chrisw
12-23-2006, 07:34 PM
Got my new Tanshos yesterday, so of course today had to head out to the mountain. But before I get into my review, let me give a quick bit of background, because some of you will question why I bought short boards.
I am not small or light. I'm 5'8" and 190 pounds. My background is in freeride and backcountry snowboarding, and for that I ride a NeverSummer Titan 164 with Flow NXT-FX bindings and DC Allegiance boots. It's a setup made for one thing: precision control at high speed. But in the trees? Moguls? the Park? Nope, it sucks.
My solution was the Tansho's. I'm also an ice hockey player, so the thought of something that feels like skating, is small and maneuverable, and opens up the rest of the mountain to me sounded perfect. And for those specific purposes, perfect they will be, I am convinced of after a day of breaking them in.
Ok, so here are my specific observations, in no particular order:
1. The first thing I thought when I put them on at the top of the mountain and started skating around was that other than the heel being slightly elevated (due to the boots, not the bomber bindings, which are perfectly flat) they felt just like my goalie skates in how they turned and stopped. I immediately felt confident with the familiar feel.
2. First stop was the greens, and at first, I was a little disappointed in the speed. Even bombing straight down the trail, I just couldn't get going fast enough. Other than that, they felt great. They were very nimble, responsive, and VERY easy to turn. Even hit a couple small jumps and darted through the trees, and they were awesome. Then I remembered I am probably a bit large for the boards and that was why they were slow. Ok then, onto steeper terrain.
3. As soon as I hit the blue trails, my worries over speed vanished. The boards' stability had me speed checking far less than the skiers and boarders out there, and I felt like I could just fly down the mountain. Ice patches, thin patches, nothing was standing in the way. And the ability to maneuver that quickly was fantastic. I could actually go faster than I thought I would on day one because I knew I could easily avoid any obstacle that came in my path. I did most of my riding on these trails, and a little bit in the trees alongside, and I fell in love with the boards. Very nimble, wide enough to land small jumps and drops with confidence, and no matter how fast I tried to go, they would not chatter out.
4. Yep, next stop was the blacks. I never thought I would go from green to black in four hours (even not-so-scary mid-atlantic blacks), but that's exactly what I did. I don't plan to use the boards much for all mountain riding, but trees and moguls on the steeps are a must, so I had to try them out on something steep and fast. As by that point I expected, they performed like a dream. My wife (pretty good snowboarder) was only halfway down the hill by the time I was waiting at the lift, and she just glared at me when she got to the bottom.
All in all, for what I bought them for, these will be perfect boards. I would recommend something slightly longer for people my size if they plan to use them for all mountain riding (especially deeper powder), or if you plan to spend alot of time with friends on the greens. But if you're looking for quick turns, easy spins, decent landings these are great boards.
I'm sure the same quality of building goes into all the Revel8 boards, but I will add again that they are of top notch construction. I was amazed at how much they looked and felt like mini versions of my neversummer snowboard. Top it all off with sweet looking colors and graphics, and needless to say I got more than a few questions about them at the lodge.
Now off to soak in the hot tub.
~C
I am not small or light. I'm 5'8" and 190 pounds. My background is in freeride and backcountry snowboarding, and for that I ride a NeverSummer Titan 164 with Flow NXT-FX bindings and DC Allegiance boots. It's a setup made for one thing: precision control at high speed. But in the trees? Moguls? the Park? Nope, it sucks.
My solution was the Tansho's. I'm also an ice hockey player, so the thought of something that feels like skating, is small and maneuverable, and opens up the rest of the mountain to me sounded perfect. And for those specific purposes, perfect they will be, I am convinced of after a day of breaking them in.
Ok, so here are my specific observations, in no particular order:
1. The first thing I thought when I put them on at the top of the mountain and started skating around was that other than the heel being slightly elevated (due to the boots, not the bomber bindings, which are perfectly flat) they felt just like my goalie skates in how they turned and stopped. I immediately felt confident with the familiar feel.
2. First stop was the greens, and at first, I was a little disappointed in the speed. Even bombing straight down the trail, I just couldn't get going fast enough. Other than that, they felt great. They were very nimble, responsive, and VERY easy to turn. Even hit a couple small jumps and darted through the trees, and they were awesome. Then I remembered I am probably a bit large for the boards and that was why they were slow. Ok then, onto steeper terrain.
3. As soon as I hit the blue trails, my worries over speed vanished. The boards' stability had me speed checking far less than the skiers and boarders out there, and I felt like I could just fly down the mountain. Ice patches, thin patches, nothing was standing in the way. And the ability to maneuver that quickly was fantastic. I could actually go faster than I thought I would on day one because I knew I could easily avoid any obstacle that came in my path. I did most of my riding on these trails, and a little bit in the trees alongside, and I fell in love with the boards. Very nimble, wide enough to land small jumps and drops with confidence, and no matter how fast I tried to go, they would not chatter out.
4. Yep, next stop was the blacks. I never thought I would go from green to black in four hours (even not-so-scary mid-atlantic blacks), but that's exactly what I did. I don't plan to use the boards much for all mountain riding, but trees and moguls on the steeps are a must, so I had to try them out on something steep and fast. As by that point I expected, they performed like a dream. My wife (pretty good snowboarder) was only halfway down the hill by the time I was waiting at the lift, and she just glared at me when she got to the bottom.
All in all, for what I bought them for, these will be perfect boards. I would recommend something slightly longer for people my size if they plan to use them for all mountain riding (especially deeper powder), or if you plan to spend alot of time with friends on the greens. But if you're looking for quick turns, easy spins, decent landings these are great boards.
I'm sure the same quality of building goes into all the Revel8 boards, but I will add again that they are of top notch construction. I was amazed at how much they looked and felt like mini versions of my neversummer snowboard. Top it all off with sweet looking colors and graphics, and needless to say I got more than a few questions about them at the lodge.
Now off to soak in the hot tub.
~C