Description
The Spruce “Slingshot” was introduced as a new design for the 2019.20 season. It is a “V-shape” design with a wide rockered tip and a narrow tail. It’s designed to be very easy turning using just the upper body rotation of the rider to initiate the turn. The wide tip will pull the board into the next turn when the rider’s weight is slightly forward, giving a more precise and aggressive turning feeling when that’s wanted.
The Slingshot has design features that also make it a good fit for powder skiing. The narrow tail naturally sinks in soft snow while the wide rockered tip provides lift at the front of the board.
Key Features:
- Tapered width front to back for superb edge control on ice and hardpack
- Wide tip with rocker for float on powder days
- Length: 119cm, Width Profile: 147-111-122, Turn Radius: 8.2m, Running Length: 94.6cm, Rocker: Tip 3/75, Tail 0 Weight: 1,078g (one board)
Schalk Cronjé –
Slingshots are not the first Spruce skiboard to be asymmetrical in shape, but it is definitely the one where it is most noticeable – the tail is distinctly lower and the non-rockered. This yields a pleasant experience in soft snow as it slightly sinks at the back which pushes up the tips. On harder surfaces the narrower tail holds speed better in turns than a conventional twin-tip. At 119cm it is long enough to be forgiving on stance when landing small jumps – it is not a park board, but sometimes one just have to deal with unexpected level changes. It is very stable at higher speeds as well. Yet at is length it still feels like a skiboard and does not require the effort of Ospreys or Sherpas.
it is very difficult to make a definitive choice between Crossbows and Slingshots. When it comes to downhill performance the Crossbows might have the edge on hardpack where as the Slingshots wins in softer snow. w.r.t effort.
I’ve also experimented skitouring on Slingshots. The downhill experience is what I like, but my only criticism is that the narrow tail works against a person when climbing. It sinks to much in soft snow, requiring flatter approaches on hills with any extra kick turns.
The Slingshots are well suited for skiers downscaling on length, that might feel that 110cm or less might be to short for them. Yet for those same people it will provide a playful ability that is not present in the longer offerings from Spruce.
Chris –
I picked up a pair of these last season (20-21) and have a bunch of time on them skiing in Utah. I am about 5’9″/175# and am an advanced skier for reference.
My primary use was getting some short skis to use when teaching kids. These have been awesome for that. It is a million times easier to wrangle the kids while wearing these short skis. I am far less likely to get tangled up with the kids, its much easier to ski switch/backwards, and there’s no need for poles. They are nimble with a tiny turning radius, and its easy to skate on the flats/bunny hill. I would not teach kids any other way. I look at other parents with regular longer skis and just feel bad for them.
I have also been able to take these out for a few spins without the kids. I’ve skied most of the mountain at one of the larger resorts in UT on these. I don’t have any other skiboards to compare with, but I can use a pretty traditional skiing stance/technique with these, which is what I wanted. They handle varied terrain and conditions well, although of course they are slower than traditional skis — that said there isn’t terrible chatter or instability at moderate speeds. Usually I prefer to grab real skis but these are fun for tooling around on, especially when cruising through tighter terrain/woods., or flipping around on “halfpipe” style bowls where you can really exploit the super tight turning radius. They do well on powder as well.
The compact size is also nice. I can throw them in the car and they don’t take up much space; they’re an ideal backup ski. For example I had an issue with a binding on my main skis but was able to pull these out and keep going with my day.
Customer service from Spruce is good. They’re responsive to questions and the factory tune on these is fine.
My biggest complaint is durability of the top surface. After half a season there were multiple dings, scratches and chips out of the top coat. There are also multiple chips along the edges (although the edge itself is fine, for now). I wasn’t messing around in the park or dinging up on rocks and I store/transport them in a nice padded bag, so its kind of disappointing to see this kind of wear so quickly. The top sheet art is beautiful though, love the understated “map” design.
Overall I am happy with my purchase. These have done what I wanted. If I get a few more seasons out of them to use for teaching then I’ll be happy.