Amplid Milligram

This is on the long side…. There’s not much information about these boards, so I wanted to post a thorough review.

Click on image to enlarge

The short version: I am very impressed with this board after several tours and cannot wait to ride it more. All the design features work together as a predictable whole, and I find that the very light weight has a significant positive effect on its riding performance. Obviously it is exceptional when skinning, even better than I hoped.

Background: Many of us seek out lighter boots, bindings, and gear, yet continue to ride 7 to 8+ pound splitboards. So many of our splitboards are still made with the same materials and techniques as solid resort boards, and the weights reflect that. It is nice to have some builders working with lighter materials and better construction techniques to reduce weight.

When I started researching lightweight splits last year, I realized that I could save a pound per foot (and all the swing weight associated with it). Most recently I had come from a 7.5 pound 158 G3 Blacksheep (non-carbon version) down to a roughly 6 1/2 pound 158 Jones Solution. I first noticed the Amplid’s super light Lab Carbon Split last year and this year’s Milligram looked even more promising to me.

I contacted Amplid with a lot of questions, and they were quick and responsive with their answers. I prefer to have a board in my hands before I commit to buying it, and it is not very easy to do this with Amplid boards in the US. Ordering and receiving one is simple and quick, but I was concerned about wanting to return it once I had seen it in person. Once I did see it, I definitely did not want to return it. At the moment, I think Bola at All Board Sports has some Milligrams in stock.

I am 5’9, 142 pounds and ride in the Eastern Sierra of California in the winter and on the Northwest Volcanoes during corn season. I chose the 158 Milligram. I have owned and ridden quite a few split boards including a Jones Solution, a G3 Blacksheep, Prior Spearhead, Khyber, and BC split, a Venture Storm, a couple of Voiles and a number of split related solid boards like Furberg, Gnu Billygoat, Venture Zephyr and Jones Hovercraft.

Construction: The construction of the Milligram is beautiful. The only flaw I have found so far is some of the Karakorum clip screws in the bottom of the board are a bit proud and at a bit of an angle. Everything else is great. The base edge bevel even came in at 0 to 1 degree instead of the mostly universal 1 to 2 degrees so I could file a consistent base edge bevel at 1 degree.

The Milligram’s camber runs from a bit behind the tail Karakorum clip to a point roughly in line with the nose Karakorum clip. This is more camber than I have ridden in quite a while, and I did not know what to expect. After the camber ends, the nose radius curve is relatively gentle, which I appreciate. The camber is not very high and presses out easily. It is a touch softer in the middle than the nose and the tail, but overall the flex pattern is very smooth, with no sudden kinks. This Milligram is softer than a Jones Carbon Solution or a G3 Blacksheep X3, both of which I consider very stiff.

Touring: The Milligram is really light! It is even lighter on my feet than I expected. I let my wife skin up with it once and the first words out of her mouth were “holy ****, holy ****, wow. She had just come off a rather light 154 Jones Solution which is a little over 6 pounds itself. After skinning the Amplid, her 154 Solution felt heavy to me. The Amplid website claims “with connector clips the 163cm board length weighs a mere 2.5 Kg [5.5 lb].” I don’t have a scale to weigh the 158 but I assume it is less.

It split skis very well. The low swing weight makes the “skis” nimble and maneuverable.

Ride: So far I have ridden it in medium density tree powder on various slope angles up to about 35 degrees, more open powder of various slope angles up to about 38 degrees and relatively firm, but edgeable, steep wind buff in the 40 to 42 degree range.

After several tours on this board, I have concluded that weight influences performance far more than I expected. I find it difficult to separate the effects of the light weight from the more typical parameters like camber/rocker, sidecut, or taper. Obviously it is amazing to skin, but when riding, the light weight allows it to be very agile: jump turns are so much easier than any board I have ridden, quick turns on steep, firm slopes come around extra fast, maneuvering though tight spaces seems easier, float in powder seems better and edge changes are quick.

On the snow the flex feels balanced and solid, but sufficiently forgiving. In medium density powder, the board rides centered (a requirement for me) and floats beautifully. It is really surfy at times and can put a huge smile on my face. Other times I have pushed on it aggressively and it just gives right back, no issues.

Tree riding the Milligram is fun. The camber keeps me just a touch more on my toes than a more rockered or tapered shape but it is plenty agile.

It surfs snow banks and wind lips really well. It has a clean bottom turn and a great release / slash off the top.

On steeper, firmer snow I have found it to be quick, predictable, and to hold a solid edge. The Milligram comes around very fast on jump turns and steeper pitch turns when you want to quickly reengage your edge. That quickness really helps keep speed under control when needed.

I have not ridden the board in teeth chattering conditions yet, but on the firmer wind board I have ridden I got much less feedback from the snow than I expected and I have not had any bounce or chatter. Almost certainly it will have more feedback than a heavy, dampened board, but thus far it is insignificant. This was one of my main concerns and I am happy so far.

Unknowns: I cannot yet answer durability questions (no problems so far). Topsheet shows very little wear after 4 tours. I have not had it out on very firm snow yet. I do not jump (bad front knee) so I cannot comment on this aspect of its ride. I will update this thread after I have had more time on the board.

Top half of the line. My tracks come from the summit. It was pretty firm at the top.

Cruising mellow terrain.