Heritage Lab Swallowtails (R, FR, & BC)

[Upinsmoke]

So these skis have been in the making for over a year. I’m a huge fan of the volkl sanouk. It is a polarizing ski, you either love it or you hate it. The sanouk is a 193cm flat camber ski with a swallowtail, that is relatively soft flexing. In untracked powder, it is arguably unmatched. The soft flex decambers and the ski becomes reverse camber. The mount point is a crazy -14 or something like that, so combined with the long tip, you can drive the ski at ridiculous speed, without ever having to worry about tip dive. However, this only works in soft snow, whenever it gets cut up the sanouk suffers and tosses the occupant around.
enter the HL swallowtail
Marshal was convinced that beefing the width and flex, while making a smaller cutout in the tail would make a more versatile platform but still retain the pow slayer qualities of the sanouk(or the tabla rasa)
im a big believer of the low, long rocker for this ski in particular.
I ski SW CO mostly, light dry pow
I do see the benefits of having the FR profile for skiing PNWet.
it is extremely stable in a 187cm( I am 6’ 1” 200lbs) it is 2500g a ski!
I ski fast, have been a snowcat operator for 20 years
these skis are so damp, so composed it is like a cheat code for the mountain. I can’t find the speed limit on them.
the construction is top notch, the swallowtail tail bar is next level sturdy, These skis will last a long time.
this thread is for owners of the swallowtails to chime in with their thoughts.

[Upinsmoke]

[Marshal Olson]

Thank you so much for the thought partnership in pulling this together man! And thank to you and Mc_Roon for helping with skis for me to do some science on. Really stoked at how they turned out, and can’t wait for folks to share their experiences.

[Core Shot]

As a longtime fanboi of DPS 120 200cm I’m intrigued by this ski.
Cool thread. Thx OP.

Curious what Marshall has to say about how the full reverse changes this iconic shape.

Not so concerned about the swallow. It may have some effect in pow. But blindfolded could you feel it? Meh.
My question is more about rocker profiles.

[Shorty_J]

I never skied the sanouk but I'm pretty sure I want this modern version.

In my head I'd like the FR rocker for a powder ski, whereas I ordered the R profile in the 110.

But I will pay attention to this thread to get other perspectives before I commit.

Sent from my SM-A536W using Tapatalk

[K1mJ0ngTr1ll]

So these skis have been in the making for over a year. I’m a huge fan of the volkl sanouk. It is a polarizing ski, you either love it or you hate it. The sanouk is a 193cm flat camber ski with a swallowtail, that is relatively soft flexing. In untracked powder, it is arguably unmatched. The soft flex decambers and the ski becomes reverse camber. The mount point is a crazy -14 or something like that, so combined with the long tip, you can drive the ski at ridiculous speed, without ever having to worry about tip dive. However, this only works in soft snow, whenever it gets cut up the sanouk suffers and tosses the occupant around.
enter the HL swallowtail
Marshal was convinced that beefing the width and flex, while making a smaller cutout in the tail would make a more versatile platform but still retain the pow slayer qualities of the sanouk(or the tabla rasa)
im a big believer of the low, long rocker for this ski in particular.
it is extremely stable in a 187cm( I am 6’ 1” 200lbs)
I ski fast, have been a snowcat operator for 20 years
these skis are so damp, so composed it is like a cheat code for the mountain. I can’t find the speed limit on them.
the construction is top notch, the swallowtail tail bar is next level sturdy, These skis will last a long time.
this thread is for owners of the swallowtails to chime in with their thoughts. (This is my first attempt at a tgr thread, pls be kind, I’m dyslexic and just getting out of my shell to post this was big league for me lol)

Good shit man! I agree with all you said about the R120. It really does feel like cheating.

[2FUNKY]

Most excellent, upinsmoke!!


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[pfluffenmeister]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]486297[/ATTACH]

Sweet!
Senders look sick with that topsheet.
A binder choice that I hadn't considered.

Looks like you have the R rocket profile?
Me too.

Your words please me.
I've out in time on the R87, R110, & FL105 and they are all stunningly good.

Will mount mine and report when I get back home from the first leg of my Powder Pilgrimage.

[K1mJ0ngTr1ll]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]486297[/ATTACH]

Regretting not putting senders on mine. Those look awesome.

[bw_wp_hedonism]

Upinsmoke, we’re different versions of the Sanouk made with varying camber? I only ask because I think mine have quite a bit…


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[kid-kapow]

Regretting not putting senders on mine. Those look awesome.

then just replace the painted parts of the toes and the dildo from what you have on now to the senders - you do not need to dismount the bindings to do that

Man - HL is just killing it with the new designs. That the graphics are getting to be awesome as well is an added bonus

[Upinsmoke]

Sweet!
Senders look sick with that topsheet.
A binder choice that I hadn't considered.

Looks like you have the R rocket profile?
Me too.

Your words please me.
I've out in time on the R87, R110, & FL105 and they are all stunningly good.

Will mount mine and report when I get back home from the first leg of my Powder Pilgrimage.

Pluff, yes this is the R profile

fr110 on right and R120 on left

[Upinsmoke]

To my knowledge the Sanouk was made for 4 years.Dimensions: 130-110-120
the first year was the blue Buddha(of which maybe 200 were made, of that maybe 50 came to N America. 2003/2004
the black samurai came next, 2004/2005
Then there was 2 years of the woodgrain(fake wood top sheet)
all of these were made the same flex/profile. They did come from the factory with a mm or 2 of camber, but as they were skied it quickly disappeared over time. I have a pair of the woodgrain still in use(have probably 100 ski days on them) and they are completely flat camber now. Hopefully this helps!

[K1mJ0ngTr1ll]

FR and R 120.




Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[Upinsmoke]

Thanks for posting those, For some reason my pics keep posting sideways. Ugh