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Skwal Riders General Discussion


mikel45

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Hey Art,

Fin is holding a Skwal that I bought online for me. Drop by and see if the bindings will work for you. I don't know what they are as I've never seen the board. I prefer Cateks so I won't need them. I'll be out end of Feb. possibly sooner. If they will work for you... you owe me lunch and a beer ?

Don

Feed the addiction...

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Hi Ace,

I picked up the 180 Lacroix that was on craigslist in Silverthorne. Mikel45 posted the link last November. I just had the guy drop it off with Fin. (Fin's the Man!) I'm coming out for our "MonoPalooza" in the end of Feb. and will collect it then.

Don

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I've got a green topsheet Volkl MonoCarver For sale... $300 (circa 2001)[ATTACH]32615[/ATTACH]

It does include the stock bindings which have never been used.

Don

ooh I like that one. what are the specs? and will it work for a 130lb rider? And how much has it been used?

Edited by NSSage
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Hmmm . . . NSSage, stay tuned later this month, maybe Ace can help you out
:lurk:

Okay... I saw his Donek for sale but I think it would have been too stiff for me. :( Could you PM me what kind he might be selling

Edited by NSSage
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Okay... I saw his Donek for sale but I think it would have been too stiff for me. :( Could you PM me what kind he might be selling

Convoluted cryptic message, my bad . . . I for one have been looking forward to Ace announcing the start of his production line of snowboard / ski / skwal boards. Congrats Chris, been following your workshop progress - looks awesome.

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ooh I like that one. what are the specs? and will it work for a 130lb rider? And how much has it been used?

The MonoCarver was imported in very limited numbers to the U.S. This one is a 2002 model that I bought in late 2008, (it was brand new). I guess I did ride the original bindings for a few times before I put Cateks on it. The Volkl had it's own hole pattern but if you turn a 4X4 45 degrees it works fine. It's a 175 CM... 14.5 M radius... 12 CM waist. It's a metal top board. It's been base ground 1 time and could prolly use another, (there's the usual binding "suck" so use a reputable tuner). I prolly put 40 days on it. Holds real well on hard pack as Volkl's do in general. 130 # might be a little light for a rec rider, but would be fine for the more aggressive one. It's a little too soft for me @220#. It didn't take me long to ride hard on it. Overall the base is a 8/10 and the topsheet 9/10, The base has 1 light groove to fill which might come out with a good tune. I run 1* off the base and 3* off the side = 88* edge. post-1451-141842380378_thumb.jpg

Don

post-1451-141842380371_thumb.jpg

post-1451-141842380375_thumb.jpg

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One more...[ATTACH]32623[/ATTACH]

Wow! I am very interested in this one it looks fantastic! I am a really aggressive rider (I am mostly a racer so I ride my boards pretty hard) so I am thinking this will work well! Let me count up the money I have been saving (I'm 16) and I will get back to you on this soon. Thank You!

Edited by NSSage
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Your best option might be hooking up with Chad of Coda for a demo of one of his before you buy.

http://www.codaboards.com/monoski_models.php

Don

Hi,

Don made a good suggestion; Coda makes an awesome Skwall. I have been testing one of his creations for some time now and love it. The one I am riding is relatively soft. This is also mainly because of Coda's V-tail design. It gives it a very nice, predictable flex. Tight side cut radius of 10M, when pushed definitely tighter than 8M. Fantastic grip on ice (actually all his boards), you can carve it in any condition and at fairly low speeds. Its gets a little nervous at high speeds when not carved, but that is simply because of the side cut. This board allows my family and friends to keep up while I lay down some nice turns with a big smile on my face and get my carve on. I ride GS boards in general, which are just simply crazy fast and have a big radius.

If you like a stiffer board, Chad (from Coda) can build you something custom as well, incorporating metal or other more exotic materials. You should check out his website and give him a buzz or shoot him an email. He does custom graphics too. These boards are great to carve and they are definitely lookers too. You wouldn't believe the attention and questions we get when riding Coda's down the hill.

As for testing one of his boards, he normally brings his collection to local Southern California mountains (Mammoth Mountain). Just ask what he could potentially do for you.

Cheers,

Rolf

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Rolf, any thoughts on the off-the-shelf 13.8 cm waist with CODA skwal. Just wondering if narrower waist might be more appropriate for east coast packed snow?

Hi Mike,

interesting thought. You could create a narrower waist for sure, but I think that from a flex and dampening pattern standpoint a solid (non-Vtail) design might be better. I assume East Coast snow is similar to snow in the Austrian Alps (I am an old skool Euro carver). Just higher humidity and tends to be more dense which usually results in "chattering" at higher speeds. How narrow would you expect? And how narrow would your binding system allow you to go? BTW Bomber step-ins are the way to go on Skwalls.

Because of Coda's Skwall width you can actually choose a more ergonomically relaxed stance, e.g. <90 degrees. especially those who would like to switch from GS boards to Skwall this is somewhat of a plus. I got cramps after just 2 runs at full 90 degrees. Today its no problem.

Its hard to incorporate so many variables into one board. Its nice to just have a plethora of boards, but as most of us know, each day is different and once you are on the lift you always realize that you should have brought that other board because.....

Cheers,

Rolf

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  • 2 weeks later...

Rolf, thanks for your thoughts, much appreciated. I asked because another reviewer of CODA skwal expressed the opinion that a narrower waist width would be preferred. Suspect a chat with Chad at CODA would be best to serve one's particular carving style. Thanks again. CHEERS! Mike

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  • 3 weeks later...

I just had my first day on a skwal, and it worked out pretty well. The board is a (very) soft flex 179x12 with a 12-14 VSR. The center stance seems to be 16" on 4x4 inserts. I am mounted in the center holes with the bindings pushed apart in their adjustments, creating a 16.25" stance that is generally comfortable. I'm 5' 7" with no more than a 28" inseam and ride a 19" stance on my alpine snowboards. The bindings have a little toe/heel lift, maybe 3 degrees. My angles this morning were something like 1/5.

- I do feel a little "bound up" in this stance, and could go longer. But the inserts are 4cm apart, so I'm not sure what to try.

- With regular bail bindings, do most riders step out of their rear foot? The first skwal guy I ever met undid his front binding.

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