Apex Insider

I think it's Kesslers KST shape that makes them ride so well. Traditional camber in the middle with slight rise in the tail and nose. A lot of companies have adopted that shape now but Kessler matches it up really well with the sidecut so you have a board that can do 12m turns and then you put it on edge, pressure it and it does a nice tight 8m turn. Plus you can run it flat and not worry about the tail catching. So ya, the board gives you a lot of confidence. The Ride and Palmer had similar shapes and Palmer's version of KST was called FLF (Feels like Flying). I think the Palmer Platinum was priced at $1,800.

There are many recreational Kessler riders. Kessler makes a freeride soft boot board called the Ride. And we offer skis. But the Cross (SBX) and Alpine are primarily designed for racing. That doesn't mean you can't use a race board to Freecarve. Plenty of people do.

Sent.

Sent you an email D.

Nice score. That's an $1,800 board before shipping and taxes. And Michael takes care of his equipment.

The 168 is Kessler's all-around board with a weight range of 65-95kg. It's the only alpine board in Kessler's lineup that isn't designed for racing from the ground up. Fairly mellow 8-12m sidecut. I ride it and the 162SL as my go-to boards on Eastern slopes. I like to make tight turns so I leave the big GS boards in the shop. Not enough room for those where I ride. The 168 has ASIP and 4x4 inserts so you can add a plate if you like. Henry at Apex

Blueb will disagree but I found the 4807 too wide for riding on hard snow. It was difficult to transition edge to edge. What you want is a Dupraz D1. The closest thing to a one board quiver I've ever ridden. Too bad they are rare as hen's teeth on this side of the pond.

I had no real problem with the pronunciation of Vic's name. I just thought it was amusing. I'm pretty sure the announcer didn't know the back story. Overall, I thought he did a decent job given that he probably doesn't work a lot of snowboarding events. The only significant criticism is that he should have known that Caroline Calve was the defending champ. Happy to have the sport on TV even if it's Eurosport 2.

I was most irritated by the fact that he kept calling Caroline Calve's wins "upsets". Right from the beginning. Dude! Do you know who won that race last year?

Shame. I was at the Sudelfeld race last year and the entire town come out for it and the pre-race party. In the Sportsbar, I couldn't buy my own drinks after the locals found out I came from Canada. Feel bad for the residents of Sudelfeld.

That was exciting to watch. I was hollering for Vic Wild. He was riding so well. Took out both Schoch Brothers. Only a small mistake in the semi kept him out of the finals. I liked how the British announcer pronounced his name - "Vic Vild". Calve's recovery was unreal. And how about Prommegger in the semis clawing back against Benji Karl. Wow.

I really hope USSA is made aware of Russian-American Vic Wild's progress this season. Amazing what a difference a little funding and coaching makes. Second place in last weekend's Europa Cup a in stacked field. http://www.fis-ski.com/uk/604/610.html?sector=SB&raceid=10663

We filed a United States Provisional Patent Application. I apologise for calling it a "provisional patent". We mention it only because Sean talks about it in his post. Lowrider, we agree - the 12.9mm is crazy, but I'll bet you can guess it came from conversion and reconversion from metric to US (imperial) measures. North American machinists still talk "thou" and " tenths". In any event send us an email or Facebook us if anyone wants to chat about our plates, snowboarding in general, Euro Cup or even golf for that matter. Probably not the best idea for us to post on here.

The Apex Insert Pattern was developed by us with the thought towards backward compatibility with Hangl-ready snowboards. Vist is 2 holes right in the centre of the board. You can call it UPM if you like. We don't mind <G>.

It's not our style to criticise competitive products or get into feature-for-feature comparisons. Instead, we let our results do the talking: Since we designed and released the first composite snowboard plate for the 2010 season: 29 World Cup podiums, including 11 Gold 1 Olympic Gold 1 World Cup Crystal Globe The only other commercially available, slider-style plate with more than 1 podium is SG's product. If you're interested in what we decided to do about our patent back in 2009, it's in our blog: http://www.apexsnowboard.com/blog.html

Just wanted to mention that the Canadian Speed Nationals start this week at Nakiska. SBX is today through April 4. Parallel events start April 5. Hope to see you there. Full schedule and event details: http://www.canadasnowboard.ca/tour/files/2012%20Canada%20Snowboard%20Nationals%20Event%20Guide(2).pdf

Thanks for the mention guys. We've actually been selling Kessler all this season but with limited models and quantities. This fall, we'll be bringing in the full Kessler lineup and a large inventory of boards and skis.

If you're on our mailing list, you're going to get your answer real soon.

Kessler did make their name on piste. That being said, they have a full range of skis now. A 98mm all-mountain and even a ski tourer.

100% in agreement Phil. The 162 does everything for me. It's even good in resort powder and soft snow. Low swing weight and less board to get bogged down in the soft snow. I know the local guys who demoed my 162 were surprised by its stability and speed.

It won't happen. Kessler does not discount and the Ride deal was the result of a miscommunication. Anyone who got the deal caught lightning in a bottle. Enjoy the Ride. Best freeride board I've ever been on.

For the record, the dealer list on Kessler's website is correct. I'm sure Catek will delete their website references to Kessler when they find the time.

On small Eastern slopes with hard snow, the 162 SL is my go-to board. I ride the 180 when there is a lot of room but I am getting old and lazy and prefer not to push too hard. The 162 has the right radius for me and eats ice for breakfast. Gabe's video and review is here: http://www.apexsnowboard.com/gabe_tung_review.html

If you're only taking one board the Dupraz would be ideal. If it gets cold and you get corduroy, you're going to wish you brought the big gun. I'm heading to Big White on Monday and I'm bringing the Dupraz and a Kessler 162. That's my travel kit from now on.

Never been to Lech but I spent 5 days in Tux, AT in early February. They got piles of snow this winter so your conditions are going to be awesome. Where we were, grooming was impeccable and the slopes were wider than the 401. The vibe of Austrian ski towns just can't be beat. They make apres ski an art form. From 4-6 every day, people just party in a very positive, friendly way. Singing, dancing, drinking great beer. And it's all ages. No ridiculous 21 drinking age. Have fun. I'm jealous.