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The Smiler - Ride Reviews [Spoilers]

Vicki said:
They pin you by the thighs?! What's that all about?
It's the lap restraint we all wanted. :p

I rather like the restraints on Gerst coasters. They seem to fit me well.
 
Restraints are an odd thing, different ones suit different people. I know some who hate Bluefires as it hurts their legs yet many love them. Swarms vests hurt a few people yet I have no problem.

And if a ride is rough B&M OTSR are horrid (dragon khan) but are fine on most B&M's as they are rarely rough (DK is just evil).

I quite liked gersts
 
Im surprised females find riding Air comfortable when you have your, erm, lady bits squashed face down into the harness as your thrown around the track!
 
I've never had a problem with any of B&M's restraint types, but I can see where Dave is coming from. B&M's OTSRs are really quite simple in their design and shape, but because of how smooth and well designed the rides are you never really have any contact or impact with them to feel it.

However, with Gerst, you do get moved around a bit more when on them, so good ergonomic design is essential. I think they pulled them off really well. They wrap around the torso really nicely, and the shape of the shoulder braces is just right. All The Smiler's could perhaps do with is some padding to rest on them like the soft ones used on the sides of the head. It'd absorb vibrations a bit more, and make any hangtime very comfortable I'd imagine :)
 
I like the Smiler restraints, don't get me wrong :D was just confused when it was pinning me by the thighs, thought I was sitting in the wrong position or something! I like that I get airtime on all the hills and elements, where I don't with Nemesis.

Weirdly, I don't enjoy airtime when it's just a lapbar - it scares me! I KNOW I'm safe but my brain just panics because there's nothing to stop me. With a shoulder restraint, I get the airtime, but I enjoy it more because I feel more secure. I am strange though...

As predicted, my shoulders and arms are very sore today! So worth it though. Oh, and yes, I don't find Air very comfortable, my chest gets squashed!
 
I would assume that restraints are a tricky issue for ride manufacturers. They have to attempt to cater for every size and shape yet still function properly for everyone, all the while making them un-faffy to maximise throughput. I think they mostly do a pretty good job of it :)
 
GaryH said:
Im surprised females find riding Air comfortable when you have your, erm, lady bits squashed face down into the harness as your thrown around the track!

I wouldn't say my breasts get squashed on Air, to be honest.
 
AshleeKel said:
GaryH said:
Im surprised females find riding Air comfortable when you have your, erm, lady bits squashed face down into the harness as your thrown around the track!

I wouldn't say my breasts get squashed on Air, to be honest.

Mine do, also my collarbone kills by the time I get off!
 
The last time I went on Air the ride host pushed the restraint so far down on me I thought I was going to die of being crushed! It really irritates me when ride hosts push a restraint down with such hard force. There's literally no need for it apart from making a ride very uncomfortable for the rider and potentially putting them off riding it again.
 
Finally got a chance to try out The Smiler today, in the process of writing a full review, but I just wanted to quickly share some of my opinions here.

The ride itself was very good, not as good as Nemesis, but I didn't expect it to be, both of my rides today were remarkably smooth (Both of my rides were on Train 3, Row 2) the jolt was no where near as bad as Saw's, and the ride as a whole was very enjoyable.

Queue was horrible, it offers some great views of the ride and The Marmaliser, but its also cramped, hot and has no feeling of progression, I've been in worse queues, but The Smiler's really isn't good. There also isn't much in the way of theming aside from The Marmaliser, most of the additional theming are just stickers, which are already getting torn and peeled off of the surfaces they're stuck to.

I really enjoyed the whole experience though, its the best thing Towers have installed for a long time. :twirly:
 
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