Big mountain, steeps and pow board help
I currently ride a 2011/2012 Lib Tech Banana Magic w/ Ride Maestro bindings (-6/+15) and I absolutely love this board sweet float in pow and hold up to ice without a problem. I toke it to Colorado a few weeks back and it performed great in the pow tree runs, and moderate steeps, but did however have little bit of difficultly kicking out my back leg while carving, going from toe side to heel side in really steep runs with powder it felt like it wasn’t smooth and kind of unsettling at times, now that I think about it I should have probably set my stance back a lil to help the float and easy turning no? This got me thinking what is the best type of board for steep big mountain riding directional twin maybe ?? I noticed the stance is set back on that setup, only thing I don’t like with directional twin is what u lose riding switch (which I sometimes do on the shallower pow runs to change things up and also relieve the pain from the constant heel or toe riding). Few questions : is there anything wrong with setting the stance back on a true twin board ? Is there any disadvantages in centering the stance on a directional board (to accommodate for differnent conditions of course)? I want to buy a split board this year and I want a split board I can do it all with (steeps, pow, jumps, drops and be able to ride switch on pow too) so I have to choose true twin or directional twin?? Any suggestions from experience is great appreciated.
not sure I understand the heel/toe pain you get from riding in pow. Do you mean rear leg burn? Your banana magic is rockered so if you’re getting rear leg burn it prob means you should get a bigger size since you’re not floating very well (or get a different brand!).
For the split, I guess you want a freestyle shape. Look at the Prior AMF, Jones Mountain Twin, etc. There are heaps out there.
K2 Panoramic is another. It is the same shape as the Turbo dream
Hi Lester
There was a lot of questions there but I’ll see if I can get most of them.
*There is nothing wrong with riding powder with a centered stance. I ride my rocker center stance in the pow because I personally choose to never change stance (to always 100% know my board inside and out) it’s just a personal preference.
*Yes you can ride a directional board centered. I have a friend who rides boards where the bolt holes are set back and gets an extra pair of bolt holes drilled in. He rides set back in the pow, and stanced all the way out in the park. Personally I choose not to do this though because the board has a side cut and shape that wants you to stand where they put you.
*With the split board - If you only ride a bit of switch or maybe a 180 here or there then can I suggest that you get a Directional Board that’s NOT set back in the bolts. Meaning a board that’s directional flex (and maybe directional side cut too if u want) that the bolts are centered and there are lots of bolt options. So you can ride it set back or centered as you please.
But there’s nothing wrong with getting a true twin split board if you are really into the freestyle aspect of it.
Hope that helps 
Hey Lester,
I have a few points to make and some questions too.
little bit of difficultly kicking out my back leg while carving
This sounds like technique problem more than anything. You shouldn’t be ‘kicking out’ your back leg when carving. Makes me think you’re not initiating and steering the turn properly.
going from toe side to heel side in really steep runs with powder it felt like it wasn’t smooth and kind of unsettling at times
What was happening exactly? Could you explain it in more detail?
now that I think about it I should have probably set my stance back a lil to help the float and easy turning no?
Setting your stance back will give you more float in powder and make turn initiation easier.
This got me thinking what is the best type of board for steep big mountain riding directional twin maybe ??
This is hard to answer. The quick answer is no. The best board for steep big mountain riding *probably has a directional shape and core, narrow waist width, and stiff flex pattern etc. - depending on the rider’s preference and riding style. There really is no answer for what’s ‘best’. Depending on what you’re experiencing and what riding characteristics you would like to address through your board choice, this answer could be a whole range of things.
I noticed the stance is set back on that setup, only thing I don’t like with directional twin is what u lose riding switch (which I sometimes do on the shallower pow runs to change things up and also relieve the pain from the constant heel or toe riding).
Firstly, a directional twin could be referring to a twin shape with a directional core, or a directional shape with a twin core. I’m going to assume you mean a directional shape, as this sounds like what you’re referring to.
Few questions : is there anything wrong with setting the stance back on a true twin board ? Is there any disadvantages in centering the stance on a directional board (to accommodate for differnent conditions of course)? I want to buy a split board this year and I want a split board I can do it all with (steeps, pow, jumps, drops and be able to ride switch on pow too) so I have to choose true twin or directional twin??
No problem with setting your stance back on a true twin to get more float in powder. I don’t think many split boards are true twins? I could be wrong but I would guess most are directional. If you’re getting a split board, I would think a directional shape would be your best option.
Sorry if I haven’t been much help. I’ve tried to address your questions. Please feel free to elaborate more or ask any other questions.
not sure I understand the heel/toe pain you get from riding in pow. Do you mean rear leg burn? Your banana magic is rockered so if you’re getting rear leg burn it prob means you should get a bigger size since you’re not floating very well (or get a different bran)
The pain I’m talking about is when I’m doing tree turns I don’t normally go Mach speed straight down so I ment keeping consistent heel or toe hold (riding on edge), starts taking a toll after a while that why for the longer runs I like to switch it up literally
unless you’re traversing, I still don’t understand. Tree runs make you turn like you’re doing a slalom, so you should be going from edge to edge.
little bit of difficultly kicking out my back leg while carving
This sounds like technique problem more than anything. You shouldn’t be ‘kicking out’ your back leg when carving. Makes me think you’re not initiating and steering the turn properly.
going from toe side to heel side in really steep runs with powder it felt like it wasn’t smooth and kind of unsettling at times
What was happening exactly? Could you explain it in more detail?
First of all thank you for all the info, I started thinking about what you wrote about initiating and steering into a turn, perhaps that might be what i might be doing wrong, what I ment about unsettling part was that the back part of the board sorta drags while going into turns and after doing some research I noticed that in the steeps I might be putting to my weight on my back leg, that would explain the unsettling part.
Few questions : is there anything wrong with setting the stance back on a true twin board ? Is there any disadvantages in centering the stance on a directional board (to accommodate for differnent conditions of course)? I want to buy a split board this year and I want a split board I can do it all with (steeps, pow, jumps, drops and be able to ride switch on pow too) so I have to choose true twin or directional twin??
No problem with setting your stance back on a true twin to get more float in powder. I don’t think many split boards are true twins? I could be wrong but I would guess most are directional. If you’re getting a split board, I would think a directional shape would be your best option.
Only true twin split snowboard that I found was the Lib Tech T-rise split, rest of the other ones are directional, that is most likely what i will get, I recently bought the Jones Hovercraft (got a great deal on it) so I can get a taste of a directional board in powder conditions, will update later on how she handles.
Thanx again for all the info, will definitely going to be changing how im initiating those turns and need be take a lesson to be on the safe side.