DC Ply 2014 - 2012 Review by The Good Ride

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The DC Ply is a good hybrid camber board that is really fun on groomed snow but does have some limitations in powder.  If it fits you this could be a good all mountain freestyle ride. It has the stability and pop of camber but it’s just a bit more catch free because the camber ends a bit sooner than normal camber and there is a little bit of rocker at the tip and tail.

Ethics Statement: We don’t get paid by the manufacturer to write these reviews.  We do make money from the “Where To Buy” links, but this is our best attempt at an honest and objective review from an average riders’ perspective.

Size: 156.5 and 150.25
Days:  5+
Conditions: Pretty much everything from hard snow to moderate powder.
Riders: James, Kyle, and Won
Setup- 23″ wide Centered 15 front -15 back for Kyle and I.   22″ wide centered 15 front and -9 back for Won.
Boots: James Burton Ion and Won Nike Kaiju
Bindings: Union Contact Pro

The DC Ply fools you at first because it only comes in small sizes so you think Jib Park all the way but in reality, this is a great all mountain freestyle board. Mostly camber hybrid camber of this nature is almost always fun for the old school rider that wants to feel a little modern without compromising their style or the technical go big freestyle rider.

On Snow Feel: The Ply doesn’t feel as aggressive as the Mega but it can still be a little catchy.  It’s got a fun lively feel underfoot that says you can go anywhere with this board.  It’s going to be one of those boards that you can spend 50% Park / 50% mountain and have good times in each place. It’s very stable underfoot while still having a little bit of a playful feel underfoot.

Powder: Better than a true camber twin but not as good as flat rocker or most other hybrid shapes.  If you want a better performance in powder and like a twin the DC Tone might be a better call. If you like to pop off natural terrain and hit the powder regular or switch this might be a fun board if you are ok working a little harder to stay afloat than you would with other shapes that have more rocker.  If you like to set your stance back and stay afloat you won’t be as happy.

Turn Initiation and Carving: This isn’t super easy but for a mid flexing camber board it’s a lot of fun.  Many don’t like effortless turning and want to put a little but not too much work to get from edge to edge.  If you are this type of rider you will love the Ply.  The sidecut makes it fun for just about any type of turn. Small radius, medium radius or wide radius turns are a blast.  When it comes to carving it’s not going to blow your mind but you will be happy for a hybrid camber twin.  You can lay it down pretty well and the ply gives back at the end of the turn which you don’t feel when riding some of flat between the feet boards.

Speed: Not made for boarder x but you can put it flat and straight line a hill or two without too much chatter.

Uneven Snow– It’s medium flex is not bad dealing with harder bumpy terrain.  There are better boards here but it’s not bad.

Approximate Weight– Not super light but it’s not going to cause problems on a chair.

Edge Hold: It’s not going to compete with magnetraction but it does provide good grip in most conditions you want to ride. It’s right in the middle of the good category.

Flex: probably a bit closer to the soft side of medium but the flex is still medium.  It’s soft enough at the tip and tail to butter but it’s still stiff enough to hold if you want to pick up some speed.

Switch: this is a true twin so it’s just the same whichever way you ride.

Rails/Jibbing: You aren’t going to like this if you go urban and hit 40ft stairs but if you are playing around in the jib park this could be pretty fun. It’s probably closer to the average side of good but it’s pretty well rounded for a board of this shape and flex.

Pipe: Not quite the bite to make it rock an icy pipe wall but still pretty good for the warm weather pipe rider.

Jumps: This is a great board to hit the roller coaster run at your local park all day.  It’s also great to find natural hits on the mountain as well as ollie over things better than many boards out there.  It’s still not the pop master but it’s one of the more poppy boards in its class.

All in all we were pretty impressed with the ride this playful hybrid camber board offers.  Our only real complaint is the sizing but we hear they are changing that for 2013.

This is the 2^nd year of the Ply and although the Mega is the talk of the town the Ply seems to have a more balanced all mountain freestyle ride.  The Mega wants to go go go but the Ply can handle both.