Location: Winter Park, CO
Snow Conditions: Hardpacked to softpacked groomers.
Setup: I rode the Bataleon Whatever with Union milan bindings and Vans Ferra boots size 8.
Size: 159cm
First Impression: Wow there’s no flat basing on this board, you are either carving or carving.
Weight: average.
Flex: The Whatever is on the more playful side of the spectrum but it offers a stiffer longitudinally flex so it feels more stable than you’d expect and it allows for more response when it comes to carving and fun playful pop for freestyle. Torsionally it’s softer which gives it quick edge to edge response for turns. The Whatever has freestyle TBT which has a symmetrical nose and tail TBT, medium wide center base is flat and it’s good for all around riding.
Turning: I was not expecting the Whatever to be so quick and responsive when it came to turning. It was really quick to engage into turns and you pretty much were always in a carve on this board. It was a bit more aggressive in the carving, quick engagement and held each turn smoothly once in them but it was shocking how quickly you were on edge.
Stable: The Whatever could handle the hardpacked conditions and grip them pretty good. The board offered up decent stability for a freestyle/all-mountain board and my only complaint would be feeling some of the bumps when riding through some rougher terrain.
Pop: I played with the Whatever on rollers and it was pretty easy on pop for the board. I would have liked to play with it more on freestyle stuff.
Switch: Rode the same switch as it did regularly and just as quick for response switch riding. It’s a true twin and felt exactly like it.
Overall Impression: The Whatever is Bataleon’s board for do-it-all riding. Whatever riding you want, this board is along for the ride and it grips, carves and offers response so the mountain is your oyster (or pearl). It’s still on the playful side so it makes the whole mountain your playground.
Shay’s Honesty Box: The TBT is always fun to get out on because you can really carve on the boards. The Whatever definitely was quick response, way quicker than I was expecting out of the board. You were always on edge which can be good and bad at the same time.
Review Disclosure: I demoed this board at the SIA On-Snow Demo at Winter Park, CO.
Frank
April 26, 2012 at 11:12 amFlow Minx SE bindings really on the pic?
Looks more like Union to me… 😉
Shay
April 26, 2012 at 8:20 pmFrank, fixed it!
Dj
June 2, 2012 at 4:57 amHi Shay, advancing intermediate here, looking for something that is quick turning yet stable and will do well carving groomers, handling chop, with decent edge hold in icy/hardpack situations. Sounds like you really like the Goliath, but the Whatever is really quick turning although you have to stay on edge. What do you recommend – Goliath or Whatever? Thanks!
Shay
July 7, 2012 at 12:14 amDj, Definitely, they vary in flex so depends if you want softer or stiffer. I’ve ridden both on pretty hardpacked conditions and both held up very well thanks to the TBT. The Whatever was definitely the quickest edge response from a Bataleon board but the Goliath wasn’t bad either. Are you able to demo either of them?
Dj
July 14, 2012 at 4:01 amHaven’t been on either board yet. I should be able to demo them this coming winter.
Shay
July 16, 2012 at 9:24 pmSweet that’ll give a good idea on which one you like more. I’d look at the specs between them and see which one might suit your style better.