Description
Some riders prefer longer skiboards for increased stability and float. However, there are no quality skiboard options for these riders…Until Now!! Introducing the 120cm Longboard skiboards from Spruce Mtn Skiboards, maker of the extremely successful “Riser” releasable binding interface.
Jerry Cidzik –
I recieved my new 2006/2007 Spruce 120 Friday. I took them out of the box and was blown away. What a great looking board and the quality was top notch. The board in person is simply impressive. It was well balanced and actually lighter than I thought it would be. I knew the dimensions of the board and saw pictures of it but when you see it, it’s a beast.
This is the widest board I have owned but not the shortest. I have been playing on Volkl Double Troubles….supposedly 95cm but when I measured them they came out to 93cm. The Volkl dimensions are 10.8/8.4/9.4 in contrast to the Spruce 13.6/10.5/13.6. This was a big leap in width.
Today was a gorgeous day in Aspen so I had perfect weather to put the Spruce through it’s paces. First on, a bit awkward and heavy compared to what I was riding. Got on the lift and took them to the top. Headed down through a tree trail….these aren’t 98’s that’s for sure. They are way faster with a lot more board under foot. I had to look for places to cut speed with the longer length in the tight trees. I caught the edges a few times here and there due to the new width but no problems. It took about 2 runs to get used to the width.
By the third run I realized that this board was just begging to be man handled and the same technique and power that I used to ride the Volkl’s were not going to get it done on the Spruce. I headed over to the bumps and pushed it hard and it delivered right out of the gate. It has a nice flex and is very forgiving in the bumps. It powered over all the crud and powder on top of the moguls and allowed me to wip them around with ease.
Next I headed to the groomers to see how they handled the steeper wide open terrain. Like most boards of this width and geometry they are the most happy on edge and I was more than happy to oblige. I was amazed when I really pushed the board that I was almost as fast edge to edge as on my Volkl’s but with way more board underneath and a lot more tail it was a totally different experience. Very stable at speed though I did under great forces feel the board chatter a time or two.
I was able to hit some jumps in the park with my son and landing this board was a dream with the added real estate. I hit some black tree trails with bumps and this was where the board really shined motoring through just about anything that I could find. I found a few powder stashes and was able to float right through with ease.
The board is amazingly powerful and can take whatever you give it in all conditions. Riding this board was fun but a lot more work my first time out as it really wants you to push it when you ride it. With a bit more time I can probably relax a bit and still attain the same performance.
I had my bindings set dead center to see how it would perform. So far so good but I am thinking of setting them back 2 to 3 CM just to see the difference as there is a lot more tail back there and it might prove interesting to compare the two settings.
I talked with Spruce before delivery and asked about a pre ride tune up and they in fact were up front with the fact that this board needs a good edge put on out of the box. I put an 89 degree on the board but did not make it extremely sharp, just a decent edge to see what this board and my particular style really needs in the way of tuning.
I lost an edge one time on the last run today down a very steep slope that was scraped off and icy hard pack. I do believe I need a better edge overall than what I put on and this was no surprise. Tomorrow before I go out I will put a good clean edge still staying with the 89 degree until I feel I need something else.
After riding the Spruce today I am almost of the mind that this is about as big a skiboard as I want to go. Shorter yes, wider, not sure, for my style of riding I don’t think it would give my anything more with a wider board.
The Spruce is a great board, a high quality ride that turned a lot of heads today. ( I typically don’t see other skiboarders) I would highly recommend this board to anyone.
Just for the record I am 5′ 8" and 210 so not a giant but not a small guy either with a moderate to aggressive riding style.
I would love to hear comments from other Spruce riders and will post some follow up after I have had a few days on the boards.
The Spruce truly lived up to it’s reputation as the SUV of Skiboards!
Rob Maly –
Thanks to Skiboardsonline.com and Salomons fast shipping I was able to try out my new Spruce 120s last weekend. Lets face it, we all long for those powder days but here in the east, they are more miss than hit early season. As a result, I was only able to test the boards on hard pack, machine made snow, and groomed ice. They performed as well as anything on ice/hard pack snow with the biggest difference noted with decreased chatter/improved stability at speeds over my smaller board (Cannon M7). I was hoping they would track a little better having a bit of a dead spot when running a straight line compared to my skis but I have succumb to the idea that any skiboard will give you much better mobility at cost to tracking when compairing to skis. Having said that, they run edge to edge great while carving and while the releasable binding added a bit more weight than my smaller boards, I didn’t notice the added weight at all on the slopes. All in all, very pleased so far. Can’t wait to plow through tree-lined powder runs with them later in the season. Bottom line, kept the mobility that I like with skiboards and added stability at speeds (and I will assume more float too). Would recommend.
Yaroslow Muzyka –
First some background: I never participated in any snow sliding sports until 4 seasons ago when I rented some Big Easy skiboards at a local resort out of boredom while waiting in the lodge while my children were snowboarding. When I am accompanied by my wife, we like to cruise the green and blue groomers, and occasionally challenge ourselves on the black runs. But I found that when I pushed hard to try and keep up to my young adult children (advanced snowboarders) while racing on the groomers, and negotiating the powder or the trees, I was exhausted and beat by the end of the day, having struggled to keep my balance (front to back) when going through uneven terrain, crud or changing conditions.
Although I rarely post, I read the forums every day and took notice of the many comments (by Valmorel, & Jack to name a few) of the Spruce 120s being stable, forgiving (and requiring a sharp edge). So I picked up a ôblueö pair from Greco and mounted Salomon S810ti bindings on a Spruce Composite riser with a 35 mm setback, and polished the edges (0 degree base, 89 degree side, detuned 1ö from the front and rear contact points), and gave them a hot wax.
These are my first experiences with the 120 Spruce:
Day 1 – Local hill (250Æ) with only one short run open with manmade snow and about 1ö of fresh powder.
My first impression, ôthese are longö. But skating was not a problem and it was effortless since they glide so well. I did notice that with the extra length up front, the edges caught a few times on my first run. But after a couple of runs, I learned to weigh the tails (stand straighter) to alleviate the front edges from catching while cruising. But when I wanted to carve aggressively, I would keep them on edge and change to a lower (gorilla) posture to weigh them centered/forward. My first full day of the season was without a stop and not a single sore muscle (or spill). I knew they were fast but the real test against my son was yet to come.
Day 2 û Local hill (110Æ) with a single groomed run and the balance set up as a terrain park. The run was very hard corduroyed man made snow and it was bitterly cold. (I joined my snowboarding daughter who was being certified by the ski patrol.)
I made the first tracks in the rock hard corduroy and found that the edges held well and I was not sliding out. After about three runs, I was confident that I could stop prior to the lift (confined area) and get around the moving pylons (new snowboarders) if I just ripped down the hill. By mid afternoon, I started noticing that middle age skiers were waiting for me to get off the lift so they could race me. And by the end of the day they were joining me on the same chair so they would have the same momentum at the top of the hill. Not a word said, but definitely a competitive atmosphere. If I did not beat them, it was a tie at its worst.
Days 3 to 6 ûLake Louise, Sunshine Village, and Norquay resorts, in the Canadian Rockies and Kicking Horse resort in the Purcell Mountains. (This was our annual family Christmas trip to get out of the flat lands of the prairie where we live.)
This was my first opportunity to ride with my children. My sonÆs on hill statement sums it up best: ôthose boards made a big difference for you Dadö. He made the proclamation after the two of us exchanged the lead position during a race that left my daughter and her boyfriend in the snow dust.
My on mountain impressions of the 120 Spruce:
ò Very stable as others have already noted. It takes a major error or loss of balance to find yourself on your butt as I did once in the four days coming out of a wind packed powder tree run (the steepest longest and most difficult black I have ever tried). As Valmorel has pointed out, if in trouble, put them on edge and you will recover. It allows for a very relaxed non-tiring cruise at speed on the groomers.
ò Skating was effortless, with great glide. So much so that I did not take poles with me to the mountains this year, which I had in the past due to the long flat sections at some resorts.
ò Moguls were very manageable. What little manoeuvrability was lost due to length was made up in stability and less effort to keeping your balance if the best line was not taken.
ò I found that I was no longer giving much attention to the conditions. I only knew I was on ice or crud by the change in sound I heard. It was my signal to point straight down and if required, reduce my speed somewhere else.
ò The flex of the board made it easy to negotiate rough terrain and trees in a (speed) controlled manner or transition into softer conditions without a face plant.
ò A fast or a relaxing cruiser, the riderÆs choice.
ò Edge hold was good with a sharp edge (89 degree). Only noticed some sliding on my last day on very icy conditions. This was not unexpected given that I had not undertaken any edge touch-ups after prior days of edge abuse on granite rocks hiding under the powder and on early season marginal coverage runs.
ò I did not have the opportunity to ride in knee deep plus fresh powder. But I was able to find some wind packed powder and had no problems (other than the rock hiding underneath).
ò The black sintered base will be easy to repair.
We all are looking for the perfect board that meets all our needs. I am lucky because I have found mine; the 120 Spruce meets my needs.
Thanks Jeff and Greco for making it possible with such a great product.
BTW: I am 48 years old; consider myself non-athletic, and am 5Æ 11ö, 186 lbs without any riding gear.