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USD$120.00. I'll pm you some photos this weekend.

I have a pair if you don't do the deal with Atom.

I never ground it. Caro probably ground it once or twice.

Price reduced. More photos added.

I have this same helmet and love it. I too upgraded to MIPS due to a history of concussions.

This is formerly Caroline Calve's board made for her by Kessler just before she retired in 2015. Mark Fawcett and I rode it to test plates in 2016. Since then, it's been sitting in a closet. Tried to flog this on some racing groups but it's all about All-flex there. Inserts for ASIP/UPM and 4x4 19.5cm waist Mint shape with World Cup tune and structure Caro weighed 74 kg (163 lb) when competing but she's a World Cup athlete so judge accordingly. I personally found this very easy to ride (and I ride like a 10 year old girl). I also witnessed Fawcett charging hard on it. Bottom line is it's a very versatile board without the intimidation factor of a 185. BOARD IS SOLD

Since I don't own Apex Sport anymore, I don't feel I can divulge their sales numbers but your guess is not far off. I can tell you this -nobody is getting rich off hard booters. Not Kessler, not Sigi, not Rok or Aco. Developing a new plate is fraught with risk. The investments are big and your chances of success are minimal. It can be the best plate in the world but unless someone at the World Cup level succeeds on your ride, you will struggle. Only a fool would get into the hard booting business. I'm only half joking.

The vast majority of patients are improvements on an existing invention. Fintan Doyle did not invent the snowboard binding with toe and heel bails. But he invented a novel improvement and was granted a patent.

Your experience tells me that the distributors are not properly vetted. Huge mistake. I had nothing but positive experiences with JJD as our Korean distributor. He now resells All-flex. I would highly recommend contacting JS Lee at: www.jjdstore.kr. Absolute prince of a guy and the straightest shooter you would ever want to meet.

Without patent protection, what would be the incentive to invent and innovate? Do you think James Watt, Thomas Edison and Nikolai Tesla toiled in their workshops for the benefit of humanity? The Industrial Age happened because of the patent system in Britain. The protection of one's intellectual property is a fundamental building block of our modern economy. Without it, the smartphone and the automobile you use every day would not exist. Without it, we would not be enjoying healthy lives into our 80s and 90s. Aco Sitar (All-flex), Hansjuerg Kessler, Fin Doyle - all filed patents for their inventions. Do you think they would have created their products if they didn't think their investments would be protected?

If I could set the historical record straight: A provisional patent was filed for the original Apex plate. Gerry Kavanaugh, Matthew Clarke (the original Apex Composites designers) and Jasey Jay Anderson were named as co-inventors. The plate was considerably different than Benny Karl's design which I have had the opportunity to examine. Whether it would have passed the "novel" test is unknown because I made the decision not to pursue a utility patent when I took over the company in 2010. I know this - Karl's design was simply unrideable by anyone but Benny himself. Many tried, many failed. I chose not to pursue the patent because of the costs which cannot be recouped in our business. There simply is not enough payback so spending $40 or 50k on a patent application makes no business sense. Furthermore, since our niche sport is spread world-wide, the cost would have easily doubled if European and Asian patents were filed. And quite frankly, the chances of me defending my patent in China or Russia were zero. After seeing the first few knock-offs of the Apex plate, I was confident that our technical edge would hold because I felt the copies got it wrong. First, adapting the plate to 4x4 pattern was a non-starter. With the axle behind the ball of the foot, any forward pressure caused the plate to roll forward and bow in the middle. Not a great idea. This was resolved by making the plates very thick and stiff. The effect of a too-stiff plate was that it made the board difficult to control, exactly like Benny Karl's steel monster. As someone who has been in All-flex's boots, I feel terrible for them. They came up with an innovative design only to be blatantly ripped off. By their own rider no less. There is zero innovation in the copycat plate. It is eroding into All-flex market share because Aco was choosy about his resellers and restricted supply. Many people wanted to sell All-flex but could not and the copycat presented a work-around. In my opinion, anyone who sells, distributes or buys the knock-off is party to the theft of intellectual property.

Thanks for pointing out the previous thread. It's interesting that DPS has already come out with a version 2 of this process. I talked to the local shop and they started this last year and had some great feedback from customers. I suspect it's not for racers because there is only one formulation which is going to be a compromise in some conditions. But for us rec riders, this would be a real convenience. I find it hard to believe that this would be a marketing gimmick since DPS has a solid reputation. I'm going to try it and report back.

Curious if anyone has tried this: https://www.dpsskis.com/phantom-glide A shop in my area is going to provide the service. Basically, you apply a proprietary compound to your base and then cure (looks like under UV light) to create "a permanent, one-time application, waxless base treatment that forever eliminates the need for waxing skis and snowboards."

Bump for snow and open resorts in CO.

No idea Dave. It's a GS board for an elite female World Cup rider. Check out any WC course and it will give you an idea of ideal turn radius. Over the years, it was my favourite Kessler which is why I held onto it. I could ride it with confidence whereas the men's GS boards told me where it wanted to go.

Selling a custom Kessler 180 that I acquired from Caroline Calve after her retirement. It's in primo shape with a World Cup tune with nice structure. Edges are razor sharp. - $700 BONUS UPDATE: Buy the board and I'll include all of the items below as long as they fit in the box. Everything below is $25. Shipping at your expense from Toronto. Photos at end of message. Prices in CAD$. - Grit butt/hip pad in size small. Excellent condition - Austrian team shell from 2008. Fair condition. No holes and the zipper works fine but there are some stains on the back (see photo). Might come out with a scrub. "Kristallklar" is peeling a bit. The Austria logo is intact. - Reusch gloves with built-in wrist guard and Kevlar fingertips. Size large. Excellent condition. - Zimtstern shell size large. Excellent condition.

This is fantastic. For those without a 3D printer, you can often borrow time on one at your public library. In Toronto, you have to be certified through a 1 hour class and then you just pay for materials. Failing that, most cities have maker spaces that are run like co-operatives.

When I was running Apex Sport, I avoided this forum. Now that I've left the company, I'm back here so I can bash manufacturers without reservation. I have my shots already loaded: "Why so expensive? There must be $10 worth of materials in there." "I can tell you that thing won't work. No I've never ridden it. Why does that matter?" "Judging by the photos, I can see that it deminophies the torpinonal flangency by 12.4%" "You big corporations should stay out of our sport. (actual comment)" "How dare you try to make a profit!" "Euro-trash!" "Canuck-trash!"

There are a lot of manufacturers who avoid this forum at all costs. For the small amount of potential sales, it's not worth the aggravation. The market for companies like Kessler, Mountain Slope, SG, etc. are mostly racers who don't participate in this forum unless they're looking to unload equipment. I'm guessing that Jennifer and Hansruedi (Mountain Slope owners) are re-evaluating their participation here.

I found that if I made my bails two-hand tight, it actually deformed the sole of my boot. I can feel it bulging up in the middle of my foot. @philw, the racers I talked to do not want a completely rigid boot/binding interface. They like the flex characteristics of the standard F2. That's why even the CNC F2 bindings haven't caught on and that's why nobody runs Intecs. I know Jasey ran Intec equipped Cateks for a while in the mid-2000s, but other than that, I don't know of any others. BTW, I missed all the drama. What the hell happened?

Is our maintenance and inspection regimen absolutely unimpeachable? Do we have an independent body ensuring that we meet standards or do we self-police? That's what I'd be asking.

We have the Technical Safety and Standards Act (TSSA) that governs safety standards in Ontario. It's primarily meant for operators not the public. They're the guys who do the safety inspections that lowrider alluded to. Once in a while, they issue a media release that nobody reads with safety tips like "wear your mittens". In Ontario, I don't know of any laws that govern behaviour that is specific to ski lifts.

Yes, I have read the back of my lift ticket. I accept risks that are inherent and integral to the sport. Chair lift failure is not an inherent risk, no matter what it says on the waiver. Case law and the history of settlements in those cases would seem to support my argument. The same would apply to an elevator accident.

I rode a Swingbo once. Then I thought "you know, I really like my collarbones." and gave up on it.

The Kessler Ride is a little stiff to be an optimum slush ride. It's capable but not ideal. The nose will slam into the piles of slush and want to drive through. If you're strong (ie. young), you just brute force it all day. But me, I don't want to work that hard. I need something with a big, soft nose to ride over the piles of slush. My go-to spring slasher is the Korua Shapes Tranny Finder. Ya, I know, stupid name. But it rides great.