Splitboard.com Forums

Has anyone tried their Hovercraft Split in springtime conditions? How does it handle corn, hard pack, ice, crud and slush?

Fantastic. This weekend, I had 2 really fast runs (2,200' ea.) on 4 inches of fluffy pow, on top of a 2.5 inch ice crust. The Hovy ate it up.

I have had it out on 3 other days of just crust runs - it bites very well. The natural camber helps with this, i think.
Turns feel loose b/c of the swallow tail (obv.), but once the turn is initiated, the sides grab very well. This makes it quite fun, actually.

There are some lines that you would not want a swallow tail for of course, but eating up crust/springtime snow is not a prob on it. It feels very stable.

What lines would you not feel comfortable riding the Hovercraft or a swallowtail?

Has anyone, who is on the large size (> 175 lbs) tried their Hovercraft 156 in bottomless-pow?

I definitely should take that back! I am a complete newbie to swallowtails and have ONLY ridden the Hovy 156. I know there are dudes riding only swallowtails, that are ripping shit i would never touch.

My stance on the Hovy only leaves about 12"-14" (total guess) of board behind my back foot. I prefer to have a full length board with the surface area of a full tail, if i am on a narrow, steep, and crusty chute of some sort. I think it is nice to have that extra tail surface for grip. I also feel more stable in that scenario, on a board that I am more centered over (instead of a small tail and super-large nose).

Also, if I am trying to point down something steep and choppy, i think it's nice to have a full tail to be able to pop back on for some stabilization.

I am probably just a weenie though

But I sure do dig the Hovy!

Yes, and it's sick!!!! I'm not huge, but about 180 w/o gear). Here's a shot....