Budget board advice - ANOTHER help thread.
Hey y’all!
Just what we need. ANOTHER “help me choose a board” thread!
So I cleaned out my centre console in my car during the week, and pulled out over $300 worth of gold coins!
I can’t let that burn a hole in my pocket. It has to be spent. I was thinking about a new battery drill, or a few other items, but I noticed Torpedo have a few boards on sale atm. All conveniently priced around the $300 mark. I might finally be able to get rid of my old beater.
So the boards below are all possible candidates. Problem is, I’m just not sure which of these, if any, would be a good buy. I guess I would’t really want to buy one just for the sake of it, if none of these are really worth the spend.
Just quickly. This would be only the second board I’ve owned/ridden after my current 161 camber. I’m open to different sizes/profiles etc.
Would split my time between park and runs. A little less park.
I’m 6"3 and about 85kg. I think I’m a size 12 boot, so maybe a wider board is a better option?
Anyway, any advice on the boards below would be greatly appreciated. Also, if you know of any other boards around this price range, I’m open to suggestions.
K2 Parkstar
http://www.torpedo7.com.au/products/K2SBMN2PA/title/k2-men-s-parkstar-snowboard-2012
K2 WWW
http://www.torpedo7.com.au/products/K2SBMN2WR/title/k2-men-s-www-rocker-snowboard-2012
Nitro Team
http://www.torpedo7.com.au/products/NISBMN2TE/title/nitro-2012-mens-team-snowboard
Nitro T1
http://www.torpedo7.com.au/products/NISBMN2T1/title/nitro-2012-mens-t1-snowboard
Nitro T1 Zero
http://www.torpedo7.com.au/products/NISBMN2TZ/title/nitro-2012-mens-t1-zero-snowboard
Nitro Prime Propaganda
http://www.torpedo7.com.au/products/NISBMN2PP/title/nitro-2012-mens-prime-propaganda-snowboard
What angles do you ride your bindings at? With the larger boards, you may not need a wide. Mid-wide would probably suit but if you are running anything like +15/-15, you can probably get away with a 252-255 width
So I cleaned out my center console in my car during the week, and pulled out over $300 worth of gold coins!
SERIOUSLY!?!?!
How do guys do that!!!!
sorry no help in you board decision but i couldn’t help but comment!
(the record haul I have seen was a bedside draw with about 300 POUNDS in it).
I’ve never ridden any of the Nitro boards so I can’t comment, but own 2 of the boards you’re interested in. (Parkstar and WWW) I reckon the Parkstar would be my choice out of that list for what you want to do (some park and runs). I have a size 11 boot and I have no issues with toes and heels catching.
Ok, so those wide boards are all like 260+ width… seems quite overkill.
The 159 T1 or T1 Zero will both be good boards, Sintered base, not too stiff and still with good pop / low chatter in them. For the price, they will be the best options.
They have a 252 width, so if you are riding with a small stance (less than 15/15 duck then you might have an issue.) That being said, you are quite tall so there is a good chance your feet will be towards the ends of the bindings range which gives you more space anyway.
In my opinion, you are too light to be riding a 160+ board. If you could pick up a 155w, it would be an awesome option to give you something more playful and easy to ride with the waist width to fit your boots. At 88kg and 6ft, I’ve ridden everything from a 150-162 and generally sit around the 152-155 mark as my preferred board size
So I cleaned out my center console in my car during the week, and pulled out over $300 worth of gold coins!
SERIOUSLY!?!?!
How do guys do that!!!!
:down sorry no help in you board decision but i couldn’t help but comment!
(the record haul I have seen was a bedside draw with about 300 POUNDS in it).
Change doesn’t fit in wallets too well…
I got about $80 in my draw at home which I use to catch the bus when needed and about $20 here at work that I only started saving a few weeks ago.
Boardersinc have a DC Focus 155 wide for sale on their Ebay store for $265, probably be a fun board for park etc and for the price hard to go wrong.
Change doesn’t fit in wallets too well…
It doesn’t fit in mine well either!
So i spend it - 
So I cleaned out my center console in my car during the week, and pulled out over $300 worth of gold coins!
SERIOUSLY!?!?!
How do guys do that!!!!
(the record haul I have seen was a bedside draw with about 300 POUNDS in it).
I purposely have a wallet that doesn’t have a coins pocket. I HATE carrying a bulky wallets. And having left over change to use as “toy money” is the bonus. 
What angles do you ride your bindings at? With the larger boards, you may not need a wide. Mid-wide would probably suit but if you are running anything like +15/-15, you can probably get away with a 252-255 width
I’m running a 15/15 stance. I’ll have a look at the widths now and see what I can come up with.
So the Parkstar is 149 wide. I’m tipping that’s too narrow? WWW is 250.
Will check the Nitro and DC Focus now.
149 will be too narrow. The Nitros are more like 152.
The focus wide is 261. Not sure if you need that much but a 155 will probably be more fun to ride than the big boards you’ve been lugging around. If your 161 was a wide, the 155 will probably be much easier to ride.
And the graphic is pretty good as well.
Alpsport have a lot of stuff on sale as well.
Hey Tills,
It sounds like this would be a complete replacement for your old board. Have you read the article I wrote on various camber profiles? https://www.boardworld.com.au/forums/viewthread/4119/
Also, do you have a preference for shape, flex and size? Do you ride much switch? Do you like to jib / butter? Have a think about what you’d really like to get out of the board, and it will be easier to give you a recommendation.
I would say it’s not worth getting a board just for sake of it (even if it’s half price). With the season finished, I think you’ll find a big selection of boards at a really good discount. Take your time and find the right board for your specific needs. You’ll enjoy it more and therefor get more value out of the board.
Hey Tills,
It sounds like this would be a complete replacement for your old board. Have you read the article I wrote on various camber profiles? https://www.boardworld.com.au/forums/viewthread/4119/
Also, do you have a preference for shape, flex and size? Do you ride much switch? Do you like to jib / butter? Have a think about what you’d really like to get out of the board, and it will be easier to give you a recommendation.
I would say it’s not worth getting a board just for sake of it (even if it’s half price). With the season finished, I think you’ll find a big selection of boards at a really good discount. Take your time and find the right board for your specific needs. You’ll enjoy it more and therefor get more value out of the board.
Hey dude,
I’ve read your article a few times. Very helpful. I’d like to progress from a regular cambered board onto something like a flat rocker/hybrid profile. My thoughts are they’d be a lot more playful.
My shape preference would be twin/directional twin. As far as flex goes, I haven’t ridden any other boards in order to work out what my preference would be, but a bit more pop than my current board would be good. Even though I don’t know what rating my current board is.
Riding switch, and jibbing/buttering is something I’m only now starting to try. At least when I last boarded. I’ve also just started to get into the park.
I guess the main reason for wanting a new board is the fact that as well as being a little beat up, I find my current board to be a little heavy and cumbersome. I’d like something a bit more playful. Something that turns a little easier. More pop. I find my 161 to be hard to throw around, if that makes sense.
To be honest mate, and going on what you’ve said, I’ve gone through each of those boards and eliminated all of them for one reason or another. Either they are the wrong size (mainly waist width), have an extruded base (not worth getting in my opinion), or not the camber profile you were after (i.e. Nitro Team is camber). I’m not saying all of these boards wouldn’t work from you necessarily, but I can’t say any of them would be ideal either. I think the closest to what you’d be looking for is the K2 Parkstar, but it’s only available in 157 (too narrow) and 160 wide (unnecessarily wide and probably longer than you’d want to go).
The Nitro T1 Zero 159 would be your best bet out of all of those boards, but it has a 252mm waist, so depending on your actual boots and the stance you ride, this may or may not be good option for you. If you’re rocking a wide, duck stance, it would probably work for you. The board is flat, i.e. zero camber. Personally I don’t like the feel of flat boards as I find them to lack ‘energy’ and have a ‘dead’ feeling. They have their benefits but I’m not a fan. Maybe you will be.
My honest advice is to keep looking for a board you’re going to be 100% stoked on.