fill me in on boardcross snowboards
So I’ve noticed a lot of the riders in Olympic boardcross are riding either Oxess or Kessler sticks. What are the characteristics of these boards that make them a good choice for boardercross? I am guessing they are stiff and light and fairly long. Also, what kinda binding setups do they use?
From what I’ve been told, Kessler is the brand of choice for most boardercross racers. They are handmade to specification in Switzerland.
I’ve ridden a Kessler race board and this thing absolutely FLIES!
Not only is it the fastest board I’ve ever had strapped to my feet, but it rides like nothing else. When you put it on edge, it just takes off. It carves like nothing else I’ve ever felt. Long, amazingly fast and precise carves, that just cut a pencil line down the mountain. In a nutshell: incredibly fast, incredibly stable and precise, and just an absolute beast of a snowboard. That’s about all I can tell you from my short experience with Kessler snowboards.
In regards to bindings, I believe racers just go with extremely light and stiff bindings like the Burton Diode, or similar. Lightweight and response is what they’re after.
I’ve just come back from racing in Austria and France. Got to visit the Apex factory in Austria. The main brands are Kessler, Oxess, Apex (Pullin, Torah and another Aussie dude were on Apex), F2, and Volkel. The main characteristics of a BX board are they are long, stiff and most importantly have a large side cut radius. I have a 163 Oxess BX and it has a 12 m SCR.
They are a real chore to ride. I demo’d most of the above. I can barely manage mine as you need so much strength in your legs. The Kessler and Apex are more extreme again. They are heavy too (advantageous in BX - more potential energy). I reckon my Oxess would weigh three times what my park board does. They ain’t cheap either. Most run for about EUR 1100 an up :(
Having a BX board was essential to be competitive even in the low level comps I was in. Anyone thinking they could rock up with a Custom X would just get bucked and tossed in the berms or ruts.
Bindings wise I saw lots of Diodes, Ride Capos, Nitro somethings and Nidecker somethings. Stiff is best.
Then of course there is the whole waxing thing…..
You’re welcome to take mine for a spin if you are ever out my way - pretty sure I owe you one.
Hey that’s very interesting! It sure doesn’t sound like you’d want to use a BX board for general resort riding.
Thanks for the offer AJ. I probably won’t take you up but if you’re ever at Hotham let me know and maybe we can catch up for a ride. How did your racing go?
This is an interesting thread for me. I’ve never had the chance to ride a boarder-X board.
I’ve actually done a reasonable amount of BX practice but I’m yet to compete. The only racing I’ve competed in has been Slalom and GS.
Is there really that big a gap between a Custom X and a Race board? I’ve never really found myself out of control in BX, but then I’ve never ridden against others on race boards.
I did notice in the Olympics they were leaving some DEEP carve grooves. So maybe it’s true 
You’ve got me all curious now! I’ve got burton diodes so I’m half way to a set-up lol.
Anyone want to buy me a Kessler? Anyone? No? Okay fine 
I’ve been doing BX for a while and used to rock a Custom X early on. When I made the switch to a dedicated BX board the step up was amazing. You’ll get down a course ok on a regular board, but any sign of trouble and you’ll know about it, whereas a BX board will just power through.
They are also pretty much the best board for PGS - without going hardboots of course (so lame).
‘I’ve never really found myself out of control in BX’... not going fast enough dude 
Munga raced on a Custom X and also a T6, which in those days were reasonable choices for development training. From what I recall, (this was maybe 08 or 09) . There was also a Rossi board for sale, which one of the oz team has been using as a second board.
The T6 was a 156, massive board for a little skinny kid to ride. He did a good job of it, and got that thing moving.
One thing the boys never did was ride hard boot in the GS, (or even wear Lycra), although some of the others were moving towards that.
This is an interesting thread for me. I’ve never had the chance to ride a boarder-X board.
I’ve actually done a reasonable amount of BX practice but I’m yet to compete. The only racing I’ve competed in has been Slalom and GS.Is there really that big a gap between a Custom X and a Race board? I’ve never really found myself out of control in BX, but then I’ve never ridden against others on race boards.
I did notice in the Olympics they were leaving some DEEP carve grooves. So maybe it’s trueYou’ve got me all curious now! I’ve got burton diodes so I’m half way to a set-up lol.
Anyone want to buy me a Kessler? Anyone? No? Okay fine
I might be wrong, but I’m pretty sure that Shaner has a Kessler, yeah?????
Is he still around Whistler?????
Ya I remember Shane telling me he has a kessler but I think he sold it or at least he was selling it.
‘I’ve never really found myself out of control in BX’... not going fast enough dude
Oh well, let me reiterate. I’ve never felt out of control doing solo runs. Racing shoulder to shoulder with my friends I have taken down my fair share of fences 
Munga raced on a Custom X and also a T6, which in those days were reasonable choices for development training. From what I recall, (this was maybe 08 or 09) . There was also a Rossi board for sale, which one of the oz team has been using as a second board.
The T6 was a 156, massive board for a little skinny kid to ride. He did a good job of it, and got that thing moving.
One thing the boys never did was ride hard boot in the GS, (or even wear Lycra), although some of the others were moving towards that.
One of my best mates was Australian #1 in BX for his age in high school, and competed in GS too.
But more important to him than his title, was to beat the rich kids on hard boot set ups by as big a gap as possible hahaha.
As a full grown man… he still scowls at every hard booter he sees lol.
I don’t have a big enough quiver (or need anymore) to have a dedicated boarder-cross ride. When I competed I rode my K2 Zeppelin (12th ed.)
It’s stiff, heavy and fast.
It does handle everyday riding but other boards that are lighter with more flex are better for everyday.
And the Zeppelin is starting to age due to newer technology.
It was obvious during competition that a dedicated BX board had an advantage, though the guys that had a dedicated board put a lot of time into waxing. From my experience waxing and tuning are the most important factor for BX.
I don’t know if it’s still the go; but competitive BX do timed individual runs to make the finals, only the finals are 4 man heats.
Often only the top 32 go into the finals (depending on the number of competitors).
This means there are 2 types of racing in BX. You need to be fast in the time trials and often it’s advantageous to let other competitors to take each other out during 4 man heats.
It was obvious during competition that a dedicated BX board had an advantage, though the guys that had a dedicated board put a lot of time into waxing. From my experience waxing and tuning are the most important factor for BX.
I don’t know if it’s still the go; but competitive BX do timed individual runs to make the finals, only the finals are 4 man heats.
Often only the top 32 go into the finals (depending on the number of competitors).
This means there are 2 types of racing in BX. You need to be fast in the time trials and often it’s advantageous to let other competitors to take each other out during 4 man heats.
I would expect that waxing is one of the most overlooked components in any boarding. The different fast wax correct for conditions, and how it is applied makes a huge diffence. It’s an art in itself. Spend some coin on wax and you’ll feel the difference.
Spaz yoursummation is still how FIS run events in OZ, the ANC cup being the most obvious one. Some comps run six up, and school comps still just run individuals as time trial, one run, top 12 ( I think) get a second run as a final.
It’s hard to recall from when I competed and from the events I’ve shot which format is what. Pretty sure I’ve experienced them all over the years in some way - I seem to remember when FIS took over the sport.
Waxing is pretty special - probably the reason elite ski/board athletes have wax technicians at the top of the hill. I learned a bit about application at some events and some people even let me use some of their waxes but OMG good wax is expensive and one application can last as little as half a run. A well supplied wax kit will have half a dozen $80 rub on blocks. You pretty much need to be a chemist to understand the different combinations.
Then there’s on hill tuning - yep these guys carry more than just a screwdriver, they also have files and stones for edges and instruments for tuning the wax (and I’m not talking just about a scouring pad).
A friend of mine was given a gift from a Canadian team rider last time I was here. A series of little pots of international grade comp wax.
Each little pot had a temperature on it, but not like our wax that say -15 to 0 degrees. Each wax said -9 degrees or -8 degrees, -7 degrees and so on.
The day I saw him using it, he used the exact wax to match the temperature and the difference between me (with all temp wax) and him was massive!
Pretty amazing, I obviously knew they were fanatical about it but I thought it was shaving hundredths off their time, not entire seconds!
Pullins have an amazing wax room. Riders from around the world send their gear there, skis and snowboards, to get the treatment, which involves a hot box for something like a day.
Wax can also be layered.
If more everyday riders tried some different waxes, I think they would then buy more than just the generic yellow white or red. (If they ever wax at all)
We were given some “super beaut” wax by a friend to try, he was selling it, and it was without doubt the worst wax ever. More like glue! Turned out he had no idea, and was gathering the shavings rebel ting them into blocks, packaging it up and selling it. Yuck!