Stranda Snowboards

[Spenser]

Yeah, the 8.5m radius makes it pretty well-rounded, considering the rest of the board. But still, due to the edge and overall size, it is nice to have a little more room to play with. However, I take it in all the same places I usually do, and it’s great. You don’t need the giant groomer fields of Colorado, I think an average run anywhere is fine, but could also depend on how many people are typically around you.

[unsatisfiedus]

yeah the crowds really

[Spenser]

As fun as the board is, probably not a great choice if you usually have crowds.

[unsatisfiedus]

i mean, we're 90 minutes from whistler so we get up there too. but its best to have an all day board there if you can to avoid uploading multiple times. depends on where you park really. anyways, i could see it being a ton of fun there.

theres one shitty slow double that accesses a bit of open terrain most people dont bother with and a few dedicated hardboot guys still rub their nipples in the snow over there. guess thats an option too.

[Spenser]

I think you’ve got the space for it. I personally ride it often, but don’t know that I would have paid for it if it were more of a niche choice. I’m into the type of board it is, and I have the space & lack of crowds for it, so it works.

I think you would ride the Shorty a lot more. Even with my extra soft nose, it’s such a fun & beautiful board.

[pow_hnd]

I think you all put a bit too much stock in sidecut radius. I can ride a 7.5m deck just the same as a 8.5m deck. How do I know? Because I have the same deck with both radiuses. Since Prior will customize anything for you ( for a price ) I have a Khyber that has both those radius, one is their production unit with 8.5 and one was my custom with 7.5. I’d say I honestly can’t hardly tell a difference, especially in pow where I can say I notice no difference at all. On groomers, I maybe notice it a bit, but to be honest it might be psychosomatic. For me, it’s my physical input that makes the way the deck rides. I’m sure I’d notice something crazy like a 10m or 5m sidecut, but for me there’s basically no negligible difference between 7.5 and 8.5 on the exact same deck.

[Spenser]

I respectfully very much disagree on that much of a radius difference, and radius in general. But of course, that’s me personally. Many riders & riding styles won’t notice a difference, or care. I do, and I’m not the only one, and you’re not the only one who feels the way you do.

I won’t even consider something less than low to mid 8 anymore, and that’s considering the difference in progressives, radial, and the board itself. That’s my minimum. There is absolutely a difference, but that doesn’t mean everyone will feel it or care. Same with anything.... stiffness, profile, width, weight, etc etc etc

[unsatisfiedus]

i probably overthink it, but i'm pretty sure i can feel the difference on groomers. i'm sure i get a lot fewer powder days than you do so on piste groomers is where i spend the majority of my time these days. its pretty rare for us to get more than 10-20cm locally and whistler is hit or miss for the weekend warrior.

the line i can draw on something 7.5ish (giant manta, y/opti) is noticeably different than something in the mid 8s (most other boards i have). above 9 starts to feel stiff and the moss mini-long (13.5) tracked like crazy for me. that said, ive never had the same board with different sidecuts so cant say for certain that was the main design element causing the difference.

all that to say, the cheater is interesting to me because it seems designed to offer some of what those alpine carvers do, but with softboots and a width that doesnt require fully pointing the toes towards the nose. and those alpine boards are like 10-13ish sidecuts on average as far as i know (which isnt very far), so i'd think they need a much different line.

[unsatisfiedus]

actually, pwd_hnd, now that i think about it, something else must have been different between those khybers as well right? like either the waist was narrower/wider or the nose/tail?

[Spenser]

Yeah, the cheater is intended to be a softboot carving board inspired by hardboot carvers, with a better all-around radius and is friendly for all terrain. The pipeliner takes it further - 150cm edge, 10.5 radius.

I think a lot of competent riders can have a ton of fun on the cheater, even if it’s totally different to them, but the pipeliner wants somebody more dedicated to that style and might be a lot for most people