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Spruce Mountain Skiboards - 115 CM Crossbow Longboards

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  • Tom91381
    replied
    Originally posted by jjue View Post
    Had a great chance to try out my rear set Crossbows in deep pow at Alta during West fest ,, they were super fun , plenty of float , nimble and easy to turn in deep pow , I keep them right together and bounce up and down on the tails unweighting in deep pow .. just a fabulous ride , relaxing and comfortable , big smile on my face in the steep trees and pow !
    The Crossbows have become my favorite quiver of one board , great in firm snow carving , wonderful in moguls , and superb in deep snow and junky snow . The ability to change binding position is great ... if there is only firm snow I ride center, but if there is any soft snow or off piste junky snow to ride ,, I ride it set back ....
    ps Tom B. joined us for West fest from SoCal and also rode the Crossbows rear mounted in deep snow for his first experience in deep pow and absolutely killed it ! He rode them without poles and skiboard style , while I rode them with poles with more of an unweighting bouncing skiing style , both styles seemed to work well with the Crossbows ..
    really a home run design from Jeff Singer , for sure !
    Thanks Jack, very nice of you to say that, but truthfully I had no idea what I was doing out there. I've only heard that when your In the POW you need to raise your tips and keep your weight on the tails? But Tom1 Macrophotog mention that the pow is so light that you you just plow on thru. So with us being about top 30 getting to the top and getting some freshies , I was doing all I could to stick with Courtney, Macro and Sempai . They were all on the XL Blunts , those seemed to be the choice of many. Like Jack said them crossbows made my life really easy with no knowledge of how to , so I just let them flow on down with my weight on my heals and a big smile, I was hooked
    For the next 4 or so hours we were chasing the powder and loving life .
    The next day more chasing the pow thru trees and steep canyons, cliffs you name it we were all about finding it .
    I really thought that I would of had more of a problem getting back and fourth from edge to edge , but not on these. My 155lb frame didn't have that bad of a time doing it .
    Those and the Stickys really changed my stance on skiing from only a year ago. Look at what I've been skiing on for about the past 10 or so years, when healthy.
    Thanks to skiboardsonline, RVL8, spruce. And especially all those at Westfest that gave me the new found fun. Everyone get out and ski with those better then you , be a sponge like I was. Watching Courtney, so light on her feet and edges gracefully going down any and all terrain makes me strive to try more terrain I've never done


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  • jjue
    replied
    Crossbows in pow

    Had a great chance to try out my rear set Crossbows in deep pow at Alta during West fest ,, they were super fun , plenty of float , nimble and easy to turn in deep pow , I keep them right together and bounce up and down on the tails unweighting in deep pow .. just a fabulous ride , relaxing and comfortable , big smile on my face in the steep trees and pow !
    The Crossbows have become my favorite quiver of one board , great in firm snow carving , wonderful in moguls , and superb in deep snow and junky snow . The ability to change binding position is great ... if there is only firm snow I ride center, but if there is any soft snow or off piste junky snow to ride ,, I ride it set back ....
    ps Tom B. joined us for West fest from SoCal and also rode the Crossbows rear mounted in deep snow for his first experience in deep pow and absolutely killed it ! He rode them without poles and skiboard style , while I rode them with poles with more of an unweighting bouncing skiing style , both styles seemed to work well with the Crossbows ..
    really a home run design from Jeff Singer , for sure !

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  • jjue
    replied
    Last Sunday , My buddy Michael and I went to Heavenly , Michael is an expert level skier who a while back I convinced to convert to short skis and skiboards. His favorite skiboard is the Sherpa and he has really not ridden anything shorter then that . He rides the Sherpa center mount and sets it back for pow . We traded off Sherpa and Crossbow for a few runs both boards center mounted. He pronounced the Crossbow very similar in performance to the Sherpa with the differences being the Crossbow was much nimbler and easier to turn especially in off piste and moguls , while the Sherpa had a more firm positive carve laying it at speed . (Sherpa has less rocker and is stiffer and longer 130cm vs 115cm) . Michael and I are both big heavier guys by the way . He still preferred his Sherpa but thinks the Crossbow is really fun and may get a pair . He says the Crossbows would be better and easier turning for light weight riders then the Sherpa .

    For me , getting back on the Sherpa after a long absence was nice , but they felt really big and certainly less playful to me then the Crossbows. I agree that for me the Crossbows do ride very similar to slimmed down ,easier turning , and more playful version of the Sherpa . They both have that big 112mm waist . Both boards for me when I set the bindings back work wonderfully in pow and diffcult 3 D junk snow and both boards seem more fun carving if center mount in firm snow . Both are supremely competent as all mountain boards , but the fun factor tipping way in the Crossbow's favor for me personally.

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  • ysb33r
    replied
    Originally posted by Wookie View Post
    I agree they do seem to have a sweet spot where they lock in to an ideal carve. Are you riding them centered or setback? (apologies if you noted that above .... I did not see if you mentioned binding position). I have been riding them mostly centered and have had no reason or need to set them back. I actually have preferred having more tail support due to my "backseat" riding style.
    Center-moounted and like-wise, I prefer the extra tail support.

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  • Wookie
    replied
    Originally posted by ysb33r View Post
    There seem to be a very sweet spot on these Crossbows for carving. To me it feels that if I sit back a bit, it is engaging the turn roughly where my heel is. It is quite an amazing feeling, which I have not experienced with any other skiboard before. I suspect this might be due to the assymetrical profile of the Crossbows.
    I agree they do seem to have a sweet spot where they lock in to an ideal carve. Are you riding them centered or setback? (apologies if you noted that above .... I did not see if you mentioned binding position). I have been riding them mostly centered and have had no reason or need to set them back. I actually have preferred having more tail support due to my "backseat" riding style.

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  • ysb33r
    replied
    There seem to be a very sweet spot on these Crossbows for carving. To me it feels that if I sit back a bit, it is engaging the turn roughly where my heel is. It is quite an amazing feeling, which I have not experienced with any other skiboard before. I suspect this might be due to the assymetrical profile of the Crossbows.

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  • ysb33r
    replied
    Finally! My two pairs have arrived after being stuck in customs for 2 weeks. Complete with the Spruce Pro Prime Plus risers. We took them out for a spin this morning. Groomed pistes, park, side-piste, moguls, shadow-aspect icy pistes, variable terain - we searched them all out.

    My daughter has been riding Spruce 120s for last number of seasons and convinced there is nothing better. Well.... she changed her mind this morning. It turns easier than the 120s and it just bouncs over stuff with a lot less legburn, she says.

    As to me, I have been looking for a set of boards to taken to the pistes on a daily basis, which are
    • not as much work as a pair of Ospreys
    • longer than a pair of Eman Uprises
    • support in the tail, that I don't end up falling over backwards
    • rocker + camber.


    I have found them! (On a sidenote, it was a toss-up between Spliffs and the Crossbows. I chose the latter due to the slightly longer length and slightly smaller waist).

    I can now also retire my Ospreys to what I originally bought them for - backcountry touring and riding.

    Here are some photos from our riding them at Arinsal, Andorra.















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  • Fun Machine
    replied
    So, I spent two solid days on my new Crossbows.

    The conditions were pretty bad the first day - 12+ hours of torrential rain from the prior day that froze overnight as temps dropped to the teens and singles, then dry snow coming down throughout the entire day that just didn't do much more than dust over all that ice. This was probably one of the worst east coast ice conditions I've been on in years - some parts looked like a carpet of legos. Well, I never got around to pulling my backup skis out. I pushed these Crossbows pretty hard - riding, carving, slarving, flat spins, jumping onto mounds of frozen ice blocks in lieu of boxes and rails that were missing. They did not give out. The edges held amazingly well, better than any of my other skiboards would have in those same conditions. They locked, slipped and released exactly as I needed them to. And the transition between them was predictably gradual - I like this a lot. I think the softer flex was helping to keep more of the edge engaged through crud and ice whereas stiffer boards like DLPs might have popped to slide out, or zero camber boards like XLs and Raptors might have chattered out as the tips disengage. When flat, they felt like something in between the SIIs and Raptors - SII's with bigger rockers, or Raptors with a small camber. Surprisingly it was easier to initiate flat spins at higher speeds on Crossbows than on SIIs - I think this may be due to the additional length and great edge lock and release. Fun. What surprised me was that the tips didn't catch during rotation as I would have expected. And the ride was very smooth and dampening, more so than the SIIs.

    The second day brought better conditions. The snowmakers added good cover over the ice, and the sun came out to soften the terrain. I pushed the Crossbows with some speed and hard carves down black runs, and they did chatter a bit on the extremes but did not give out. The edges did slip out unexpectedly on a couple of sharp carving transitions from pack to ice - I had gotten too confident at that point - but the edges re-engaged as I needed to recover. I also did some more aggressive jumps and a few spin tricks off snow banks, and that's where I hit the Crossbows' limits - they are too soft for any serious park riding.

    Overall, I am very impressed with these Crossbows so far. I feel like they can be pushed harder than SIIs. And the way the Crossbows handled such bad ice conditions, I would expect them to excel in better conditions. It's too soon to tell, but I can see the Crossbows becoming my preferred boards for all-mountain leisure riding over the SIIs. But it is a little bittersweet - the bases especially under the tips took a beating, and the boards look like they've been ridden a half or full season after just 2 days. I even have a chip that's going to require a ptex repair. My own fault but still... Also I do see fairly strong impressions where the boards are hitting the riser both front and back. I'll have to see about cutting off the excess ends of the riser and curving the supports up a bit.

    Edit: Let me add that some earlier posts about the "Chronic" / Crossbows might have suggested that these might be SIIs for the bigger/heavier rider - I am on the shorter and lighter end of the spectrum.

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  • Fun Machine
    replied
    Originally posted by Wookie View Post
    I am using standard 110mm brakes and they work fine though my brakes have been ‘bent’ out a bit by hand over the years to accommodate other boards. You should not need the extra wide 130mm breaks.
    I just mounted my Crossbows with A13s and new 110mm version 2 power brakes. No bending required on center mount. They touch when mounted set back, but a hand pull is enough to bend them a degree or two to get the arms cleared.

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  • jjue
    replied
    For me it really depends on the conditions . I love the Stickies as an all mountain ride as long as the conditions are firm or maybe bit a little bit of powder over firm , but in deep pow , or off piste junk snow , crud etc . I need something else , then it becomes a quiver . Like Bad wolf says , a good solution is Sticky and Blunt Xl or for me Sticky and Spliffs .
    but I have a recurrent dream that I will find a board that has a wide enough performance envelope that I wont need a quiver but just one board .... I keep dreaming about the Crossbow , could it be that board ??? we will see ...

    ps the Blunt Xl and the Spliffs and Condors and Rockered condors were super good all condition skiboards for me but once I got on the Sticky I really like the carving better in firm snow , I can carve well on my Sherpas but they feel really big , the Crossbows are certainly not as nimble or as playful carvers as the Stickies but they are close enough that if they also work better in pow ... I my be satisfied just bringing along one board !

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  • Wookie
    replied
    Originally posted by beckyricha View Post
    OK so maybe this is a dumb question, but there is a lot of comparing to SII in this thread and one thing I am still not getting clearly. The discussion has been good for understanding what the Crossbows are like (definitely for making me want to try them), but what I can't get a handle on is what, exactly, it would offer or add for you if you already have the SIIs. Enough extra capability to make it worth expanding the quiver, or is the SII better supplemented with something else (e.g. for those rare powder trips out west)? Can anyone with both help clarify?
    Why add the Crossbows to my quiver? BECAUSE I CAN! Now stop asking silly questions.

    All kidding aside I'll agree with a lot of what Bad Wolf say below and add a few comments ...

    Originally posted by Bad Wolf View Post
    A lot of us enjoy the fun of riding a short board, but do miss out on some of the characteristics that the longer boards have, like more stability at speed and more float in powder. This is especially true if you are a larger/taller rider. So, most of end up needing an extra board to supplement the Ickys. I like short boards, so I have the XLs for deeper powder days, but others may prefer longer options. I think this is where the Crossbows may come in.
    ... For larger riders the bigger footprint, longer edge, and softer tips and tails really does provide more float and support. But don't look at the Crossbows as SIIs for bigger riders. While they share a lot of the same construction DNA which makes for boards with little, if any, bad habits they both ride differently. The SIIs feel small and nimble. They feel much smaller when you wear them than they are. Crossbows are great cruisers, with a longer turn radius, that can still be pushed hard. Like the SIIs they have a big performance envelop and feel small but the ride experience is very different and good with both.

    For me, even as a tall rider, I do not think of the Crossbows as a supplement to the SIIs that fills some void in their performance envelop. I think of them as different ride that I can reach for if my mood and the conditions call for it. Frankly looking at the condition, crowds, and my mood for this weekend my SIIs and Crossbows may stay on the shelf in favor of riding my pair of old school Revolts.

    Originally posted by Fun Machine View Post
    Well the SIIs and Crossbows have a very similar design on paper. I think the rider's size and style will dictate which is favored over the other, and I wonder how many will declare the Crossbow to be their single quiver boards over the SIIs. I find the SIIs so leisurely to the point where it's not as exciting to ride as my other boards, so I picked up Crossbows and am taking both out to the slopes for the weekend. Who knows, maybe I'll end up putting my extra pair of SIIs up for sale if these rave Crossbow reviews are hitting the same marks for me.
    Let us know what you think. And let me know if you are riding in my neck of the woods (Poconos) this weekend I expect we'll be riding everyday.

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  • Fun Machine
    replied
    Well the SIIs and Crossbows have a very similar design on paper. I think the rider's size and style will dictate which is favored over the other, and I wonder how many will declare the Crossbow to be their single quiver boards over the SIIs. I find the SIIs so leisurely to the point where it's not as exciting to ride as my other boards, so I picked up Crossbows and am taking both out to the slopes for the weekend. Who knows, maybe I'll end up putting my extra pair of SIIs up for sale if these rave Crossbow reviews are hitting the same marks for me.

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  • Bad Wolf
    replied
    A lot of us enjoy the fun of riding a short board, but do miss out on some of the characteristics that the longer boards have, like more stability at speed and more float in powder. This is especially true if you are a larger/taller rider. So, most of end up needing an extra board to supplement the Ickys. I like short boards, so I have the XLs for deeper powder days, but others may prefer longer options. I think this is where the Crossbows may come in.

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  • beckyricha
    replied
    why add to SII?

    OK so maybe this is a dumb question, but there is a lot of comparing to SII in this thread and one thing I am still not getting clearly. The discussion has been good for understanding what the Crossbows are like (definitely for making me want to try them), but what I can't get a handle on is what, exactly, it would offer or add for you if you already have the SIIs. Enough extra capability to make it worth expanding the quiver, or is the SII better supplemented with something else (e.g. for those rare powder trips out west)? Can anyone with both help clarify?

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  • macrophotog
    replied
    Originally posted by jjue View Post
    DSC_0071

    Finally got some pow at Kirkwood , not hero pow , but wonderful off piste nasty snow , in the back bowl crust over heavy wet snow , off the steep Wall run , heavy wet pow over firm , in the trees more heavy crusty snow and some refrozen crud iall of it in very poor visibility and steep unforgiving ,challenging terrain.
    And on top of that started raining , ha , ha , all the skiers and the snowboarders were saying how bad the conditions .
    I wanted to test my new Crossbows in this junk and set them back on the rear inserts . Didn't know what to expect , brought along my Sherpa and Spliffs as back up . Never needed them . The Crossbows were a true delight and one of the most fun and competent skiboards I have ever ridden. In the nasty crusty pow , it was easy to just put the two boards together and ride the firm supportative tails , the rocker and the set back just brought the tips right out of the snow . I bounced up and down on the tails and easily unweighted and turned the boards in the resistant snow . Kind of reminded me of how I used to ski the short ski Hagans but seemed floatier and easier then I remember the Hagans . In difficult snow the Crossbows work exactly like a nice all mountain long ski but much easier to control and much easier to turn . In the firm stuff and moguls the Crossbows even when set back have excellent edge control and do not wash out just need to lean forward more then center mount . All in all the Crossbows are a chamelon . Center mount they feel like a 110 skiboard , rear mounted like a big 125 wide bodied longboard . Valmorel and I have talked about how the mark of a great skiboard is one that allows the rider to flow down the mountain without interfering with the ride . I would one up that by saying a truly great skiboard is one that allows the rider to flow down the mountain in conditions that make other riders cry with a big smile on one's face . That is what happened to me this morning . The Crossbow is a magnificent all mountain skiboard. I would say ridden in the set back inserts it really shines in off piste terrain when you ride it skier style , with unweighting , and the help of poles . Ridden center mount it shines like a traditional skiboard and just turns easily without unweighting and although I carry poles you don't really need them .
    Just a fantastic cross board that can be ridden skiboard style or skier style , no worries and uber competent. Maybe I have a new favorite all condition board !!!
    Thanks for your report Jack - glad you were able to get these out in some fresh snow and nasty stuff. Great to hear they handled so well. I’m still waiting to get mine off the groomers Hopefully at Westfest.


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