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I was thinking about this and I don't think it would bother me at all. I consider steep to be anything in the 45 degree or higher range and I rarely follow the sidecut turning radius on my current board anyway(current board is 10m radius).

Usually, I'm jumping through my turns or flexing the board to my desired turn radius. The tip/tail rocker would make flipping those turns really fast and the long sidecut would give extra edge on the snow which is what I'm looking for in that situation.

Regarding performance in the trees, I'm not sure it matters to me. As far as I'm concerned, trees are just the things you have to navigate in order to get back to the car. If the plan was to go lap some trees I wouldn't take a board like this.

If they made a split for big boys I'd buy one this season.

Me and toke here will get boards this week or the next, and we will test them as soon as the snow conditions allow us to! Will update you guys on how it performs, and i have to say i am extremely stoked on testing it!

As long as the snow has some depth, and the flex pattern and rocker profile are well sorted (as I would expect they are) these boards should have no problem turning in the trees.
In soft snow, boards do not need to rely on sidecut to bend into the turn shape: the fact that the board is softer at the tip and tail naturally allows the board to bend into an arc when pressured. In addition, rocker at the tip, tail, and waist encourage easy turn initiation before pressure build up, by being pre-bent into the turn radius.
In the days before the really deep sidecut boards (radii below 20 m or so) came out, everyone was able to rip trees with long radius sidecuts.
Hardpacked tree runs at the resort will be a little harder to negotiate on a board like this until one adapts their riding style to take advantage of the ease of making skidding turns (enabled by the taper and long radius, which makes the edges much less likely to catch unexpectedly), but who really wants to ride hardpacked tree runs...

Nice to see some real evolution in shape/profile, anxious to read the reviews.
This is a refreshing approach; full rocker + 9-10m sidecut on a 15x - 16x so called stiff all mt board feels like a skateboard w/ loose trucks under my feet(200# aggressive hardbooter).

Yeah - my money is on this being the most versatile back-country deck on the market. Except I'm keeping my money until they grow it out for big guys and split it too. 173 won't cut it. But, nonetheless, bravo for pushing the evolution of board design. This board will make other manufacturers respond, and that's a good thing -- long overdue in my opinion.

173 on the way to Oz.
Will sacrifice it and split it for 3 weeks in Japan..
Lets hope its stiff enough hey!!
Could not talk Daniel into giving me a split this season.

Caution, 173 length and a 20m scr = misery in the trees. This long length and big sidecut are going to be a handful when the going gets tight. Great for wide open snowfields but difficult to manage when the trees are try to reach out and end your fun. I just came off of a Prior 173 4wd split with a 14m scr, lots of length and weight to deal with, definitely a handful when the going got tight and if snow conditions were marginal, it let me know. Keep in mind that this board was very old school with singular sidecut, minimal or no taper, minimal setback and pretty stiff for a split but, this season I am going with something a bit shorter (167), much much lighter (custom carbon layup), super variable sidecut (7 to 15m scr), more taper and rocker! I helped develop this shape in hopes to cover the broadest range of snow and slope conditions imaginable. It's a Donek! If you can imagine it, Donek can build it!

Actually snowman1, i think this board will be pretty easy to handle in the forest... It has a lot of taper in both ends, lots of setback and a huge rocker, and all of these features will give it playfulnes. And the board is actually pretty soft, much softer than my Mojo-rx, and softer than my Lib-tech travis rice board too.

As Barrows noted, many of us spent many years rocking the trees before deep side-cuts came on the scene in the late 1980s. While I'd be interested to feel how it rides there, I'd have absolutely no hesitation taking this deck into the trees--in fact I'd want one that's longer so that it floats better, planes at lower speeds and board angles and more capably handles fore and aft weight throws. Taken together, I think the rocker, early taper shovel and tail and taper likely make this a perfectly capable tree board.

Completely agree with Taylor (as usual). Sidecut is not necessary to make quick turns, especially in powder and with rocker tips/tails.
Additionally, with the long radius, alternative techniques are much easier to apply: pivoting, smearing, slarving, etc: These techniques can make line adjustment (terrain avoidance) much easier and quicker without having to make an actual "turn".
Now packed, resort riding is a totally different thing-as would be some very popular BC locations like Loveland Pass, where the snow is often in the same condition as at a resort (packed base, tracked out)!

Snowman 1: You should consider throwing up a separate thread dedicated to the Donek tree board. I think there are some cool and novel ideas bound up in that design also that people would be interested to hear about.

Its really more intended to be a broad/all conditions board. Big variable sidecut, super light weight carbon construction, and rocker designed and built to handle the largest range of riding conditions(glades, trees, chutes) and snow conditions imagineable. Most of the boards I have ridden are good in one area or another but lack in overall ability or shoddy construction. This deck is built to excel in the broadest range of conditions possible and handle them all with gusto. I wanted something for the BC that handle it all and not leave me wishing that I was riding something else.

Good read!!
Ridden a 168 never summer summit cambered split in the trees with out an issue. Actually loved it so i bought the new R&C version in a 160 because of the claimed float. This design and length is not helpful in the BC at all. Too short and R&C acts like a barge and is very slow on low angle run outs. Great in steep powder.
A shame but it will stay at home this year.
Have a rossi experience split 159 for not too deep days and tight tree bound escapade. Great ride this one.
At speed the rossi seems to bite in hard when turning and has threw me on one occasion which lead to me ripping out the pucks.
Wanted the 173 for more stability at speed and the deep powder fields of Asahidake and Tokachidake.
Time will only tell if it will be what i am after.
The only concern i have is that for what has been said by Eirik is that the board is soft in flex.
Daniel claimed that it is on the stiffer side of flex..