This board defines what "all mountain alpine board" should mean. It is definitely an alpine board... it's stiffer than any freeride board I have ever known, and it's 21.5 cm waist requires the use of plate bindings and hard shell boots. However it is not as stiff as either of the true alpine boards that I have ridden - my Donek Freecarve 163 and a Liquid Race 159. On groomed trails, you can ride the Axis like a normal alpine board, with fast edge-to-edge transitions, and nice, laid-out carved turns. It's not as fast edge-to-edge as my Donek Freecarve is, and requires a bit more effort to carve. (see review of that board under 2002 Doneks...) It does, however, carve far better than any freeride board I have ever tried (using hardboots on the freerides boards of course) including Salomon FRS and Donek Incline which are known to be excellent carving freeride boards. Frankly, it's a more stable carver than some alpine boards such as the Liquid Race. This board unlike a pure alpine board is at home off the groomed as well. It slices through choppy snow and crud like it's not even there. It floats through powder very well - not quite as well as my Donek Wide 161 at lower speeds, but at higher speeds I'd rather be on this one. The flex is soft enough to make sudden turns on soft snow but stiff enough to rail turns on groomers just like you would on a pure alpine board. This board's only weakness is that it's a bit much to control on ice... my 18 cm waisted Freecarve is a precision ice-carving tool but this is a bit more gangly and you need to be a lot more deliberate with it. I would still rather ride this on ice than any freeride board I've ever tried though. It definitely has the Donek feel - the tail is very stiff, which laucnhes you into your next turn, and the more aggressively you ride it, the more it gives back to you! It's an ideal choice for days when conditions rea not ideal for carving or when you want to hang out with skiers or ferrriders , but still want to be on your plates and hardboots. I can't imagaine a more versatile alpine board!

----=( For more info on this board E-mail me @ mtovino@yahoo.com)=----

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