The one board Quiver killer
van Nicholas, Brand Marketing, Blue Tomato, 7 feb. 2024
I love going fast, drawing deep carves on groomers and whenever the snow is good, exploring the backcountry and slipping through trees. My style of riding is also quite back foot driven when carving, I come from a background of surfing so I have a natural tendency to push the weight quite far back during longer, deeper carves. Ive been looking for a board that could hold a solid edge, most of the time i feel like i cant trust edges enough to go elbow to ground on a carve. I also wanted something that could be quick edge to edge between trees and also float well in powder and most importantly, be able to ride switch. I currently owned a directional board so I wanted a tail to provide more support on drops in powder and to progress my switch riding. It was quite a puzzle to find something that could suit all of those requests... I remember testing the normal orca and immediately falling in love with the feeling it gave me when riding, it did exactly everything i wanted, but it was a bit too directional, So i thought about trying the golden Orca, which as expected, felt exactly like riding the normal orca but with a tail to ride switch and support your drops. I tested it in 157 (Im 183cm 80kgs) and immediately fell in love. sizing was perfect, didn't feel any toe drag yet still feels like a volume shifted board that you can ride slightly shorter than your traditional board. The magne traction also allowed me to really dig a hard edge and draw out long carves. I felt that riding this board allowed me to use it wherever I wanted, If id go on a snowboard trip now anywhere, I would only need this board in y bag, saving up so much weight and hassle.
After purchasing the board I immediately wanted to put it through as much diverse terrain as I could, so I took it on a bluebird day with fresh snow and early morning groomers. there was a mix of trees, flat sections, steep lines, a lot of pillows and some choppy tracked out sections at the end of the day. The profile of the board (C2) was so fun to test, the back foot camber is much more profound than the front camber and it works so well with my style of riding, when i pull my weight back on carves it really engages that back foot camber, which, when combined with the magne traction allowed me to pull the deepest carves I've ever done. At the same time that back camber works so well with the tail profile that popping an ollie feels like a spring board. Where the C2 profile really shines however is in the versatility, the pivot rocker point between the feet makes powder and soft snow riding feel like a surfboard, with quick flowy edge to edge movement. The only place where I feel that you may need to look out for are cat tracks, its not a beginner friendly board so the rocker to camber profile really tells you in cat tracks to keep an edge the whole way, if you ride it flat on a cat track it will spin out and catch an edge, so stay on your toes! that being said the turn initiation is very forgiving. Despite being a slightly stiff board, it still has quite some play in the nose and tail, I would not have it as a park board but ive taken it through some party laps in the local park here in Schladming and the pop makes it really fun on jumps. Im not a park rider but this board is enough to do a lap or two on your way back home. Its most at home in steeper powder lines, trees and groomers.
To sum up I would say this board is a one board quiver killer, I think if you are a die hard camber fan or someone that spends al lot of time in the park this board would not be for you. However, If you want to have one board that does it all, where you can take it down steep runs, go fast, carve hard and slip through trees... this is the one. Its quite on the expensive side but the board just performs. I also urge riders to try the C2 profile and to not ride it like a camber board, but figure the board out because it has so much to give. It holds and edge when you want it to but you can also slash the tail out for fast turns between trees, all just with a change in weight placement. Weight forward, looser tail, weight back, hard edge. Ive ridden and tested a lot of boards but the orcas just give you a special feeling. Most fun I've had on a board to date.
After purchasing the board I immediately wanted to put it through as much diverse terrain as I could, so I took it on a bluebird day with fresh snow and early morning groomers. there was a mix of trees, flat sections, steep lines, a lot of pillows and some choppy tracked out sections at the end of the day. The profile of the board (C2) was so fun to test, the back foot camber is much more profound than the front camber and it works so well with my style of riding, when i pull my weight back on carves it really engages that back foot camber, which, when combined with the magne traction allowed me to pull the deepest carves I've ever done. At the same time that back camber works so well with the tail profile that popping an ollie feels like a spring board. Where the C2 profile really shines however is in the versatility, the pivot rocker point between the feet makes powder and soft snow riding feel like a surfboard, with quick flowy edge to edge movement. The only place where I feel that you may need to look out for are cat tracks, its not a beginner friendly board so the rocker to camber profile really tells you in cat tracks to keep an edge the whole way, if you ride it flat on a cat track it will spin out and catch an edge, so stay on your toes! that being said the turn initiation is very forgiving. Despite being a slightly stiff board, it still has quite some play in the nose and tail, I would not have it as a park board but ive taken it through some party laps in the local park here in Schladming and the pop makes it really fun on jumps. Im not a park rider but this board is enough to do a lap or two on your way back home. Its most at home in steeper powder lines, trees and groomers.
To sum up I would say this board is a one board quiver killer, I think if you are a die hard camber fan or someone that spends al lot of time in the park this board would not be for you. However, If you want to have one board that does it all, where you can take it down steep runs, go fast, carve hard and slip through trees... this is the one. Its quite on the expensive side but the board just performs. I also urge riders to try the C2 profile and to not ride it like a camber board, but figure the board out because it has so much to give. It holds and edge when you want it to but you can also slash the tail out for fast turns between trees, all just with a change in weight placement. Weight forward, looser tail, weight back, hard edge. Ive ridden and tested a lot of boards but the orcas just give you a special feeling. Most fun I've had on a board to date.
Over mij:
I am Nicholas and have worked at Blue Tomato for 0,5 years. I am a Snowboarder with over 3 years of experience, mainly riding Freeride. I am 183 tall and I bought this product in size 157 .
zinvol