After searching since about last March for a new board, and spending lots of time on internet forums asking for feedback, plus seeking info all over the interwebs, I set my heart on my new board: 08/09 Rad-Air Tanker 200cm. The board came on 12/23/08. I had to wait another day for the bindings to arrive, then spend nearly 2 hours assembling and mounting them.
A couple setup notes and comparisons:
-The Catek FR2 is the stiffest, most responsive, most customizable soft-boot binding made.
-The Tanker is radically different from my Yukon: the nose, waist, and tail are all narrower. It is obviously much longer (32cm).
-The Tanker has a very large, single sidecut of 12.45M, whereas the Yukon had a quadratic sidecut ranging from around 7.5 to 9M (I don't have the exact stats).
-While I like the Salomon F22's and Malamutes more, Vans fit my feet and I need to have comfortable feet to ride....so I purchased the stiffest boot Vans has, the Contra. The liners in these are amazing, and even have interchangeble j-bars to adjust for better fit and heel-hold.
-The Tanker has a softer flex than my Yukon, what I would rate a 6 compared to an 8. This helps with board feel and manipulation.
-The Tanker, despite heavier bindings, weighs nearly the same as my Yukon setup. My Tanker, by itself, weighed in at 7.4 pounds!
Day one was only 1.5 hours on the slopes, as they closed early on Christmas Eve Day (I was disapointed they closed early, but understood). I had set my bindings to more Alpine angles, with 70° on my front foot and 40° on my rear foot. I also spread my stance 3cm wider, but compensated for this by adjusting the cant and tilt on the binding footbeds to allow my legs to sit more naturally. I learned very quickly that my ankles were too steep. I also learned my wider stance made my legs ache inside my knees, but over time I realized I would need to deal with this and my body would adjust (which it has). My ankle straps needed further extension as well. I quickly realized I wanted stiffer j-bars in my boots as well. But enough on the setup, how was the ride?
Well, it is hard to describe, or at least put into words. My best description to my long-time friends was this: imagine riding in my 99 Camry and think of it as my Yukon, and then think of riding in my 76 Torino and think of that as my Tanker. It is super stable, super comfortable, floats through everything, and when you point it downhill it accelerates like nothing I have ridden before. My only drawback on this setup is low-speed maneuvering, as it is harder to turn. Maybe the comfort and stability explains why after 5 days of riding, I failed to notice I had broken it
I inspect my equipment regularly, and with a 200cm board, everyone that sees you with it has a comment or question. After leaving the chalet and showing it to a few people, I took about 15 runs before heading to my car. It was there that I noticed a waffle in the base, which seemed to come from the die-cut graphics. After posting some pics online and getting feedback, plus inspecting the topsheet (where there was a hidden crack under the mounting plate), it was determined that my core failed and separated. Luckily for me, RJ sent me new board under warranty within a day and I should have it in the next day or two. What a relief!
After some changes to mounting angles, cant, tilt, forward-lean, straps, and my boot j-bars, I think I managed to dial in my stance. I have settled on 58° front foot and 32° rear foot. I rotated the highbacks as much as I felt would work, but sent feedback into Catek about improvements to the highback rotation system while possible lightening the binding. I dialed in the cant and tilt slightly more to match my new angles and feel very comfortable. I did notice that strapping into the FR2's is a bit harder only because there is no side-walls to guide your foot; once I got used to this, it was very easy to strap in.
My boots only needed a change to the j-bars and they were good to go. They have an internal quick-lace system on the liner plus a power-strap at the top to hold it even more secure. They have an extremely stiff shell, especially along the heel and ankle. They are BOA once again, but with the added boot and binding stiffness I can ratchet these tighter and worry less about blowing a lace. I was disappointed that they did not have the free replacement lace that my Fargo's came with.
I will say this: this setup is not for everyone. The length alone is intimidating, as it is longer than a triple chair is wide. You need to know how to carve on this or you are done....I am 6'2" and 230# with huge calves and quads and muscling this setup is a chore. The stiff and responsive bindings do not allow for mistakes, which I quickly found out .... you have no leeway, but when you want to move, it will respond instantly. Mistakes can be made, as the extra length provides some stability, but you need leg strength to correct and recover. Once I learned the feel of the board and dialed in my stance and settings, it has been a breeze! It took me about 12 hours of riding time to fully dial it in, and I got about another 12 before it broke, but those were some of the best hours I have spent on a board.
I went out yesterday at open and shewed up groomers on my old setup. John was there
Very cold, but soft, fast, and blue-bird. Hardly anyone else out. I noticed the change immediately....I felt sloppier, slower, and couldn't rail turns like the Tanker. I did lay some really nice, deep heel-side carves up a slope by the chalet, but I thought how much further, deeper, and faster the Tanker would have been; those lines could still be seen 5 hours later when I left, despite heavy traffic to/from the chalet I am dying to get my replacement and can't wait to shred some more!
-B