Greetings everyone – my first post here!
I’d appreciate some feedback on what boards would suit my needs best. Me: 190-200lb, 6’4”, size 15 foot (369mm boot), 45 yrs. male, good shape. Been skiing for most of those years (just perhaps about 10 days each year though) and added snowboarding a few years ago. Last year bought Head Rod 94 and I’ve been riding them almost exclusively (with the snowboard, Head Transit at 160cm+, as an alternative for softer and slushier conditions).
I’m riding mostly small groomed East Coast resorts, where the snow is almost exclusively man-made, hard, often soft or slushy on warmer days. I wouldn’t exclude a trip or two to a “real” ski area in the near future, but those would be one-off situations. I really like to fairly aggressively carve down smooth slopes at often fairly high speeds, with very little of doing anything else on the slopes. No deep powder, no off-piste. I pretty much only ride the steepest black diamonds these smaller resorts have to offer, and wouldn’t be intimidated by something harder, as long as it is groomed. I very occasionally venture on the moguls and park, but that’s way down on the priority list.
I find the Head Rods a bit stiff and can’t seem to make them carve cleanly (even when they actually are carving without sliding – just the shape with stiff wide tips never seems to conform to the snow well on edge). They seem to do great in firm conditions (not super firm though), where their stiffness matches the firm snow well. And of course, when it gets soft, they can’t carry my weight and sink down. I have no issues with their speed and stability and they work very well for relaxed sliding turns for me – as I mentioned, the only real issues are carving and softer groomed conditions. The find the Head Rods are actually pretty good for casual riding: well made, easy to ride, adjustable, nice looking, though a bit heavy.
That said, let me get to the point. For mainly carving down groomed East Coast slopes (often fairly aggressively and fast), what skiboards you think will be best?
I’m thinking about the Spruce Mountain Raptor and Sherpa models as well as the Revel8 Blunt XL. Anything else? Which of these three would be the best carver? I understand that maneuverability is going down from XL Raptor Sherpa and the situation is reversed for bad conditions. Still, from what I read, any of these will float me better on soft days compared to the Head Rods. I may go in a hear or two for a 2 boards setup, one for good firm conditions and one for softer and messier days, but I would like to focus on the “good” days first.
I’ve never ridden rockered skiboards and am not sure how they handle more dynamic skiing, such as quick turns where you unweigh the skis, jumping from one turn into the next turn vs. a cambered design with more “pop”. I realize the flex distribution also has a lot to do with it, so I’m not trying to overanalyze it theoretically – rather you tell me how they handle and which will you pick in the various situations above.
Thoughts? Raptor and Sherpa are attractively priced direct from Jeff’s web site, the XLs are out of stock and more $ than I’d like to spend with risers (but still under consideration). Again, carving on good firm or soft groomed snow is the priority (I can handle long regular skis just fine on the same black diamonds, but like the easy feel of short boards, so a bit worried about the longer and heavier Serpas might lose some of this feel).
Thanks!
I’d appreciate some feedback on what boards would suit my needs best. Me: 190-200lb, 6’4”, size 15 foot (369mm boot), 45 yrs. male, good shape. Been skiing for most of those years (just perhaps about 10 days each year though) and added snowboarding a few years ago. Last year bought Head Rod 94 and I’ve been riding them almost exclusively (with the snowboard, Head Transit at 160cm+, as an alternative for softer and slushier conditions).
I’m riding mostly small groomed East Coast resorts, where the snow is almost exclusively man-made, hard, often soft or slushy on warmer days. I wouldn’t exclude a trip or two to a “real” ski area in the near future, but those would be one-off situations. I really like to fairly aggressively carve down smooth slopes at often fairly high speeds, with very little of doing anything else on the slopes. No deep powder, no off-piste. I pretty much only ride the steepest black diamonds these smaller resorts have to offer, and wouldn’t be intimidated by something harder, as long as it is groomed. I very occasionally venture on the moguls and park, but that’s way down on the priority list.
I find the Head Rods a bit stiff and can’t seem to make them carve cleanly (even when they actually are carving without sliding – just the shape with stiff wide tips never seems to conform to the snow well on edge). They seem to do great in firm conditions (not super firm though), where their stiffness matches the firm snow well. And of course, when it gets soft, they can’t carry my weight and sink down. I have no issues with their speed and stability and they work very well for relaxed sliding turns for me – as I mentioned, the only real issues are carving and softer groomed conditions. The find the Head Rods are actually pretty good for casual riding: well made, easy to ride, adjustable, nice looking, though a bit heavy.
That said, let me get to the point. For mainly carving down groomed East Coast slopes (often fairly aggressively and fast), what skiboards you think will be best?
I’m thinking about the Spruce Mountain Raptor and Sherpa models as well as the Revel8 Blunt XL. Anything else? Which of these three would be the best carver? I understand that maneuverability is going down from XL Raptor Sherpa and the situation is reversed for bad conditions. Still, from what I read, any of these will float me better on soft days compared to the Head Rods. I may go in a hear or two for a 2 boards setup, one for good firm conditions and one for softer and messier days, but I would like to focus on the “good” days first.
I’ve never ridden rockered skiboards and am not sure how they handle more dynamic skiing, such as quick turns where you unweigh the skis, jumping from one turn into the next turn vs. a cambered design with more “pop”. I realize the flex distribution also has a lot to do with it, so I’m not trying to overanalyze it theoretically – rather you tell me how they handle and which will you pick in the various situations above.
Thoughts? Raptor and Sherpa are attractively priced direct from Jeff’s web site, the XLs are out of stock and more $ than I’d like to spend with risers (but still under consideration). Again, carving on good firm or soft groomed snow is the priority (I can handle long regular skis just fine on the same black diamonds, but like the easy feel of short boards, so a bit worried about the longer and heavier Serpas might lose some of this feel).
Thanks!
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