I rode a number of Nirvana's last year with Bruce, and ordered a 182 that I'm hoping to see soon. I fell in love with it because it rode so effortlessly. Whereas the VSR and moreso the NSR are fast, they need to be ridden fast to get the best out of them - you don't have to ride the Nirvana fast, but it still loves speed. The NSR/VSR, true to their design initiate and finish turns early while the Nirvana will just keep turning up the hill until you run out of speed. I found myself finishing turns more perpendicular to the fall line with the Nirvana and (and this could be all in my mind) the extra second, or fraction of, allow you a bit more margin of error and a bit more time to really feel the turn out - combine that with the damp board that eats up anything thrown at it and it just feels 'easier' to ride. So, as I get older, slower, and lazier it seemed like the logical choice. It was a really tough decision between it and the NSR - but they are two completly different boards. Where the Nirvana is the 'easy' board for big railed carves, the NSR is the F1 car that makes you ride at 110%, mach 10 all the way. Both though, inspire confidence.