F2 163 SL idle thoughts from Utah

[philw]

I just finished my second day on this machine in Brighton Utah. The good news is that it works very well. The details...

My last race board was a "custom" from about 4 years ago. That was when everyone was going narrower and steeper, so it was narrow and steep. The Speedster has a couple of extra centimeters around the waist, but otherwise I think the specs are similar (I must check..). I haven't actually ridden much piste recently: what with cats and helicopters I just haven't had the time.

Anyway, here's what I think of this board. First, it's labeled a SL board, but it's a production board... I don't know what you guys race on, but it probably isn't this and that's not what I got it for. To me it's a fast piste board... it's not a GS board as it works well at slow speed, but it also goes pretty fast. I've not quite warmed up, so maybe I'll find the board's limits in due course, but I wasn't getting overtaken by anyone on the hill and it was not maxed out.

Compared with my previous board, it's wider and it feels it. I mellowed my angles down to 55 parallel to compensate; not sure if I'll stick at that or not. Anyway, you have to put a little more effort into putting the board on edge; once you know it, it's easy, but there it is. Once on edge, in these conditions, it's locked in - I've not had anything slip in two days of hard riding.

You can ride powder sloppily, you can't do that with this board, at least not at my weight (62kgs). You have to be absolutely on it. That is, your weight needs to be pretty much in the right place, which in my setup means both springs in the Indys need to be engaged - if you're not driving then the front edge will misbehave. Ride it right and it's perfect.

The board cuts great trenches. I couldn't get my previous "free carve" board to do 360s, but this one did the whole loop first time, and every time I tried it after that. You don't need any special technique to do this, just ride the thing around in a circle.

This board requires more effort to transition than the free carve board; it's wider so I guess that's why. Once you have a feel for it, it's rapid, you just need to be a bit more active about it. Transitions are fast and clean, to judge from the lines I left under the lift. The skinny free carve board did have a tendency to get "locked in" slightly too much on occasion; that's not an issue with this board.

The board flex feels right - I don't know or care about the technology for that: most boards work well. I need to experiment a bit with various types of turns.

I'd be interested if anyone has any similar or different experiences on this board.

other stuff

It's 80 degrees American in SLC today. At resort levels the conditions are "spring". There's lots of snow, but it's icy early and sloppy later, perfect in the middle. I rode Snowbird and Brighton and both were good: reportedly better than the stuff further north.

Just before this trip I noticed that the cant adjusters on my Indy, which I'd never touched from factory new, were set for people whose knees stick out. I'd not noticed that riding (!), but I fixed it. Check yours are straight, unless your legs are wonky of course.

I saw one other hard-booter in Brighton today; none in SLC yesterday. The chap today was a patroller who was reasonably competent.

I had the full range of comments, all polite and friendly. Everything from "is that a monoski" through to "where in the US can I buy a race board - I can't find them anywhere. For this last I pointed the chap here.

Here almost all the boarders sideslip. I saw maybe two who could ride piste well on their soft gear. Duck stance seems to be on the way out.

Here's a shot from the SLC bus stop this afternoon. It was way hot..

[philw]

Oh, here's the google earth track log for today. Not a huge amount of vert but I'm doing jet lag, so I have an excuse. The Google Earth images for Brighton are excellent.

http://www.zen64917.zen.co.uk/brighton.kmz

[Guest sandarapark]

Just before this trip I noticed that the cant adjusters on my Indy, which I'd never touched from factory new, were set for people whose knees stick out. I'd not noticed that riding (!), but I fixed it. Check yours are straight, unless your legs are wonky of course.

yeah, i've noticed this one on my leemans. but i have never fidled with the factory settings because i havn't felt anything uncomfortable yet... plus i epoxyed them:o because they kept moving up and down...

[chinchillaman]

Ya this SL board is awesome. You have to initiate your turn very hard though. It is my favorite board, better than my Prior metal, because it lasts for more than two days.

[rugger]

....... I had the full range of comments, all polite and friendly. Everything from "is that a monoski" through to "where in the US can I buy a race board - I can't find them anywhere. For this last I pointed the chap here.

Here almost all the boarders sideslip. I saw maybe two who could ride piste well on their soft gear. Duck stance seems to be on the way out.

Hello! Online there is also Hardbooter.com right in UTAH!

Shops; All Boards Sports in Colorado, Starting Gate in Vermont.

Carver's Almanac has more comprehensive list. www.alpinecarving.com

[philfell]

Anyway, here's what I think of this board. First, it's labeled a SL board, but it's a production board... I don't know what you guys race on, but it probably isn't this QUOTE]

Actually that is probably the most widely used production board for SL.

[philw]

Actually that is probably the most widely used production board for SL.

Interesting. I was experimenting more today at Snowbird.. for stuff without lumps it rocks - the nose/ tail flex balance seems perfect. On moguls it requires driving properly: I think that's the stiff tail for you.

I've not raced snowboards, so I don't really know what characteristics you need specifically for slalom. Do you ride that tail out of the turn or something? Just trying to figure out why it's designed this way so I can exploit it to maximum effect.

--

Snowbird just has sideslipper ("Zamboni") snowboarders; I saw a couple who would do well on hard gear, but basically it's skiers or beginner snowboarders here at the moment. The snow is good spring stuff - don't bother catching the first lift, but it's good once it softens up.

hardbooter.com: I didn't realize that was here - I'll check it; thanks.

[abakker]

i have been riding a friends speedster SL 166 recently and have been really enjoying it. the tighter turning radius makes narrower and steeper runs a little less scary than trying to ride them on my coiler PR 184.

it is the first real slalom board i have ridden and i must say that i am hooked. the board performed well, and since it is stiffer, i could ride a little more weight forward than i could on some of my other boards, and still not fold the nose. after a day of riding it I was in love, and after 2 i was convinced that it had to be part of my quiver for next year. now it is just a matter of selling some stuff from this season...

[philw]

Final thoughts on this as I retreat to the powder in BC...

It's a slalom board. It's really fast on general pistes - anything which is groomed is a blast on this. It's pretty easy to get on edge, and when its there it holds reliably - you can push and pull this as hard as you like. Although it's a SL rather than GS board, if you ride it then you're going to be the fastest person on the hill, so watch out for the speed cops.

In steeper mogulled terrain you have to make sure you are absolutely riding the board - you don't want to get back, and you don't want to get defensive. The board responds best to "a good slapping" - you need to slam it into the hill to make the tail work, at least if you're my weight (62kgs). An iPod loaded with a good selection of Motorhead may be of assistance.

So it's kind of what you'd expect.