Feedback Swoard 175 H

[tommaso2k]

Hi,

now i am a proudly member of the Swoard community and tested my new Swoard 175 H last weekend for 4 days in Austria.

Here is the feedback i would like to share:

Strengths:

The edge grip is enormous. After 2 days of riding i get used to the width (23cm) and edge lenght, it was forgiving mistakes and easy to ride. I rode the board in various conditions, ice, well groomed pistes, moguls and even off piste on fresh powder. The fun factor was incredible. I rode a Nitro race board (width 17,9cm) before and compared to that the Swoard has excellent damping on moguls on pistes. With my nitro i often jumped without wanting over them and crashed landing on ice plates. With the swoard i could ride with full speed and the damping plus edge grip gives me the required saftey. The board is versatile to ride in all conditions.

Weaknesses:

The only weakness i found is the sensitiv topshell and the not protected nose and tail. After 4 days i have some scratches and small damages on the topshell.

Bottom Line:

Overall this board is incredible. Never had a board which makes fun in all conditions. Before i bought the Swoard i thought about buying a seperate freeriding board for some riding off piste but after trying the swoard this board is really enough for me. Thanks to the Swoard team, excellent board. I will give the top score if the sensitive topshell and nose/tail protection is improved.

Important thing for now is that i improve my technique to really get the best out of the swoard because i need to learn a lot

Greets

Tommaso

[Malecky]

You lucky.....

When I purchase my Swoard I will make a sticker that says " Dont walk on my board that costs 800€ or I will end up walking over your car"

The pists are crowded here in Slovenia and a 175cm Swoard would get a beeting here.

[fivat]

At the lift queue, I simply remove my board, walk... cool... and simply place it again under my front foot just before taking the lift (it takes two seconds!)

After 70 days of extremecarving, my Swoard is still in very good state. I would do the same with any other board or skis

Patrice Fivat

[Malecky]

Smart

Probably will take the two secs to get it of...when I get the Swoard

[skywalker]

After 70 days of extremecarving, my Swoard is still in very good state.

Hi Patrice, you already know my opinion about the quality and durability of the swoard. This theme is one of the main reasons, why I did not buy one. In fact you were riding 70 days with your swoard, but all of them in an empty or almost empty resort . I met Joe in Sölden, and after four days of riding a piece of his board's top sheet was already missing. It rather looked like after four years. And he cared for it. But I think in Sölden for example, a board has to last more even if you only stand in the crowd with the board removed, than if you keep it on your feet in Zinal. Sorry, but it you should know that, I think

best regards

Tom

[nils]

actually we are aware of this problem: the topsheet is fragile at the tail, because off all these skiiers that pay no attention to us in the queue. I tend to be very careful with mine, and such problem never happend yet.

The problem is the topsheet is straight at the same level of the ABS that protects the tail, and when a ski nose arrives just at the same level, and sideways, it will tends to cut, then lift the topsheet. We are trying various solutions to improve this problem, and for now i have solved it in a very simple way> I used a Dremel tool and beveled the topsheet so it gets a bit off the edge of the tail: now only the abs will get hurt and it seems to be much stronger than the ICP topsheet when it comes to encountering skiies..
When it gets very crowded , I also take the board vertically rather than keep it on the snow, in order not to have to kill any skieers later on.

And Tom I don't agree on the durability / quality issue with you: yes the topsheet is fragile, and no it will not affect the board performance if it is scratched. The board is like a proto, and we are working on those issues of protecting the tail from shocks, but our boards are here to prove that they can last long ( this is the reason i am riding until I have no more edges one of the first boards produced, in order to check how long it can survive the crowds ( I ride in Verbier or La Clusaz and those are crowded too). Donek has a very strong topsheet made of PU, but still has no tail protection and his boards last loooong it seems. ( Sean bevels the tail so only the white ABS sticks out)

Nils

[skywalker]

Hi Nils,

sorry, maybe I was not exact enough in my post. Top sheet durability belongs to the quality aspect for me. I know, that it does not effect the riding performance, but when I spend 850 bocks, I believe, I should get a lasting top sheet for ths money. This is all about that . Not the board is good or it isn't. And it's riding performance is worth 1000,- rather than any other board, inculding the well known 1000 bucks asym, you know ). Well, and Tomasso2k can tell you, that I dared him to buy that board! Maybe I just want too much, let's talk about that the next time, I'm in Zinal . Have a nice wekend!

Tom

[tommaso2k]

Hi,

to be honest Tom (Skywalker) always told me not to buy the board because of the quality instead i should by a Silberpfeil - no no no i am just kidding

I totally agree with Tom that the riding with the board is exceptional as written above in my feedback report. Only thing which needs to be improved is the topsheet durability.

Nils

could you maybe send a picture of the modifications you made to the tail you described above.

Thanks + greets

Tommaso

[skywalker]

Well, and Tomasso2k can tell you, that I dared him to buy that board

Sorry, wrong word. Can I buy an "adviced" instead???

[tommaso2k]

Tom,

to make it easy you did eversthing right because i purchased the Swoard whatever word u wanna use

Tommaso