New member, F2 Silberpfeil or Swoard?

[Anders884]

Hi there,

Thanks for a great site!

I have been sliding and carving on snowboards since -89. I do get to go just a week or so a winter but what can you do when you live in a flat part of Sweden

You fly paramotor or windsurf the rest of the year instead...

(I know this is an old one)
But for a week ago I found your video on youtube "Stoked"



Insane carving, I have never seen anyting like it before


So now I have made up my mind, I will upgrade my old Burton Alp 6.4 board.

Question is would you be able with a Swoard to carv smaller and quicker but obviously not so deap (armpit) Or is it just GS slalom turns??

All films I have seen with the Swoard is when riders is doing sweet GS turns but no SL short turn

Also could anyone just throw some light on the Medium VS Hard board

Medium should be more easy board to ride and the Hard would be the more difficult.

But on hard ice snow the softer board is the best suited??

I believe I am on the edge in between the two.

So what board should I get if I do go for the Swoard

79kg
180cm
Bootsize ? 42 in normal shoes
But I am about to replace the old Salomon whit a proper snowboard boot.

Skill level
I can carve whit my soft Burton board well in softer snow. My Burton tends to lose it's grip when it is getting steeper (red slope) and ice/hard packed snow.

I do want to be able to engage the edge on hard/ice snow on a red slope whit confidence that I don't wipe out to often. I like to push myself so I don't want to hang around the blue slope all the time.

Last one is the Swoard for me or should I go for an F2 silberpfeil ?



/ Anders

[starikashka]

Anders welcome

Silberpfeil is not suitable for the training to do a extremecarving laydown turns, especially backside turn. This is easier to do on wide boards - there is a couple of manufacturers besides the SWOARD not sure how they compares with SWOARD, but it exists on the market for reasonable price

After you master this technique you will be able to do this on almost any board

Harder board is easier to ride on ice and hardpack for experienced rider

Check out extremecarving.com for board choice advice - it`s clearly described.

[harald]

Anders,
Welcome. As far as I have read there should be a lot of small slopes in Southern part of Sweden (Skåne), but there might not be so much snow. In order to increase your time on snow you might spend some more time and money during the winter to go to the Swedish or Norwegian resorts.
Abt.your question. I have not tried a Silberpfeil myself but as I can see from my companions using this board it is well suited for the short slalom turns, but for EC I do not know how it works. You can do shorter turns on Swoard too, but due to the sidecut radius, longer turns feel more natural. With respect to flex, I do not agree with Starikashka. I have both M and H flex of the 3rd generation and tried both on both soft and hard/icy conditions. I am 178cm/80 kg. On hard/icy snow I definitely prefer the softer flex. It provides very good grip and you can do very smooth turns in both moderate and high speed. The H works very good in softer conditions and when you can go fast. However, it tends to loose its grip more easily when you lay down on a very hard surface. If you consider a Swoard, I definitely would recommend the M flex. I know I have the whole Swoard team behind me because all of them engaged heavily in testing before I bought my 3rd gen. M and have not regretted that choice .

[starikashka]

harald it`s subjective

[Anders884]

Hey, Starikashka and Harald

Thanks for the replys. Yes we do have some tiny smaller slopes here in Skåne but the days you could ski there is easy counted (simply not cold enough). And also when it is possible there is bussloads of happy Danes there to fill the slope up. Nothing wrong with them but I do like some space when carving...

A few weeks ago I was up at Isaberg (south of Jönköping) and it was pretty good but it sure is a short ride down to the lift. I just have to travel to half way up in Sweden or better France,Austria,Italy and so on. Never been skiing in Norway -yet!
Harald could you recommend a place? I am sure there is plenty in your wonderful country.

Harald what length do you have on your Swoard M board?

Also is there any huge difference on my old slalom boots Vs hard snowboard boots? Reason why I am asking is that I am use to carv whit my slalom boots and I might find it difficult to switch over to something softer?? The Salomon SX 91 has a nice flex forward and I am use to them. They are old but so is the Northwave...


Cheers / Ha det!

[Hans]

You can't compare those boards. I have ridden them both. The Silberpfeil is more like an extreme fun slalomboard. Not suited for soft or slushy snow. It digs in the nose then if you don't pay attention. But it's a very nice board that carves very fast with short turns on hardpacked groomers. The Swoard is more an extremecarve board with all moutainboard characteristics. So also suitable for some offpiste rides. The edge to edge change is a little slow due to its width. So short turns can be done when you flatten the Swoard enough but the Silberpfeil is by far the better suitable board for this.

If you are looking for one board in your quiver that can do it all and do short and long turn carves, take a metal Coiler AM T or a metal Coiler Schtubby X2. They have enough of both worlds. Those Coilers are more do it all boards than the Swoard and F2 Silberpfeil. I am not saying that the F2 and the Swoard are worser boards but that are boards for a more specific ridingpurpose. The mentioned Coilers are more allrounders with also more than good carve ability's. So if you want to buy a board that can do it all, you better look for those boards. The best all mountain carveboard from the two mentioned is the Metal Coiler AM T and after that comes the carvable funboard metal Schtubby X2 (the more carve oriented board of the two). Look for more information on the Coilers on the forum of www.bomberonline.com. Use the search function and you will find tons of info. Or you'd better phone the builder for a good conversation, Bruce Varsava.

Happy riding.

[Anders884]

Thanks Hans,

For your comments of Swoard and F2 Silberpfeil. It sure is nice to get some feedback from you.

I will have a look at the Coiler as well.

Anders

[Hans]

Hi, Anders

You are welcome.

Offtopic:
See that you have that nice Asym Air in your quiver. Was my first board with the 3-point torque binding from Burton. Nice and easy board to ride with the wooden topsheet!!

[harald]

Anders,
My Swoards are 168, both the M and H. With respect to good carving places in Southern Norway there could be a lot. The problem, as with all good skiing resorts is the crowds and speedy skiers, especially in the week-ends. I mostly carve in our local slopes in Oslo, http://www.tryvann.no. However, I would not recommend this for a holiday. It is good only during 2 hours in the morning. Thereafter its too crowded. Nearest then is Norefjell, 1 1/2 hour drive from Oslo, Hemsedal 3 1/2 hours from Oslo (but here it can be crowded in winter holidays and week-ends), Kvitfjell (upper parts, not for EC but ordinary carving), 250 km from Oslo, and Trysilfjellet, 230 km from Oslo. Perhaps also Hafjell but I find the slopes generally too narrow, while the best lower part usually is crowded and gets very bumpy. Geilo, 250 km from Oslo could be nice (short slopes) but the very best is Oppdal. However, this place is 420 km from Oslo. Maybe this is the reason why this resort usually is almost empty.
The topic of slalom or hard-boots has been discussed previously. Use the search function. I do not know the flex of the old Salomon boots, but generally the slalom boots, even the old models, are much stiffer than the hard-boots. This stiffness hinders both sideways movements and also the forward flex needed especially for EC. So the general recommendation is to by a pair of hard-boots and add a spring mechanism such as the Bomber BTS-kit for Deeluxe boots.