Hmm.. Gotta take that back, it was a 174 Palmer Shape. AFAIR it indeed
has
less effective edge than it could for its length, while the Channel
Titanium
has a pretty low shovel so lots of edge for the length.

Also tried a 173 Fastback, and it still was easier to handle than the
freakin
Channel Titanium.

Sidecut, stiffness, width - can all make a difference too... I do know the
Fastbacks have a nice big sidecut, IIRC 9.1m on the 163 so I'd imagine 10+
on the 173.

Sometimes the numbers don't tell the story at all though. Now I'm talking
alpine boards - but my longest one, a Coiler PR 188, has a 170 cm effective
edge, 15.7 sidecut and feels stiff as hell when you hand-flex it. But it
is not hard at all to handle, it is very easy to get the sidecut to hook up
and it just kinda "snakes" along.