Skwal Riders General Discussion

[monodude]

Also this set-up allows and responds well to a longer turn/higher speed "surfy style" of riding. This ski is strong and bombproof. There isn't anything on the market, short of a custom build, like it. You won't be disapointed.

Money back guarantee, that is the most awesome ride ever for powder riding on a Skwal

[SunSurfer]

Forgive me, but I don't think that a board with a 17cm waist is in any way a skwal, or am I misunderstanding what it is? Isn't it just a modestly narrow Alpine board with a short radius, even if it was sold by Skwal USA? Riding this with typical Skwal angles will result in severe underhang and zero leverage. Even with my 12.6 and 13cm Skwals I use angles between -3 and -10 degrees to ensure that I can modulate edge pressure.

Forgiveness not required. The board is a Skwal USA Propaganda 167cm powder Skwal. See the website for special (specifications) and a picture. I got the chance to ride it properly on an indoor ski slope 2 days ago. F2 Intec bindings set at 90 front and about 75 rear on the outermost inserts and with the bindings slid as far apart as possible (measured C-to-C stance 44cm). 3 degrees out ward canting front and rear made the whole set up very comfortable from a stance point of view. Ski poles for the first few runs, then into HDPE hand armour. Leaning into the turns like on a bike and carving easily from the second run. And with the wider waist no boot out issues plus I could use standard hard boot bindings. Edge to edge transitions were very quick. I can confidently say that you don't need to go super narrow to ride skwal-style. I will be experimenting with skwal style riding on my standard waist snowboards. Now there's a heresy for you that might need forgiveness!

Edited June 5, 2016 by SunSurfer

[SunSurfer]

Specifications are on the Skwal USA website, it's not on special. Plus used my standard 3 degree front toe raise and 6 degree rear heel raise.

[*Ace*]

Nordica Jah Luv Powder Skwal MonoDude is talking about is between the Volkl and the MLY Mono.  

That Virus next to the Volkl is the Ace Skwal prototype...

The Professor in the background...Abasin FTW!

 

 

[SunSurfer]

Down in Central Otago and in an experimenting mood. Why you might ask? Just to find out what's possible.

Over the last two days have ridden various width snowboards skwal style while experimenting with stance and angles. More binding angle experiments on the way since the FIS say a snowboard has its' bindings mounted across the board whereas a ski has the binding mounted in line with the ski.

My normal snowboard stance has been (more experimentation underway) Regular, 50cm C-to-C, Front foot 65 degrees & 3 degree toe rise, Rear foot 60 degrees and 6 degree heel rise. No canting needed. I ride out of the sides of my boots normally, with the front boot forward flex very stiff, and the rear boot forward flex very soft.

I've ridden 3 boards with a skwal style stance, Oxygen Proton GS 164 (19.5cm waist), Coiler AM WC 177 W (21cm waist) with an isocline plate, and a RadAir Pinkerman Extreme 169 (25cm waist). Binding angles have been -

Front foot 90 degrees, 3 degree toe rise, 2 degree outward cant (i.e. tilt foot to left).

Rear foot 75 and then 80 degrees, 6 degree heel lift, 2 degree outward cant (tilt foot to right).

Having ridden the Propaganda at 44cm, I've tried C-to-C stance distances of 47 and 51cm, and found 51cm is a step too far for me, while going back to 47cm was sweet.

With this kind of extended skwal stance the riding style changes. Skwals are clearly ridden out of the sides of the boot with neither a toe side or heelside. When I rode the Skwal USA Propaganda the key was cornering it like a motorbike, as described for the classic narrow skwal stance and leaning the whole body into the turn. With the extended stance, the rear knee can bend far more, the centre of mass can be brought lower and suddenly the sweet spot is for the upper body to hold a stance like a GS or slalom skier, much like the ski racers I saw practicing without ski poles today. The rear knee tucks in behind the front knee and as long as the weight is kept slightly forward the boards arc from carve to carve with the edge marks overlapping at transition from one edge to the other. Well, the Pinkerman can be persuaded to carve but it's more of a struggle, I suspect because it's just not as good a carving board generally as the other two. When I was carving this way it was noticeable how much more still my upper body and arms were compared to normal, and that all the edging action was happening below the hips

The boards could all have their tails skidded to either side, even with the plate on the Coiler, and hockey stops were not a problem. Handling some gentle moguls was bit trickier but I'm still finding my feet with in-line snowboarding.

It is equally hard on the quads as riding an alpine snowboard normally. Ah well.

I have done some normal alpine boarding, I haven't become a confirmed heretic ( yet ;) ).

[Corey]

5 hours ago, SunSurfer said:

Well, the Pinkerman can be persuaded to carve but it's more of a struggle, I suspect because it's just not as good a carving board generally as the other two.

Pinkerman = Propaganda with autocorrect?  

How does the leverage feel with the wider boards?  I put a set of bindings set up for a 19cm alpine board on a 22cm one (brief test ride in a rush) and noticed a significant change in effort to skid the board, but the effect almost disappeared once carving.  

[SunSurfer]

Pinkerman = RadAir Pinkerman Extreme 1994, 169cm & 25cm waist, a RadAir Obsession 171 with a black top sheet and the tail trimmed. In the right light I can see the swirls of the original Obsession pattern underneath the black. Nice in Japanese powder, but doesn't initiate a carve well compared to my other carving boards.

The leverage issue is a matter of style and practice. Riding skwal style feels different because a whole lot of muscles are under different tensions and body positions. Like I said, I create edge pressure out of the side of my boots riding alpine snowboards normally so the change is not great for me. I can usually tell who is creating edge pressure out of their heel and toe by looking at the direction of the persons pelvis on their heelside turn. If a line drawn between both hip joints is more along the board then they're a heel/toe rider. If the line of the hips is more across the board then there will be at least some weighting out of the side of the boots. I happily carved my 25cm width Avalanche (before it died) and my 17cm width Riot with exactly the same binding angles.

[*Ace*]

For those of you who are not following on Facebook, we are currently offering FREE SHIPPING for the remainder of the North American 'off season'.  Offer ends when the first North American ski resort is open for business.  FYI, boards with 6-pack inserts are in stock as well!

If you are on Facebook be sure to check out and like the page! https://www.facebook.com/Ace-Skwal-114566895310421/

[lake effect mike]

howdy friend,back on computer checking it out,you get to much attention riding one of those things!

[avante]

Some skwal riding footage from the previous season in the Video subforum

Edited August 24, 2016 by avante

[avante]

Pre- season checklist:

1. Buy new Skwal - DONE
2. Prepare for the ATC 2017 - Work in progress

Any fellow skwalers are planning to go? 

[avante]

Ace Skwal tested! Super positive this far, the only thing that is extremely unusual is the inserts placement, all my other skwals have huge nose and relatively short tail, in this one inserts are almost centered.

 

Waiting for some frozen, firm groomers to test it for real, but the first impression is: wow, this is a very solid and playful machine! 

 

Thank you for the great design Christopher!

Edited December 12, 2016 by avante

[monodude]

Thread Jack !! I have 2 Powder Skwals for sale in the "For Sale" section. Adapted from a Nordica Powder ski. I will put inserts in for your preferred stance width. I did one for myself a few years ago and it totally ROCKS.  185cm 167/140/157 29M radius. 2 layer Titinal, wood core.  Early rise tip/tail, (not rocker,) camber under foot. This is a beefy ride that really flies. Unlike any other Skwal you have ever ridden. Fast and floats well. Carves well on the soft groom, Haven't tried it on firm, no reason to, that's not what it's for. I guarantee this set-up will out perform any Skwal you have ever ridden, in a powder situation. It is mind blowing in high speed surfy turns in an open bowl. I've had mine over 50 MPH on a 12"+ powder day. 

I'll even offer a full money back guarantee, (less shipping). 

http://forums.bomberonline.com/index.php?/topic/44308-powder-skwal/

 

 

[*Ace*]

From our friends over in Japan.  Ski board plates with custom fit Intec bails mounted on a Blue Moris!

Edited January 5, 2017 by *Ace*

[avante]

Ok, two weeks till ATC, who's coming?

[*Ace*]

FREE WORLDWIDE SHIPPING for the remainder of the North American 'off season' is now in effect again.  

This offer ends when the first North American ski resort is opens for the 2017-2018 season.  FYI, boards with 6-pack inserts are in stock as well!

If you are on Facebook be sure to check out and like the page! https://www.facebook.com/Ace-Skwal-114566895310421/

[RobertAlexander]

Got  a pair of these,  phantom ski, a little searching and found an old non working link to www.phantomski.com from 2003, age of link fr which folk were talking about this new ski design, they pair went for $850.  It is cap construction.  There is a ton of glass in the base, approx. 0.070" thickness and has tan rubber.  One ski alone is very stiff even as skwalls go for flex.  Usually skis are quite soft compared to a skwall.    So I am not sure if ridden as a skwall if it would be too stiff.   The dims are 160 cm length, 100 mm waist,  185 mm tip, 160 mm tail.  .575"=14.6mm thick at waist.  But the glass amount makes this ski very stiff,  even difficult to flex.  1410 mm effective edge and a 38 mm base height gives SCR of 6.56 meters. So something that tight may not even be able to be ridden , the cuts might be too tight.    Has any skwall or alpine board been ever made with such a small SCR?  I will give it a try, seeing that the initial investment cost was very low.  And already have a set of TD1 skwall bindings.  The last ski project I tried did not have enough SCR, this may have too much.   Might just screw the td1 in from the top.

Forgot to mention,  It has very nice carving tip decamber ofapprox. 3 inches,  and also a very nice tail decamber approx. 1.5 inches,  for some thing made in 2003 or earlier, this ski designer knew how to shape a carving ski, although in his write up , he is calling it a powder ski.   Decamber is quite aggressive, so it should be fun to try.   Any guesses on how it will carve?  Too tight so it will wash out at end of carve??  Or so tight, rider must hold tight as possible and keep down hill speed minimized?  December is coming,  

Edited November 2, 2017 by RobertAlexander

[lowrider]

Unless you want to buy my  Thias Skwal  15m  that  plank shouldn't scare you . You will find that  you will treat people like pylons. You can always make a short board  go straight but harder to make a long board turn sharp. Old skwal's tended to be much stiffer than present day . Good Luck and Have Fun !

[*Ace*]

Ace Skwal Green Mountain Proto - 165cm.  Updated version of the Thias Easy Jungle.  Currently in testing...

 

If you are interested in an Ace Skwal 175cm board please let me know as I have some DEMO boards I can give a deal on!

[lonbordin]

Those things look crazy Ace. Nice work!!!

[*Ace*]

[Aliaksandr]

Where do you get this stuff? I thought Thias Skwall is out of business.

[lowrider]

We tend to hoard stuff here in North America. Closets full of this stuff surfaces from time to time and the result is " I've got to try that !" However ! don't be fooled new technology is far superior and my advice is buy something current but never pass up the opportunity to try something old or different. Thias Skwal has been out of business for over 20 years the boards were manufactured in Canada and  were very high quality.

[*Ace*]

3 hours ago, Aliaksandr said:

Where do you get this stuff? I thought Thias Skwall is out of business.

@monodude uncovered a stash in Colorado a few years back. The old ones turn up every now and again on eBay and other areas. They are rare finds, so when you see one you should jump at it.  Finding them often takes persistence.  They are fun boards, I would highly recommend everyone to try it at least one full day.

There are new boards available today from a few different manufacturers.

 

[*Ace*]

Anyone planning to get some new gear this year?  If so, what do you have planned?