Review: Oxess Custom SXR182

[daveo]

Purpose: For historical record keeping and if anyone can benefit from this review, then cool.

Disclaimer: This is my new board, so I'm super chuffed to have it, so I might be biased in this review.

About me: I consider myself a lower intermediate level rider. Been on hardboots for 10 years, and softboots for 8 before that. I ride 30-40 days per year in Japan and maybe 0-5 in Australia. Never raced or anything, just snowboard for fun. I've ridden a whole bunch of boards from Coiler, Prior, Donek, Kessler, Oxess, SG; plates from Apex, Vist, Bomber and SG; bindings from F2; boots from Deeluxe, UPZ and Mountain Slope.

Some specs:

• Length: 182cm
• Waist: 200mm
• SCR: 11-14m
• Inserts: 500mm/540mm + Allflex
• Construction: PTex/Titanal
• Stiffness: Medium - 85kg bodyweight, 190cm height, 130kg squat.

The board: Bought this board last year and have put apx 20 days on it so far. I consider this my second 'real' carving board. I told Marcel, I want something longer that turns a bit bigger than my Kessler 168, want to ride a plate on it and I want it as damp as possible. He said sure, boards are made a bit softer when riding with a plate, PTex/Titanal construction for dampness and predictability and either a SXR174 in Hard stiffness or SXR182 in Medium stiffness depending on your preference. I opted for the 182. That took about 50 emails. My fault.

Construction: I can only really compare this to my (not mine anymore, but you're forever in my heart) Kessler The Alpine 168. The titanal layer is thicker than my Kessler. The PTex topsheet is thinner than my Kessler. The two PTex topsheet materials don't seem to be the same. In the days I've ridden it so far, it hasn't sustained any damage and looked basically new. Not sure if that means it is durable like my Kessler, but so far so good. The Donek and Coilers I've owned have all sustained damage very early on. The SG's I've ridden all have topsheet issues, also. It is big, heavy, thick and lovely. It was designed to work with an Allflex insert plate, or naked without a plate, I'm sure you could put a 4x4 plate on it, too.

Riding: First off, I should say that I rode this predominantly with the Vistflex plate. I did ride it a few times without the plate and as usual I prefer with the plate due to the smoothness and power it adds. Don't think it really stiffened it much or at all. Additionally, I actually think the Vistflex might be the best plate I've tried.

I've ridden SG Full Carve 163/170/180, Full Race 163/170, Coiler Nirvana 178, Kessler 168/180, couple of uninspiring Doneks and Priors.

Okay, well the riding is where it gets interesting. The first thing I found was that I tried to ride it the same way I ride the Kessler. Nope. Too relaxed. Didn't respond well or at all. Second run, I tried the polar opposite and just threw my body into it and yep, BOOM 0-100km/h in <2s and experienced pulling 5G's through the turn. Well, that's what it felt like, I'm sure it was much more pedestrian than that. It let me develop a new confidence for putting my weight into the turn and allowed me to get lower and faster than before. The funny thing was that no matter the speed, I always felt safe, where as I know if I initiated a turn on the Kessler at too high of a speed, it wouldn't be able to handle it, where the Oxess would just eat it up and throw you out the other end. The Kessler would get a little bit of flappy nose when it got hard/icy, but not the Oxess, the Oxess just ate it up. Maybe it was the length or the design philosophy behind the board, but it was exactly what I wanted (and more). Nothing here is bad about the Kessler, that board is literally sent down from God, and when I say literally, I mean figuratively. Overall, there isn't a better or worse, the Kessler is more relaxed and the Oxess is more aggressive.

The Kessler may take 10m before I'm happy to get into a carve, the Oxess would take 15m. I never really felt the length, or the weight, but I did feel the power it had. It didn't matter how much I pushed it, I never overpowered it and it always gave back. I more pronounced shift of weight would yield results when compared to the Kessler. The thing that set this board apart from the Kessler was that it needed to be ridden with more aggression and intent but it gave me confidence to do that and push the board and myself further than before. Another thing was that due to the change in riding style, I definitely felt it in my legs compared to the Kessler, that's also because I'm an unfit fat slob. I never felt a bump, no choppiness just super comfortable. I attribute that also to the plate, though.

I think the board has helped me step up my riding a notch. I just put in an order for an RS164 in Hard stiffness.

Edited April 26, 2021 by daveo

[Antongiulio]

Hello to all the Hard Rider

I find this topic very interesting and I would have a simply but important question for Daveo and all the riders who knows OXESS SXR board.

I have the chance to buy a SXR 166, it's a second hand snowboard of 2018 but it's almost new in spite of the year of production. I tought It could be a perfect board for an upgrade, also cause I'm not looking for competitions or race boards, but some people say that a MEDIUM stiffness it's not good for me, cause it's too "soft". I'm 185 cm tall and almost 90 kg of weight.

I'm a medium level rider, I go snowboarding unfortunately just around 8\10 times for season, I come from and old "VIRUS Lightining 163 Evolution" and I need to change for a larger and more modern kind of board.

Please telle me your sincere opinions

Antongiulio