Big nod to BA for using his template
Stick: 2011 SL 155
Binders: 2009 Rome 390's
Stance: Comfy
Angles: 15, -12
Boots: 2009 Salomon Dialogue
Weight: 160lbs
Spot: Snowmass
Conditions: groomers, park, chop, presidents day gaper mayhem, pow stash or two.
What I knew: Do everything all-mountain monster. rails not a strength.
Initial Impression: "hmmmm...I don't remember this board being THIS poppy and lively."
Flex: Softer than previous models, I jumped on a friend's 09 to compare and the '11 is definitely noticibly softer.
Stability: First run was on an icy ridge leading to the park that I get VERY sketched out on with my revolver. Not so with this board. I charged that run with no fear whatsoever. Still incredibly damp and stable for being softer.
Pop: TO THE MOON! I was blown away by the pop on this board. I was so impressed that I called NS and asked if they changed anything on it. apparently they have been messing with the core materials and shape of the board to make poppier and more lively. mission accomplished. definitely the highlight of this board.
butterability: very very playful and easy to butter.
Charging: fast and stable. no problems even on the choppiest terrain.
Jibbing: still not a strong point but better than earlier models. still doesn't lock in like a true park board but I didn't have any problems sliding any features.
Rider in mind: Park guy who loves big booters.
My thoughts: LOVE LOVE LOVE this board. So playful and fast edge to edge. perhaps the fastest edge to edge that I've ridden yet. I had so much fun on the board that I'm 95% sure that this will be my daily driver next year. The stick has moved more into a park board which is nice for those of us who arent big jibbers but still like to slide around some. The biggest thing for me was how truly playful it was. I had some friends take some runs on it and the first thing they all said was how it rode like a skateboard. With that being said, i felt it rode much shorter that a 155 and I even narrowed my stance a bit to maximize the flex in between my feet and pop in the nose and tail. The only issue i had was that this stick was so poppy that i couldn't throw my backside cork 5 with it cuz if i preloaded the tail the board would shoot out from under me and throw me squirrelly when I hit the lip.
This is a great step forward for this board. I had always thought that the SL was a bit too all mountain for my style of riding, but this version now fits my riding needs better than my revolver does.
BIG THANK YOU to Vince and Tim for allowing me the opportunity to ride this board.
Stick: 2011 SL 155
Binders: 2009 Rome 390's
Stance: Comfy
Angles: 15, -12
Boots: 2009 Salomon Dialogue
Weight: 160lbs
Spot: Snowmass
Conditions: groomers, park, chop, presidents day gaper mayhem, pow stash or two.
What I knew: Do everything all-mountain monster. rails not a strength.
Initial Impression: "hmmmm...I don't remember this board being THIS poppy and lively."
Flex: Softer than previous models, I jumped on a friend's 09 to compare and the '11 is definitely noticibly softer.
Stability: First run was on an icy ridge leading to the park that I get VERY sketched out on with my revolver. Not so with this board. I charged that run with no fear whatsoever. Still incredibly damp and stable for being softer.
Pop: TO THE MOON! I was blown away by the pop on this board. I was so impressed that I called NS and asked if they changed anything on it. apparently they have been messing with the core materials and shape of the board to make poppier and more lively. mission accomplished. definitely the highlight of this board.
butterability: very very playful and easy to butter.
Charging: fast and stable. no problems even on the choppiest terrain.
Jibbing: still not a strong point but better than earlier models. still doesn't lock in like a true park board but I didn't have any problems sliding any features.
Rider in mind: Park guy who loves big booters.
My thoughts: LOVE LOVE LOVE this board. So playful and fast edge to edge. perhaps the fastest edge to edge that I've ridden yet. I had so much fun on the board that I'm 95% sure that this will be my daily driver next year. The stick has moved more into a park board which is nice for those of us who arent big jibbers but still like to slide around some. The biggest thing for me was how truly playful it was. I had some friends take some runs on it and the first thing they all said was how it rode like a skateboard. With that being said, i felt it rode much shorter that a 155 and I even narrowed my stance a bit to maximize the flex in between my feet and pop in the nose and tail. The only issue i had was that this stick was so poppy that i couldn't throw my backside cork 5 with it cuz if i preloaded the tail the board would shoot out from under me and throw me squirrelly when I hit the lip.
This is a great step forward for this board. I had always thought that the SL was a bit too all mountain for my style of riding, but this version now fits my riding needs better than my revolver does.
BIG THANK YOU to Vince and Tim for allowing me the opportunity to ride this board.