Background: The is the first generation of Eman skiboards – a new venture coming from the Czech Republic. On paper, the boards seem to be very similar to RVL8 Revolts, but since I have never ridden the latter, this is not a comparative review. The review is based upon some riding on an indoor slope and two days of intense riding at Jasna, Slovakia.
Vital statistics: The sintered base boards have a poplar wood core and are 104cm in length with published tip/waist/tail dimensions of 14.7 / 11.2 / 14.7 cm and turning radius of 6.2m. Length along the base comes to about 105.3cm with the running length roughly coming to 80cm. Tip and tail height are both 4.9cm. Unweighed the board has a mid-point clearing of 5mm.
Groomers: Carve, carve, carve! This is where the boards impressed me the most. Whether is was laying long carves all across the slopes or short carves straight down the fall line, the boards responded very well. I pushed the boards into as many hard carves as my abilities allowed me too, but they were never grabby. Speed-wise it has been the fastest I have ever ridden with any pair of boards. It was only with the stiffness that I have some minor issues with. I found that that uneven black pistes caused quite a bumpy ride when carving hard. The boards are not very forgiving in this respect and probably the reason for the odd high-speed wipeout that I had.
Powder: I was really interested in how they would perform in powder and after having ridden RVL8 Rockered Condors off-piste for they day I was off the next day with the Uprises to see how they would perform on the same freeride zones. As common with cambered skiboards I had to sit back to get appropriate lift, which lead to some powder burn. Otherwise the boards handled well and floated brilliantly down the powder which was deep enough to cover boards and boots whilst riding.
Summary: A great pair of boards, possibly can do with a bit more flex, but boards most people can take nearly anywhere on the mountain. I can just imagine what a rider far better than I could do with these. Price-wise this will be a very attractive option for European riders.
Rider – Schalk W. Cronjé – Intermediate Skiboarder
