2012 Marhar Throwdown Snowboard Review

Based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Marhar Snowboards is a very small manufacturer of snowboards and only snowboards.  They build their own presses, and source their materials (mostly eco-friendly), tools, machine parts, etc., locally. They’ve been building boards for a few years now and since I found out about them, I wanted to get on one just to see what some local guys could do. Well I finally got my chance at Test Fest in February.

Location & Conditions: Boyne Mountain (Boyne Falls, MI). Hardpack & icy, super cold a little sun but mostly clouds.and various mid-winter conditions at Caberfae and Crystal Mountain (MI).

Deck: Marhar Throwdown (All Mountain)
Shape: True twin, “Mustache Ride” hybrid rocker; camber zones under the inserts are super mellow, almost not noticeable. Reverse camber between the bindings and then rockered again from the bindings out towards tip & tail.
Size: 161cm, 156cm
Stats: Dave 24″ 15/-15 regular, Leo 23.5″ 18/-12 regular
Bindings: 2012 Ride Capo, 2011 Ride Delta

Overview:

Dave says: When we put it to the flex test at Test Fest, it was ridonculous but Nate & Josh said that the board rides stiffer when you want it to, so, we’ll see. Eyeballing it you can see the very mild camber zones in the mustache rocker.The specs on this board are relatively narrow coming in at under 25cm waist (due to a relatively deep sidecut).

Leo says: It was gnarly to see Dave flex that thing.  Totally reminded of a certain angry blogger.  The board didn’t even so much as crackle it looked like it was ready to spring back and either whip Dave in the face or fly out of his grasp into an unsuspecting bystander.  It took some effort to see the camber zones.

Flex

Dave says: The flex was unreal, like borderline retard-soft. The first time I popped in to a tail press it scared me because I just wasn’t expecting to go full-on wheelie on an all-mountain board with so little effort. This deck is quite flexible for an “all mountain” board but it would ride stiffer when you wanted it to, thanks to bamboo in the core

Leo says: Oh baby did this thing flex.  I love bamboo for this very reason.  If you want to flex it, it will definitely flex for you.  However, it always wants to spring back into its original form.  This means that bamboo laced/core boards ride stiffer than they flex.  Overall, the Marhar Throwdown rides like a mid-stiff board, yet flexes like a softer butter stick.  Needless to say, after seeing Dave’s sick tail press, I quickly followed suit with my own tail press.  I could only imagine what it looked like to the people riding the chairs above.  Two dudes throwing down killer tweaked out tail presses one behind the other and holding them.

A picture is worth 1000 words: putting the Marhar to a proper flex test.

Ollie/Pop

Dave says: Super-snappy core (with bamboo) and hybrid camber design, plus carbon stringers this board ollies pretty easily you could just load up the tail and pop.

Leo says:  Another area where bamboo excels.  Remember my statement about bamboo wanting to snap back into shape?  Well, this property translates into ollie power.  The thing I noticed about bamboo is that it doesn’t necessarily pop you to the moon, but it does provide a very consistent and ultra smooth snap.  The moon thing comes from the carbon stringers.  Bamboo + Carbon Stringers = Sliced Bread

Handling:

Dave says: Marhar puts some dampening pads under the inserts and these really helped to reduce chatter at speed. Despite being a pretty flexy board, you could really push it if you wanted to on the groomers. The deep sidecut allows the contact points to really engage when you need to lay down a carve and the edges gripped well on the hardpack. It felt comfortable charging the steeps as well as buttering the flats.

Overall it is responsive and pretty quick edge to edge, but keep in mind that it is a very “soft” all-mountain board which is its downfall in heavy, wet snow that moguls out and that thick chundery side chop that’s been pushed around all day. In these conditions, you really have to fight against the board but fortunately there are very few days with conditions like this in Michigan.

Leo says: Honestly, I was right behind David on the Boyne steep.  Yea, it’s not Squaw steep, but it’s fast nonetheless.  I actually B-lined this board at towards the bottom of the steep.  I wanted to see what it can do on a fast, straight line.  The only thing that was sketchy was the speed and my fear.  The board handled its own.  Are there better boards built for charging?  Certainly, but how many of those boards can you tail press huh?  HUH!?

Jibs/Playfulness

Dave says: I felt at home in the park on this board, mellow reverse camber zone and what-not. Buttering was easy. Pressing was pretty much effortless. You can jib till your heart’s content on this stick. Full of surprises. An “all mountain” deck is not supposed to be this fun.

Leo says: No jibbing here except for your basic 50/50 on a wide box.  Yea, I’m a jib noob.  Playfulness… Booyah!  I can take it down a steep and press around with this thing?  Narf?  I always thought that equates to an oxymoron in the snowboard world.

Pricing

Dave says: This deck retails at $379 USD which is a bargain price for a board that will be handmade when you order it. If you wanna go full baller status you can put your own graphic on it for an additional $100!

Leo says: Yea, what Dave said.  I wonder if they would let me put some pr0n on it.  Seriously though, under $400 for a hand-built-to-order board?  With bamboo and carbon stringers?  And dampening tech?  What the?  There ya go, just put some “WTF!?!” graffiti on it as your graphic.

Summing it up

Dave’s take: I don’t know what I was expecting from a homegrown company like Marhar, but this board surprised me in just about every way. They built this board to Michigan/midwest specifications, and it delivers: lightweight, fast & stable at speed, good edge hold but with retard-soft flex when you want to press, butter or take a few hot laps in the park. It wouldn’t be my first choice for a big mountain free-ride board, but for just about anything else in their target market I give it 5 stars.

I’d like to see a blunted nose/tail to reduce swing weight without sacrificing effective edge but that’s almost not worth mentioning as fun as this board is to ride.

Leo’s Take: Had it not been for Dave or his friend, I truly would have ignored Marhar altogether (mostly because Marhar wasn’t on my shop’s test list).  Honestly though, I was not expecting much from them.  I don’t know what it was.  Maybe it was the cheesy graphics or the very Salomon-esque “Mustache” namesake referencing their camber profile.  I just didn’t think I would be impressed.  Well Marhar, ya got me! This unassuming board delivered beyond my expectations.  I’m officially unofficially sending out good vibes to Marhar.  I hope you guys keep churning out high quality boards at the very affordable prices you put them at.  Bamboo… I wish more boards had them especially in this price range.  The Marhar Throwdown gets my recommendation.  It’s a true all-mountain freestyle board that you can literally do anything with it well.  This board gets the go-ahead for beginners and advanced riders alike.

Disclosures: The boys at Marhar were handing out free hot dogs and popcorn from their demo tent all day on Monday and Tuesday, and Dave spent some time hanging with them on Monday night and they fed him a tasty dinner. Although we love to eat, we strive to remain neutral. Dave actually ended up buying the demo deck from Marhar (discounted, since it was in “used” condition) since he didn’t want to wait 2 weeks for them to press a brand new board. We did not receive any compensation from Marhar Snowboards, nor were there any conditions expressed or implied governing the content of this review.