Location: Loveland, CO
Snow Conditions: Hardpacked to icy conditions on the mountain.
Setup: I rode the GNU Danny Kass C2 with my Force SL bindings and Bonfire Geo boots.
Size: 155cm.
First Impression: I’m a bit bummed there’s no halfpipe around to ride but looks like I don’t need just a halfpipe for this board.
Weight: average
Flex: Despite the Danny Kass C2 being on the stiffer end, it’s stiffer longitudinally but with a good even amount of torsional flex that allows it to handle sharp turns but without losing stability. For the runs that I played with it, it was great on freeriding groomers but also fun to take into the park and still have some playful factor when it came to boxes. The C2 technology with rocker and camber gives it a more stable feeling, grounded and not the loose feeling I had with BTX boards.
Turning: The sidecut reminded me of the Billy Goat and how quickly you can get on edge with this board, the torsional flex and sidecut mix really allowed for you to lay over the board into carves and hold it the entire carve. It felt good on short radius and long radius turns, neither one was more ideal on this board…it could handle all the riding.
Stable: Stable is definitely what this board had no problems with, it charged the mountain and never felt like it couldn’t handle anything. It had no problem with speed, bumps, cruddy spots or ice. The magnetraction never felt too grippy on the icy spots and it never forced me into a turn or being on edge too much.
Pop: The camber at the tip and tail made it a really easy board for pop and landing on it never felt off. I just played with it on the sides of the run and a little bit in the park, overall I was happy with the amount of pop. I’d definitely like to take it in the halfpipe for a day and play even more with the pop.
Switch: Rides like a true twin and I didn’t encounter any problems with how it handled switch riding.
Overall Impression: I enjoyed the Danny Kass C2 a lot, probably the most ideal board for my riding style during the winter. It’s ability to handle the mountain with a tad stiffer feel gives it more stability than your average park board and for the pipe junkie like me, it can handle pipe riding. On the icy spots, it held an edge no problem with magnetraction but never felt like I was forced into edge hold like I’ve had with some of the magnetraction boards. The C2 technology I definitely prefer when it comes to freeriding boards.
Shay’s Honesty Box: I didn’t have a chance to ride the Danny Kass when it was BTX but from my own personal experiences I prefer C2 over BTX when it comes to stability and freeriding. When it comes to playfulness in the park, BTX still has a purpose but definitely riding Danny Kass’s board it was fun having the C2 and I’d love to take it into the halfpipe to get a better feel for it (although I highly doubt it’ll not perform there). Ultimately the board made me comfortable when snowboarding and I enjoyed riding it because of that.
Ready to buy? Head over to evo for the 2011 version of the GNU Danny Kass C2 BTX or shop their full line of GNU snowboards
On Snow Photo
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GNU Danny Kass C2 description
Review Disclosure: I rode this board at a demo day.
Brek Leines
December 4, 2009 at 11:07 amI only ridden this board in btx but my dad just recently bought this years in a 158 c2. It feels stiffer than it did last year all the way through and Im pretty sure thats because of the core not the c2. but from my time on the DK it is my favorite mervin board off all. it rides very smooth and reliable all over the mountain and is very stable due to it width and I believe it has a more shallow side cut too.
I have also had that feeling with magne a few times where it locks you in to a turn and feels resrictive or grabby. I found the best way to fix it is by detuning the edges and even putting a 2* bevel. It still does great on ice or hard pack (not quite as well) but feels much smoother everywhere else.
Shay
December 9, 2009 at 7:41 amBrek, C2 definitely makes it feel stiffer than the BTX versions. I noticed that when I rode the B-pro this year, but DK I hadn’t rode previously so couldn’t know for sure. Awesome you like the board as well!
Yeah I feel you on the edge griphold, I’ve been detuning edges more this year to get rid of that.
Danny Kass c2btx - Snowboarding Forum - Snowboard Enthusiast Forums
December 22, 2009 at 9:01 am[…] Snowboard Review: 09-10 GNU Danny Kass C2 BTX – Shayboarder.com heres a review __________________ SHRED HAPPENS […]
js
December 22, 2009 at 9:23 amShay, last year you really like the trs btx. I ended up getting the trs btx last year and loved it too, but now I am giving it to my brother since he is moving to colorado.
How did this board compare to the trs btx? I can’t decide if I should get this board or another trs btx, I mostly only freeride so I figured this board would be a little better since it’s a little stiffer.
Shay
December 22, 2009 at 8:10 pmHey JS, awesome to hear you enjoyed the TRS as well. Definitely for freeriding the DK C2 has the upperhand, stronger base and C2 technology which makes it more stable than BTX when charging. Like you pointed out it’s stiffer than the TRS, not insanely stiffer but just a tad. I think you’ll be happy with it.
Anonymous
March 22, 2010 at 12:22 pmDoes the Danny Kass C2 BTX have “mellow magne-traction” like the Billy Goat?
( hey Shay, looks like we almost overlapped at PCMR! Missed you by one day! 😉 )
Shay
March 29, 2010 at 8:46 pmAnonymous, yeah it didn’t stand out as a crazy mtx that shoots me into a turn I don’t want to be in. Bummer on missing you at PCMR!