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Skwal Riders General Discussion


mikel45

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Had my first experience riding a skwal the other day and had some general questions.  Ride was a Coiler Skwal:  #1!

 

Stance width:  Is this a matter of personal preference?   I did see some comments about some preferring a wider stance but also have seen vids of some competent riders where the stance was very narrow.  I only tried it with one setup; It was on the wider side and it seemed quite comfortable.  Just curious why some prefer the narrower setup.   Do boards respond with any noticeable difference based on stance width?

 

Waist width:  At 12 cm, is it too narrow for a TD3 setup?   The snow was a bit on the soft side and when I got it high on edge, I did seem to lose good contact with the snow.  Not sure if the cant disk or binding was causing any friction with the snow.   I believe the disk is 11.5cm in width so given the slight bevel, it was about the same width of the board on top.  Perhaps it’s not so much an issue in firmer conditions. 

 

How would you describe the feel of other skwals in terms energy and pop?  I imagine it’s somewhat like alpine boards where you would have some variation among models with some rides being damper than others?

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Gabe, I think you might have to wait for Bruce to make a stack of different ones to compare. Yours was titial construction my experience is on an all glass board and short as well, Quite stiff compared to a snowboard @ 165 cm.  Have my personal feeling that I might prefer a slightly wider stance on a longer board but haven't got one yet to experiment. Conditions have been very bad all season and ice underlies all groom. Will you get to try another build before Bruce heads to Aspen ?

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Had my first experience riding a skwal the other day and had some general questions.  Ride was a Coiler Skwal:  #1!

 

I'm not an expert by any means, but I've put a lot of time on skwals over the past 2 seasons.  Stance is a personal thing.  I'm not certain, but I believe that narrow stances will flex the board more, simply due to the physics of the concentrated loading.  Narrow stances may have some advantages because of this, and may be less tiring.  Slightly wider stances can be more controllable on uneven terrain due to the leverage from having your feet farther apart.  Overly wide stances might be exhausing because it is like trying to hold a lunge for a long time.  I'm 5'7" and used a 19.25" stance on alpine boards with approx 60 degree angles.  On skwals my stance is something like 15.75".

 

As long as the base of the binding isn't bigger than the waist width at the edges, I don't think there is a problem.  My personal experience from12cm skwals is that I sometimes boot/cuff out when doing extended leg turns.   I believe that the narrower the board, the more stacked you have to be to prevent this from happening.  It does depend on conditions, however.  I just had a custom skwal made by Oxess and I specified a 12.6cm width.  I don't personally understand why people like really narrow skwals.

 

Varieties in flex, dampness and pop are the same as with "normal" alpine boards.  I have had 2 custom skwals made in the last year or so, and they are both nice and lively.  The old Thias Easy Jungle I have from the early '90s is more stiff and "planky".

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Thanks for the reply. 

 

I hope to experiment with different setups but I think a wider stance would end up being my preference.   it seems to offer a more natural balanced stance.   Personally think it looks better as well from a style perspective.

 

I see that some ride with the front foot forward with no angle.   That looked a bit unnatural to me as well.   Bruce did some initial runs with that setup but eventually tweaked the setup to add some angle.  Also moved the bindings slightly wider and further back.  First couple of runs were pretty sketchy but was much smoother after the setup changes!

 

I kept the setup the same when I got on it (except for angling it for a goofy setup).   Felt pretty comfortable within a couple of runs after I got the hang of being able to slide/stop of both heel and toe side; toesides felt pretty similar to an alpine board, but heelsides needed more weight pressure on the back.

 

 

Will you get to try another build before Bruce heads to Aspen ?

 

Won't be trying it again until he gets back.  He's started on the next one so I think he may be testing it while he's over there.   Looking forward to the next ride! 

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 So when do I get to put a Coiler in my lineup?

 

I'm sure Bruce will be happy to take your order.  The ones he's built so far share the same lineage as the Nirvanas. 

 

Back to bindings, I was wondering how the old TD1s would work on a skwal?   Still have an old set kicking around. 

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Back to bindings, I was wondering how the old TD1s would work on a skwal?   Still have an old set kicking around. 

They may work but you most likely will have to modify them most likely. Normally, you won't be able to set them in-line with a skwal. Even considering that you prefer to have some angle on the front foot, the minimal angle might be too big.

 

Here is an example:

XERBf.jpg

 

PwtE3.jpg

 

Looks pretty messy though...

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Minimum angle is about 20 degrees.

 

Oh yeah, guess that will rule those out.

 

Anyone see these before?  I had never heard of them until I saw them at a friend's place.  Predate the bomber td1s.  Looks like they would work but will need to examine them more closely in person.  Took the pic a while ago in anticipation that they could be used for a skwal.  No lift adjustment though.

 

post-399-0-46312600-1423547171_thumb.jpgpost-399-0-81334400-1423547196_thumb.jpg

 

I see that some people that use bails will keep the back one clipped and clip in the front for ease of entry.  Sounds good but I'm thinking getting off the lift might be a bit sketchy especially if you ride a wider stance.

 

Lowrider, what kind of bindings are the ones you referred to?  What are you using?

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Bindings are the  original Thias Skwal bindings. I started riding binding straight 0 degree  which didn't allow enough room to flip the rear bail  so I'm loading and unloading with rear clamped down. Doesn't work well on Tbars . With your athletic ability I wouldn't think it would take long for you to get used to it. I'm gradually increasing the angles and I think next time out i'll be able to switch to front foot. Those toasters will work but you will probably have to visit Bruce's band saw to make some wedges for toe and heel lift. 

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I rode the Skwal USA board yesterday. Whoa. Many/most of your hardbooting skills transfer with a little adjustment.

Terrifying at 2 mph. Fun at 15 mph. Scary at 30 mph. OMG does it ever turn tight! It felt like it was eager to throw you over the bars if you tipped it too high. Sideslipping needs to be relearned. I never really was in complete control of what used to be my heelside sideslipping. Toeside was fine but the board wanted to spin around backwards very hard on heelside. We had a group follow us to watch the carnage, but no bad falls. Johnasmo captured some chase cam footage of Riceball and I learning.

There is a funnel at the bottom of Aspen Highlands that gives most people some pause as it gets pretty scraped-off from the heavy traffic. The Skwal ate it up! The ice/firm grip is outstanding, plus the tight radius lets you carve tight turns to easily keep speed in check. I want to try it with a wider stance as I felt really unstable. I think it would be fun when you only have a narrow/mellow run to play with.

If anything called for step-ins, it's a Skwal! Maybe if you rode the lift mongo it'd be better, or fine tuning your cants.

The Coiler Skwal has a wider stance and looks more refined. Bruce was killing it, as usual. Those that have ridden both say the Coiler was more user-friendly. The Skwal (board alone) is priced at $425 if I recall correctly. No idea on the Coiler one.

Going from the ~10m sidecut Skwal back to the 14/21m NSR was worse than expected... :o It took half a run to feel comfortable again.

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Any idea what the maximum stance distance on the inserts is for the SkwalUSA 171?  They don't list it in the specs.  Bruce's #2 skwal prototype is reported to be 13cm wide, so that would be much easier to get used to.  He is clearly riding a relatively wide stance, judging from the pictures that have been posted.

 

Has anyone learned any interesting tidbits about SkwalUSA?  Business plans?  Where are the boards pressed?  Can they do custom?  etc.

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Well, I bought one of the demos from Skwal. :) I wasn't a big fan of the bidings so I'll try F2s or makes some baseplates to accept the F2 or TD3 toe/heel blocks.

Damn these things are fun! I wouldn't ride it all day, but it'll come out when it's icy, or crowded, or I'm bored.

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