Location: Mission Ridge, WA
Snow Conditions: Softpacked to fresh snow on groomers.
Setup: I rode the Capita DBX with Union Trilogy bindings and Vans Ferra boots size 8.
Size: 157cm
First Impression: The Dan Brisse Capita pro-model delivers a board that rides the whole mountain, packed with pop and built for fun freeriding.
Weight: Average.
Flex: The DBX is on the stiffer side of the spectrum, similar to the TFA for flex but a bit more lively in the riding and handling. The bamboo core gives the board a different feel than the TFA but it has the same TFA shape. Flex is described as a 7 and rides like it, stiffer flex longitidinally to help with charging, somewhat softer torsional flex but not by much. The DBX features freeride FK which is camber between the outside inserts, reverse camber outside of the bindings and wah-pow on the nose and tail.
Turning: I got out on the DBX for the last board of the day and found the handling on turning was very much like the TFA I had ridden in past years. Which was great, it could grip the mountain and handle the choppy end of day conditions. The directional sidecut allowed for quick initiation into turns, held the turn and then powered out of the carves.
Stable: The positive camber between the feet still give it the stability for riding the mountain. The DBX rode similar to the other freeride FK models for stability, they could handle the mountain, charge and still offer some kind of playfulness. I rode this board during the chinese downhill where I pretty much bombed the mountain straight, scary and fast…and the board wasn’t too bounced around on the speed factor. In fact, it wanted to go faster than I felt comfortable. Good edgehold on the hardpacked and still floatable in the pow spots.
Pop: Bamboo is fun, poppy and definitely gives you the extra snap on the mountain with the DBX. I didn’t take the board into the park or off anything other than rollers for the afternoon.
Switch: I honestly did not ride this board switch. It’s directional with a directional sidecut so I would assume there’s some adjustment.
Overall Impression: The Capita DBX is Dan Brisse’s pro model/Volcom collab board with Capita. It’s designed to be all-mountain, all-handling just like Dan rides. The freeride FK camber profile gives it the stabilty of the mountain and the Totally FK’n awesome shape gives it playfulness but it is also packed with pop.
Shay’s Honesty Box: The last day of the demo was the Chinese Downhill race so I decided to try the DBX out on the last runs of the day and use it during the race. It was a good choice, I was last out of the start of the race but the DBX could definitely handle the charging, bumpy, chopped up snow without eating it. The only downside of this board is it only comes in one size, the 157cm.
Review Disclosure: I demoed this board at the WWSRA On-Snow at Mission Ridge, WA.