Awesome – finally someone makes large radius side-cut production decks. I really like the look of this shape and I’m eager to see specs. Looks very versatile and capable in a range of back country conditions. This is the kind of innovation I’ve been wanting to see in production decks for a long time – a welcome addition to the market.

Their website is up: http://www.furbergsnowboards.com/freeride_173.html

The specs:

Length: 173 cm
Flex Index (1-10): 6
Effective Edge: 99/134 cm (taper)
Width: 279-270-290 mm
Turning Radius: 20 meter
Stance Width: 54-66 cm
Setback: 40 mm
Recommended Rider Weight: 75-105 kg

Their design rationale (this is so refreshing):

Freeride 173

You might think it is a utopia to build snowboards with great
floatation, that are easy to handle and stable at high speed. We
had to build many prototypes before we succeeded with this.

Turning Radius

As you might have noticed, the Furberg Snowboards clearly have a
much longer turning radius than all other snowboards on the market.
Now you are probably wondering what the advantage with this is?
Well, short turning radius makes a board nervous and unstable at
speed. Also it has a tendency to cut through the snow when you
least expect it. In soft snow the turning radius is used in a very
small degree to turn the board.

Many freeride skis have a turning radius of 25-30 meter, while
slalom skis which are developed to be with short turns on hard snow
have a turning radius around 12-14 meter. Slalom snowboards have a
turning radius around 10-12 meter, but this is where the logic
ends. Most freeride snowboards on the market have turning radius as
short as 7-9 meter.

Furberg Snowboards have turning radius between 16 and 20 meter and
it has made the boards much easier to ride, with a calmer and more
stable behaviour. The longer turning radius is also positive for
the floatation of the boards, because we could make the boards
wider under the feet without getting too much width in the nose and
the tail. The long radius might feel a bit strange in the beginning
when you are carving, but this is something you quickly get used
to.

Rocker Profile

Our snowboards have a slight rocker between the bindings, with the
same radius as the turning radius. This rocker distributes the
pressure over the mid section of the board and gives a better edge
grip. The rocker also makes the board easier to turn and gives it
better floatation in soft snow. If you are used to boards with
normal camber, it might feel a bit strange to not get the same
“pop” out of the turns. But this is something you will adapt to
fast.

Right outside the bindings there a short sections with flat camber
before the rocker starts. These sections makes the board ride more
stable on hard pack, with a longer effective edge compared to
boards where the rocker starts from the bindings.

The rocker that runs towards the nose and the tail obviously make
the board float amazingly, but even more important is that it is so
effortless to initiate the turns. Thanks to the height that the
rocker creates, the nose can be made flatter with a lower angle
towards the snow. Thereby the board runs over the snow more
smoothly with less resistance.

Taper

While taper is a big trend on freeride skis, Furberg Snowboards is
the first brand to introduce it on snowboards. Taper means that the
turning radius ends a distance before the nose and the tail and
pass on to a reversed sidecut towards the nose and the tail. On
hard packed snow, boards with rocker looses the edge contact where
the board bends upwards. There rocker boards are extra suitable to
combine with taper. Taper makes the transition from turning radius
to the nose and the tail very smooth and long. Therefore the board
does not cut throuhg the snow in the same way as the pressure is
distributed over a larger section of the edge. Taper also makes it
easier to turn the board and ride with sliding turns in soft snow.
Taper is so great that if we had to choose between rocker and
taper, we would have chosen taper.

Yeah, I emailed and asked if they’d press me a longer one (190) that would fit me; no dice.

Here is Furberg Snowboards homepage. Enjoy! :thumpsup:

http://www.furbergsnowboards.com/

Mainlining above timberline the concept sounds good but what happens when you’re in the forest?

@Taylor wrote:

That and steeps. Trees – good question. I think it’d be more tree-capable than the side-cut radius suggests given the early-taper shovel, tail and rocker. But I also think it’d ride very differently than the usual fare. I look forward to hearing peoples’ impressions of these decks.

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.

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…

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.

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!