Cypress 185 next to Araucaria after some serious action.
As we go into the Olympic year, every board manufacturer represented on the World Cup
circuit is tweaking his/her processes, construction, materials, etc to come up with the top
performer that will podium in the one in four years Olympic event. There is no question
as to which board dominates the Olympic podium. However, several manufacturers have
been very keen in making appearance on the podium and the athletes are too. This is what
is going on at the moment.
So, when the Cypress from Jasey Jay snowboards showed up at our door in early July
fresh off the press from Quebec Canada. We were blown away. The board looks like
something straight out of the Lord Vader skunk laboratory. The Cypress visually is quite
unassuming and upon closer look one can see that it is loaded up to the gilt in technology
and “space-age” materials. Although these were never disclosed to us, we deduced them from
our experience and detail knowledge in this discipline.
We rushed to get the board grounded and tuned just in time to get on the plane for some
real life testing. The base was zero degree and the edge was 2 degrees. We did not have
enough time to perform any radial tune, as we had a plane to catch. As usual we had on
it extreme cold temperature wax that we have found to be very stable across all
temperature and weather conditions.
The board was quite stiff and many curious observers wonder if this 175 pound rider
can turn it. Thanks to the accompanying plate, turning the board and riding it was quite
effortless. The plate was easy to set up and dialed; only one adjustment was needed to
zero in on the sweet spot. More on the plate in a separate post. The Cypress was a fun
board and it got better, as the board got broken in, after about 5 days of riding.
Under various snow conditions, the board excelled. In soft packed powder conditions,
one needs to be a bit careful so as not to bury the nose. On the blue ice (glacier)
conditions of Patagonia, the 185 was in its own element at its very best. It grips and
grips but was very obedient when the rider’s input was to slide a bit to scrub speed.
It never for once hesitated to get back on edge and grip as soon as the rider starts to
contemplate getting back on the rail. What an awesome mind reader this board is!
The full assembly became a joy to ride on wind-blown, sun-baked crusted snow.
The Cypress made this rough hard snow such a joy to ride. The plate damped out
the unevenness in the terrain, instill rider confidence allowing for the rider to step
on the gas and charge.
Unlike most other boards in its class that we have ridden, there is adequate board feel,
and the board response was optimal. It is not too damp and not too lively but lively
enough to launch from turn to turn effortlessly. The board is fast and on a few occasions
scarily fast. We tip this board plate combination as a definite podium climber.