bigwavedave

Came across this video last night on NetFlix. Here's the trailer...for the extreme cold surfers...

I didn't read through all these posts, but regarding the Northwave, several years ago I talked to a Canadian Alpine coach who had been hording all the old yellow boots he could get his hands on, and I asked him why. One reason was that the location of the ankle pivot was better positioned. Another was the stiffness of the plastic was consistant in varying temps.

Wow, thanks for posting these! Wasn't it a Catek binding failure that put Mark Fawcett out of contention on his first run at the Nagano Olympics? His run wasn't shown on U.S. tv coverage....But, love the watching JJA ride. He had the fastest first run at Nagano. If you watch this clip, notice that Thedo Remmelink, current US head coach, was in 3rd place, until he was knocked down to 10th. This course looks like something between a superG and a current GS size. No plates, no titanal...

I have to explain, this is not my creation. It is the last photographic evidence of one of the last projects the genious behind Bomber was working on before he totally lost his mind and thought he could move entire solar fields to follow the sun using only the power of the sun Was he ahead of his time? Time will tell. Some theorize it was a cry for help or a protest about the direction of snowboard design. I think the stack height alone is symbolic of both a fear and longing of isolation or maybe just the desire to feel nothing.

FlexSticks on a solid titanal board?...and...stack em up for the ultimate in isolation?

Hey, those boards look familiar! And I just noticed that you're goofy and your wife's not...well I guess we all kinda suspected that. Looks like I'll be moving to Duluth for real now. I have a solid offer on my home/office (closing early May), so I'll be out of work and homeless in one swell foop. Not to worry. My escape plan; a tiny house parked in the marina at the base of Spirit Mt....and I might just get to live one of my sailing dreams and spend the summer living on the sailboat sailing around Lake Superior!...and beyond...

My favorite boards in the past 8 or 9 years have been a Kessler 180, SG163frt, a stock 180 & and a custom 175 Donek Rev and 179 Coiler Revelation. Still have both the Revs (Coiler and Donek, and still love them both). So not a "hard core" Coiler rider. I had so much fun riding my 3 Thirsts all winter that I hardly rode my other boards, and when I did, I couldn't wait to get back on the Thirsts. "Edge bite" is ridiculously solid, it just never seems to let go. I guess by "slow initiation" you mean it seems to get more solid as you tilt the board and put more pressure on it. Turn initiation however is nimble and quick. It took me a good part of the season to learn to trust these boards in all conditions, doing things I may have hesitated to do before. They are different, but in a really good way. Corey is the only person that I recall that didn't love a Thirst from the very first turns. And yes, he is a Coiler guy, but he rides an MK and a REV and.... He rode the same demo Superconductor that I rode. When I offered to buy it from Mark he said he'd rather make a custom board specifically for me as that demo had an experimental flex profile and an unusually soft flex.The boards he eventually made for me were stiffer than that demo and had a more "normal" looking flex profile. In Corey's review last year he also rode Al's personal 185 8rw and liked it better, but I guess not totally smitten like many of us. Truth be told, the conditions were not great at MCC for evaluating the full potential of a carving stick. On the other hand, I think everyone would say it was one of the best powder experiences of their life. Did you ask Mark if he would send you a demo? I have no idea if he's willing to do that, but it wouldn't hurt to ask.

Yeah, after talking to Mark and seeing these recent reviews of the XC , it sounds like it might be a nice fit between the Super and the SF. It sounds like it turns noticeably tighter than the Super, maybe more of a Mini Cooper compared to the sports coupe Superconductor. I guess that would make the SF the go-kart and the 8rw the Cadillac ride with sports car handling. When conditions are great and the hill is not too busy I'll find myself riding the 8rw all day. It's a big board that can turn surprisingly tight yet provides a very satisfying large smooth carve when driven easy. Very smooth. I've probably spent the most time on the Super. It's length provides a smoother ride than the SF. It can open up and make a nice big carve across the hill and yet can crank pretty tight turns on short notice. It's quite nimble. The turn size is pretty close to my 175 Rev which has an 11-12 scr. I've ridden the SF the least, but really glad to have it when I wanted to keep my speed down with small SL size turns on ice or in really flat light or for a giggle when it gets crowded. It feels a lot like my old 163SG fullraceTitan , but I think I like more. When it's icy these boards are fast and I find myself going for either the Super or SF to find a speed I'm comfortable with. I've had so much fun riding all 3 boards all season and getting to know their different personalities, that I've pretty much decided to welcome another sibling into the quiver. I think the XC might be a nice addition. Thinking the same thing! Maybe a little wider ~23 waist with a longer early rise nose, kinda like the new Tanker shape, just not that wide. Actually more like Shred's new Monster. Although I'd like something more like 185cm with same 11-ish scr. The MCC edition Tanker Killer! The board I wished I had at MCC.

Thanks for posting the article @MNSurfer My daughter Mimi is one of the G-Team's pro am alpine coaches. https://www.thegteam.com/coaches

The Sigi "ride with me" video would be great for visual learners. It demonstrates a stable balanced stance with quiet fluid body movement. Shoulders and hands level with snow, body facing same way as feet, subtle up & down body movement to set and release edge. A good thing for beginners to master before trying to drag body parts on the snow.

So...Al, did you decide to keep the XC? Not so redundant after all? I was just talking to Mark and he was raving about how great it was on steep and narrow and how it will turn at a ridiculously low speed. Thinking about a summer build. I think it might make sense . Seems each of these boards has a unique personality apart from the length and sidecut radius.

There was a bit of discussion regarding the topsheet material in the above thread. Kessler has been using it too.

I found that these boards seem somewhat sensitive to binding placement for optimum performance. At first I had similar issue as you, but it was heelside on one board toeside on another that felt a little off. I carefully re-visited the heelside/toeside balance of the bindings (no bias for me) using the "Fuego box wine method" and found that I had just a slight heel or toe bias, so I got them set so they were equal and just inside of the edge. That really helped equal out the feel of my heelside/toeside turns and there's no difference in the width of my heelside and toeside tracks when viewed from the chairlift. Then, like Kneel said, and Mark has recommended, start with the rear set of inserts for your forward binding and where ever your stance width lands you for the rear foot. I didn't do this, but experimented moving forward or rearward from the reference stance. On perfect snow, I find I can ride my 8rw in a relaxed upright position, with just slight bending of the knees, even on steeper runs, and still get my turns all the way around. And I really like using an up and down body movement on these boards; squat low coming into a turn and push as hard as you want (or not) to adjust turn size. Of course with soft spring snow, not as much push. I don't really know what I do to get the board from edge to edge, but I do try to focus on using toe and heel (foot) pressure to set and hold the edge once on it.

Windsurfing was the direct link for me.

...So...it's stiffer, softer the same flex as the reg width? Not meant for a bigger rider with big feet? Just curious, 'cause the reg width 163 is also a good all around the mountain board, like most SL boards are; very versatile turn shape.

I would venture to guess the wide is significantly stiffer than the 20.3cm width, but I don't see a suggested rider wt range posted anywhere, so just a guess. The 20.3 is quite robust and many would consider it stiff. At 185lbs it worked well for me and it really liked to be driven hard.

163 SG Full Race Titan. I loved mine, except that I don't love racecourse sidecuts that require extra input to complete turns. Still, an amazingly fun board! If you like that open ended sidecut, you should consider trying one (provided you're in the rider wt range). I definitely see more SG's on a NorAm race course than any other board. Might be just because they have similar performance for less money than Kessler or Oxess? World cup races seem to have a more even mix of the top boards. Virtually all SGs are standard builds, so you can pick up a used one and know that it will be the same build as any other used one. There seem to be a number of custom K162s on the used market that are built for women (smaller) racers, and they feel like they have a tighter sidecut and softer flex. A telltale sign might be if they have a narrower waist than the stock 20cm....But, you asked about "not Kessler"... For a new custom build, that costs less than a new stock SG, the Thirst SF 162 is easily as good or better than the 162SG I had. The first time I rode a Thirst (a Superconductor) the feel of the carve reminded me of the feel of a Kessler carve (I've owned a few Ks). One difference that I liked was it was easier to complete turns compared to the typical racecourse sidecut. And you won't want to put those Hangles on it, even if it had the inserts. I think one of you stick-in-the-mud Yankee skeptics has to be the first to get on a Thirst. And I say this with all due affection, having grown up in RI, lived in VT and spent time sailing the coast of Maine. I know, you're thinking how can some hillbilly from Montucky come out of nowhere and make boards comparable with the best boards out there? And where is Montucky exactly? It doesn't even sound like a real place... I haven't ridden an Angrry . Only rode an MK and 163 REV once on rough ice. Not the best conditions to form an opinion. But they all might be contenders.

And I'll also add, like @Shred Gruumer, I have no investment, nor am I compensated in any way by Thirst or any other builders, I also just like good boards. I've met Mark and he's a great guy, and humble I might add. I've been fortunate to meet and hang out with both Sean and Bruce at SES and have some favorite boards built by each of them (both called Rev btw).

Ahh, I thought it was a "clothoid" sidecut from tip to tail, like the other Kesslers I've had felt like. If I finished turns on the tail they seemed to open up; wt forward to keep turning. Only rode the 168 for a couple of runs. It felt very similar to my Rev 175 with an 11-12m scr, but since the 168 is 8-12m range I wouldn't expect it would feel any bigger than 12m, even if I finished my turns back on the tail, which I often find myself doing naturally. So the 168 doesn't turn tighter if you keep wt forward and tightens up a bit if you finish your turn back on the tail? Sidecuts are a mystery to me when measuring or eyeing them up, I can't tell until I ride it. I have no idea what's going on with Thirst sidecuts, but they are different than anything I've ridden, and I kinda like it.

Thirst sidecut likes to complete turns, just keep it on edge and/or apply more pressure to turn tighter. Kessler has a race-course derived variable sidecut radius, so adds fore and aft rider weight distribution to the turning equation; get back on the tail=less turning, nose pressure=tighter turn.

Ya kinda look naked without poles. Maybe you should have a paddle for those conditions! Did you make it across?

Nice photo! Comes close to capturing the beauty of the finish. Apparently a photo just isn't capable of capturing the 3d effect. I would love to see someone post a similar photo shoot of the 9sw. I saw @Algunderfoot's in person last time I was at Indianhead and it was literally stunning, not only from its intimidating lean 195cm length.

Not quite as nice as yesterday and a little busier. It was still 50° at 10pm last night and below freezing this morning at 10am opening , so we started out with a crusty, uneven groom on the express side. Things were better over on the Gandy side. Surfy slarving at its finest on GandyDancer. Making trenches that would rival a @big mario trench Rode with Ken from the start. I was done after 1½ hrs when things got bumpy. My chronic knee needs a rest (and ice). Might be my last day of the season unless winter returns... Tracks created by the Superconductor!

Missed following @rwmaron down the hill today, but luckily I found a couple of old videos. Riding that old 180 Tucker Incline? Snow looks soft and spring-like. Pre Grand ave chalet and xpress chair. Youtube says 7 years ago, seems much longer... Man, you used to be such a good carver