Coiler Montucky RaceCarve (Classic, Utility Stick)

[dredman]

Coiler Classic as Bruce originally named it, or as he recently renamed it the "Utility Stick". I think that "Utility Stick" implies more of an all mountain riding board, so I do not think it is appropriate. "Classic" lacks in a high tech WOW! factor and that also sells the board short. So I will blend my homeland of Montana/Idaho with one of Bruce's cult boards of yesteryear the RaceCarve.

The Montucky RaceCarve or MRC.

179cm

13.2 SCR

The MRC is a conventional piece of Coiler Magic. Titanal construction, single radius sidecut, damp with the right amount of snap, not dead feeling at all. Beautifully constructed and very well thought out. The MRC is a very predictable, forgiving and fast riding carving board that turns medium - medium/large sized turns. It is just slightly slower out/thru a turn than the NSR. This makes it a slightly less demanding board to ride,thus allowing for the board to be more easily ridden all day long. Edging is predictable and solid throughout a turn. Edging on snow that you are trenching less than .5 inch is very good, however the VSR or NSR feel like they perform better in harder conditions. BUT!! I feel that the MRC completely outperforms the VSR in conditions where you are trenching 3+ inches into the groomers or in conditions when the groomers are more bumped up mid-day. The MRC also out performs the NSR in these conditions. The NRS can be ridden with dignity in lumpy bumpy conditions but it is exhausting. But for fast, firm, medium to large radius turns the NSR rocks.

Just because the MRC does not have 2 or 3 sidecuts like the NSR's or VSR's does not mean you can not vary the size of your turns. Loading the nose still shortens the radius of the turn, staying centered get the full turn, and weight the tail slightly to lengthen your turn, or even over-load the tail to really tighten up a turn... Don't get me wrong, I really love the multiple sidecuts of the NSR and VSR but I do not want you to forget the MRC and its simplicity.

When conditions are perfect, firm hard groomers, long to medium visibility with good-great snow definition I prefer to ride my NSR 182. I ride primarily at Grand Targhee, aka Grand Foghee, aka 600 inches of snow a year, aka 8,000 feet to 10,000 feet elevation. The grooming is very good but you can only compact 6-12 inches of snow overnight so much. Thus this allows for deep ruts when carving and very bumpy lumps from other riders mid-day, and those conditions are where MRC really shows it's true strengths. The dampness of the nose, with just the right amount of flex minimizes the effects of the lumps, bumps and soft groomed.

I would not call the MRC a All-Mountain Board, because most of the AMB's that I have ridden, do not do anything all that well. There are simply too many compromises. Bring the right tool for the conditions. However, If I could only keep one board in my quiver, I would certainly pick the MRC.

I have not spent enough time on a Monster to evaluate it well, but talking with Bruce and Johnasmo it is also a very fine board for soft groom and lumpy bumpies, it sounds like the MRC is a slightly stiffer board from between the bindings through the tail, thus making it a faster board from mid-to-exiting turn. Nor have I spent much time on a Schtubby so I have also excludes it from my comparisons.

In summary,

The MRC is an excellent example of a near race performance, freecarve board. Stable at speeds, predictable, holds an edge in a wide variety of conditions, but really shines in soft groom and lumpy bumpy mid-day groom. The ride is sweet and forgiving and will let you easily ride all day.

Bruce feel free to chime in if you have any comments. I that this is the most under valued and rated board in your fine line-up.

This may be just the board that you are looking for?

I hope I made some sense for you all. Please feel free to ask questions or comment.

Coiler MRC (solid orange)

2010 Fleet

176 Prior Pow-Stick 23.5 waist - Black

180 Coiler RaceCarve 12scr - Red (yes the topsheet says PureRace, but it is a RaceCarve)

179 Coiler MRC 13.2scr - Orange

182 Coiler NSR 14/17??scr - Orange Snakeskin

201 Donek Das Amputator 17.25scr - Silver

[Snowman]

How about a pic and run down of the classics the are hidden behind your fleet or race boards. Looks like you have some excellent pieces of snowboard history form the early days.

Think Snow!

[dredman]

Those are actually some new 2011 top secret designs. You may be able to glimpse a view of the new TD-4 Cobra bindings on the very top board. They are super flexy, give a very positive feel of the board and are very comfortable (even Sorels work great with them).

[Hotbeans]

I've got to assume that Bruce built this for you? If that is the case, it's my feeling that (great board construction nonwithstanding) Bruce really understands how to build a board to each rider's individual tastes. It's been my experience, that if you know what you want out of a board, Bruce will get it to you as specified.

..and yes, I'm in line for another...

[dredman]

Yes Bruce built this one for me. My other buddy BigDogDave also has one just like it.

Even demoing Bruce's boards that were not built for me at SES, I found that each one has its own niche and variances. The problem is..... I liked everyone of them, even the silly little Anngry.

Yesterday I rode my NSR all day and today in very similar conditions the MRC. I have to say I love both boards equally. The MRC is simply a fun ride!

[Dave ESPI]

U like it cauze it matches yer helmet and blends in nicely with yer onepiece :p

hahah J/K.

I did not see a NSR @ ses for demo was there one ? I will look at ECES when I pop up this week.

[Corey]

I did not see a NSR @ ses for demo was there one ? I will look at ECES when I pop up this week.

Sure was! I think I was on it when we were riding together at Snowmass. It was the bright orange snakeskin one. Or maybe green.

[Mike T]

Sure was! I think I was on it when we were riding together at Snowmass. It was the bright orange snakeskin one. Or maybe green.

The green snakeskin was a Monster, the orange was an NSR. Both were 182s, both were there W-F only.

[Dave ESPI]

snaps!

Damn, chances are everytime I wanted to ride something, it was already out under some lucky dawgs feet. Atleast I know what to look for @ Stratton. Thanks :)

[Corey]

If you want to have a mind-f***, take the Angry for a couple runs and then switch to the 182 NSR. Or vice-versa. I did the former.

[dredman]

At SES I rode the Anngry then Coda, then Donek GS 14/24 back to back... wowzers... Demoing boards is very tough... 2-3 runs to figure it all out... The Anngry and the Donek had very distinct personalities and intuitive characteristics while the Coda was a duck of its own.

When I am demoing boards I leave my stance width and angles the same so that all I am really feeling is the characteristics of the board. Some of the wider boards will feel slower edge to edge but once you really start driving your edge transitions with power from your knees that seems to go away. Then you can really feel just the character of the board. But the exhausting part is making a run and turning 50 times then making the same run on a different board and turning 150 times....phew! Big boards with big sidecut are physically way easier to ride, just less turns and you get to the bottom a lot quicker!

I do like the board because it matches my helmet of course and I wish that I could say that I planned it that way, but I ordered red, Bruce thought it was red, turns out it was very orange and matched my helmet perfectly. I did get my 182 NSR in orange snakeskin to match my helmet.

The suit however was borrowed from my son, and he has not let me back at it since, so I guess I will have to look for a snappy replacement.

I spent the weekend on fairly firm conditions at Grand Targhee and rode the NSR 182 and the 179 MRC. So on an update, I do enjoy both boards very much. The NSR is smooth and super fast thru a turn, and the MRC is simply an outstanding fun ride. The NSR is more demanding and less playful while the MRC is like a puppy and loves to play, big turn, little squirty turn, pop in to the next turn, relax - stand up and roll carves from one to the next. It really does not care if you are tired or have tons of energy, it just want to be ridden.

Cheers, dredman

[SEJ]

You've got me sold Dave. Looks like I'll be adding one to the quivver. How would you compare it to the RC?

[dredman]

Hmm, Pretty simple comparison... The MRC is a metal version of the RC. So it makes you look like a better rider than you really are.

The MRC has a larger array of conditions that it performs well when compared to the glass RC. The ride is very similar but with the added benefit of metal. Damp, holds exceptionally well on firm/icy snow. Feels like it takes less energy to ride, so it is easier to ride all day. It also feels like the MRC can vary the turn shape/size more than on the Glass RC.

So just metal magic in a RC design! Magic really.

[SEJ]

Sounds like exactly what I want. Thanks for all the input Dave. Now I've gotta pick a top sheet.

[johnasmo]

In the last two weekends, Dave has championed the MRC, which I still call the "classic", to snowboard golds in Whitefish Mountain Resort's pond skimming, and Grand Targhee's Ladies Waist Rubber Legs Giant Slalom.

The Ladies Waist Rubber Legs GS is not a typical GS. It's an ungroomed coarse from the summit down through Targhee's Ladies Waist halfpipe-like gorge. Where other alpine boards fear to tread, the MRC takes gold.

Podium proven. Is there anything this board can't do? Or rather, is there anything Dave can't do on this board?

[BlueB]

Roy's Classic 179 is quite a board! Grippy and poppy (surprise, surprise), fast. Nose is substantially stiffer then on similar Priors, Kesslers or Vampire, so it bounces a bit when it hits crappy icy stuff under the soft layer. I can totally see it as a great chop-buster, though. I enjoyed it the best on medium pitches, playing with the rebound and opening up. Also it can turn way tighter then 13 (or is it 14?) radius would suggest. Radial cut was fun to ride, after riding the new school SCs for a while. That extra grip on the tail is just so inspiring... Indespite the stiffness the board can carve at lower speeds too. It has just right amount of nose decamber (for my taste). I do not think it would make too good EC board, but didn't push it much to that direction. Great candidate for a plate (didn't try yet).