Coiler reviews--not posted in reviews

[Carp]

Was wondering if those of you that have ridden Coilers and haven't written a review could provide a little. I'm thinking of buying/ordering one. I currently ride a Donek FC163-I. I once demoed a 195 Donek and loved how low I could get on it over the FC (longer wheel base?). I was thinking of picking up a new all mountain board but really don't want to loose the carvability (laying over serious trenches) and still being able to switch and carve fakie without working about catching my tail on imperfect snow. My FC is fine riding fakie on cord, but if the conditions have been compromised by masses of people I lose some confidence. I've been riding a Salomon FRS 165 when I want to play in the imperfect condition and although it's a fun board it doesn't really carve as well as the Donek. I'm not sure if it's the cap construction or what but it doesn't seem to want to let me lay over the carves like the FC. I've been considering the Coiler just because of the things I've heard but am hoping to make some slight modifications either to the AM or to the Pure Race (IE kicked tail?). Wondering how they carve on "ICE" and how they compare to the Doneks from a ridability and performance stand point (ICE).

Thanks for taking the time especially those that have ridden both.

[Mike T]

... but since I've also owned a Salomon FRS, and a Donek FC1 163, and own two Coilers with a 3rd on the way in the distant furture, I feel I can offer you more than what's in my review.

1st - w.r.t. getting low - I find that's more a function of sidecut than effective edge (wheelbase). The bigger the sidecut radius, the less speed you lose in a hard turn, and the easier it is to get really low. This is just my personal observation, experts please jump in and correct me if I am wrong.

The FRS is exceptionally tornsioanally stiff for a freeride deck but it also has a tighter sidecut in back which I persoinally didn't like. Going back and forth between that and my former FC163 gave me fits sometimes! It's also over 24cm wide at the waist and I found that too wide for me, but I have size 25 dogs.

I find the Coilers awesome on ice, even my AM 182 which is designed specifically for fresh-over-groomed and slush-over-hardpack. I've also got a PR188 and had a PR184 that died an early death due to an accident which is often mentioned by myself and Randy s. :smashfrea
They all behave(d) well on ice.

I find the Coilers much easier to ride than my '02 FC 163 was. (On the other hand, my '06 FC1 175 Olympic is every bit as easy to ride as my Coilers, need to get more time on it before I say which I like better!)

My AM 182 is actually a hybrid of sorts between an AM and a RC2. It borrows the 12.7 sidecut radius from the RC2 180, the edge length is essentially halfway between the Pr184 and my trust Donek Axis 172, the flex pattern is AM all the way for the less-than-ideal carving conditions it gets ridden in, the wdith is 1.5 cm wider than my normal 18cm do I can leave a little underhang wich helps slice though slush without any bumpiness. That might be one way to go for you or also the PR with some tail kick.

[NateW]

I have two Coilers from the AM169 mold, with the nose and tail extended so they come up about 5cm and 3cm respective (I think stock is 4cm and 1.5cm). One has a 21cm waist and 13m sidecut (maybe actually 12.8/12.7m), the other newer one has a 17cm waist and 11.5m sidecut. Both are 174cm long.

I'm still not sure if going that down to 17cm was a good idea, but i'm also not sure it wasn't. Time will tell; I've only got two and a half days on it so far.

But the 13m sidecut works great on a board of this length, and my next board will definitely share that parameter. It lends itself to bigger faster more-fun carves and the relatively short effective edge didn't seem to be a problem. Then again I haven't ridden a long board with the same sidecut so I could be missing something - but I have no great yearning for a longer board anyhow.

With the extra tail height I don't worry much at all about riding switch on either board.

The flex on the first one (21cm waist) was a little less than what I wanted, but still worked fine. The flex on the second one seems absolutely perfect for carving and moderate bumps, but I won't know for sure if it IS perfect until I get it into some big moguls. (There's not enough snow coverage at my home hill for me to head for the steep ungroomers with a brand-new board just yet.)

The only negative point is that the 1st board has no more camber in it. I think it had ~65/75 days on it when I noticed that. I did not notice a change in the way it rides, though... It still rides great, and I really enjoy it to this day I bring it out. I was pretty started with I sat the board down on a bench and the middle was flat on the bench tool - signed down the edge just looks like a faint squiggle where the camber curve should be.

Butt bottom line is, I'm happy with both of these builds. They ride great, and I love being able to tweak a parameter or three and learn a thing or two from the resulting board. I will order from Bruce again.

[bobdea]

I have been on have been extremely user friendly, they all have a sweet spot a mile wide
I have a RCII with a kicked tail coming, sounds like it might be the ticket for what you wanna do as well.
if you're ever in MA let me know and I will put you on it for a night.

[alexeyga]

I took my RaceCarve175 for it's first spin last night. Conditions were like ice crust with 2in of dry, icy snow on top of it... And i'm still smiling like stupid... :D Never had so much fun on a slope and the board... there is nothing I could say about Coiler you didn't heard before, so I won't say anything... :eplus2: