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RVL8 2009 Kirk Thompson Pro 101cm SkiboardsRVL8 is proud to introduce the 2nd Kirk Thompson Pro model. Kirk is the master of rails and park but loves to venture off piste and explore. After skiboarding for years on other people’s boards Kirk finally got the chance to develop his perfect pair and hit a home run. RVL8 KTP’s will appeal to intermediate to advanced park and all mountain riders alike, who want wider, more stable, boards for trees, powder and carving which also excel in the park. The KTP is one of the widest skiboards out there and includes a first in skiboarding…an extra set of inserts! That’s right, in addition to the industry standard 4×4 insert pattern the KTP comes with another set of inserts, set back, allowing you to mount your 4×4 bindings 4cm to the rear for deep powder riding. Width combined with extra inserts equals truly progressive park and all mountain skiboards for the intermediate to advanced rider. The new 2009 KTP graphics come from veteran RVL8 designer and SBOL Forum member Dave Cox. Minimum rider height for best performance with: Width profile – 15.5/12.5/15.5
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Jason Kanable –
Over the course of three days, I put more than 84 miles on the KTPs according to my GPS, had to rewax at the end of day two (probably should have done it earlier, but well…). They handled the wear and tear well, with a couple nicks out of the top sheet and some very slight damage to the P-TEX and edges from rocks. The nicks are probably my fault–I tend to keep my feet pretty close together, and the shovels on the KTPs are bigger than what I’m used to. There were also a few top sheet scratches, I’m assuming from lift line banging around…nothing major that a bit of Turtle wax won’t take care of though. All in all, no complaints.
They handled well, even at fast speeds (I hit a max of 50+ MPH, which seems pretty fast to me…). The only time I had a problem was hitting an unexpected thick powder puff at speed. I was able to recover, but it took me by surprise.
I found the KTPs a thousand times easier to skate with than my old Grooves, and Heavenly is definitely a resort that requires a lot of skating traversals. I almost felt bad for the snowboarders.
Unfortunately, the Lake Tahoe region hadn’t had snow for a month so I wasn’t able to try them out on real powder. They felt like butter on fresh corduroy and packed powder. Ice performance was good once I got them on edge. It was a little scary dodging trees down through the Milky Way bowl, mainly because the snow was solid crap, but the KTPs delivered me to the end without braining me on a stump.
Hockey stops, carving, speed, landing the little dinky kickers…the KTPs were pretty darn good on all accounts. Unfortunately, all I have to compare them to are my old vintage Groove Skywalkers, circa 1997, with about 500,000 miles on them. Then again, it’s not much comparison. The Grooves can probably be considered the neanderthal to the KTP homo sapiens.
To close, if you can only get one set of boards, I wholeheartedly recommend the KTPs.
Andrew Martone –
KTPs are great skiboards. The length is perfect, if
you are used to skiboards around 100cm. They
don’t feel too long and they are short enough that
you can carve tight, ride fakie, and do tricks easily.
The width is awesome. They don’t feel that wide,
and once you get used to them, the width becomes
the norm. I haven’t been able to ride in powder yet,
but I have hit shallow stashes where they float. The
KTPs are fast and don’t feel unstable at high
speeds. The top sheets on the boards do have
some nicks in them, and small chips, but it is no
different from any other sidewall constructed
board. I have been riding them aggressively
though, which doesn’t help with nicks and chipping,
but they are too much fun to not ride as hard as you
can. I am using non-release bindings on the KTPs.
One of the best things about skiboardsonline is the
customer service. Super fast delivery, and email
replies are always fast. I cracked one of my boards
on a jump from landing weird and SBOL shipped a
new board out next day, as it was still covered
under warranty. The design and performance of the
KTPs is top-notch, the graphics are sick, and
customer service is the best that I have ever
received.