'09 Prior WCR Metal 187
“Holy shit, this is the best board ever” I said after only one run on the 09 Prior metal 187! Dave’s only question was why?
Ok here’s why: Sometimes you get so used to a board that it is all you want to ride. Since you are very comfortable on it, you know it like your favorite hoodie, (or sweater, for those of you with desk jobs); it just fits so comfy that anything else just seems substandard. My issue, as with most “stock manufactured board”, is that they ride like crap once you know how to ride well, since most are or were based on freestyle board cores with an alpine shape. So as a rider you get this sick looking alpine shape to stand around in the lift lines and hold your chest high representing alpine, but once on the hill the boards have limits that are reached in just a year or two of riding. This is great for beginners. However, once you reach the limits of the board you are riding, then what?
Maybe you buy some new bindings or perhaps some new boots which buys you maybe another year of gear to grow into. Then it’s time to buy a real alpine board if you truly want to progress. I am not talking about e-bay or the BOL classifieds for your “new to you” alpine board. I mean a brand-spanking-new, made-this-year by an alpine builder, current new hotness, super shape.
'09 Prior WCR Metal 187
Right now if you are ready to handle the new generations of “super boards” there are only a few options in North America and only one of them has metal boards in stock always. Say it loud, say it proud. PRIOR!!! Yep, good old Chris Prior, a cat who has always kept alpine shapes legit. If you have ever ridden a Prior race shape, then you know Chris doesn’t F around with alpine. He and his build crew take it totally serious. Prior is pumping out one of a kind PGS and PSL boards for national team members on the World Cup, all the way down to the weekend warrior running Nastar beer leagues. Is there a board for you in the Prior line up for 09? Hell yeah, there is. For me it’s the 187 metal and here’s why.
This board is the best stock, buy-it-off-the-shelf stick I have ever laid a trench with. It may be the ultra freeride stick of this generation since it does everything so well. Some boards are great PGS sticks that rip a race course and carve really well “all mountain” under skilled riders’ feet. This Prior 87 is an all mountain board that could still carve really well in a PGS course under a skilled rider’s feet . This was unheard of currently, until now. Sure, there are a few boards using metal to keep it alive for the mellow all mountain rider but what about the hardcore ripper looking for the big gun to haul ass on? Unless you want to ante up for a custom shape, you are out of luck, save you buy a 87 Prior, that is. Here’s the new stuff for this year.
'09 Prior WCR Metal 187
The board has a wider waist than before, now up to 20cm, which is good for all you bigfoots and low angle new school rippers out there. This is definitely the current trend in alpine. Most PGS sticks range from 19-22 depending on the riders’ preferences at the WC level. The new shape has a bit more setback and nose camber. Prior has been using this shape and camber on their high-end athlete boards for several years. This nose shape allows the board to literally climb up and over any variables in the surface, something Kessler has been doing for a long time and that has helped put their product on the podium. Several other manufacturers have adopted this nose shape and camber out of necessity to remain competitive. I truly believe that any modern board lacking the current camber profile is out dated and substandard. Now every Prior Metal stick has it and wow is it worth it. The nose floats and absorbs just like it should allowing the platform under your feet to remain rock solid just like a pure PGS stick.
'09 Prior WCR Metal 187
The last major change in the 09 line is the new top sheet. Gone are the days of the exposed titanal and all the headaches that many recreational riders were experiencing. No more chipping or delam possibilities now. Prior has a beautiful top sheet made out of some of the slickest material I have seen on a snowboard. Our test model was white, smooth, and sexy. Chris claims that with the new construction he has brought the durability up to a new standard. Prior pioneered the metal alpine market several years ago and many other manufacturers have been incasing metal under top sheets since. With a complete metal line-up, it was time to progress into a more mass-market friendly topsheet. With all these changes for 09, Prior has made yet another leap forward in alpine, proving why they continue to lead the market. But its not just looks with this monster – the ride is unmatched.
I could compare this board to a Kessler or SG full-on PGS shape but that’s not what this board is about. It might even be unfair to jade the ride of this corduroy killer by placing it in a PGS category. Although it has the soul of a full blown race stick, it (like its ancestors), is a recreational rider’s dream board, allowing any rider with skill to benefit from its awesome performance. This board is so easy to start any turn with that you almost feel like you are cheating. The nice long nose and new camber profile glides over anything in your way, while the platform under your feet provides a great balance of feedback and control and the nice smooth radius finishes the turn so smoothly.
In just one run I was blown away by this board. I currently put a lot of time on a custom shape by Chris I have nicknamed KK (Kessler Killer) not only because I like it more than any Kessler I have ridden, but because it’s just so fun to ride everywhere. It is really the same shape Phil Berube won the 2 run GS Race To The Cups on at Park City, beating world class riders on Kesslers, SGs, and Oxsesses. But for me, the board is just so good everywhere that I really have had no reason to ride anything else. Now I have a reason and it’s the 09 187.
'09 Prior WCR Metal 187
The 09 feels like the PGS shape I have been riding but with a much more AM friendly radius. It can be a bear to haul a PGS radius all over the hill, but with the huge amount of stability the 187 provides I could make big wide open turns at speeds over 40. Or I could really lay into the board and tighten up the turn, even at speed, something only 3 other boards I have ever ridden allowed me to do, one of them being the Prior KK custom.
This level of confidence allows the rider to become so comfortable on the board that it really just becomes an extension of your legs. As a rider, you make the inputs and the board just tracks like you have always hoped every board would. It is just that good. I tried to make the board skip and release under full power. It did so in such a manner that I had no problem reengaging the edge and allowing the board to settle right back into the turn with almost no bounce or chatter, then it just hooks back up under feet. Sooooo good!!!
I was hucking off everything I saw, landing on the tail, the nose and each edge at speed. Again the board was just rock solid and so predictable. I started getting cocky and taking off unbalanced and fighting to salvage the landing. Again, the board was rock solid. I was impressed. With a frozen April morning to start and 45 degree temps by afternoon, it was a true treat to ride a metal board that gripped the hard gnar in the AM and busted the slush as the day ended. Even as the snow softened up, the board still was on rails everywhere. I ran it through some mid-sized bumps (something I never do on other metal boards); it just rails. I ran it into the fresh snow in some trees; again it just railed (as well as an alpine shape can off piste). Backwards it railed, laid out turns it railed. Massive, full-strength, wide open, angry turns, yup you guessed it: it rails. As a matter of fact, for the first time in years I really could not find a flaw in this stick for my style of riding.
'09 Prior WCR Metal 187
Sometimes a board rides so well that your riding just flows and that is how this new Prior made me ride. I felt so smooth everywhere on this board that I can hardly express my riding in words. It just makes you feel so free… free to turn, air, land, ride switch at speed, tackle any surface aggressively, ride and not worry about anything but stopping when the terrain ends. To me, that’s why I ride alpine. Hardboots and alpine boards are the only tools that allow me to ride wide open at the edge of my ability but still remain in control at ludicrous speeds. If you want to ride at the edge of control at eye watering speeds then the new Prior metal line is what you should be on. The 09 board may be the perfect blend between all that is alpine. If there is a chair lift to the top and a groomer has laid some corduroy, then this board will help you make the most of it. It will cost ya some duckets for sure, but it is worth every penny.
I would rather own just one 09 Prior metal than a full quiver of cheap alpine boards. If you have a full quiver of cheap alpine board then this board will change your life. Sell them this summer and save up for a 09 Prior metal. You’ll be rewarded for you efforts.
Step into the now!
—Billy Bordy
Additional photos, along with those in this article are available here in the album “Prior Review“