Skwal

The Skwal is a monocarver that emerged around 1993.

The Thias Skwal 173° F Unlike a monoski, which has bindings side-by-side, the Skwal has bindings mounted inline, at angles between 86º and 90º. It is around 12 cm at the waist, feels like a slalom water-ski, and allows very laid-over eurocarve-style turns. With binding angles near 90º, the heel side and toe side feel much more symmetrical than a snowboard. Skwal does not have a distributor in the US, but sometimes Skwals are available used on eBay. Skwal factoids:

• Because of the large sidecut radius (15 M for the 180°F), it is necessary to get these boards up to speed before you start carving. Wide slopes are better.
• It is really difficult to skid on these, so it can be a bit of a challenge for beginners.
• The Skwal is designed to work with special Skwal-specific bindings, which look like skiboard bindings. The bindings are mounted closer together than a snowboard setup. The narrow stance may feel weird for snowboard carvers. Like carving boards, you tweak the binding setup to get good performance, and you generally need to fine-tune the setback and toe/heel lift. Bomber sells Skwal bindings.