Fast and smooth RVL8 Blunt XL

It hasn’t snowed in two weeks in Tahoe. Temps were in the 20’s in the morning. They stayed pretty cold all day. Heavenly did a nice job of grooming, but there was lots of ice under the broken up stuff… very fast smooth icy groomers. Kirkwood did a crappy job of grooming so lots more faster steeper ice there. I had a great time on the XL’s. The boards pack a lot of performance in a very small package. As a dedicated long board and short ski rider, I don’t like many short skiboards.

This one is different and a lot of fun. The boards felt so light on my feet. The ride feel comes very close to the Groove Taxis I used to have. However, it’s much more stable. The board’s ride feel is like no other board I own. The board is very easy to turn and control. It does not carve like a Sherpa or LE in that I could not lock an edge. It is very comfortable going fast down a run with the tips pointed sideways slarving or pointed straight down the run. I could do a hard hockey stop without any chatter on these runs. This is the kind of hard run the Sherpa would have chattered on. The edge is most easily engaged with pressure a little forward. I found it easiest to do this by reaching with a pole forward to initiate the turn. This would keep the tips alternating back and forth as I reached, but the tips would be consistently pointed down hill. If I skied more upright, the tips wander, but they don’t wobble at all. The short flat spot and rocker on this base does not let the edges alternately catch and release which usually generates the wobble on many skiboards skied flat.

This board would not wobble no matter how it is skied. I felt that grip is not huge, but there is enough there that I never felt like I was going to slide out. In some spots that were so steep and icy, all I could do was hang on. I never slid out today. I had no problem with tail support. There is plenty. On the short mogul run we did, I really liked how fast and smooth turn can be done on the XL. With all the ice, I expected more difficulty. With the soft edge, slipping over a mogul is very easy. This same edge though I think would make a skier used to a solid edge feel that they have not control. I don’t think a skier will like this board. I give this board a big thumb’s up. I can’t wait to ride it in good conditions. Kudos to Greco and Jeff for giving us another great board to ride.

Rider – Wendell Jeong – Expert Skiboarder

2015 RVL8 Blunt XL