Platinum

Donald Says: Well, it is worth the money. While most snowboards have a few carbon stringers through their laminates, the Platinum LE has 100% carbon laminates! You know what that means? The Platinum is the fastest, most powerful ride out there. Beneath all that carbon is a stone ground inlaid 7200 graphite base. Super fast!

Aaron Says: What we have here is the 2007 Palmer Platinum, guaranteed to impress. Bread of technological innovations, Palmer has outdone themselves this time producing a snowboard way fancier than your average Vic's rub. If you desire the top of the line and nothing else, Palmer Platinum is right up your alley.

holy crap thats expensive!!!

i know which board to get if i win the complete setup~ 

I was never even planning to ride the Palmer Platinum. I just wanted to go slide some snow. However, I found out that Sugar Bowl was doing a demo day for a lot of different manufactures. I ventured down to the Palmer booth to see if the rep was there, and I asked if he had the platinum on board. He did, but ,of course, it was already out. He assured me that it would be hard to demo since everybody would be clawing over the board. I was a bit disappointed and assured him I would be back.

A few moments later, the guy with the Platinum rolled back and started undoing his binders. I leaped on the opportunity and quickly seized the board for a demo.

After I strapped in, I got the Platinum up to speed. Of course it accelerated quickly, but any high-end Palmer will do the same. I rolled into a toeside carve and then a heelside. I noticed a couple of things immediately: First, the Platinum was much more playful and soft than I imagined. I even reduced my stance width from 23" back to my old 22.25" Secondly, the Platinum rolled the smoothest carve I have ever felt in my life.

See there are a couple of different approaches to making a great carving board. You can tune the edge, add Magna-Trax, etc. to increase edge pressure, you can alter flex-patterns to keep the edge pressured at the tips, or you can dampen the carve to reduce chattering and keep the edge were it is supposed to be. The Platinum strives to do the latter. Even in the most cut up hard pack, the platinum would carve an extraordinary clean carve.

But since the board was on the softer, playful side, I wanted to venture into some jibs and jumps.  Sugar Bowl only has about five jibs,  and one micro table top,but it was good enough for testing. For reasons beyond me, I decided to try a little backside cork 5 off the tiny table. Of course, I only had enough hang time to come up 90 degrees short and I consequently rail my head into the jump. All that aside, the platinum was easy to roll of the jump into a more Tecnical trick.

One final test remained before I had to return it: Jibs! Yeah I should feel guilty for doing it, but it's not everyday that you get a chance to jib somebody else's $1900 snowboard. I rolled onto the large rainbow box into a nose slide with ease. I finished the section with a switch railslide to switch. I didn't want to get to fancy and destroy the edges, but I wanted to get a feel of what it was capable of it. The Platinum was extremely smooth over the jibs. In fact, the Platinum is much better at jibbing than the Andy Finch 159 I demoed.

At the end of the day I was convinced of one thing: The Platinum is worth every cent. If I had $1900, I would have immediately went and bought one. I tried to suck up to the rep and see if he would sell me the demo board at the end of the season, but that was unsuccessful. Even us shop guys can't get that board at a great deal because Palmer never proformed it. They only made limited quantities, just enough to send a few out to some retailers. In the end, I am stuck in the same boat as everyone else. Okay, my boat may be a little closer to shore with a sligh

The sweet thing about this board is that if i were to get it, no loser in Australia would know what it was if it were stacked with a bunch of others. I could be the koolest cat on the hill and no-one else would know.