Coiler Stubby 172 kipstar
Da Bomber
Hello all, as we get to the end of another season, I had the pleasure of receiving a new coiler stubby, which replaces my coiler stubby 168 where I had a bit of a prang and popped some of the top sheet off (hopefully Masahiko's repair will make the board riding well again).
The cool thing about the Stubby is it is a mid sidecut style board with a fairly long edge length in a relatively shorter overall length; for an older rider like me, that means slightly less weight up the lift, slightly better maneuverability in other snow types (steeps, bumps, trees) and still with enough sidecut to enjoy wider turns.
The first Stubby I have was a 168, made for a lighter rider, titanal, and was one of the easiest boards I have ever ridden; just jump on and go.
So….when I discovered the 168 was damaged, getting a new one from Bruce was simple; the new process of partially built boards means you can get a board you want in just about 2 weeks – as long as your request fits with the blanks he has in stock. For me, that meant a 172, hybrid nose, carbonium custom topsheet (the red dwarf named after my favourite TV show and fitting given it is a stubby) waist 200mm and 13.5m sidecut.I am about 80kg and a bit older so not as powerful when riding as when I was young, this was meant to be my go to board for everything.
Jumping on the board, it is nice to ride in everything; we were at Kiroro in spring corn, which of course has an ice layer under corn, and is fairly variable late in the afternoon, with some slushy ankle deep corn off piste – in everything the board is predictable, super simple to ride, you can ride cross through cross under cross over turns in anything from a slalom type diameter up to a tight GS while pushing it, or draw the turns out further with GS gliding turns. The nose is not so stubby so would be quite ok to ride in variable conditions. Interestingly, if you push it a bit, the board has a satisfying pop to it where you can definitely get some life from it with a bounce out of turns, more so than the older stubby (partly because it is stiffer too). I am no EC rider, but it seems to handle being able to lay out some EC style turns pretty easily as well.
Built really well, and very light. I am riding it with an apex gecko plate and TD3s, which are a good set up, helps the board to ride well in variable chop. Early morning was quite firm and frozen over, not a problem to get great edge hold; not raceboard level edge hold but certainly more than enough. Also still has that very satisfying quality of being able to adjust the line of the board very easily; it doesn't lock into each carve and not want to skid, you can effortlessly transition from carve to skid to carve again in a single turn, no problem at all.
For a rider who wants just 1 board to do it all, this is the one IMHO.
