Calogero
12-15-2009, 07:49 PM
Hey All,
I rode the 2010 KTPs with Bomber Elite2s this past weekend in Stratton, VT and all is can say is WOW.
This is my first post, so I guess I'll give some background information and introduce myself first, and then get into the actual review so bear with me if this is long. My name is Calogero, but most people call me Jerry, and I'm a 5'-6", approximately 150lb, 25 year old male. I live and work in Manhattan, NY as a structural engineer. My first experience on "skiboards" and I'll use the term lightly here to start, was back in 2003 when I first saw a few people on Salomon snowblades and thought they looked like fun, ended up renting a pair for a few days and really enjoyed them. I didn't get to ride too much back then, living and going to college in Manhattan at the time, but I made it out to a couple of trips to VT and Canada in the subsequent years and rented similarly styled snowblades. Last year I decided that I enjoy riding enough that it was time to invest in a pair for myself, and to make the effort to go more often. I started doing some research and came upon SBOL and a few other sites and read reviews from skiboardreview.com, and had an epiphany that higher quality, better constructed, and better performing snowsliding devices of this kind existed....and that they are called SKIBOARDS. I (sadly in hindsight) didn't read into enough about SBOL to understand the great strides it was making for the sport, and what great resources were here, and purchased a pair of 2009 SnowJam 90s with Extreme II bindings from a different site. While I was extremely impressed with Revel8 boards reviews, I was still hesitant to invest more money into a sport I wasn't sure how often I would be able to enjoy (despite the obvious quality difference). I tried out the SnowJam 90s and loved them....so much in fact that I went riding every weekend from the time I got them to just about the end of the season. I am definitely an all mountain type of rider and love everything including glades, just carving, moguls, fast and steep, and even a few jumps although nothing too daring (the terrain park is by far my area of least experience). This season started getting closer and the anticipation just kept building so I wanted to do more, learn more, get into the sport as much as possible. That's when I really experienced SBOL, looking at the new gear, reading reviews, watching videos, and checking out the Forum. I started realizing that while the SnowJams were great, I feared that they were somewhat of an intermediate board and were maybe holding me back. I decided that I was passionate enough about the sport to go for top quality, and that's exactly what I did, landing myself a pair of 2010 KTPs with Bomber Elite2 bindings.
My take on the 2010 KTPS with Bomber Elite2 bindings:
Riding them this past weekend at Stratton was absolutely awesome. I loved my SnowJams, but I immediately noticed the difference in quality within minutes of being on the KTPs, and the more I rode them, the more impressed I was with them. They were incredibly stable and plowed through every type of terrain I encountered. Carving was amazing. Skating was even easier than before. Speed was easier to gather and much easier to control. Riding fakie was finally comfortable for the first time. Landings off of jumps were very stable. Riding through pow was of no concern with the right amount of speed (which you need no matter what you're riding through pow, doesn't matter if it's a snowboard, or powder skis, or whatever). Doing spins was even better than before. Riding on ice was better and easier to edge into. I felt like no maneuverability was lost going from 90cm to 101cm, and whole lot was gained. Every limiting aspect of my ride that I had previously attributed to my skill level as a rider had now been taken to a new level. My confidence and comfort riding (which was decently high), now skyrocketed. Don't get me wrong in that the SnowJam 90s aren't a great pair of affordable boards, I rode the hell out of them and loved them....but the better I got at riding, the more I started realizing their limitations. They are great boards to get started on and increase your ability on. If you really want to push it to new heights though, the KTPs are where it's at. I haven't had the experience of riding other Revel8 boards, and while I'd like to try them at some point, I can't imagine having a more pleasant experience than my ride on the KTPs for my size. The extra width is my favorite feature about them. I read about concerns of them maybe being too wide (and I must say the overwhelming majority of reviews did put that concern to rest), but not only are they not too wide, the extra width makes them better for every use I can possibly imagine for myself. Even before having the KTPs, I was comfortable all over the mountain, from green runs to double black diamond glade runs, although with not nearly enough experience in the terrain park. A lot of times when I rode steeper and more challenging trails on the SnowJams though, I would need to pace myself and slow down to maintain control. Also, I'm the only one of my friends that rides skiboards, as they are all either on skis or snowboards. It would get frustrating sometimes when they would be bombing down certain trails and while I was going as fast as I felt comfortable and stable on the SnowJams, I just couldn't keep up in the speed department. Now on the KTPs with Bombers I was extremely stable and comfortable at speed, able to take the trails at much higher speed and still remaining completely in control. I not only kept up with but also blew past the other boarders and skiers (sometimes even fakie), and felt comfortable and finally satisfied. I can't wait to try them out against the rest of the crew I would sometimes trail behind. I also am now confident to go and hit the terrain park with the proper tools to really get some good results, which I started dabbling in at the end of this trip. I almost forgot to mention the comments I got on the boards too, from just the size and shape to the graphics and general look of them. Probably about 4 out every 5 times I was on a lift, one of the lift operators would say, "whoa, those things look awesome. I have to try those out" (and yes, I handed out the handy SBOL cards that came with my orders). Also other skiers and boarders would constantly comment and ask about them too, as they just attracted so much welcomed and positive attention.
Oh yeah, and a final tidbit of information from what was an already awesome weekend. As I was waiting by the base lodge looking for the rest of the people I was riding with, I noticed someone zip by on '08 KTPs, so I shouted out "NICE KTPS!" and they turned and smiled (little did I recognize WHO it was riding them). Then following him were two others, another one on '08 KTPs and one on '09 KTPS, and then another on Revolt Trees, so I just said, "wow really nice boards guys", proudly holding up my 2010 KTPs. That's when the guy on the Revolts (Mark Carraro) turned and politely introduced himself and started talking to me, asking if I was on the forum and then calling over the first guy that zipped by, none other than Kirk Thompson himself. It was really cool meeting you guys there, and really an honor to meet people doing so much for the sport and so established in it. (Sorry for asking to take a picture like some starstruck teenage girl, but after reading and seeing so much about you guys online, I couldn't pass up the opportunity). It would be great to ride with you guys some time.
Final thoughts....Thanks to Kirk for your input in designing these incredible boards, your experience and knowledge of the sport really shows in how great they perform. Thanks to Greco for providing the boards and for the awesome customer service in general. Thanks to Mark for taking the time to introduce yourself and talk a bit. And also thanks to everyone else that has posted a lot of useful info here in the forum, as it's been really helpful and this is a really great community.
Damn that was long haha. sorry for the really really long post....just had a lot of info I wanted to share.
-Jerry
I rode the 2010 KTPs with Bomber Elite2s this past weekend in Stratton, VT and all is can say is WOW.
This is my first post, so I guess I'll give some background information and introduce myself first, and then get into the actual review so bear with me if this is long. My name is Calogero, but most people call me Jerry, and I'm a 5'-6", approximately 150lb, 25 year old male. I live and work in Manhattan, NY as a structural engineer. My first experience on "skiboards" and I'll use the term lightly here to start, was back in 2003 when I first saw a few people on Salomon snowblades and thought they looked like fun, ended up renting a pair for a few days and really enjoyed them. I didn't get to ride too much back then, living and going to college in Manhattan at the time, but I made it out to a couple of trips to VT and Canada in the subsequent years and rented similarly styled snowblades. Last year I decided that I enjoy riding enough that it was time to invest in a pair for myself, and to make the effort to go more often. I started doing some research and came upon SBOL and a few other sites and read reviews from skiboardreview.com, and had an epiphany that higher quality, better constructed, and better performing snowsliding devices of this kind existed....and that they are called SKIBOARDS. I (sadly in hindsight) didn't read into enough about SBOL to understand the great strides it was making for the sport, and what great resources were here, and purchased a pair of 2009 SnowJam 90s with Extreme II bindings from a different site. While I was extremely impressed with Revel8 boards reviews, I was still hesitant to invest more money into a sport I wasn't sure how often I would be able to enjoy (despite the obvious quality difference). I tried out the SnowJam 90s and loved them....so much in fact that I went riding every weekend from the time I got them to just about the end of the season. I am definitely an all mountain type of rider and love everything including glades, just carving, moguls, fast and steep, and even a few jumps although nothing too daring (the terrain park is by far my area of least experience). This season started getting closer and the anticipation just kept building so I wanted to do more, learn more, get into the sport as much as possible. That's when I really experienced SBOL, looking at the new gear, reading reviews, watching videos, and checking out the Forum. I started realizing that while the SnowJams were great, I feared that they were somewhat of an intermediate board and were maybe holding me back. I decided that I was passionate enough about the sport to go for top quality, and that's exactly what I did, landing myself a pair of 2010 KTPs with Bomber Elite2 bindings.
My take on the 2010 KTPS with Bomber Elite2 bindings:
Riding them this past weekend at Stratton was absolutely awesome. I loved my SnowJams, but I immediately noticed the difference in quality within minutes of being on the KTPs, and the more I rode them, the more impressed I was with them. They were incredibly stable and plowed through every type of terrain I encountered. Carving was amazing. Skating was even easier than before. Speed was easier to gather and much easier to control. Riding fakie was finally comfortable for the first time. Landings off of jumps were very stable. Riding through pow was of no concern with the right amount of speed (which you need no matter what you're riding through pow, doesn't matter if it's a snowboard, or powder skis, or whatever). Doing spins was even better than before. Riding on ice was better and easier to edge into. I felt like no maneuverability was lost going from 90cm to 101cm, and whole lot was gained. Every limiting aspect of my ride that I had previously attributed to my skill level as a rider had now been taken to a new level. My confidence and comfort riding (which was decently high), now skyrocketed. Don't get me wrong in that the SnowJam 90s aren't a great pair of affordable boards, I rode the hell out of them and loved them....but the better I got at riding, the more I started realizing their limitations. They are great boards to get started on and increase your ability on. If you really want to push it to new heights though, the KTPs are where it's at. I haven't had the experience of riding other Revel8 boards, and while I'd like to try them at some point, I can't imagine having a more pleasant experience than my ride on the KTPs for my size. The extra width is my favorite feature about them. I read about concerns of them maybe being too wide (and I must say the overwhelming majority of reviews did put that concern to rest), but not only are they not too wide, the extra width makes them better for every use I can possibly imagine for myself. Even before having the KTPs, I was comfortable all over the mountain, from green runs to double black diamond glade runs, although with not nearly enough experience in the terrain park. A lot of times when I rode steeper and more challenging trails on the SnowJams though, I would need to pace myself and slow down to maintain control. Also, I'm the only one of my friends that rides skiboards, as they are all either on skis or snowboards. It would get frustrating sometimes when they would be bombing down certain trails and while I was going as fast as I felt comfortable and stable on the SnowJams, I just couldn't keep up in the speed department. Now on the KTPs with Bombers I was extremely stable and comfortable at speed, able to take the trails at much higher speed and still remaining completely in control. I not only kept up with but also blew past the other boarders and skiers (sometimes even fakie), and felt comfortable and finally satisfied. I can't wait to try them out against the rest of the crew I would sometimes trail behind. I also am now confident to go and hit the terrain park with the proper tools to really get some good results, which I started dabbling in at the end of this trip. I almost forgot to mention the comments I got on the boards too, from just the size and shape to the graphics and general look of them. Probably about 4 out every 5 times I was on a lift, one of the lift operators would say, "whoa, those things look awesome. I have to try those out" (and yes, I handed out the handy SBOL cards that came with my orders). Also other skiers and boarders would constantly comment and ask about them too, as they just attracted so much welcomed and positive attention.
Oh yeah, and a final tidbit of information from what was an already awesome weekend. As I was waiting by the base lodge looking for the rest of the people I was riding with, I noticed someone zip by on '08 KTPs, so I shouted out "NICE KTPS!" and they turned and smiled (little did I recognize WHO it was riding them). Then following him were two others, another one on '08 KTPs and one on '09 KTPS, and then another on Revolt Trees, so I just said, "wow really nice boards guys", proudly holding up my 2010 KTPs. That's when the guy on the Revolts (Mark Carraro) turned and politely introduced himself and started talking to me, asking if I was on the forum and then calling over the first guy that zipped by, none other than Kirk Thompson himself. It was really cool meeting you guys there, and really an honor to meet people doing so much for the sport and so established in it. (Sorry for asking to take a picture like some starstruck teenage girl, but after reading and seeing so much about you guys online, I couldn't pass up the opportunity). It would be great to ride with you guys some time.
Final thoughts....Thanks to Kirk for your input in designing these incredible boards, your experience and knowledge of the sport really shows in how great they perform. Thanks to Greco for providing the boards and for the awesome customer service in general. Thanks to Mark for taking the time to introduce yourself and talk a bit. And also thanks to everyone else that has posted a lot of useful info here in the forum, as it's been really helpful and this is a really great community.
Damn that was long haha. sorry for the really really long post....just had a lot of info I wanted to share.
-Jerry