Ice Carver - The only solution for Ice Kiting

[J Jones]

I've had no issues with the original Switchblade on rough ice or light / patchy snow. It will hold a solid edge through pretty much anything. It has definitely made a lot of sessions happen when without would not have been possible.

This video shows a couple different surfaces starting at 1:20

[Trent hink]

For the ice carver video, the first two minutes is not very impressive.

A well-tuned snowboard can work reasonably well in those conditions.

The last minute is good stuff, but I believe that kiteboardonice.com came up with a very similar product at least 15 years ago.

I haven't tried either.

I now live in Florida.

I miss kiting on frozen lakes.

[Hardwater Kiter]

It's interesting for sure. Superior? Not so sure but a great design idea nonetheless. IMO (this of course never having ridden it myself so take this with a grain) I think the key benefit is the general feel, that it is likely more akin to a normal edge feel. And the Multiple contact points may have some effect on smoothing out the rougher surfaces which will lend to a nicer ride quality.

I'm curious as to how it's installed. If it's a through-bolt type setup, it's a fair amount of drilling and in some boards, there isn't a whole lot of material in the edge areas away from board center. Taking the rattle that ice offers will likely cause delam over time and quickly in less stout boards.

Also, I noticed in the video there is a fair amount of oscillation in the board. The same type you see on boards/skis with a fair amount of sidecut on hard ice and/or boards that are too short or too soft. The tip and tail bite, and load up but then as the board over cambers to the center, the tip, and tail lose bite and all the bite goes to the center. Then the tip and tail snap back into position, bite and it happens in rapidfire over and over. In the most common example it presents itself as edge chatter.

My bet is a stiffer or longer board would ride even better.

In the end it looks great.

[makermarc]

Thx for the comments! Sometimes the ice quality can be hard to see clearly on video, but as HWK astutely points out above, a close look at how the board is reacting to the ice helps to show just how bad the surface was. Please check out the additional videos on my channel @MakerMarc for even more evidence. We're hardly pros, but the videos show every type of riding condition that we experience while maintaining full functionality (grip, drifting, carving, toeside, upwinding, and boosting). The result of the system design is that It looks and feels natural (like a snowboard), even to a beginner, and most importantly, on ANY ice.

We have quite a lot of kiteboarders in the area (Michigan), and very frequently we have rough ice textures. Ice Carver-equipped boards are ubiquitous here. It's just us and the hardcore skiers. Our ice can change daily, and in years past we just gave up on the really rough stuff and waited for rain or snow to come through. No mas!

We're used to seeing smooth lines in the ice from various blade types, but the blade trail over a disrupted surface shows the challenge of maintaining grip in adverse conditions. It's not the only advantage of the Ice Carver, but it's often the difference between riding and not riding. Going from ice to crusty snow is another challenge, something else you can see in the videos with no change in lean angle or adjustments by the rider.

As far as the board type goes, I have kept track of many different configurations that have been trialed in attempts to create some consensus, but that would be a Ted-talk length discussion. I have general recommendations for board types in the FAQ on the Website (and yes, stiffer IS better, as is wider). Every board has a unique personality and will be ridden in different conditions, along with different rider weights. The Ice Carver does take advantage of the board and as such provides an "edge feel" which will differ somewhat from board to board. However...the Ice Carver kit has been optimized to work well on nearly every board that's been trialed. Generally speaking, I would avoid very flimsy boards, park boards, and highly asymmetric/specialty boards. The kit can be moved to another board if needed.

Finally, shout out to @EDT for his many contributions to the Ice Carver project and all his relentless testing!

[makermarc]

We got smooth ice for a whopping 2 days this Feb, and only a handful of days total this winter. Very disappointing but we made the best we could of it!

[makermarc]

Sometimes a video is worth 1000 words!
See ya'll on the ice.

[Steve271]

I'm not sure exactly why it's so good but this is the single best system to kite in the mixed conditions snow glass ice and rough ice that we typically get in Michigan. Skis are great too in mixed conditions but if you want to snowboard try this system it is really good. I had a small part in developing it and I can safely say after building I guess 20 different types of ice boards in the last 10 years this is the best system. I tried the switchblade for a few years and this is better no adjustments required for different snow depths it just works. The switch blade also has problems if there are patches of snow then patches of ice the grip changes this system has pretty consistent grip no matter what the surface. No learning curve it feels just like a regular snowboard but grips on ice. I think if you are already a regular switch blade user give this a try it's an upgrade.

Hi EDT,
I’m about to install the ice carver kit I bought based on your recommendation (as an upgrade from my switchblade)
1. Do I install the tip blades to run parallel to the curve of the board or in a straight line with each other?
2 how much lateral offset (outboard of board edge) should I run the blade from the board e.g. directly in contact with the rail or maybe ¼” separation (like switchblade)
3 how much vertical (above or below board running surface) offset do you recommend for various snow / ice conditions (I noticed you said it doesn’t need tweaking for the surface)
Regards
Steve271

[edt]

I'm not sure exactly why it's so good but this is the single best system to kite in the mixed conditions snow glass ice and rough ice that we typically get in Michigan. Skis are great too in mixed conditions but if you want to snowboard try this system it is really good. I had a small part in developing it and I can safely say after building I guess 20 different types of ice boards in the last 10 years this is the best system. I tried the switchblade for a few years and this is better no adjustments required for different snow depths it just works. The switch blade also has problems if there are patches of snow then patches of ice the grip changes this system has pretty consistent grip no matter what the surface. No learning curve it feels just like a regular snowboard but grips on ice. I think if you are already a regular switch blade user give this a try it's an upgrade.

Hi EDT,
I’m about to install the ice carver kit I bought based on your recommendation (as an upgrade from my switchblade)
1. Do I install the tip blades to run parallel to the curve of the board or in a straight line with each other?
2 how much lateral offset (outboard of board edge) should I run the blade from the board e.g. directly in contact with the rail or maybe ¼” separation (like switchblade)
3 how much vertical (above or below board running surface) offset do you recommend for various snow / ice conditions (I noticed you said it doesn’t need tweaking for the surface)
Regards
Steve271

1) the blades should be installed parallel in my opinion. Some have installed flush so they curve upwind. Works either way but I like the default position to be straight. I like it straight so you can more easily gain speed on a broad reach instead of the default with no inputs to carve upwind.
2) they should be flush with the board, no offset, except to adjust them to be parallel.
3) Never tweak the settings. You want it always to be 1mm. Anywhere from about 0.5mm to 2mm is ok but 1mm is the best.

You have to understand the reason why the switch blade requires constant adjustment due to snow conditions is that it is not actually a 1 point contact system. It is actually a 3 point system. The nose, the tail and the blade on the switch blade all need to be in contact for it to work properly. What this means is that in 1 inch of snow the switch blade has to be set 1 inch deep to make sure it contacts the surface, otherwise only the nose and tail will hit the ice and you will slide right off the ice. For the ice carver system there are blades on the nose, tail and middle, which means no matter what depth the snow is you always have blades contacting the ice directly, so you never slip no matter how you set the blades. You can set them all at 10mm and have them protruding all the way out, or you can set them all the way flush, and it will still work. Obviously if you set them protruding too much you are going to be catching your heel edge constantly so you want them to barely show, so it won't catch when you do heelside toeside carving. The truth is that if the original switchblade had used both a toe and heel edge it would have been fine and never required adjusting, but the problem is with the size of that middle blade gets too heavy to add a nose and tail blade. That's why for this system all the blade sizes got reduced compared to the switch blade. Make sure you position the blade correctly, that is the correct distance from the middle of the board. If that's wrong then there will either be too much weight on the nose and tail blades or too much weight on the middle blade. All blades should be equally weighted.

I have used every ice contraption known to humans. Literally at least 50 different kinds of ice boards. This is my favorite system.

[Steve271]

Wow- thanks for the quick answer- time to get the drills out

Just got this helpful video from Marc too

[edt]

Wow- thanks for the quick answer- time to get the drills out

do you bastards have ice already? so jelly. still riding the liquid here.