Hals-über-Kopf is the new-for-2020 inverted roller coaster at Erlebnispark Tripsdrill. This is the
prototype Vekoma suspended thrill coaster and it is a significant upgrade over the company’s
former inverts both in terms of smoothness and layout. And I cannot wait to see more.
In this video, I will be reviewing Hals-über-Kopf and explaining why
this is one of the most unique inverted coasters out there.
Vekoma is one of the most experienced manufacturers when it comes to inverted coasters.
They have built roughly 1/3 of all the world’s inverts. Bolliger and Mabillard was the first to
introduce the inverted coaster in 1992 with Batman the Ride at Six Flags Great America
and the success of this model spurred other manufacturers to copy the novel riding position.
Vekoma was the second company to offer inverted coasters, as they opened El Condor at Walibi
Holland for the 1994 season. This would be the company’s first suspended looping coaster
or SLC, and the original layout would be cloned repeatedly across the globe. SLCs were attractive
for parks because of their super compact footprint and cheaper price compared to the B&M inverts.
The base SLC was visually appealing off-ride with its tangled mess of track.
And it offered an intense and fast-paced layout. However, these coasters are notoriously rough.
The bulky over-the-shoulder restraints and poor trackwork often caused painful headbanging. SLC
were three letters that could send shivers down the spines of most coaster enthusiast.
Vekoma improved their inverted coasters over time.
They expanded their layouts, adding variations on the base SLC coaster and adding the inverted
trains to some of their other models such as the boomerang. But the biggest
improvements occurred over the past decade. One, Vekoma improved their train designs.
Their bulky over-the-shoulder restraints were phased out and replaced by more open vehicles
containing either vest restraints or lap bars. These restraints eliminated headbanging. The
trains with the vest restraints were godsends on SLCs. They were able to transform previously
unridable SLCs such as the one at Six Flags New England into a decently enjoyable coaster.
Meanwhile, the lap bar only trains were used on Vekoma’s family suspended coasters.
Two, Vekoma improved their trackwork. Their new coasters were glass smooth, but the biggest
proof of their improved track fabrication can be seen with the Great Nor’Easter at Morey’s Piers.
This was one of the first SLCs to open in 1995 and it was brutally rough. But in 2017,
the ride received $4 million dollars worth of retracking. The track was fabricated with the
same techniques Vekoma has used for their highly regarded, next-generation coasters and the end
result was a decently smooth experience. Any new SLC in recent years has been built
with vest restraints and superior trackwork, but Vekoma was ready to
unveil a new generation of inverted coasters. Enter the suspended thrill coaster or STC.
These coasters would have Vekoma’s smooth track and feature all-new layouts.
And despite featuring inversions, the rides would have even more open trains than the later SLCs.
They would operate with the same lapbar-only trains found on Vekoma’s suspended family
coasters. These minimalistic restraints grant unparalleled freedom for an inverted coaster.
The first STC went to Erlebnispark Tripsdrill in Germany for the 2020 season. Named Hals-über-Kopf,
which translates to head over heels in English, this inverted coaster has relatively modest stats.
It stands 98 feet or 30 meters tall, reaches a top speed of 50 mph or 80 kph, and traverses 2395 feet
or 730 meters of track. But what stands out are those super open trains and the layout.
Most inverted coasters focus exclusively on inversions, particularly those delivering positive
Gs. Hals-über-Kopf does things differently. It offers some positive Gs on the turns,
but the rest of the layout focuses on floaty inversions and airtime hills. The wide range
of sensations makes this a more balanced coaster than the inverts that preceded it in my opinion.
Tripsdrill opened Hals-über-Kopf in 2020, but the theming was unfinished. This has been a move we’ve
seen several European theme parks make in recent years. The theming was then finished for the 2021
season, which is when I experienced this coaster. While the coaster doesn’t have the flashiest
paint scheme, everything else looks good. The area around the attraction is well-landscaped
and the ride’s station fits in with the Tripsdrill’s classic German atmosphere.
And you also have several interactions with Volldampf, a Vekoma family boomerang
that also opened in 2020 with Hals-über-Kopf. Volldampf’s spike actually takes place above
the Hals-über-Kopf’s load platform and the rides come mere feet from each other at several points.
Most of Tripsdrill’s thrill rides are located on the right side of the park.
Hals-über-Kopf is located to the left of the main entrance, which has a few advantages. One,
it helps balance the park layout. Two, this section of the park opens an hour earlier
than the right side of the park, so you can start your day right with a few laps on this coaster.
I visited on a busy summer Wednesday. Several coasters had wait times approaching 30-45 minutes.
However, Hals-über-Kopf’s wait hovered around the 15 minute mark most of the day.
This was surprising given it was the park’s newest and arguably flashiest coaster.
Hals-über-Kopf has the best capacity of the park’s roller coasters.
The ride runs two trains, each seating 20 riders. And this ride rarely stacks. The
lapbar restraints are super easy to check and the crew working this attraction was incredible.
One of the operators was a fellow coaster enthusiast and I’ve seen few employees load
and unload trains as fast as him. He not only hustled to lower everyone’s lap bars, but as
the train was rolling back into the station, he would skillfully unclip everyone’s restraints.
Hals-über-Kopf was great in all rows. The front had the unobstructed view
and slightly stronger positive Gs, but the back had better airtime. So I strongly recommend
trying both the front and back. After turning out of the station,
Hals-über-Kopf begins with a relatively fast and quiet climb up the lift hill. You get a
great view of the park at the top and then you plunge back down to the ground. Most inverts
feature relatively shallow drops that twist to the side. This is what you find on all the Vekoma SLCs
and the older B&M inverts. In recent years, B&M has been creating steeper drops on their
inverts that actually offer some airtime. Hals-über-Kopf has a drop in this mold.
It’s among the steepest drops on an inverted coaster. Combine that with
the relatively long 10 row trains, and you get some floater airtime towards the back.
The pullout offers a quick dose of positive Gs before riders traverse a stretched out zero-G roll
that takes place over Volldampf’s station. This is the first of three inversions on Hals-über-Kopf
and it doesn’t have the same whip as the zero-G rolls on the B&M inverts. Instead, this just
offers good floater airtime, which is fine by me. Especially since you have just lap bars,
so you really feel your body dangling while you’re suspended upside-down.
That’s followed by a junior Immelmann. The entry into this element pulls good positive
Gs up front and it caused me to see a little grey. Unfortunately, the seats towards the back
didn’t get the same force into the element and the flip out of the element wasn’t very extreme.
It was graceful almost to a fault. You then zoom over a bunny hill directly
above the midway, giving everyone some decent floater airtime. It’s hills like
this you don’t find on other inverts. And it’s not the last airtime hill either.
In fact, you have another one immediately after. This one curves upwards to the left
and has a straight drop downwards. The airtime is of the weak floater variety up front, but the drop
delivers good floater airtime towards the back. Then comes the ride’s second inversion. It’s
listed as a zero-G roll, but the curved entry into the inversion is more reminiscent of a corkscrew.
Whatever the element is, it’s another floaty one and it offers some decent hangtime for everyone.
The exit of the inversion immediately leads into a forceful 270 degree downwards helix.
This helix is super compact and it delivers great positive Gs, the strongest on the ride.
I love how the ride quickly transitioned from the hangtime of the zero-G roll
to the leg-numbing helix in an instant. The transition into the following bunny hill
is similarly seamless, as the exit to the helix sort of starts rising upwards into the hill.
Vekoma really nailed the transitions on this coaster. And that bunny hill offers
decent floater airtime throughout the train. Hals-über-Kopf then whips around a decently
forceful overbank and gets ready for the finale. You then hop over another bunny hill, which
finishes by diving downwards to the left into a trench. This hill unfortunately offers no airtime,
but the back does get pulled down this drop and the valley delivers some solid positive Gs.
You then pop out of the trench and navigate the ride’s third and final inversion, an inline
twist. This may be the ride’s best inversion as it offers some fantastic hangtime. The twist
finishes in another trench and then you hop up into the brake run, giving those up front a weak
pop of floater airtime, before ending the ride. One of the most surprising things to me about
Hals-über-Kopf was the pacing. The transitions in between elements on this coaster was masterful.
They either offered positive Gs or blended the two elements together.
In terms of smoothness, Hals-über-Kopf was pretty good. There was a faint rattle at points,
but nothing that caused any discomfort. This is among the most reridable inverts in the world
because of how open those restraints are. So what would I rate Hals-über-Kopf?
I would give the prototype Vekoma STC an 8.5 out of 10. This is a great inverted coaster.
And that greatness comes from how unique it is. The coaster has positive Gs, but they aren’t the
focal point like most inverts. Hals-über-Kopf surrounds those positive Gs with airtime,
hangtime, and strong transitions. Those unique element on an invert combined with the smooth ride
and super open seats make this a strong inverted coaster. And I think it compares quite favorably
to the B&M inverts out there. I cannot wait to see what Vekoma does next with this model.
So those are my thoughts on Hals-über-Kopf, the Vekoma inverted coaster at Tripsdrill.
Have you been on this coaster? What do you think about Vekoma’s STC model? I would love
to hear your thoughts about this coaster down in the comments. If you enjoyed this review, I’d
appreciate it if you gave this video a like and you considered subscribing since there will be a
lot more roller coaster and amusement park videos here at Canobie Coaster. Thanks for watching!