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XV 164 wide

26K views 46 replies 18 participants last post by  Herne9 
#1 ·
Got a short chance to ride my XV 164 wide.

The conditions were mostly hard, glazed over, and icy. I had a few momentary places of finding a patch of soft stuff 6", maybe a foot deep.

Stance is reference with a + 16 and 0. I'm about 5'11 and 195 with gear on, 11 boots.

The maneuverability feels like a much smaller board to me. Felt like I was on a regular width 155 or so. I was contemplating a 168 wide instead and after riding I know the bigger size would not have felt too big or cumbersome at all. Don't be afraid to size up on this board, make float in the pow that much better.

I didn't think the board was edge grabby at all; as in the bad way at wanting to catch an edge. At least in the conditions I was riding in.

The edge hold was phenomenal. It bit in every time and gave me a confident feeling that I could rely on the edge to bite when I needed it there the most.

It can carve and hold a very tight turn.

In the soft it had a little surfy and float feeling, as to be commonly expected from a rocker nose board.

I hit crud, icy snowcat track marks that vibrated me so bad my vision was completely blurred out, and no matter what I hit I never felt like I was losing control. Very stable feeling.

Didn't have any grief with it on groomers, performed just fine.

Slashed in the trees just fine and didn't have any issues with quick maneuvers dealing with stumps and logs sticking up in the back country.

The board does like to be ridden fast. The faster I opened it up, the better the board felt.

The board can definitely take more riding ability than I can dish to it.

So far it is proving to be a great freeride board.
 
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#5 ·
I'm confused. You're selling your Heritage because you want to switch to RCR, yet here you imply you like CRC more. Unless I'm reading you wrong.
 
#4 ·
Isn't the One an RCR like the XV? - Rocker tip and tail with camber in the middle?

Where as my T Rice would be a CRC?

I think the RCR might be what gives the XV the feeling of riding a shorter board than what the real size is. It very well could be that the profile gives it more stability.

Usually with the other boards I've ridden, when I get into hairy situations I weight more on the back leg to help stability.

So far on the XV it seems that I didn't find myself needing to favor to the rear leg as much when the terrain and riding conditions got tough. -speed, choppy, obstacles, etc.

Straight lining I did weight heavier on the rear like I do on other boards. For me it helps reduce drag and get more speed.
 
#7 ·
XV feeling

I think the RCR might be what gives the XV the feeling of riding a shorter board than what the real size is. It very well could be that the profile gives it more stability.

Effective edge

163 One MagTek according to EVO chart is 1060
163 HeritageX according to EVO chart is 1270
162 TRS according to EVO chart is 1220

Would the effective edge difference be the reason for feeling of riding a shorter board than what the real size.
 
#8 ·
Took the XV out again, this time much more powder.

The last time I rode was a month ago or so, on my Jones Flagship in powder, groomers, etc.

So I had a bit of a break and really haven't had the chance to go much this year.

This was the first time to really put the XV to the test in the deep and steep.

It turns very quick and took some getting used to the aggressiveness of it.

I rode the whole mountain except park. The board did great straight line bombing, floating in the pow, and of course the back country steep.

I never got the "locked-in-a-turn-and-can't-come-out" issue, but it could be the way I ride or that I might not have had the right conditions for that.

The biggest difference vs my Carbon Flagship is the tight radius turning.

If you want to turn, the XV turns on a dime without much trying. Maneuvers through the trees like a sports car.

The Flagship seems more mellow on turns, larger turning radius. I think it might have a tad more fun surfy feeling and nose float in the pow.

Although I have not yet been able to hit hard pack and ice with the Flagship yet to see how well it bites vs the XV.

When it comes to needing to bite, the XV will bite in like a pit bull.

I had a blast on the XV and it never let me down.
 
#12 ·
I don't think there is an immediately obvious answer to this question. I think the bases are pretty close in terms of speed if that's what you mean but might actually say the Jones is faster.

If you want to go fast on groomers hard or soft, I think the Jones is a great board. Mellow mag still cuts a nice smooth edge and the larger turning radius means you can really lean into it. The XV can be savage on the groomers and it has a tighter side cut so it will really rail hard if you can hang on.

Still, I didn't pay all that money for the Jones thinking groomers and so far I'd say for everything off piste, the XV make me feel more comfortable. The only issues are that I am not so far a huge fan of the magnetraction feel sometimes and that the softer and short tail might let you down if you get into a wheelie...on the other hand, that soft short tail is great is other scenarios.
 
#14 ·
Snowdog- I haven't done any Alpine or looked much into it to know. I would guess that an Alpine designed board would be your best option since that is what it's designed for and the XV has a different use design.

You can probably get an XV or a Flagship on sale right now for a good price if you wanted to give it a shot.

I tried + + stance on the XV and attempted to practice some lay down turns Alpine style (something I've never done before) and in that case I did have locked-in-the-turn feeling. Don't know how I'd feel on a diff board, that was the first time I was trying it.

A guy at the shop I got my boards from demo'd a Flag and was doing lay down turns on it. I don't think he demo'd an XV though.

I'd have to do some board swaps between runs to try to get an idea if I thought one felt faster. They both seem fast.

One guy I talked to said his opinion is that magnetraction made him feel like it had some drag to it compared to a non-magnetraction board. But he said he wasn't sure if it did or not, or if it was just in his mind, but that was his impression.



Sprocket- If I felt like more aggressive and articulate riding I think this is where the XV has the edge on the Flag.

For how I normally like to ride, at this time I prefer the Flagship. Little more surfy (probably from the nose rising sooner than the XV), more mellow feeling, and the bigger turns. For me it is a fun ride where I can bomb and bash, but retain an element of mellow feeling.

I haven't ridden the Flag on icy or really nasty hard pack conditions yet to know where I think it stands against the XV.

On the groomed portion of the runs back to the chair, both boards can straight line haul, the XV quicker on the cutting and tight carving.

I guess for an "Oh crap" surprise moment and required immediate evasive maneuver, the XV has the edge over the Flag.

This weekend I think I'll take the Flag and XV with me so I can do some swapping back and forth between runs.
 
#15 ·
Just ordered the 167 XV will get to test it out for 10 days before the season ends.
Racing board as you mentioned I first need to develop my stance angles for racing. Hope the XV will help. :thumbsup:
Donek builds you a race board based on boot size & your rear boot angle.
Mid November I plan on spending 30 days in Colorado with the Epic Local pass to demo a Donek board, get race coaching & practice.
Hope then to order a Donek Race board by day 10. :dunno:
Back to PA Mid December to enter some races. :dizzy:
 
#19 ·
More updates-

Got take out the Flag and the XV this past weekend, wife had her Flag and Gnu Velvet Guru.

First day we did 1 run on our Flags. It was icy on the higher elevation and wind blown. Lower down there was a few inches of good soft snow/powder on top of hard icy pack.

The wife traded her Flag for her Gnu because of the edgehold and bite is better with the magnetraction Gnu. (We scored her a 159 XV from the local shop as soon as we rolled back into our home area).

I swapped for my XV on day 1. The Flag doesn't begin to compare with surefooted pitbull bite of the XV.

The Flag wasn't bad on the flat and pure icy pack getting off the lift, but the XV was better. Down the hill some where there was some soft on top of the icy pack, there was a big difference between the XV and Flag.

On edge turning, the Flag did more of a scraping across the ice under soft upper layer. The XV bit in and got it on.

The XV grips and maneuvers like an Indy car.

The next day was warmer and the snow softened up. Started out on the XV and the wife on her Gnu. Within a couple runs we went to the Flags and favored them for the day. The Flag seemed more forgiving over the soft chop, other tracks, etc. It also has more of a float feel and is more graceful at high speeds and smooth big turns.

I never got bucked or hit wet on the XV that bucked me to almost go over the bars. At this time I'm not completely sure if it's just the way the board handled it or if I didn't get into as bad snow as I did on the Flag. I did hit some wet and heavy that put the brakes on hard, but it didn't cause me to go on the nose as hard.

The Flag I got bucked to the nose several times from wet snow or just the some of the situations I hit, and also did the last time I had the board out a month ago or more; I can say that the stiff nose did its job and saved me from going into a front tumble.

Both seemed just as fast to straightline and bomb with.



Love both the Flag and the XV.

If it's going to be a questionable snow conditions or known ice/ hard, the XV is my go-to stick.

For softer conditions the Flag is my go-to stick.
 
#20 ·
Had my XV today in 16" of pow at Copper and it just handled great. This being just my 3rd ever pow day the XV with its stiff nose kept me from a # of cartwheels. The tapered and softer tail gave me edge to edge quickness and confidence to let it rip. XV :3tens:
 
#33 ·
EDIT: Also forgot to mention: I've found the base to be extremely durable. I've ridden over logs, exposed rocks, pipes (not the ones in the park!), branches, ice chunks, etc. and there's barely a surface scratch. My edges are actually getting beat with large nicks and parts ground off from where I've scraped things, but the base next to these spots is flawless.
Interesting, I have the exact same problem with the base made out of cheese.
I have 167 XV Split that I have put 17 days on and I had to fill in 7 (!!!) core shots already!

I have had a Never Summer Summit and Venture Odin, as well as numerous other solids and have never encountered anything like this.

Anytime I hear or feel hitting a rock at speed I know there is a new coreshot. Ridiculous.
 
#23 · (Edited)
Haven't seen any issues yet.

Once I was going down a chute and went over the top of a huge boulder covered with enough snow that a person couldn't tell it was there.

I was in a partial turn, heard my edge grinding and scraping, I wiped out, scuffing was far less than I expected to see.

I think I've hit the tops of some sticks and stumps on occasions too.

But so far just minor dings and scratches. I haven't even had to p-tex it yet and I'm fairly picky about keeping a smooth base.


On the flip side I suppose I've done OK at avoiding areas that pose a big risk for hitting some thing. I've been on some icy areas, possible contributor to a couple of the minor battle wounds it has.

In the case of the boulder in the chute I guess I was just lucky that I was in a partial turn so most of the rock contact was on the metal edge and not on the board base.
 
#25 ·
It's fast.

I let my bro-in-law ride mine. I told him the night before that the board was made for going fast and it likes to be ridden fast.

After he rode it he told me that when I was telling him about it, he thought it was going to be an Alpine style race board. When he saw it, he didn't think it was going to ride fast like it did. Said he had to hold the board back because it wanted to go super fast.
 
#28 · (Edited)
I picked up a 164w XV for this season and am absolutely loving it. For reference I'm 6'4" 180lb, wearing noodled Salomon F22s, and using 2015 Burton Cartels angled +21/0 in the middle inserts. I've been riding the East Coast on everything from icy groomers to a couple feet of fresh in the woods.

My initial impression having ridden nothing but a really wide, pure camber 163 Arbor Roundhouse for years was that the XV is agile. Although I might be biased since my old Arbor would probably make any board feel agile - for a board of it's size (both length and width) the XV is very nimble. Think slashing through trees, tight radius carves & turns all with ease. My F22 boots are old and pretty soft now but I imagine with newer stiffer boots the board would be even more responsive.

Other than it's maneuverability, I was also impressed with the RCR. I had never ridden anything but camber before so I wasn't sure what to expect, but I am definitely a fan of the XV's profile now. Compared to pure camber it feels surfier, but is still able to retain a lot of bite and aggressiveness. I felt like the faster I went or the harder I turned the more I felt the camber, but still never felt like I was going to catch an edge. Conversely, in deep powder the thing literally feels like a surfboard and is nearly unsinkable. The best way to describe the XV's RCR is that it feels camber dominant in situations where you would want a camber board, and it feels rocker dominant in situations where you would want a rocker board... AKA the best of both worlds.

Someone on here said the XV is like an F1 car, and they were spot on. This thing is fast, ultra-aggressive and agile. She begs to be ridden harder and inspires confidence in all conditions if you're willing to push her to the limit.

EDIT: Also forgot to mention: I've found the base to be extremely durable. I've ridden over logs, exposed rocks, pipes (not the ones in the park!), branches, ice chunks, etc. and there's barely a surface scratch. My edges are actually getting beat with large nicks and parts ground off from where I've scraped things, but the base next to these spots is flawless.
 
#31 ·
has any one over 250 lbs riden a rossignol xv. was wondering how it would handle the weight of a larger guy. I'm over 270 with a 13 boot. looking for a more maneuverable board.
Last season I rode a 167 Rossi Krypto at around 250 (112 kg), and I was still stoked. I know it isn't the same board, but the Krpto is considered to be the XV's inbred cousin. It has a different layout (nose and tail stiffness are flipped). Nonetheless, I think you'd be taking the board to its limit, but at your side you'll be taking any board to its limit. I lost 10kg and an stoked to see what a difference it is going to make.

See what SnowDog wants for his board. If it is a good price, jump on it. Also, check online. If I recall correctly, the XV new can be picked up rather cheap ($200ish?).

I was looking at the XV for a long time before jumping on its inbred cousin.
 
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