Stubby nose boards and soft snow

[heroshmero]

I notice that a lot of newer boards have a stubby, blunt nose. Being that it's getting toward spring and the snow is often softer, does anybody worry about stuffing the nose more easily riding a board like that? Do they cut through the crud as well as a board with more nose?

[BlueB]

Most of the modern stubby nosed boards have the nose decamber/rocker, that works mirracles in the soft snow. You are more likelly to stuff the old fashioned race board with big ubrupt rise nose, then the new gentle rise stubby. However, the gentle rise / rocker with bigger nose works even better then the stubby ones! At least for me...

The flex is a big factor too.

[Puddy Tat]

I notice that a lot of newer boards have a stubby, blunt nose. Being that it's getting toward spring and the snow is often softer, does anybody worry about stuffing the nose more easily riding a board like that? Do they cut through the crud as well as a board with more nose?

They cut through better. Most of these are decambered (see Jack's Article or His PGS shootout for more on this) so when the board is on edge and decambered there is no shovel nose to get deflected by crud. The board simply slices straight through it.

I was riding a Coiler Schtubby 173cm, 21.5cm, 13.4m and ripping it in slushy snow at 8C on Saturday. My clothes were soaked after a couple of hours of this. I love this board.

Dave

[Buell]

I absolutely agree with both BlueB and Puddy Tat but understand there are still limitations to carving in slush.

A couple of years ago I got to ride one of the early decambered noses from Bruce in May (with Don at Bachelor actually). One side of the run was slush and the other side was in the shade and still frozen. Of the other two metal boards with traditional noses I was testing that day (one Prior and one Coiler), only the decambered nose Coiler was so smooth at the transition of the ice / slush.

I was fully sold!

[Zone]

For me, it cuts through bumps very well (better than regular shape IMHO) and stuffing the nose has more to do with the softer flex up front and how much weight you put toward the front foot in soft snow (the first very stiff version Bruce made was great through slush, but then I struggled in hard snow, this new softer flex version works wonderful on hard snow but did a forward flip on soft snow...) both cuts through cruds really nice.

Funny when Swoard came out, I remember people making fun of the squarish nose. Now the Swoard nose is actually tame...:rolleyes:

[Dr D]

It may look strange but its the future for sure! I can't begin to explain how easy these boards ride in almost any conditions. the long rocker nose and the metal make almost anything possible.

[dingbat]

I notice that a lot of newer boards have a stubby, blunt nose. Being that it's getting toward spring and the snow is often softer, does anybody worry about stuffing the nose more easily riding a board like that? Do they cut through the crud as well as a board with more nose?

Rather than thinking of it as a nose that has been cut off to make the board shorter, think of it as a shorter board with a nose that has had the corners filled in square so the effective edge runs longer.

[Mike T]

I too find modern noses less prone to stuffing than older ones. *Much* less prone - even the flatter, stubbier ones. Jack's post on the topic of decambered noses is good reading:

http://www.bomberonline.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=25520

The pix of him on the Madd and Ben Schurman on the NSR are illuminating. I have to think that the effect he describes using the Madd as an example is a major contributor to stuffed noses in soft snow.

At OES 2009 I rode a Donek Axxess metal that had an EXTREMELEY soft nose but decambered, I found it was not stuff-prone at all. That says a lot for the decambering being a major factor.

[heroshmero]

I guess I didn't remember that most (if not all) of these boards have some decamber in the tip.

I understand that the length of the effective edge is not changed. It was more a question about whether the blunted nose changed how they cut through the crud and soft snow.

[Mike T]

I guess I didn't remember that most (if not all) of these boards have some decamber in the tip.

I understand that the length of the effective edge is not changed. It was more a question about whether the blunted nose changed how they cut through the crud and soft snow.

I should clarify / add to my response: I think as long as the nose is decambered, bluntness has very little impact. From my quiver:

Classic 177, AM 176: not blunt

Monster 182, NSR 185: blunt

They all slice through soft and crid nicely, and are not stuff-prone om comparison to most anything else I have ridden. The nose shape just doesn't seem to make a lot of difference in these.

My old PR 188 and several old Doneks with traditional nose shapes... were too easy to stuff.