Anyone ever try these? I saw them for $100 in SportMart here and am intrigued - especially given how much I love the agility of the Coyotes. I know they won't hold much edge for upwinders but still think they have a spot in a kite closet. Am I wrong?

I've kited with a guy I've seen use them twice. I know he likes them but I can't recall the conditions on the days he had them but my guess is the snow was fairly hardpacked as I can't see them working too good in deep snow and likely not too good on ice either. He only played with them a while and then switched to skis, but every time I've seen him he's had his skis and those so I know he likes them - just doesn't ride them all day long. They do look like fun for toe and heel side riding and little jumps.

B-Roc is right. I started snow kiting on a pair of Line Bullet 95 cm skiboards with a pair of Atomic recreational boots, before I'd ever alpine skiied. But two years later, after learning to ski (somewhat) decently, I still have them, but use them little.

They are good in hardpack, on small lakes, where I'm turning quick, playing around, and keeping straightline speeds down. I keep edges tuned (sharp) with low base bevel and bases waxed, so they actually grab decent on ice, though are short on tracking stability. Hit powder, or worse, wind packed crust above powder, they are lacking - nosedive a tip, and you trip over them. I ride them more upright than my downhill skis.

FWIW, my set-up this year is a pair of LibTech Magna-Traction Park and Pipes with Diamir Freeride Plus rando bindings and Garmont G-ride rando boots. The rando boots and bindings rock, the skis are far better on ice patches than my previous skis, and the boots fit my Line FF skiboard bindings just fine.

krumly

I have skiblades in 70cm? and 99cm
they are awesome fun and perfect for
glare ice and 1-2 inches of snow on grass

they turn VERY responsivly

and are ideally cheap
mine have the budget 'no break away bindings'
perhaps because they are so short that
one would have to try real hard to break a leg on them.
I have wiped out on them and been sent in to a roll on the slopes
and my feet roll along with the ski-blades attached.
no broke legs or ankles.

I've got Fishcer WebXXL skiboards, 99cm long and when I got them they were the widest you could find - effectively, they're the same as 160cm skis ...
I can do powder on them if I can keep the speed up but I have to ride like I'm on those heely skate-shoe things and it kinda sucks.
For everything else though, they're just like skating - so much so that when I first got them, I kept trying to step-turn and crossing my skis

Haven't used them with the kites or the kitewing yet cos I haven't been able to find enough open land that gets snow around here

My opinion - if the price is right, get 'em :D

They turned out to be quite fun although conditions do need to be right. Hard pack is best to hold an edge with them. I had them out in soft powder late this season and my feet kept disappearing under the snow, slowing me down and throwing me off balance when they burst to the surface again and surged forward. I had a boatload of fun on Deez's which convinced me to go buy some and will continue to have loads of fun with them I'm sure.

The day I got my wings was the day I tried them in the powder and got skunked so I switched back to my skis and the magic happened ; )

Good news - I gotta try mine out! Although the last few years we've had sweet FA snow around here