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Battle of the Spruces: Stingers vs. Sherpas

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  • Battle of the Spruces: Stingers vs. Sherpas

    I made it out on the Stingers yesterday. We received quite a bit of snow (for us), probably a foot. I was hoping to have my first fluffy powder day since the 2018-19 season, but the snow turned out to be quite wet and heavy. The Stingers did just okay for the first half of the day. After lunch, I switched over to the Sherpas. I felt a very noticeable difference from the Stingers. The Sherpas did a much better job getting through the heavy thick stuff, easier to control and less getting tossed around.

    When it started getting dark, I decided to give the Stingers another try. I went down one run. I must say it was awful. The snow was very tracked out and pushed around by then. Plus, it had gotten colder out, and the snow was starting to set up like cement. I gave up and called it a day.

    My take so far is that the Sherpas definitely handle wetter and chopped up snow better. I wish the snow would have been lighter. I'm sure the Stingers would have been more enjoyable then. I'm curious to see how the Stingers will perform on groomers and harder packed icier conditions. Most likely those are the conditions I'll experience next time I get out.

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    Boards/Bindings:
    2013 Spruce Sherpas w/Tyrolia Peak 11s
    2023 Spruce Stingers w/Tyrolia Peak 11s
    2015 RVL8 Blunt XLs w/Tyrolia Attack 13s
    2020 RVL8 Sticky Icky Ickys w/Tyrolia SX 10s


    Boots:
    Salomon X-Pro 80

    Past boards: Salomon Snowblades, Line MNPs 89 & 98 cm, Five-Os, Bullets, Jedis, Spruce 120s, LE 125s, Ospreys, Crossbows
    Summit 110s, Nomads, Jades, RVL8 ALPs, BWPs, KTPs, Tanshos, Rockets, DLPs, Blunts, Condors, RCs, Revolts, Spliffs

  • #2
    So Nate from TSC on Facebook did the same experiment. Long story short is that on the softer chopped up snow with the Stingers he felt more misdirection/chatter than he did with the Sherpas. he did say that they are wonderful in softer snow.
    Skis/Skiboards:
    2019/2020 Lib Tech Backwards 166cm with Marker Squire 11 Bindings
    2018 Spruce "Woody" Sherpa with Marker Griffon 13 DM Track
    2018 "Dave's Face" DLPs w Snowjam Non Release Bindings
    2016/2017 Rossignol Soul 7HD 164cm with with Marker Griffon 13 DM Track

    2011 Spruce "Blue Board" Sherpa
    20?? Spruce Sherpa "White Board" Prototypes still in plastic

    Boots:
    2012 Salomon SPK 90
    2011 Salomon SPK Kaos 100
    2008 Salomon SPK Kaos 95

    Comment


    • #3
      How would you rate the Ospreys in comparison to these two ?

      I see you had them in the past, given their powder potential I would expect to see them more often in people's quiver, but it looks like you kept the Sherpas while you let go of the Ospreys (and you're not the only one to make this choice by what I've read on the forum), so I'm quite intrigued of why is that ?
      Myself: RVL8 2011 KTP, Spruce 125 LE, RVL8 "Drooling Clouds" RCs, Spruce 2016 Osprey
      Daughter: Twoowt Pirania 95cm; RVL8 2015 Blunt XL; RVL8 2021 SII; Spruce Crossbows
      Past: RVL8 2010 Revolt Trees, RVL8 2014 Condor, RVL8 2009 ALPdors, Spruce 120 Yellow/Red

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by newbie2011 View Post
        How would you rate the Ospreys in comparison to these two ?

        I see you had them in the past, given their powder potential I would expect to see them more often in people's quiver, but it looks like you kept the Sherpas while you let go of the Ospreys (and you're not the only one to make this choice by what I've read on the forum), so I'm quite intrigued of why is that ?
        I did not care for the Ospreys in anything other than fresh fluffy powder. Once that powder got tracked out, they were no bueno for me. I'd get tossed around a lot, and controlling them on harder snow was sketchy at best.

        I didn't experience a huge difference in powder performance between the Ospreys and Sherpas. The Sherpas can handle varied conditions much better. To me, the Ospreys were a one-trick pony. The Sherpas are more all-mountain. There was no reason to keep the Ospreys.

        I still have only been out on the Stingers once. Comparing all three boards, so far I prefer the Sherpas.
        Boards/Bindings:
        2013 Spruce Sherpas w/Tyrolia Peak 11s
        2023 Spruce Stingers w/Tyrolia Peak 11s
        2015 RVL8 Blunt XLs w/Tyrolia Attack 13s
        2020 RVL8 Sticky Icky Ickys w/Tyrolia SX 10s


        Boots:
        Salomon X-Pro 80

        Past boards: Salomon Snowblades, Line MNPs 89 & 98 cm, Five-Os, Bullets, Jedis, Spruce 120s, LE 125s, Ospreys, Crossbows
        Summit 110s, Nomads, Jades, RVL8 ALPs, BWPs, KTPs, Tanshos, Rockets, DLPs, Blunts, Condors, RCs, Revolts, Spliffs

        Comment


        • #5
          I see, I was imagining there would be a larger difference in powder performance between the two, if that wasn't the case it definitely makes sense, thanks a lot for your feedback !

          Looking forward to hearing more about the Stinger's capabilities
          Myself: RVL8 2011 KTP, Spruce 125 LE, RVL8 "Drooling Clouds" RCs, Spruce 2016 Osprey
          Daughter: Twoowt Pirania 95cm; RVL8 2015 Blunt XL; RVL8 2021 SII; Spruce Crossbows
          Past: RVL8 2010 Revolt Trees, RVL8 2014 Condor, RVL8 2009 ALPdors, Spruce 120 Yellow/Red

          Comment


          • #6
            Yesterday, I was able to get back out on the Spruce Stingers. Conditions were nice soft groomers. It also very lightly snowed most of the day, not enough to accumulate. I started out on the Stingers. They did very well in these conditions, fairly fast and nice carvers. After a couple hours, I switched over to the Sherpas. The Sherpas performed amazing as usual. The only think I noticed was sliding out on an icy spot at the bottom of the hill where you catch the lift. After some time on the Sherpas, I switched back to the Stingers. I wanted to see how they would do on that icy patch. Well, they didn't slide as bad. It could be a matter of tuning. The new Stingers most likely have sharper edges than my Sherpas.

            Oh, btw I had four people make comments and ask about the boards. They were intrigued by the width but surprisingly not by the length. Most skiers are sking narrower skis in the Midwest. There's no need for powder boards here, and that's what they thought the width of my boards was for (powder). I told them that I ride them in all conditions. One snowboarder that I rode up the lift with said, "Man those are beautiful". He was referring to the Sherpas. A couple of the lifties were freaking out over how wide the Stingers were and said that they looked like fun.

            Final thoughts...I didn't feel a huge difference between the two boards in these conditions. I do think that the Sherpas were a tad bit faster for some reason. To me, they also just feel like more solid of a ride. You can't go wrong with either board, but the battle will continue.






            Boards/Bindings:
            2013 Spruce Sherpas w/Tyrolia Peak 11s
            2023 Spruce Stingers w/Tyrolia Peak 11s
            2015 RVL8 Blunt XLs w/Tyrolia Attack 13s
            2020 RVL8 Sticky Icky Ickys w/Tyrolia SX 10s


            Boots:
            Salomon X-Pro 80

            Past boards: Salomon Snowblades, Line MNPs 89 & 98 cm, Five-Os, Bullets, Jedis, Spruce 120s, LE 125s, Ospreys, Crossbows
            Summit 110s, Nomads, Jades, RVL8 ALPs, BWPs, KTPs, Tanshos, Rockets, DLPs, Blunts, Condors, RCs, Revolts, Spliffs

            Comment

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