We've already seen the
skateboard get re-engineered this year, so why not its most closely related, snow-loving cousin? Cheetah Ultra Sports has apparently developed the Whip F-117 after four solid years of research, development and taking oodles of time off to hit the slopes. In short, it's dubbed the Lamborghini of snowboards, promising to make riders go faster, feel lighter, turn quicker, edge harder, carve sharper and be broker. Yeah, we're just kidding on that last one, though the $1,899 price tag may just disagree. The board is only available in limited quantities due to the hand built nature, and obviously you'll have a difficult time trying one before you buy. So, what say you? The next big thing in boarding, or the next piece of hype sure to flame out in short order?
[Via
BeSportier]
posted Jan 25th 2009 5:47AM
Let's wait until some feedback comes in before we flame it!
OK, there's been feedback now. FLAME ON!
Im not buying until i see an infomercial!!
Its hard to compare planks, so a 'video showing us people snowboarding' will do nobdy any favors. Lets see statistics,
eg, With a regular snowboard, only 4578 deaths and 10k injuries a year, but with THIS: just 2000 deaths and 7,000 injuries!
Looks dumb as fuck all sorts of shitty places for snow and slush to get stuck in it too, ad weight, Yea thats what I want, an extra 10 pounds of snow ans shit in my board, throwing off the rotational balance and quite possibly tossing some shitty snow in the face a hot chick off the pipe. No thanks. Not to mention they named it after the fighter they copied; making it lame as fuc.
yea its needs an infomercial without one i aint buying. Hell i just need someone to send me an email that has a pic and says in very large letter BUY NOW! way cooler if they had Tom Hanks spamming my email with a video that he says "you see this shit!" "yea, now buy it!"
They would say ONE BILLION! if they did that.
I would love to try it out.
I'm sure you would. But If this is something they are trying to convince me to put my life on.......................... No! thanks.
If I want to go faster, I take a jet, if I want to feel lighter, I roll a blunt, if I want to turn quicker, I pin myself on a roller coaster seat, if I want to edge harder, I go bungee jumping, if I want to carve sharper, I go to the gym, and yes, I may be a broker, but I ain't no goddamn professional snowboarder, I just wanna have fun, and any ordinary snowboard will give me just that.
it didnt say owning this board would make you a broker
it said it would make you broker... as in its expensive. and clearly you are missing the clientel for this. $10 says the US Winter Olympics Team buys 20 of them.
@thatrotierkid
I was going to say "Even if I am a broker, even if money is not a problem to me, I still wouldn't pick this oh-so-back-to-the-future board, because I'm not a pro, I don't have the need for speed, I just want to enjoy, not to compete in snowboarding."
And by the way. I'm glad my comment got low ranked. Based on my previous social study experiment, this is to be anticipated.
Sure would like to see some video if they really spent oodles of time to hit the slopes with this thing attached to their feet.
I am going snowboarding next week, can't wait :D
looks like the XPS of snowboards! (
Except that an XPS isn't really top of the line and certainly not custom built to be different from everything else out there.
Aw Justin... poor boy, got a gateway for Christmas. Or worse, an Apple.
lol ^ - he's just sayin' that cos he stuck on a 13 year-old compaq with a CRT monitor
I have a XPS 730H2C, and i don't see many of them floating around stores!
Why would someone buy an overpriced piece of dell shitware that looks like it was designed by a 14 year old when they can build their own using a case that doesn't look like a riced out honda civic for half the price.
Could that website get any more ghetto?
well, that seems incredibly stupid. They're cutting a hole in the board to reduce drag? For one thing, skis/snowboards hardly oppose any resistance, especially if they're well waxed. But worse: as soon as you encounter small bumps on the piste, the back of the cutaway-thingy will slash through them, significantly slowing you down, or sending you face-first into the snow. or both.
Also, that huge hole means it'll suck monkeyballs in the powder, so you're effectively paying over $2k (inc. bindings) for a board that _might just_ be able to go only on freshly groomed piste.
btw, how does adding suspensions on top of the board make it more springy? (that's what they say on the site)...wouldn't it just absorb a big part of the rider's energy, making it WAY less responsive?..just a thought.
"The main feature on The Whip, the open V hull (OVH) is specifically designed for speed and maneuverability. While it will work fine in regular powdery conditions, it is not recommended for deep, un-groomed, off the trail conditions. In another word, if you are into heli snowboarding this is not a board for you."
@ Rob
It's not just heli-riding thats out of the picture, but also tree runs as well as new snow on the groomers. The only people that stay on the groomers are tourists and beginners, so basically this thing is useless for intermediate and advanced riders. $1900 could buy you a full snowboard package (boots, board, bindings), a full clothing set-up (pants, jacket, gloves, beanie), and probably a weeks worth of lift tickets, depending on the mountain. I would never spend that much on just a board.
@ swissheep
Hell yes this thing would be way less responsive.
@nerdherder
Or maybe this is designed for competition level boarding with professionals in mind.
@bandigolo - yep you are right. it's for pros and the rich.
"it is not recommended for deep, un-groomed, off the trail conditions..." - which, for me, is the whole point of snowboarding. whoops.
Looks like a space-frame has been bolted on the top of a snowboard.
Space-frames make everything better!
Initial price $300.
4 year of (suppose) developer, add other $500.
Limited quantity, add $600.
Hand build, add another $500.
and $1 discount, final price :$1899
So, if you are a snob and you really care about the "unique, handcrafted and years of s&r", then you must pay over 6 times the initial price. Today, it is so hard to be a snob. :3
It's a gimmick with features that either won't work, or had already been done.
From their website, the reasoning for the opening: "smaller surface means less drag". Excuse me? I ride a small board to keep speed down, and if I want to go faster, I'd get a big board with a big base surface.
As for the edges higher than the base, there's also Bataleon boards that lift part of the edges to make transition to turns much easier, like cheating kinda easier, and less likely to catch an edge.
The lifted binding positions with dampers below can be done by adding one of those $60 raiser thingy from Palmer or Burton.
And you don't want a slightly tilted towards center, "natural stance". It's all good for cruising, but I think you'd be screwed over if you try to land a big jump safely with weight shifted towards the tail. Even on Lib Tech's Banana, which has a similar shape, once your weight is down, the board is flat. It's just easier to rock, but it doesn't change your stance to tilt towards the center.
I highly doubt the board had any input from pro snowboarders. You look at Burton Malolo, and you see some powder-addict came up with that. You look at Burton X8, and you see some park-lovers came up with that. I really don't know what this one is for.
You can sell anything to a snowboarder that will "improve his ride."
No. Not really. If so, Lib-Tech's Magna-traction and Banana; Bataleon's Triple-Base, Palmer's Powerlink plates, Burton's Skyback for bindings etc, would be selling like hot cake. But I've never seen anyone riding those, with just a few Magna-traction spotted being the exception, and that exception, I think, is solely due to Travis Rice vouching it.
Snowboarders know to choose the sidecut, width, shape, stance, and flex for their liking.
@ liin
Where the hell do you ride? Lib's BTX is one of the most popular boards in Washington and I assure you it has nothing to do with Travis Rice. There is a reason that ALL of there boards are now BTX or MTX with the exception of Jamie Lynn's Pheonix which is offered in BTX and traditional sidecut.
You know what, get a pair of twin tip skis; mount them using some bars across with some spacing apart; make sure the bars is a bit bent so the skis are tilted towards the inner side; mount some binding risers from Palmer with wedges below so they tilt a bit inward; done.
But, it, just as the real thing, will also ride like crap. Yeah, that's what she said.
Thats what sh..... Oh Nevermind.
Admittedly I don't snowboard, I ski, but would one really want a huge loop in one's board for stuff to... thread? Stones, smallish bits of vegetation, and sort of edge, or just a rough bit of ice... all the stuff you normally just glide over has ample opportunity to become trouble here. Plus it would simply be no fun in powder. They state on the site that "it is not recommended for deep, un-groomed, off the trail conditions". To me it looks more like it would only be recommendable for wide, even, perfectly prepared slopes.
I DO snowboard...and have for 21 years now. I for one can say that I WOULDN'T want myself separated from the topsheet by a two inch framework of...well whatever that crap is. The more in contact with the board my foot is the better. I want to feel the ride, not be separated from it. It might turn better and be lighter, but I doubt it "rides" better.
Exactly. Just like European exotics and American muscle cars. If you couldn't care more about MPH, buy a Bugatti, if you want to feel the ride, and enjoy the sheer pleasure of driving, fix yourself a Chevrolet.
failed!
In case some of you haven't read their website...
"Our design makes the riding so easy, most experienced riders will actually have to relax their riding style to get greater performance out of the board. For people who have never snowboarded, our design makes it easier to learn and master."
-Hmmm, a board that is perfect for beginners and pros? Sounds more like marketing BS than anything close to reality.
"Finally, it is easy to store (you can hook it on a bike rack) and you can hold it with one hand."
-It's easy to hold a snowboard with one hand, you just grab the lower rail.
"The main feature on The Whip, the open V hull (OVH) is specifically designed for speed and maneuverability. While it will work fine in regular powdery conditions, it is not recommended for deep, un-groomed, off the trail conditions. In another word, if you are into heli snowboarding this is not a board for you."
-Crazy, and I thought deep powder was what most experienced snowboards craved.
"It all started with a single snowboarder's desire for a better snowboard. Eventually, that desire, plus the appalling lack of innovation in snowboard manufactureing business, led to the invention of The Whip and finally to the establishment of Cheetah Ultra Sports in early 2008."
-Hmmm, not exactly a degree that inspires confidence. Just some random snowboarder had an idea? Where's the experience? Where's a known rider's endorsement? Where's any shred of evidence this thing works? How is this anything but a gimmicky marketing idea?
I agree with above comments, the hole in the middle is something that can get caught up on small obstacles, snow, etc. No advanced rider would want this.
LOOKS AMAZING! i really want to try that! although the holes in the bottom could create some drag if it was powdery snow..
Just by looking at the mass amount of tables on their websites - they truely know nothing about web design - which might actually mean they know something about other stuff.... where's my cookie!
RIDER WEIGHT LIMITS: 135-195 lbs.
What about us fat rich people!?
Hire someone to use it for you.
To be fair, people should give this thing a fair chance. That being said, there oughta be youtube clips of this thing in action if they expect anyone to take them seriously.
I guess I don't really understand who this board is supposed to appeal to. These days terrain parks and freestyle are what's hot and good park board can be had for under $400. This thing is just a bunch of unnecessary features. Do people even look for boards to go faster or carve harder anymore? I thought it was all about pop, strength, flex, features like magnatraction.
I ride about 50 days a year for 10 seasons now so I have at least some clue about this. This board is an expensive pos designed for consumer year 2006-2007 when money was free and people getting good coin in bonus would buy anything. First off, why does it turn quicker? Its got an 8m radius and a 23.5 waist. If it didn't turn "quicker" then they should be shot. But turn quicker is not necessarily a good thing. When on anything but the narrowest run or bumps I want to make long slow smooth arcs, not 90 degree turns. 2nd, they have used this bizarre rising mechanism which is sure to warp if not break under regular use to allow for the narrow width else you would have serious toe/heel drag at a normal 21/9 stance. Serious carvers or park rats will break that in pretty short order. 3rd, at 158 th is board is going to be short for anyone over about 170lbs or anyone who rides in powder on a regular basis.
If you want a decent board that transitions smoothly but has a long radius, look into the Donek Incline. They are handmade by a small outfit in CO (originally speciallized in raceboards) and run about $500.. though I wish they weren't quite as popular as I got my first from them for $250 around 2001.
If speed is your thing, get a carving or racing board from Prior or Donek and dial up those angles with some plates and hard boots. You'll have the patrol kicking your ass off the mountain in no time.
Please dont blow 1900 bucks on this crap.. thats a season pass, a new board, new boots and bindings.
Their verbiage about ease for beginners belies the apparent design goal of making what looks like a racing board.
In the world of skies the mechanical raised binding interface is to allow more even flex under the foot region thus getting better and more even edge to snow contact, thus giving better edge grip and more corner speed/power/turn-i-ness...
I would be surprised if the center cutout actually does anything, as a properly tuned surface is fast when flat on the snow and slow when not flat on the snow, in any event, having the board flat on the snow is not a condition often seen when going fast, except in powder, so that would make it counter intuitive because it would be an apparent drag in the wondrous stuff oft refereed to as Pow Pow...
So, while it might be wicked fast on hard pack race courses, it would seem too limited to meet the needs of the average big mountain adventurer, besides, snowboards take a massive beating over rocks, rails, trees, cement, rooftops and the like, so why invest big money into something that will get relentlessly hammered on... unless your parents have unlimited money...
Does it come with a matching Bong?
CUS Website:
"No urban graffiti. No Andy Warhol. No Playboy Magazine."
This is incredibly stupid. Burtons Andy Warhol line is probably the greatest collaboration in the industry. I don't know what the hell the problem is with these guys. A board that has several design errors, a website made by a 10 year old, and a huge ass ego, for no good reason. There's a reason snowboards are the shape they are: Because it works! The best current snowboard out on the market today:
http://www.burton.com/Gear/Default.aspx#/gear/productdetail/mens/boards/10437/206946000153/
Check it out.
P.S. "The Whip?" Come on!
Yeah, I have the Last Supper Burton Warhol which I think I'll never ride. It's a great piece.
In any case, I think the Warhol is a Custom X, which is a great board. '09 Burton Love is also another nice board. I don't know what's his problem. Both would kick this board's arse. Well, actually, a crappy rental board would kick this one's arse.
I would be willing to bet that I could break that board in one day. I used to compete nationally for pipe and slopestyle and I would break boards all the time. That thing would be toast.
On that token, I think you should do an entirely new post on new inventions like this one that came about in the past few years, that either failed or became really huge.
"Each board is carefully hand crafted and will have an individual serial number." HAHAHAHA!!! so they won't all have the serial number 1? WOW what a creative thing to do...
but where does it shoot out of the batpod?
Looks cool not skiing.
They also make High performance platform boots to give you double extra super duper responsiveness. They only come in Pink, they're called Obama's and they cost $1400 but you don't have to pay your mortgage for 6 months when you buy the boots and board together.