noboard/split Klem made, which is a step in the right direction, but would not have enough versatility (try getting out an outtrack at Bert with reverse sidecut).

Yesterday I was going to post on this thread something to the affect that the splitboard industry (and snowboard industry) needs a company that is what Surly is to the biking industry--one that creates entirely new classes of boards (think fatbikes, Pugsley and Moonlander) with boldness and innovation.

And yeah, powder skis are another great example. How sad that our two-blank brethren--whom we've en-lighted with half-pipes, fakie, side-cut, railing, rail grabs, jibbing, twin tips and comfortable pants--now outpace our industry's innovation by miles. We need a manufacturer that is willing to take risks and push the envelope in terms of the novelty of designs--especially in North America.

Short of people being able to get anything more than what are really just variations on a theme, in the medium-long term I foresee companies like Donek--who will build you just about whatever you'd like for the about same price as a production deck--thriving and maybe even becoming the purveyors of the more radical ideas by simply building--if not expanding on--their customers' novel design ideas.

To be incredibly honest, and quote Lance Armstrong...

"Its not about the bicycle." My