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Latest Reviewed Products |
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Knockhatch Ski & Snowboard Centre, East Sussex |
 1.96 of 5 (12 reviews) |
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| Description |
| We opened on December 1st 2001 with the latest in dry slope technology. The down slope measures 360ft with a vertical drop of 100ft.
Being new, we have been able to take advantage of the latest technology thereby avoiding the surfacing used almost universally on dry slopes until now. Tufglide is a continuous carpet and does not have the voids (notorious for broken digits and wrists) typical of the surfacing used by most slopes. As it is continuous the bristles do not need to be so rigid, therefore abrasion is significantly reduced. It also has a soft backing so is far softer to fall on.
As with other ski surfaces the slope is mist lubricated for ultimate performance. |
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  1 of 5, "KNOCKHATCH IS A JOKE" 19/02/2008 @ 11:03:30 |
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| 1 member has given this review a rating of 2 of 5 |
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| Price Per Hour |
| too much |
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| Times Visited |
| Just Once |
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| Review Detail |
Place is a sham... Charge you money to go on a slope that isnt fit for its function. doesnt matter what you try, it doesnt work. I got the same its your fault lines, "board is too waxy." "errr no its not, it was bought just for dryslope thus never actually been waxed. Works fine on every other dryslope I've been to!"
Guys that have learnt there, I recomend going and having lessons else where to fix the problems that will have been tought to you having to learn to ride this crap.
If they dont get it re-surfaced or do somthing soon its gotta get closed down. Flat refused to give a refund and where really ignorant about it... bet they would be broke in a month if they gave back all the money to people who asked for refunds because the slope is rubbish.
Cant warn people away enough... Dont go here!!!! |
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| Strengths |
| quite a fun drive to get there! The slope has not one redeeming factor! |
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| Weaknesses |
| Everything... suface, mud, mould, lifts, folds in surface... I really just wish I'd never gone! |
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| Similar Slopes Visited |
Bromley
Chatham
sandown
calshot
southampton
snowtrack christchurch
warmwell |
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| 1 of 5, "Went down this slope How many Time - Just Once" 18/02/2008 @ 14:03:55 |
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| 2 members have given this review an average rating of 2.5 of 5 |
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| Price Per Hour |
| 10 |
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| Times Visited |
| Just Once |
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| Review Detail |
A group of six turned up all excited about trying our new boots on. In fact we did get to try our new boots on but unfortunately didn't manage to ski in them.
We went up to the top; all experienced skiers, and set off to the bottom. I thought someone had put super glue on my skis as it took an almighty push to get going.
All of us got to the bottom after the first run and handed our skis back in, “It was awful”. Do not try this slope, as it will put you off skiing,
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| Strengths |
-Carpet Burn
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| Weaknesses |
| - Words cant describe |
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| 1 of 5, "How many synonyms of 'awful' can you think of? Head to Knockhatch to find out..." 06/01/2008 @ 17:28:02 |
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| 3 members have given this review an average rating of 4.67 of 5 |
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| Price Per Hour |
| £12 (£2 more than to ski) |
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| Times Visited |
| Just Once |
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| Review Detail |
It's been a couple of years since I visited Knockhatch - I was initially more excited than words can describe at its opening. I envisaged spending every penny I had on a couple of nights' riding a week minimum - oh the disappointment.
It's hard to believe the place was set up by skiers/snowboarders for skiers/snowboarders and not just to make money (though surely only viable on unique visits rather than regular users). The surcharge for snowboarders of £2 seems to suggest this. When questioned I was told it was because snowboards did more damage to the surface than skis (all those extra £2s go in a pot to pay for regular surface overhauls, right?).
As for that surface - the blurb above says they use Tufglide, which according to the manufacturer's description is designed for toboggan runs ["A medium height pile, with minimum edge hold developed especially for tobogganing as an ultra safe, low cost, good sliding surface."] The slope's website does say they use Powderpack (the proper stuff), though one does wonder if they bought the wrong one. Edge hold isn't something I experienced, though that wasn't really a problem as I never achieved enough speed to need to turn - point the board down the fall line and you'll go nowhere. I was told it was because my board was waxed, though their (dire) hire board wasn't much better. I actually had to hop my way down, but only after getting showered by the state-of-the-art garden sprinkler, which I'm assuming was there solely to get the grass at the side growing nicely because it certainly wasn't doing much to the slope. The mud/slime/algae puddles made me regret wearing my brand new white 32 TM Twos - as the friction overtakes upon reaching the bottom a nosedive to very wet and cold is inevitable (same result if you fancy using the kicker).
Protruding but for some reason unused sprinkler nozzles weren't great to avoid, drag lift is likely to leave you with some kind of crotch injury because it's just so un-slidy.
Not the most knowledgeable or helpful staff in the shop (Edge2Edge elsewhere are fantastic).
You can't expect a lot from a dryslope - short runs, relative expense, lack of scenery and only a vague relationship with the real stuff - but seeing the community surrounding and quality of other dryslopes around the country it's a real disappointment this one turned out so badly, with the most basic and fundamental aspects wholly failed upon.
A great shame, and as yet unimproved over quite a few years. |
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| Strengths |
| It exists, and could one day be made usable. |
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| Weaknesses |
Everything mentioned above, specifically;
Surcharge for snowboarders
Unridable (surface and lubrication)
Lack of maintenance/upkeep/care. |
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| Similar Slopes Visited |
| Bowles Outdoor Centre, MK Xscape. |
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| 1 of 5, "Shockingly bad, scruffy as hell and a total waste of time" 02/01/2008 @ 22:52:25 |
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| 2 members have given this review an average rating of 4.5 of 5 |
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| Price Per Hour |
| £12 |
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| Times Visited |
| 2-5 Times |
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| Review Detail |
I learnt to board at Knockhatch a couple of years ago and to be honest I didn't really mind it then. The instructors were good, friendly and generally I would have recommended the place. It was very scruffy though and this has got now worse but more importantly, the condition of the slope for the purposes of snowboarding is beyond a joke. For example, if you stand with the board pointing straight down the slope it DOESN'T EVEN MOVE! This is due to several things, the boards are awful and the slope is not "misted with water". They have a garden sprinkler at the top that covers an area about the size of a large table. In short, it's rubbish. The drag lift is physically painful as there's so much friction underneath, not to mention exposed pieces of wood poking out, that it kills your leg.
When I learnt there it was really cold and the slope had ice all over it, because of this it was really fast so I could learn to side slip down it, falling leaf and everything else a learner picks up on. But now, it's so slow and even if you do get going you're likely to fall over in a muddy puddle as the boards have no edges on them at all. Upon mentioning that my board was useless one of the instructors said "no mate it's your balance that's wrong". Why of course that MUST have been it, seeing as I never have any problems on other dry slopes such as bowles near crowborough!! I've also done several weeks in the alps so like to think I know what I'm doing.
You can probably tell by now that I wans't impressed at all. The whole place is not pretty, the standard of equipment is appalling and the slope is even worse. What really pi$$ed me off is why do I have to pay more to snowboard on it than my girlfriend does to ski? Avoid at all costs. |
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| Strengths |
| Lessons are on the cheap side, but you'd be mad to pay for them. |
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| Weaknesses |
Read above, slope and equipment are shockingly bad.
Slope is bumpy and as slow as hell.
Fall off the drag lift and you'll land in a pile of mud. |
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| Similar Slopes Visited |
| Bowles, smaller slope but superior in every other way. |
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 5 of 5, "Dunno what to say but i thought i'd say something to boost their ratings." 12/11/2006 @ 20:43:15 |
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| 2 members have given this review an average rating of 2.5 of 5 |
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| Price Per Hour |
| £55 for 3 90 minute lessons |
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| Times Visited |
| 2-5 Times |
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| Review Detail |
When I first read the reviews on here I must say it did scare me off. However I went along to see for myself and to see if people on here were right and also because I wanted to Snowboard and there was no where else to go.
So when I arrived (after the safari type drive past the knockhatch centre and past some cool looking animals) I saw the main slope which looked good (but then it had just been cleaned according to my instructor) and 2 nursery slopes which had also been cleaned and ski lifts on both sides of the slope which looked like death traps and a motor but i thought i'd give them ago just because I hadn't used them before.
The main building consisted of a few benches in the main reception area and boot fitting area place thingy and a bar/cafe round the corner and a shop round the end... which by the way was cheap! Although it was bloody cold inside it was nice... there weren't changing rooms as such just some male and female loos and a disabled toilet which is where most people got changed. God knows what would happen if an actual disabled person needed the loo.
The staff here were really friendly and really helpful... with a range of ages it helped as the more mature members of staff had their own ways of doing things compared to the younger ones which usually wne tin head first with things (and they controlled the younger ones too as most of the time they were running around like kids).
My instructors were really good at what they did and even though I had a change of instructor every week due to shifts at the farm place near by it was good as they all had different ways of teaching and all the ways i was taught were brilliant and it did sound like they knew what they were doing although 80% of the time i never actually saw them practise what they taught, i.e telling me to ride a v.v.v.v.v dry slope is hard if you can't even see the instructor move when he tries.
The other downside to the place were the boards... when you got them, they were brown from the algi and sometimes bumpy from the dried dirt so at the start of the lessons I was sitting there scraping the mud off.
Another downside... THE SKI LIFTS... yea... don't try and ride your board up the slope when connected to these things... they will send you flat on your face and into a puddle of algi... just hold them and put them inbetween your legs and walk it. It might be tiring, slow and a bit painful, but falling on your face with a bord connected to your feet and a que of people waiting is worse.
But apart from that i must say it was a pleasant experience. No snobby skiiers or snowboarders walking round like they own the place like Milton Keynes, just mainly families or groups of teenagers having a laugh - although the little 6 year old skiiers got annoying when they got in your way and when you don't know how to stop i'm afraid they will get battered.
So overall i had fun. It was cheap, Friendly, Homely, Helpful and just... good!!
I don't really know how to describe my experience perfectly without rambling on so i hope this helped in some way... email me if you want some more info! |
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| Strengths |
Friendly staff
Cheap Cheap Cheap lessons and hourly rates.
Pleasant Atmosphere
Wicked Instructors
Good Value for money
Good slope for Learning |
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| Weaknesses |
Bad Slope for practising
Cold
Cold
Dirty Boards
Dirty Boots
Minging stuff on the slope
SKI LIFTS!!!!!! (death traps) |
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| Similar Slopes Visited |
| Milton Keynes - although not similar... i must say i'd rather go here than MK just because I don't like rude, snobby people. |
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