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Slalom Boards


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I have never ridden a board longer than 167cm. I have been riding for over 13 years on hardboots. For most of them I was on a 160cm board. Then tow or three years ago the new board became a 6.7. I am 6ft tall, and weigh anywhere between 175-180 pds. I have no problems riding as hard as I need to with this length of board and love every minute of it. Large boards seem like a waste to me.

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One of my favorite all around boards (although, I would like to try a Coiler or F2 166 for comparison).

I have the RT SL 163 with the Tiger head and the glowing red eye on the tail. I ride it pretty much everywhere and this will be the second season on it. It is just awesome for thight, laid down turns. Before that I rode a Burton FP 164 for about four season.

- Thomas

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Hot Blast 160SL here. The way it turns you would have to be _very_ quick to get any eurocarving in on it, but other than that it is, indeed, a blast. For most riding, especially if there's a good few people about, I prefer it to a GS board.

Simon

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two of my daily riders are SL boards. I have a FP157 and a Speed 160. I ride these since I ride a smaller mountain. The Speed cant take petty much anything thrown at it but the FP is a perfect groomer board only..I love them both since I can turn on a dime to get out of anybody's way

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I'm sure that they're fun Jack. I guess the main reason I never looked into giving a longer board a go is the fact that most of the time I am riding a hill and not a mountain.

I also find that I can change the types of turns from tight slalom to as large of a radius I want with a board in the 160 to 170 range. The board is nice and light and you can pull it through a turn and really drive it. I would think with a longer board you would be more contained to making a larger arcing turn, and on some of those monsters out there, 180's and up, I would think the board is driving you more than vise/versa.

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Do any of you guys use full on Slalom Boards as your daily driver. I really like intense boards just wondering if any one has managed to hold down a long term relationship with one.

get a madd 158 and don't look back, many many people love those things and prefer them as their everyday board

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I have a Burton FP 164 that I just picked up last year and I love riding that, but my daily rider is a full-blown Coiler GS board; a 184 PRII. I absolutley LOVE the PRII as a daily rider. I, like you, like really intense boards and a full blown GS board is about as intense as it gets. I'm looking forward to riding the FP alot this year though, I only got to ride it 3 days last season, but boy was it a blast! You can pick them up for cheap over at www.klugriding.com.

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While slalom boards may be one person's perfect board, I find them to be devil-spawn straight from hell. Anything less than 175 is too short, and you can't have a board too long. I'm 5'6", about 160lbs, and I take my 181 WCR into tight trees; people think I'm crazy. Which, I very well may be, but I digress.

While you might be able to make large radius turns with a slalom board, they don't really feel all that fun. You're going outside the sidecut, and not enaging the board nearly as much as you would on a longer board. I can make my long boards turn almost as tight as a slalom board.

Exception to the rule: I love the 158 Madd. It just isn't exactly the best board for Colorado snow. So, if for some insane reason I decide to move back east, it's either that or the Madd 170 I'll be getting.

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I LOVE SL decks. Keep the turns short, control the speed - everything's peachy. When I feel it getting twitchy, I have to remind myself to shorten the turns, get the speed under control and say "oh yeah, NOT a GS stick". For me it is an adjustment going to SL from 180 something - but fun and good to do! I've even had some great pow days on an SL deck!

I do believe the saying "it is easier to make a long(er) board carve small than to make a smaller board ride big" ...something like that :rolleyes: Although I hear the Madd 158 is a bit of an exception. The Madd 170 held amazingly well at speed considering it's size but could readily make SL type turns. Just talking about it makes me look forward to spending some time on an SL this season...good thread!

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When I lived back east I still prefered GS boards. My first alpine board was a 178 Oxygen Proton. I think it's even more important for east coast riding to have longer boards, as the effective edge length is of great help when riding the bulletproof.

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When I lived back east I still prefered GS boards. My first alpine board was a 178 Oxygen Proton. I think it's even more important for east coast riding to have longer boards, as the effective edge length is of great help when riding the bulletproof.

I live back east, and I prefer a GS board.

I still think that the type of trails and their length accompanied by how crowded they are has a lot to do with what board you will like. I know there are people here that tell you that a GS board can be used anywhere, but I highly doubt that they have experienced the crowds that some of us are used to. I have had to stop on my FS board already because there was no way to get through a crowd. On a day like that, riding a GS board would be retarded. Well, I guess you could skid around on one.

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Defining yourself as a short board rider or a long board rider is kind of silly. Everyone "needs" a bare minimum of 2 boards, preferably 3 - an SL (~160), a mid GS (~170FC) and a long GS (180+) or SG. Or if you can't afford/justify 2-3 boards, you should cycle through owning each and learn how to ride them all well.

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Defining yourself as a short board rider or a long board rider is kind of silly. Everyone "needs" a bare minimum of 2 boards, preferably 3 - an SL (~160), a mid GS (~170FC) and a long GS (180+) or SG. Or if you can't afford/justify 2-3 boards, you should cycle through owning each and learn how to ride them all well.

Your nuts. :biggthump

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Defining yourself as a short board rider or a long board rider is kind of silly. Everyone "needs" a bare minimum of 2 boards, preferably 3 - an SL (~160), a mid GS (~170FC) and a long GS (180+) or SG. Or if you can't afford/justify 2-3 boards, you should cycle through owning each and learn how to ride them all well.

plus a powder board, rock board for early/late season riding, and a slushbuster that can carve in sloppy PNW conditions (2 inches of wet fresh on top of groomed at 32 degrees).

See, six is the bare minimum!

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plus a powder board, rock board for early/late season riding, and a slushbuster that can carve in sloppy PNW conditions (2 inches of wet fresh on top of groomed at 32 degrees).

See, six is the bare minimum!

Don't forget about an asymetrical board for those days when you aren't feeling very symetrical. So I guess seven is the lucky number.

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