Spruce Mountain Skiboards - 115 CM Crossbow Longboards

[Bad Wolf]

Here's the million dollar question, well, maybe the $309 dollar question;

This season I feel like I have found the perfect two board quiver. The Ickys are fast fun and nimble, a great front side groomer, carver, bump, glade, light powder all purpose resort skiboard. Then the Shepras, crud busting, heavy powder, stable, easy to ride Cadillacs. The only caveat being the hard pack grip I get from my narrow Kastle skis, cannot be beaten by any skiboard/blade/longboard.

So, do the Crossbows replace my two skiboard quiver of the Ickys and Sherpas, or just become another board that just averages the combined range of performance, without really exceeding it. If you know what I mean.

And, I ride the Ickys poleless, but do ride the Sherpa with poles. Where do the Crossbows fall in regards to pole use?

[sempai]

I had another incredible day on the Crossbows. I first rode them center then set back. These boards continue to amaze me. It got up to 66 degrees at Mt. Rose today. The snow became mushy, slushy, and grabby. Center mounted the Crossbows did a decent job handling it, but set back they absolutely slayed the spring conditions like no other skiboards I've ridden. Thank you Jeff Singer for making these boards.

[sparkmarker]

I finally had a chance to spend a full day on the Crossbows yesterday. I bought them for my wife to replace her beloved 120s. They've been glued to her feet since she got them, but I managed to steal them yesterday for a solo trip. These things are amazing. I spend most of my time these days on rear mounted Sherpas, so I rode the Crossbows in the setback position. They handled everything with ease and brought back the fun of shorter boards. I'll be buying another pair of these for myself.

A smoother riding Sherpa that’s nimble like the Ospreys? Put me down for several pair ;-)

Yes please!!!!!!

[sempai]

It might be that a hard-charging, no-brakes fellow like Sempai would crave a ride like the JJJ’s (subtle hint). Of course, he’s the sort who can make Minute Rice in 57 seconds.

Thanks, I think.

Jeff shouldn’t fret that these are too soft. They’re just right. I’ve long thought proper stiffness has less to do with rider size and more to do with riding style. SII’s are great, and Crossbows---a scaled-up version of SII’s--- are even better. An interesting project and logical next step would be taking Crossbow/SII dimensions, flex and camber profile scaled up to Sherpa/Osprey length. A smoother riding Sherpa that’s nimble like the Ospreys? Put me down for several pair ;-)

I rode the Crossbows today at Mt. Rose. They are truly remarkable boards and perfect as is. With that said, I do like your idea about a Crossbow XL.

[Bill]

Agreed! The thing I am most surprised about is how good they are in deep pow ,and cut up broken pow, in fact in all kinds of off piste conditions and in the backcountry and I am not a little person either , Wookie .
When I looked at the specs , I just didn't think they would have enough surface area to be to my liking , I thought they would be primarily a groomer type of board, I was dead wrong ... they are a huge delight both on and off the groomed snow !!

Plus one to everything Jack says here. I seldom get a chance to ride in heavy snow, but that’s just what we had at shredfest. I was (pleasantly) shocked at how well the Crossbows handled this…and this is coming from someone who’s even bigger than Jack and a relative novice in these conditions.

Day one at shredfest I rode the Crossbows, but decided to break out a pair of insert-equipped, Spruce riser mounted Armada Triple J’s on day 2. This is a short ski with exaggerated, upturned tips and tails and a short, cambered center section with a running length comparable to the typical skiboard. On hardpack they handle just like regulation skiboards---the tips/tails never touch the snow. Presumably they would be great in the heavy stuff we had at shredfest, but the Crossbows smoked them. The JJJ’s were great in a straight line, they glide over anything, but I’m a coward when it comes to going fast and don’t ride this way. When turning in the soft or deep conditions, the giant tips/tails grab the snow and offer resistance, where the Crossbows slice right through it. It didn’t take long and I was pining for the Crossbows.

It might be that a hard-charging, no-brakes fellow like Sempai would crave a ride like the JJJ’s (subtle hint). Of course, he’s the sort who can make Minute Rice in 57 seconds. But for most mortals, Crossbows are the deal.

Jeff shouldn’t fret that these are too soft. They’re just right. I’ve long thought proper stiffness has less to do with rider size and more to do with riding style. SII’s are great, and Crossbows---a scaled-up version of SII’s--- are even better. An interesting project and logical next step would be taking Crossbow/SII dimensions, flex and camber profile scaled up to Sherpa/Osprey length. A smoother riding Sherpa that’s nimble like the Ospreys? Put me down for several pair ;-)

[jjue]

Final parting thoughts on the Crossbows as the season wraps up:

3) Improvements -- What would I change about the Crossbows? Actually, nothing! Jeff had worried that they were too soft. I think they are perfect. I had worried that they were too short. Again, I think they are perfect. They are truly a great package for those of us that speed more time cruising the mountain than playing in the park. .... )

Agreed! The thing I am most surprised about is how good they are in deep pow ,and cut up broken pow, in fact in all kinds of off piste conditions and in the backcountry and I am not a little person either , Wookie .
When I looked at the specs , I just didn't think they would have enough surface area to be to my liking , I thought they would be primarily a groomer type of board, I was dead wrong ... they are a huge delight both on and off the groomed snow !!

[Toro]

Perhaps it's time for a yardsale?

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[macrophotog]

Final parting thoughts on the Crossbows as the season wraps up:

1) First a big THANK YOU to Jeff Springer for putting these together and getting them made for the community. There was a lot of back-and-forth debate last season on what a set of boards like this could/should be. I think Jeff did an excellent job in taking some of the best suggestions from the community, mixing it with his own expertise, and using the blend to make an awesome set of skiboards.

2) Spring skiing -- Oh how the Crossbows love Spring snow. I have had them in all sorts of conditions throughout the season but not true top to bottom Spring snow until this past weekend. Sure I have run them through some slush at the bottom of the hill but this weekend was a perfect East Coast skiing the softened hard pack in your hoodie weekend with temps creeping into the mid 40s coupled with fresh wet heavy snow from earlier in the week. The Crossbows eat this stuff up like no other board in my quiver. Pure Joy.

3) Improvements -- What would I change about the Crossbows? Actually, nothing! Jeff had worried that they were too soft. I think they are perfect. I had worried that they were too short. Again, I think they are perfect. They are truly a great package for those of us that speed more time cruising the mountain than playing in the park. They only thing wrong with them is the dust the inflicted on the rest of my quiver that sat idle for most (if not all of the season). Perhaps it's time for a yardsale? (No, my RVL8 Revolt Cities are not for sale Ricky)

Ditto!

[Wookie]

Final parting thoughts on the Crossbows as the season wraps up:

1) First a big THANK YOU to Jeff Springer for putting these together and getting them made for the community. There was a lot of back-and-forth debate last season on what a set of boards like this could/should be. I think Jeff did an excellent job in taking some of the best suggestions from the community, mixing it with his own expertise, and using the blend to make an awesome set of skiboards.

2) Spring skiing -- Oh how the Crossbows love Spring snow. I have had them in all sorts of conditions throughout the season but not true top to bottom Spring snow until this past weekend. Sure I have run them through some slush at the bottom of the hill but this weekend was a perfect East Coast skiing the softened hard pack in your hoodie weekend with temps creeping into the mid 40s coupled with fresh wet heavy snow from earlier in the week. The Crossbows eat this stuff up like no other board in my quiver. Pure Joy.

3) Improvements -- What would I change about the Crossbows? Actually, nothing! Jeff had worried that they were too soft. I think they are perfect. I had worried that they were too short. Again, I think they are perfect. They are truly a great package for those of us that speed more time cruising the mountain than playing in the park. They only thing wrong with them is the dust the inflicted on the rest of my quiver that sat idle for most (if not all of the season). Perhaps it's time for a yardsale? (No, my RVL8 Revolt Cities are not for sale Ricky)

[Fun Machine]

I've been riding Crossbows pretty much all season, and I still heavily favor center mount. I side-slip, slide and slarve on these frequently all over groomers without additional effort and just engage the edges more to hold carves. The smooth transition in edge control from lock to release is just fantastic. Oh I use hard boots.

[jjue]

I have found exactly the same with the Stickies. I do think it probably requires hard shell boots to work properly. Not that I would use anything else lol

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yes , I think you are correct Valmorel , one of the issues was that initally I was riding the Crossbows with the Envy soft boot frame with snowboard boots , and I could not get the boards to carve properly from the rear seat in firm snow. I think hard shell boots , some forward lean and then leaning forward into the turn all help to get the Crossbows working nicely from the rear binding position .

[valmorel]

I have found exactly the same with the Stickies. I do think it probably requires hard shell boots to work properly. Not that I would use anything else lol

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[wjeong]

I have been riding my Crossbows mostly set back all year riding both groomed snow and off piste from that position. There is no question that I way prefer a set back position for off piste riding . I thought that I preferred the Crossbows center mount in firm snow and today was just riding groomers with my wife with no off piste and so moved my Crossbows back to center mount . I really concentrated on how I enjoyed these boards on groomers and I found that I have become a convert to Macrophotog's orginal idea about these boards . What I missed with the center mount position was the dual nature of the rear mounted position . I have come to really enjoy the way the boards feel surfy and playful and slide smoothly when I weight myself center or a little back on a rear mounted board and then engage nicely into the carve like a center mount board when I lean forward as Macrophotag pointed out . Like Macrophotag , I really love my RC's as well even on soft groomers for their playful surfy feel . With a center mounted Crossbows I felt kind of locked into one kind of turn rather then being able to press the board into two personalities. Very interesting !

Jack,
I really know what you mean. When I bend my leading knee forward and press on the tongue of my boot, I can really feel the edges engage like they are center mounted. Shifting from leg to leg like this, these boards really carve effortlessly.

[jjue]

After switching to setback, I found the Crossbow to be an even better performing, more versatile board! It did not lose any of the positives mentioned above (almost seemed to amp them up to a higher category), but in a sense became more adaptable in terms of how you could ski them. Weight yourself slightly forward and they charged super hard and fast always keeping an edge. You could give loads of input into your carves and the board would respond accordingly allowing me to tighten up or lengthen out the radius of my carves with no misbehavior or negative feedback at all. Weight yourself center or a little back and they became super playful and surfy and could dance all over (I love my Rockered Condors on soft groomers for this same reason). These boards really sang for me in the setback position!

I have been riding my Crossbows mostly set back all year riding both groomed snow and off piste from that position. There is no question that I way prefer a set back position for off piste riding . I thought that I preferred the Crossbows center mount in firm snow and today was just riding groomers with my wife with no off piste and so moved my Crossbows back to center mount . I really concentrated on how I enjoyed these boards on groomers and I found that I have become a convert to Macrophotog's orginal idea about these boards . What I missed with the center mount position was the dual nature of the rear mounted position . I have come to really enjoy the way the boards feel surfy and playful and slide smoothly when I weight myself center or a little back on a rear mounted board and then engage nicely into the carve like a center mount board when I lean forward as Macrophotag pointed out . Like Macrophotag , I really love my RC's as well even on soft groomers for their playful surfy feel . With a center mounted Crossbows I felt kind of locked into one kind of turn rather then being able to press the board into two personalities. Very interesting !

[valmorel]

The feeling is mutual.

I got home after midnight and woke up this morning to realise that the weathre has changed and what was suppose to be a cloudy morning turned out to be a sunny one. Grabbed the crossbows and rushed up the mountain. Rode pretty much every kind of terrain that came by way including clumps of moguls between trees, steep blackslopes, ungroomed stuff and just loverly wide pistes. In-resort, there is now one baord to rule them all.

Hi S. It's just wonderful to hear you are having such a great new life. Keep the reports coming please.

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