C5 Golfer Posted January 13, 2006 Report Share Posted January 13, 2006 My 3 cents worth. I have two Prior 4X4s, a 174 and a 179 both ride great - I favor them over the Donek only because I go to Whistler often and Like having them there for their excellent support and customer service. If I were in Denver I'd probably ride Donek insted of Priors. Both are great companies and boards. I believe this discussion is similar to a preference of a Ford or a Chevy. Just pick one and go ride or drive. I would also bet on the same day with the same board and two riders you would get conflicting reports as to how tight the side cut is or how stiff the nose is. So my bottom line point is I do not beleive there is a solid concrete answer showing which one is better. They both are great Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shred Gruumer Posted January 13, 2006 Report Share Posted January 13, 2006 Funny Jack! Quote: "Could not get off the thing fast enough" Ya hit it on the head!! That exactly what im gonna do if I go with a Prior.. The Side cut on most of those board..All brands..are way too short in my opinion! when you get on groom.. you can easily get passed their speed limit!!! Thats why I did my soon to come Coiler Infiltrator 161 with a 12.75 side cut.. so I would be able to drive it at speed and not get high sided. I was able to find a nice Rad-Air 2006 Reto LAMM LSD 164 with a 10.5m sidecut..thats huge for that type and size of board.. Im with ya jack while it is fun to swivel back and forth 500 times down a run, I would rather limit it to around 50! Wayy to much work for an old guy! Right said Shred oh yea the MADD ABX 177 Cockroach with the 12.75 radius as well.. Well Maybe.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike T Posted January 13, 2006 Report Share Posted January 13, 2006 Even so, I really don't think the actual edge length has much effect. Having 10cm less lumber to haul around and change direction should be what you're feeling. Meaning, the longer the board is, the faster it goes, and the harder it is to swoosh around when I want to? I'm sure it's fine, but I think you'd enjoy less sidecut depth better. I always wondered what Kent (ironman) was smoking when he would harp on sidecut depth, but after riding my Madd 180 (16 or 17m), I'm a believer. That board is sneaky maneuverable. So much so in fact, that it fooled me into thinking I could do some tight trees on it. It's not quite up to that task, but it's surprising how easy it is to steer that board around. Good point - my Coiler 188 is more maneuverable *carving on piste* that I thought it would be as well. (15.7m / 170 edge length, less sidecut depth than anything else I own). I still avoid it on poor visibility or crowded days though, because it's a bear to skid and it picks up speed REALLY FAST. Both of which I'm not comfortable with in crowds and fog. (Austrian accent) Do it now!! Before I do... (send Bruce an email asking for a big-sidecut AM 172, that is...) I would like to fully understand what's making my AM 182 so tough to swoosh around in the variable-but-soft and deep stuff. I feel like the stiff nose has something to do with that - yes or no? It's certainly stiffer than your average AM both lenthwise and crosswise, which I will *not* ask for in my AM 172, anything else you can think of? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack M Posted January 13, 2006 Report Share Posted January 13, 2006 Before I do... (send Bruce an email asking for a big-sidecut AM 172, that is...) I would like to fully understand what's making my AM 182 so tough to swoosh around in the variable-but-soft and deep stuff. I feel like the stiff nose has something to do with that - yes or no? It's certainly stiffer than your average AM both lenthwise and crosswise, which I will *not* ask for in my AM 172, anything else you can think of? The fact that it's 182! That's a pretty long board to push around. 10cm is a huge difference in overall weight and especially swing weight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest toddflyingdog Posted January 13, 2006 Report Share Posted January 13, 2006 I have an opinion to venture... I bet I can keep up with you on whatever steeps or groomers on my 162 Axis (though over 50 mph I get a little squirrley), but there is a whole mountain you'll never see on your 178. I chose the Axis because it does everything I could ask of it. Board length is mostly compensation for other length shortages. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike T Posted January 13, 2006 Report Share Posted January 13, 2006 The fact that it's 182! That's a pretty long board to push around. 10cm is a huge difference in overall weight and especially swing weight. Overall weight - too close to call. The Coiler is 2cm narrower than the Axis. Approximating surface are by waist X length... the axis has more. The Axis with it's tighter sidecut flares out more, meaning the apprimation underestimates the amount by which the Axis has greater surface area. On the other hand, the Coiler is thicker at the waist. Carrying both boards mounted with TD2s... they feel too close to call. So we're back to length. How do you separate overall length from edge length? Oh hell, why do I really care. I'm nitpicking. I'm sold on the sidecut issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack M Posted January 13, 2006 Report Share Posted January 13, 2006 Mike, You're just toying with me, right? SWING weight is the issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jschal01 Posted January 14, 2006 Report Share Posted January 14, 2006 umm, no, swing weight is not generally a big issue unless you're, well, swinging the board. If the board is on the snow, "swooshing" it in soft snow can be harder for a variety of reasons, depending on what one means by "swooshing," including stiffness and the fact that a longer board offers more surface area and therefore pushes more snow. This is as true of lightweight boards as it is with really bomber ones with heavy swingweights. Swingweight comes into play primarily once one is, well, in the air and swinging; and, in fact a heavier board can sometimes help in plowing through heavy snow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike T Posted January 14, 2006 Report Share Posted January 14, 2006 Jack, I suppose I am toying with you, I guess the ending of my last post was not enough of a hint of that ;) But jschal01's argument does make a lot of sense to me. No matter... the surface ares of the two boards are pretty darn close (longer and skinner, shorter and fatter). I'm ready to leave it at "the longer stiffer board is harder to maneuever tightly in deep variable snow" and leave it at that. Y'all convinced me that I can go with a bigger sidecut in order to put a smile on my face when I'm carving and it won't have a negative impact (and maybe even a positive one) when riding the soft stuff. I've opened a discussion with Bruce on the topic, to see what he thinks before changing anything... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack M Posted January 15, 2006 Report Share Posted January 15, 2006 jschal, I was not trying to be antagonizing earlier, sorry if I gave that impression. But I disagree with you that the swing weight of a board magically disappears when it is on the snow. Any time you have to steer the board around, especially in moguls, trees, powder or anywhere you have to make quick turns, swing weight is a huge factor. You're right that surface area is another, a longer board simply has to push around more snow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jschal01 Posted January 15, 2006 Report Share Posted January 15, 2006 No worries. :) Re: swingweight, I think you need to separate 3 dimensional snow (powder and other iterations) from bumps, rutted courses, and other types of terrain where "steering" as opposed to riding an arc, or drifting an arc, occurs. To my mind soft snow is much more similar to riding fairly pure carves through dense, great groomed snow. Only the arc ocurs from deflection and displacement along the whole of the board, not through the edge. And, try to steer the board around and you'll end up exhausted and more often than not end up getting grabbed and tossed. That's why you'll often seen athletic young men, in particular, making jump turns or linked counterrotated skids all the way down through moguls -- it may not be good technique, but they can even look somewhat fluid doing it, and yes, swingwiehgt would be in issue there even if the technique were good -- but getting very frustrated in soft snow. Hopefully we get sufficient soft snow soon to actively contemplate the issue in! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.