Category: RVL8

Revolts are amazing and nimble…

Alright this has been a long time coming but I finally managed to take the time and head up to an indoor snow facility about 1 and a half hours drive from my house.

After Picking up my boots, having the toe and ankle punched (shell) I was all set to head off to snowplanet…

Just Some background info on me: I’m 5’10 weigh about 150lbs, have skied for about 6-7hours in my whole life and have a decent background in inline….

Right anyway, headed into snowplanet got suited up and clamped my feet to my Snowjam Extreme II bindings and beautiful Cities. Instantly I was amazed at how light the felt when compared to the long skis i have briefly tried. Skating was natural as I headed to the magic carpet lift to try the bunny slope just to make sure I wasn’t going to be in over my head; I could immediately turn and could stop rather easily snowploughing.

After that great experience i decided to try my luck on the actual slope, the platter lift was of no hassle and once at the top it looked a lot steeper, but no worry, I went down slowly just making gentle turns with extreme ease, it was so easy and SOO fun. By this stage I had several people snickering behind me in the lift line “hey looks at his boards, they are SOO cool, they look like heaps of fun” or similar phrases to that extent.

On my second run I began to actually dig in the edges and began to teach myself carving and learning to hockey stop, after a few more runs I had that mastered and then was engaged in a conversation with a gentleman who was utterly amazed by my skiboards (the guy maybe in his early 50’s) wondering where he could get some and what they actually were, so I told him they were skiboards and pointed him in the right direction…

Next thing I though to try was speed, extreme speed, I bombed my way right down the slope (after having a conversation with a guy (a different guy) who questioned how fast they would be but still thought they were awsome,I also kindly corrected him that they were skiboards not blades ) Well it just so happened that this particular guy on skis liked to go very fast and well I managed to beat him down.

After conquering speed, turning, carving and stopping having several more looks of confusement and astonishment I thought hey lets try spinning to and riding fakie, this was the hardest thing to do although by the end of the night I could pretty much spin to fakie at most speeds (spinning back is a bit more difficult but I’m getting there)

The only down point of the night was when a complete novice skiier slammed straight into the back of me (she probably shouldn’t have been on the large slope), as well as a bit of topsheet damage but thats natural…

Anyway To sum up

The boards: They are amazing so nimble, quick, (no chatter when bombing) Feel so natural to ride, extremely fun and one of the main factors was the ease of learning, I spent FOUR HOURS and achieved the above It was incredible, not to mention they were a crowd pleaser…

The bindings: Solid didnt get any chatter or vibration when going super speed or initiating massive carves, a great option especially when on a budget…

Snowplanet: Although a bit repetitive (one straight slope) it was probably the best place to learn and it also had a decent sized jump and a few rails, the only other problem was it is only about 200m long and so the runs dont last very long, but it was still really cool.

What I Say: I say Skiboarding is the bomb, it is the best thing to hit the slopes ever it is crazy fun, without putting excess pressure on my bad knee and also even easier to do with a skating background.

I also say that the RVL8 Revolt Cities are incredible thats all there is to it, They hold an edge, they can really fly, Flex is great, spinning is fun and easy, THEY PERFORM. I would recommend the Revolts to anyone wanting to get into skiboarding they are simply great.

I had a great 4 hours on the slope at snowplanet, and now don’t consider myself a complete novice, I can’t wait for winter when I can continue to improve at an immensly rapid pace having fun spinning the whole way down the mountain
Rider – Aidan Ward – Beginning Skiboarder (Revolt Cities 2008 model)


Revolts are extremely stable…

I probably put these boards through the paces this weekend at Vermont. Sunday we hit up smugglers ice notch

Saturday night was bolton valley amid freezing rain. we were completely coated in ice and alot of the trails were icy as well.

These boards held a nice line on carving even on some ice. They are extremely stable at high speeds and on some of the more mushy areas they floated extremely well.

There was a bit more effort to get on edge then my earlier boards (lame mnp) but carve nicer once you are there.

Of course I had to hit up the terrain park as well. My first hit on a long box actually had ice covered on it so I felt like a snowplow and it jerked me a little but I didn’t lose control. wish I got a photo there

Overall I would reccomend these boards to anyone 5’8″ and above, anyone under that they may be a bit cumbersome until you get used to them.

Rider – Mark Carraro – Expert Skiboarder (Ethan Mitchel Pro model 2007)


Revolts are the perfect skiboard…

These are the perfect skiboard. At 105 cms long and 14.5 cms wide they provide the perfect balance between length and width. These boards also excel throughout the whole mountain, they are amazing on rails and off jumps in the park, and perform extremely well on groomers and in the glades. They perform adequatly in powder, but probly not as well as the longer 110s or wider KTPs. I have never really ridden them in more than 6 inches of powder, because I live in Pennyslvania. For the East Coast and park rider, I reccomend these boards 100 percent. Buy the RVL8 Revolt Citys!

Rider – Ty Bereskie – Expert Skiboarder (Revolt City 08 model)


Revolts WOW

WOW, going from salomon 90cm snowblades to these was an entire world of difference! with the snowblades if i just tried to go down the hill as fast as i could they would bonce around and make a very scary ride but with these i felt so stable. The main thing i like about this board vs my old salomons is the landing area is so much bigger, on my snowblades i was terrified to hit any jumps bigger than 3 feet, this weekend by my second day on these i was pulling 180’s off jumps and getting probably 5 feet of air on other jumps, It was very easy to switch to fakie and come back by spinning, the only problem i had was when i was trying to ride fakie and then spin back to normal, they would try and go for more, but i consider that a good thing not a bad thing, Overall i am very happy with my R8 Citys and i hope you will give them a try.

Rider – Austin N – Intermediate Skiboarder (Revolt City 08 model)


Revolts are the best all around performance boards you can get…

The RVL8 EMP’s were my second set of boards, and I’ve been very happy with them. They have performed admirably in many different conditions and therefore instill confidence in the rider. The 105 length took some getting used to after my 90 SnowJams, but after modifying my technique slightly I’ve found them to be very nimble and light. The length is a good medium between agility and stability. They do tend to start skidding and flexing a bit at higher speeds on hardpack or ice, but I have never “skidded out” on them. Properly waxed, they are very fast, and I’m able to keep up with just about anyone on skies or a snowboard.

In powder they have decent float and are very easy to control. Going down through powdery glades runs is great since the short length allows for easy direction changes. I’ve had them in knee-deep powder and they were able to float my 185lbs through at a decent speed.

I’m not much of a park guy, but these boards seem to do well in that environment. On rails they feel very stable and slide well. Off of jumps they are also quite good, although I’ve found that stiffer boards help me a bit more.

All in all these are one of the best all-around performance boards you can get in my opinion. I do recommend pairing them with a higher-end binding like the Bombers. I noticed a big difference in performance when I switched up from my SnowJam Extreme 2’s.

As a side note, I’m 6’3″ 185lbs.

Rider – Tim – Intermediate Skiboarder (EMP 07 Model)


Revolts, wow…

So last night after school I went up to jiminy peak and i was able to try out the new skiboards.

All i can say is wow.

Id been using fsx 90s by matrix, which are really thin and have almost no flex, 8 hole bindings and foam cores.

The first run i took, i really noticed the extra length behind me, and as i was carving, i could really get into the carving more, and it was so much more responsive then on the old ones. I could get a lot more out of it, and spent my first few runs just carving like crazy. Then i went to a diamond, whitetail. This was a completely different experience than any other diamonds i went on with the matrix boards. I was able to go at least twice as fast, but more importantly, there were no violent vibration and making deals with god as i had when i would go down even groomed diamonds on the other boards. I didn’t feel any chatter at all, and was able to effortlessly make small turns and go down at great speed. The next time i went down the same run, i looked a little bit more closely at the trail, and realized, the terrain wasn’t groomed well, and the snow wasn’t even. On my old boards, this would be untouchable terrain at any speeds at all. On these, i didn’t even realize how choppy the terrain was.

This then made me daring enough to confront, once again, my nemesis at jiminy, Jericho. For those of you that don’t know, it’s a double black diamond and supposedly the hardest trail at the mountain. The last time i attempted it, in December, on my old boards, I fell hard when i was trying to carve and my edge gave out. With thoughts of this previous experience on this devil of a trail, i slowly turned into the trail. It was the best moment i think of my entire season. I was able to carve back and forth quickly, while making small turns and keeping a good amount of speed, despite the somewhat icy conditions. It was at this moment that completely and totally confirmed my already high regards for these amazing boards. I can’t say enough for the quality of these skiboards.

Oh and…

Don’t be afraid of the length. I was a little worried before i went that the transition from 90s to 105s would be hard, but it took maybe 2 or 3 runs to me to be completely natural on these boards.

Rider – Rob Kraebel – Intermediate Skiboarder (Trees Model)

Revolt’s blew me out of the water…


The Revolts were the first RVL8 board I have had the pleasure of riding. Previously I had ridden snowblades and my old Line Weapons. The Revolts blew them outta the water. The width and length of the boards provided the stability that I needed when I was approaching top speed, and it also gave float on the deeper snow that I was not accustomed to. Before I had even rode the boards I feared the length and width difference would be a hindrance, but as soon as I put them down a few trails my worries disappeared. On edge they feel solid and in the terrain park they were wonderful. Landings were a breeze on these boards and boxes were nice and smooth due to the width. I would recommend these boards to anyone who wants the true all mountain board as they excel in every category.

Rider – Nathan Gorin – Expert Skiboarder


Revolts length is like a dream…


I had been riding a set of Line 5-0’s almost exclusively for the last few years. This year I decided I needed bigger boards, mostly to pick up a little speed to get through the flat runs.

After looking for weeks I found a set of EMP’s (like the current Revolt Trees). I was very worried about such a large jump from 90 to 105 and them being wider, but let me just tell you that it was AWESOME!!!! I thought I liked the 90 length because of the control they gave me, but the 105 length was a dream. The Revolts were better in all areas. Better speed and much more stable. Riding fakie and spinning was even easier. I felt a lot more in control when I got a little squirrely, always being able to gain control more quickly than I ever had before. I thought the added width would make them harder to get on edge, but it wasn’t a bit harder. They handled icy spots well, and were much better in the powdery spots.

Rider – Smok3y – Intermediate Skiboarder


Revolts deliver…

My Revolts (Bullseye) arrived a few days ago, and I took them out this weekend to Snow Valley, my home resort. Small vertical drop of only 278 feet, and the runs aren’t too challenging, but hey it’s local and scenic!

Compared to my Rumspringas (MaryJanes, purchased last year), the Revolts aren’t that much longer but are quite a bit wider. I was always hesitant to try a wide board, but after trying out my wife’s Tanshos, I learned to appreciate the stability that extra width offers. My riding preference is to just bomb down groomed runs and the Tanshos just didn’t cut it at higher speeds or bumpy conditions, so what I was after with the Revolts was the Rumspringas’ length in a board about approximately as wide as Tanshos.

And do they deliver?

Short answer: YES!

I started out on a few bunny runs just to get a feel for the boards’ extra length and width, and this allowed me to practice skating, which was a bit more challenging than on Runspringas or Tanshos. Then I got bored and headed down some greens and blues. The conditions were favorable: Light dusting of powder mixed with light crud, and good visibility. The width of these boards felt incredible! Coming from the ski/Snowblade camp, the extra width of these boards is helping me un-learn to snowplough, something that the slim MaryJanes don’t. Easing in and out of carves is incredible with the Revolts: You give a little, they give a little back. Give a lot, and the boards respond with grace and keep you in control. You get an amazing sense of the ground you’re riding on with these boards. My form immediately improved on my first real run! They also feel incredibly maneuverable (I use them with Spruce Risers).

The Revolts feel slower than my Rumspringas, and that’s not a bad thing for me. I love speed, but until I learn to control my carves at high speeds, the Revolts feel just right. They will allow me to try more difficult hills, and keep me in control doing so. The 105cm length feels perfect, as does the 14.5/11/14.5 width. The flex is also great. They really are that “sweet spot” in the RVL8 lineup!

In the next few weeks I’ll hopefully get to try out more powdery conditions, and I suspect the Revolts will perform superbly. So far, I’m a very very happy skiboarder!

Rider – Brian Wolk – Intermediate Skiboarder


Skiboardmagazine’s Jason reviews the KTP’s

Probably one of the most innovative products for the 0708 season the RVL8 KTP skiboards are the first Kirk Thompson signature skiboards, feature extra wide tips and waist and have six inserts to give the possibility of setting back bindings by 4 cm.

At first I thought these where really too wide for groomed runs before I even tried them (15.5cm at the tips and 12.5 at the waist.) Although they do take more effort than mid-wide or narrow skiboards to get up on edge and turn, they do pretty well on flat groomed snow. The extra width makes them a little stiffer from tip to tip, but it doesn’t catch ice as well as narrower skiboards.

These mid-length skiboards are stable as hell when going big. For drops and big air they lock like bolts. High speed carving, if you don’t mind the extra effort is pretty stable as well. The tight 5.2 meter turning radius feels just about right for these boards, giving you a little extra push for those tight turns and compliments the extra width.

For butters and presses the width and RVL8 blunt tips makes them super stable as well as for rail slides, but again the width has a bit of a downside were you gotta put more effort to throw these skiboards around.

Now where these boards really shine and give a whole new riding experience is in the powder and soft snow. The width gives you the float of longer 110+ cm skiboards in a smaller mid-size 101 cm ride.

The set back feature. In my opinion, the most innovative feature on any skiboard made up until now. They have the industry standard 4×4 insert pattern, with an extra 2 more inserts behind them. This means that you can set back any binding by 4 cm with ease! This provides just a perfect amount of tail pressure to pop your front tips out of the soft snow, without much effort. I’d love to see this feature on more skiboards. Set back of course give performance boost in soft snow, but on the rest of the mountain, from groomed to park, center mount is much better.

I would definitely recommend these skiboards to rider who are going to be going big in the terrain park, and riding a lot of soft snow, maybe 40% of the time or more. Or if you’re looking for soft snow shredders to add to your collection these are definitely a good choice.

Rider – Jason Roussel – Expert Skiboarder Co-founder Skiboardmagazine.com