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Which Skwal is right for me?

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Which Skwal is right for me?

Postby SkwalRat » 16 Nov 2012 01:13

Hello,

I am looking for my first Skwal board and am very unsure which to buy.

My background:
I am 45, 1,87 m, 108 kg, shoe size 45. I ski since the age of 6, and although I live 500 km from the Alps I am a very good and fast skier.

I also did some snowboarding during the past 20 years, but not much, although it was fun, I never found it as addictive as skiing. Maybe 12 days in total.

This year's Easter I was in France (Valfrejus) for skiing and stumbled upon an AES boot (see http://www.skwal.eu/public/index.php/po ... -1er-avril) where they lent Skwals for free. I had actually never heard of a Skwal, but I am curious and it looked challenging, and it was free, so I gave it a try. The guy gave me an mpride xrace 183.
It was difficult at the beginning, but after an hour or so on the training slope I was able to ride down blue and red slopes without any major difficulties, and after two or three additional hours I was already able to take them rather fast, as fast at least as the rest of my family was on skis, and without falling anymore (although I still used ski sticks).

Anyway, these few hours were so exciting that I can't stand waiting for winter to come and to go skwalling again. So I am looking for equipment.

I read now that the mpride xrace 183 are fairly good, but hard to ride and not suitable for beginners. But is this really true if I learned skwalling on them in a few hours without any instructions?

Also I read that the Lagriffe MR 183 are very similar to the xrace, but they too are rumoured to be very demanding.

Or would a more foregiving board like the RS 176 or an easy jungle be the better (and cheaper) choice for me?

Btw, I really want to thankl the guys from AES for promoting their sport on that day, I am sure I found a great new hobby!
Last edited by SkwalRat on 16 Nov 2012 14:02, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Which Skwal is right for me?

Postby gigabass » 16 Nov 2012 12:03

Depends ...
i'm not a skwal expert like some others here, but the 'right for me' question is always the same, no matter if you're looking for a skwal, a guitar, a motorbike ...
noone will be able to give the perfect advice, except maybe he is riding with you a couple of days and knows your skills.
as always : the best ist test test test ... test yourself, but you will only find enough skwals for testing if you go to one of the aes sessions again.
you made experience with the xrace 183. for sure not a beginners board, but if you felt comfortable i would not look at the shorter and weaker models.
i'm personally riding the xrace 183 too, and as long as you are not a pro i'm pretty sure that you can have lots of fun with it for the next years. yes, a stiffer board like an mr may be better in the pro's eyes, may have some more grip in extreme conditions (steep, ice ...) but it's not that the xrace doesn't work. on the other hand under normal conditions the xrace (to me) is wonderful, and it will excuse some minor riding-mistakes more graciously, which again may be more fun and less work for a non-pro. to me it is a (not the) perfect combination. look at obi-one's videos - as long as you can't do it like him don't tell anyone it's because of the board.
still doesn't mean the xrace 183 is the best for you - but it probably will be a good one.
(btw : where are you from ?)
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Re: Which Skwal is right for me?

Postby Zarkod » 16 Nov 2012 21:22

With you background you would just be fed up with the easy jungle very quickly.
Perhaps the RS would suit you, but you will probably find it limitated after one season. On the contrary, the Mpride or the MR will alow you to progress over several seasons.
If you enjoyed your first day on a Xrace 183 and did not find it too demanding, I think I will be ok for you.
:: Thias FC180, SK200, 173°F, RS176 carbone, FC165 ::
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Re: Which Skwal is right for me?

Postby SkwalRat » 16 Nov 2012 23:26

Thanks both for your replies. Probably with my long experience in skiing I am not as much a beginner as the average skwal newbie. I hope this does not appears as showing off, but actually, from all others who lent their skwals the first time on that day, I have without any doubt been the one who made the fastest progress on that day.

I am a bit confused about the differences between the xrace 183 and the MR183 - in one discussion I read that the xrace was more demanding, elsewhere it is said that it's the other way round.

I understand that both are good boards, but at the current CHF rate it will cost me 760 € w/o fixes if I buy it in Switzerland, which I can't do before February, or 900 € + shipping inkl. the taxes if I have it shipped to Germany, so inkl. fixings I will probably have to spend 1100 €, whereas the MR183 is available for 719 € + shipping INKL. the fixings and I can have it instantly.

So is the MR 183 harder or less hard or the same?

Also, I am looking into buying a used one, and the more options I heave the better.

I assume the 173 versions will be too short for my weight & size, right?
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Re: Which Skwal is right for me?

Postby sabestian » 22 Nov 2012 23:34

http://www.skwalzone.org/forums3/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=4836&p=35640#p35640
I haven't ridden Xrace but I heard it to be softer than Lagriffe. You weight quite a bit, take this into account. I have both MR173 and MR183 and can tell you they are stiff as hell.

MR173 can take your weight and height no problem, it will be very turny under your heft. If you are an experienced skier go for MR183 and prepare yourself for a fast ride. 8)

Edit: forget about RS and Easy Jungle, you'd bend them in a knot.
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