Coiler NSR 182 (symmetrical)

[corey_dyck]

From this thread:
Coiler NSR 182 with some minor tweaks:
- '2011' rounded nose as square noses just bug me
- Square tail so I could get a little more effective edge out of the same length (yes, I'm aware of the irony of this statement after the previous one )
- UPM inserts
- Extra 4x4 inserts so I could get plate axles further apart, if I want to use a 4x4 plate

As usual for all boards I've seen from Bruce, it's freaking perfect. Simple and elegant in the fine details. I can't wait to get it on the snow!

Specs:
182cm long, 20cm waist, 13.7/17m sidecut, built for 210 lb rider, white 'ghost' topsheet.

I wanted something that could handle being pushed around at higher speeds on good snow. I got a chance to ride a very similar NSR in very good snow conditions and fell in love with it. Bruce from Coiler gave me lots of warnings about this board, basically that I'm not going to like it if the snow is very soft or very icy. Fair enough, can't question the guy that makes this stuff for a living!

I finally got to take this thing out today. It was -10C (14F) early in the morning. We've been going through some freeze/thaw cycles so I knew the snow was going to be pretty icy. What the heck, let's take the NSR for the first run!

Oh jebus! I've been on big sidecut boards before, you've got to get up some speed before trying to turn. This one likes LOTS of speed! It took a little while to learn the language this board speaks - basically you have to be the boss, tilt it up on edge, and push that puppy hard into the snow! It really came alive once I did that. Even on pretty icy conditions, it just worked. It's very quiet-feeling (damp) underfoot and has a distinctive 'ripping' type sound as it goes about it's business on very hardpack/granulated ice.

As the day progressed I noticed the skidders were scraping the groomed snow off more and more, leaving just yellow ice with little ribs that showed how deep the groomer blades penetrated.* It was getting seriously hard to bend this board, and I was frequently losing the edge and sliding out. Just like Bruce said, this board wasn't cut out for these conditions. To go fast enough to bend the board, it was going to really hurt if/when you fell. Go slow and it felt like it had a 100m sidecut radius.

So I dig out my trusty Coiler 167 VSR XTight. It eats up ice. Guess what? It wasn't fun either! That's when I looked around and noticed that everyone is falling on the big ice patches. Conditions were really brutal. Some were joking about getting their hockey skates from their cars. (Canada, eh? ) I packed it in with only minor bruising on my knees and elbows. The NSR really worked better than I would have expected in adverse conditions.

Kind of a weird review, I know. But it's amazing that this big 'race' style board worked better than I expected in tough conditions. It'll hook a pretty tight turn if you've got enough grip and trust in the board. But it's not a good choice if you like to tip a board and wait for it to start turning - the NSR would just laugh and continue down the fall line! If you're the kind of person that likes to load up the nose and boss a board around, this offers a very nice reward while being stable at speeds higher than I'll ever go.

I'm anxious to get out in some good snow with this thing! That's likely sometime in December now...

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* This hill tends to groom quite shallow at this time of year, they're trying to preserve the 'snow' as long as possible.

[snowboardworm]

Hey Corey,

Back on line after almost 9 weeks off. Want to buy a 2010 182 NSR? I think i finally learned how to ride this thing. 4 days of intense lessons at Silverstar and I rode it like it was meant to be ridden. Accidentally dragged the knee on toe edge a few times while trying to get away from the snow, a big explosion of snow, and i came out grinning/whooping on the other side. However, like we discussed at Nakiska, its a bit too wide for me now after trying your Monster.

Hope the season went well for you.

greg

[corey_dyck]

Hey Corey,

Back on line after almost 9 weeks off. Want to buy a 2010 182 NSR? I think i finally learned how to ride this thing. 4 days of intense lessons at Silverstar and I rode it like it was meant to be ridden. Accidentally dragged the knee on toe edge a few times while trying to get away from the snow, a big explosion of snow, and i came out grinning/whooping on the other side. However, like we discussed at Nakiska, its a bit too wide for me now after trying your Monster.

Hope the season went well for you.

greg

Sorry Greg, that one pictured above is fresh from Bruce for me. You won't have a hard time selling yours though.

[corey_dyck]

I got to play in some nice snow this past Saturday. This board rocks! It rides like a slightly stiffer version of my Monster, but with a much bigger sidecut on the rear section. It wants to be loaded more on the nose than the Monster which is happiest when you're centered between the bindings. It's also more stable at any speed I'm willing to go, which is impressive considering I never really thought the Monster was unstable...

It's damp but not dead - it just gets down to business and carves. It really doesn't like skidding at low edge angles, like coming up to a lift line slowly on flat ground. It feels like you have a ton of boot underhang in those situations. Maybe that's because of the high camber? Whatever the reasoning; you need to concentrate in those situations.

Even on good snow you need to either be moving fast or put a lot of energy into decambering the board when starting a turn. If not it starts into an absolutely HUGE turn radius that won't help you at all. It can be a little hard to break out of that huge carve, meaning it's pretty easy to fall over to the inside of the turn when moving slowly and trying to carve. Jack M's 'the Norm' exercise sucks on this board.

NSR 182 Drawbacks:
- Pick another board for ice or slush
- You've got to be in charge and aggressive
- Low speed skidding is surprisingly tough
- Not for beginners

NSR 182 Pluses:
- Get above 20 mph and it'll take anything you throw at it
- Very rewarding ride if you work a bit, one of the funnest boards I've ridden (I'd love to do some back to back rides with an SG 185)
- Has a very large array of turn shapes depending on rider inputs
- Super stable at higher speeds
- Cheaper than other comparable boards (especially if you live in Canada!)

[corey_dyck]

Update:
I've had a few more days on the NSR. If the snow is anything other than boiler-plate ice or slush, this is the board I'd rather be on. It eats up steeps, is fun on even mild blue runs, and just keeps surprising me with its versatility.

It is not fun on narrow runs though, but that's no surprise with a big sidecut and 182cm of length. You've got to work a bit to get it turning, then it's highly rewarding and will make insanely tight radius turns for the specs. If you feel lazy and just want to cruise, it makes very big turns.

This is my favourite board when I've got wider (more than 4 groomer passes wide) runs and good snow. In the other conditions I'll take out something shorter.