Quotes from The Carver's Almanac:
"Madds have great edge hold on ice, are immune to chatter, and have very high stability at speed. The performance characteristics are achieved with an elliptical sidecut and a flex controlled by a carbon fiber butterfly on the topsheet. Madds have forward-loaded camber, which requires a more aggressive carving technique and takes a bit of getting used to.
The 170 cm length board is easy to ride and is suitable for beginners. It has incredible edge hold, and lets you concentrate on your technique without worrying about maintaining a precise center of mass. Optionally, you can throw your weight forward, and the board will convert all the force into speed without folding at the nose. As a result, it's possible to perform diving turns on ice, and to maintain speed on the flats. The board feels like two boards in one:
First you concentrate on throwing your weight into the nose and letting it propel you forward.
Then you shift your weight back, and you can almost hear the tail click into engagement and lock in for the rest of the turn.
The 158 cm length (8.8 M radius) board requires an advanced weight-forward technique and is not suitable for beginners. Whereas on the 170 cm model you can optionally throw your weight forward, it's mandatory on the 158. It is also necessary to maintain a more precisely balanced center of mass to get the optimal edge hold characteristics. It offers the unusual combination of small sidecut radius and high stability, which is optimal for narrow runs. The 158 also proves one corollary: the length of a board does not necessarily matter."
