Materials and Design

Metal Construction

We've been testing and refining numerous metal constructions for several years, and we've worked through the different challenges of making a titanal board that doesn't require riders to trade durability for a performance gain. The metal construction that we're excited to release this season has survived and excelled under the feet of racers and freecarvers alike. This is a metal board that we're proud to call a Donek.

Our metal construction incorporates a sugar maple core sandwiched between two layers of titanal and carbon fiber and covered by a smooth PBT topsheet. The metal (top and bottom) is under the PBT (or base) and cut slightly smaller than the perimeter of the board to eliminate edge impact damage to the metal. The insert holes in the metal are also predrilled larger than the insert barrels to prevent stress risers resulting from core deformation at the inserts. This is a common cause of delam/failure when using metal bindings.

This construction provides unmatched performance in challenging conditions. Edgehold and dampness are markedly increased and at the same time, the construction is very rider-friendly. In contrast to the notion of high performance boards that demand absolute precision from the rider, our metal construction provides fantastic performance with fewer demands on the rider.