Hello and welcome to my Dinosaurs Will Die Kwon review.
In this review, I will take a look at the Kwon as an all-mountain snowboard.
As per tradition here at SnowboardingProfiles.com I will give the Kwon a score out of 100 (based on several factors) and see how it compares with other all-mountain snowboards.
NOTE: This review has only been updated to the 2020 model.
Overall Rating
Board: Dinosaurs Will Die Kwon
Price: $499
Style: All-Mountain
Flex Rating: Medium-Stiff (7/10)
Flex Feel on Snow: Medium-Stiff (6.5/10)
Rating Score: 80.9/100
Compared to other Men’s All-Mountain Boards
Out of the 36 men’s all-mountain snowboards that I rated:
Overview of the Kwon’s Specs
Check out the tables for the Kwon’s specs and available sizes.
Specs
Style: | All-Mountain |
Price: | $499 |
Ability Level: |  |
Flex: |  |
Feel: |  |
Turn Initiation: | Medium-Fast |
Edge-hold: |  |
Camber Profile: | Hybrid Camber DWD's "action camber" with camber between the feet and underfoot with flat sections out to towards tip and tail |
Shape: | |
Setback Stance: | Setback but not exactly sure how much on effective edge |
Base: | Sintered |
Weight: | Felt a touch lighter than normal |
Sizing
LENGTH (cm) | Waist Width (mm) | Rec Rider Weight (lb) | Rec Rider Weight (kg) |
|---|---|---|---|
152 | 249 | not available | n/a |
155 | 251 | n/a | n/a |
158 | 252 | n/a | n/a |
161 | 254 | n/a | n/a |
Who is the Kwon Most Suited To?
The Kwon is best suited to anyone looking for a versatile board with a more directional feel than most all-mountain boards - and for those looking for a slightly more smooth rather than snappy feeling ride.
Not for beginners, but would work for anyone intermediate and up.
The Kwon in More Detail
O.k. let’s take a more detailed look at what the Kwon is capable of.
Demo Info
Board: DWD Kwon 2020, 158cm (252mm waist width)
Date: March 8, 2020
Conditions: Well groomed and hard packed on groomer. Not super hard but quite firm for the most part.
Off-groomer good. Nothing fresh, but still some old snow and nothing too crunchy or icy or anything.
Colder than the day before. Part of that being here hour earlier because daylight saving. -11°C (12.2°F) and -14°C (6.8°F) with wind, but it felt even colder than that.
Cloudy but still at least 90% visibility.
Bindings angles: +15/-15
Stance width: 575mm (22.6″)
Stance Setback: Overall setback on board was 32.5mm (1 1/4") but not sure how much of that is setback on the effective edge and how much of that is the difference between the nose length and tail length.
Width at Front Insert: 261mm (10.28")
Width at Back Insert: 262mm (10.32")
Rider Height: 6'0"
Rider Weight: 175lbs
Rider Boot Size: US10 Salomon Lo-Fi
Bindings Used: Burton Malavita M
Damp or Chattery?
Slightly on the damp side of the scale.
Smooth or Snappy?
Slightly more smooth than snappy.
Powder
Not much to go off on the day, but the specs suggest it would do relatively well in powder.
It has a fairly decent setback on board - with a longer nose than tail and some very subtle taper. Outside the inserts the camber profile goes to flat - which would help in powder a little, but not as much as if those sections were rockered.
Carving & Turning
Carving: Decent but not really dynamic.
Turns: Nice enough to turn. A smooth feeling turn but lacking in spring/personality, for my tastes
Maneuverability at slow speeds: Decently maneuverable at slow speeds, but not super agile.
Skidded Turns: Not super easy to skid turns on but also not overly catchy either.
Speed
Decent at speed, without being a real bomber.
Uneven Terrain
Felt pretty good riding over and through bumps. Pretty good in trees. Maneuverable enough.
Didn't really have a lot of crud to test it in. Groomers pretty smooth when I rode this.
Jumps
Pretty good but nothing that exciting about it.
Pop: Good without being epic. Relatively easy to access but not ultra easy.
Approach: Felt like a good balance of being stable but maneuverable enough on approach
Landing: Solid enough on landings.
Side-hits: To be better I would prefer more easily accessible pop - a bit more life, and a little more maneuverability wouldn't hurt either.
Small jumps/Big jumps: Best suited to medium jumps.
Switch
Pretty decent for how directional it is.
Spins
OK for spins. Landing/setting up switch isn't bad, but not great either. Spin isn't hard to get around, but doesn't come around super easy either. Not that dynamic in terms of pop. Middle of the road.
Jibbing
Not really made for jibbing, so wasn't great, but wasn't terrible or scary either.
Butters
More buttery than I was expecting. Still not super buttery, but not really hard to butter either.
Score Breakdown and Final Verdict
Check out the breakdown of the score in the table below.
RATING | SCORE WEIGHTING | |
|---|---|---|
POWDER | 3.5 | 10.5/15 |
CARVING/TURNS | 3.0 | 9/15 |
SPEED | 3.5 | 10.5/15 |
UNEVEN TERRAIN | 3.5 | 10.5/15 |
SWITCH | 3.0 | 6/10 |
JUMPS | 3.5 | 7/10 |
SPINS | 3.0 | 3/5 |
BUTTERS | 3.5 | 3.5/5 |
JIBBING | 2.5 | 2.5/5 |
PIPE | 3.0 | 3/5 |
TOTAL after normalizing | 80.9/100 |
Overall, the Kwon is a board I felt didn't have any particularly bad qualities, but it wasn't particularly exciting either. It was a little dull.
It was more smooth than snappy, which in itself isn't necessarily a bad thing, if that's what you like the feel of, but even within that it just seemed to lack personality and still wasn't like an ultra smooth/damp kind of ride that you'd want for really bombing it. It kind of felt like the feel didn't match the board or something.
So yeah, solid all-round but lacking X-Factor.
More Info, Current Prices and Where to Buy Online
If you want to learn more about the Kwon, or if you are ready to buy, or if you just want to research prices and availability, check out the links below.
If you want to check out some other all-mountain snowboard options, or if you want to compare how the Kwon compares to other all-mountain snowboards, then check out the next link.
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