Board & Gear - Tall Guy
Ok so, had a look at a bunch of the recommendations. I’m edging towards a hybrid camber, damn you Andy 
YES Pick Your Line - Straight away the pick of the bunch. Love everything about it, love the design, love how good the reviews are for the 2013 model and how it seems to be one of the all-mountain boards for both pow and everything else which I’m after. The only problem? 260mm waist on the 161W, 262mm on the 164W. Damn it.
K2 Slayblade - 266mm on the 163W so a little bit better, but doesn’t quite have the same ratings in the pow. It is a flat board though so doesn’t sounds extremely appealing to me in the long run.
Lib Tech Skunk Ape - Absolutely hate the graphics on it. I know it’s petty to dismiss a board due to its looks but I don’t think I can look at this monstrosity for 6 months or more.
GNU Carbon Credit - Seems far too basic for a whole season. Gets great reviews as a beginner/intermediate board but I just know that I’ll want a more aggressive board after a month or so. It’s also not very fast or highly rated when blasting down the slopes.
Burton Custom - Possibly the wiser choice at this point rather than the Custom X. 262mm on the 165W which is getting a bit long, but I don’t have too many choices here. A bit weak in powder. Also a camber.
Arbor - Don’t really know where to start with this brand. Had a look on their website but I’m still lost. Seem to all be true camber or rocker.
Never Summer Heritage - It’s a Hybrid Rocker so still not decided on that, but seems quite good. 268mm on the 163. Anyone riden this one or have any suggestions for other Never Summer boards to look at?
From all these above the YES PYL is by far the stand out. If it had a wider waist, I’d order one right now. Surely I can get some small form boots, angle my feet as I plan to and be ok with the 164W?
I was going to recommend the YES PYL until I checked out the waist width. To be honest, I don’t know if it’s wide enough for size 15. That said, it depends on the boots. Who knows, maybe you’ll fit into a size 14, maybe you’ll purchase a boot with a reduced footprint. The best piece of advice I can give you right now is buy your boots first! With your very large feet, you need to know what boots you’re working with first. You might end up with more of a selection of boards to choose from than we are first assuming. With good boot choice, you might end up on your dream board - the YES PYL.
I know they are super expensive but the first boot I would try on is the Burton SLX. Top range boot, very reduced foot print. To justify the cost, they will last a lot longer than cheaper boots. I did approx 300 days in my last pair of SLX. Best boots I ever owned. If they work for your foot shape, they could be a go!
What about a GNU riders choice 162W with 268 waist.
All mountain, hybrid camber, magnetraction, sintered base, mid-high stiffness
If you’re worried about the carbon credit being limiting the riders choice solves that problem.
I haven’t ridden the Never Summer because I don’t like the way they feel when nose/tail sliding rails (it still rides rails fine, but I’m picky).
But for you who isn’t very interested in rails and loves free-riding, this board could be perfect.
It will definitely be wide enough (it’s really hard to find a board that wide) and it will carve and pop well too.
I demoed a board with a similar profile to this and really enjoyed it for free-riding.
As for Arbor, yes they only make true rocker or true camber. I was recommending an Arbor true rocker for you, cause they make the best rockers in my opinion.
But if you’re not keen on a rocker that’s fair enough. I respect that you want to push yourself on a more aggressive board. So the Never Summer sounds pretty damn good.
Man researching these things is like a full time job. I’m glad I finished up with work a few days ago lol.
I’m really reluctant to let the PYL go but it’s looking like I’ll have to with a waist of 26.2… Correct me if I’m wrong but with a sidecut of 8.1 and nose width of 308, it’s probably closer to around 28 or 28.5 around where the feet sit. So with a rough 15/-12 stance, it maaaaay be possible that it’s ok with some decent boots with a smaller footprint. I may keep it on the list anyway and see how I go once I find the right boots.
GNU Riders Choice - Seems to lack a bit of float in powder and is slower but apparently a very solid overall board. Not surprising why it keeps winning awards. Not the craziest of boards but let’s be realistic here, I’m not an advanced boarded (yet) so it’s probably a smart choice. Thanks drc, it’s on the list.
Never Summer Heritage X - This one is taking a joint lead as far as 1st choice after a bit more reading. Rocker at the waist, camber at the feet which people say gives it a loose feeling that most have got used to and end up liking, but still stable enough as long as you tend to carve more than just go in a straight line. Excellent in powder too.
Found a couple of potential Ride boards too but the Machete is like the PYL. Excellent board but 262/3 at the waist.
Ride Highlife UL - Any experience with this one? 266 on the 163W and even goes to 269/168W & 272/172. For my large feet, the 168W is maybe the smarter choice. Am I getting a bit too big here in terms of length though?
Excellent in powder especially if I set the stance back, really good for groomers. They say it’s an advanced to expert board but this is definitely one I could learn to love once I get comfortable. Joint lead for 1st choice with the HX above.
Rider - Burton SLX, ouch! Expensive. I’ve got the cash though and like I said, I’m after gear that’s going to last and going to be good. Will definitely try them on and see if I can justify paying the same amount for boots as well as a board.
EDIT - Only goes up to size 13 :|
Keep in mind your bindings will also allow you to find a board easier due to less restriction on waist width. The higher you are raised off the board, the less the angle between the board and your boot. A binding with a thick cushion under foot will help. I believe the rule is that ideally you will have no less than 60 degrees between the ground and ends of the boot.
If you can find some Ride SPi’s they had quite a lifted footbed on the binding. But tracking some down may be hard as they are no longer produced under that name and I have no idea if the replacement binding model carried on the same style.
What makes you think the GNU Riders Choice lacks float or speed? The C2 profile floats well, and you were considering full cambered boards - this will certainly float better. It also has a sintered base so you shouldn’t have any problems speed-wise. I’d push this board right to the top of your list. I think the 162W will be the perfect all-round Whistler board for you.
Bummer about the SLX. Just keep the footprint in mind when looking at boots.
Pretty sure that Salomon make some reduced footprint boots!!!!!
And I’ll second the C2 profile for float in fresh!!!!! However it will not behave like a cambered board when conditions gets firm!!!!!
And their sintered bases are fast!!!!!
The opposite hybrid profile will fare better on the hardpack, ie CamRock style!!!!!
Two problems with Salomon. They make boots for relatively normal or slim feet, not wide so I might have an issue there. However, I keep reading that they only make up to size 13 so that knocks them out straight away.
It is a bummer about the Burton SLX but the Ruler, Raptor, Ambush and Ox do come in 14/15. Raptor has 2x velcro plus a normal speed lace, the rest are normal.
Anyone have/had these? I should find a place in Sydney to try them on before I go.
Some of you mentioned the DC boots have a large footprint so I can probably knock those off.
What makes you think the GNU Riders Choice lacks float or speed?
Just from general forums and reviews I guess. Definitely haven’t discounted it though, don’t worry.
Ok, slowly narrowing it down. Will look at bindings tomorrow. Also saw mention of risers too such as the Palmer Risers, lift you 10mm above.
No worries fledz, it seemed like a board that would really suit what you are after.
I’m not sure what gave you the impression it wouldn’t float and isnt quick (guessing maybe thegoodride if so take it with a grain of salt)
As rider has just said the c2 profile will be fine in powder certainly better than camber. You’re also talking about Whistler which isnt going to get the huge ammount of powder like Japan.
It has a sintered 9000 base which is pretty much as good/fast as you’re going to get.
It’s a inter/advance board so there is no way the board will be the limiting factor for your riding.
And the best bit it’s wide enough for your boot without having to go super long (if I remember correctly there’s even a 158 with the same width)
It was a very popular demo board at the shred I believe Spaz even said its one of the best he’s ever ridden and I reckon he’s ridden a fair few.
Definitely worth considering unless you really want camber between the feet
I actually like The Goodride’s Gear Reviews!!!!!
From The Goodride - GNU Riders Choice
Powder- A twin with a centered stance isn’t ideal for powder but we have to say that the Riders Choice does a very good job for it’s design. Even the 154.5 did well with bigger riders in 1? plus of powder. The 161.5 made it pretty easy to ride in most situations except the super deep stuff. If you like to take on the powder world regular and switch the Riders Choice is a very good choice.
I agree it’s not gonna lack speed, it’s a high end snowboard with a very good sintered base. I hate those reviews when they say certain boards are slow (especially high end ones). It’s probably lacking wax or they’re the slow ones.
I actually like The Goodride’s Gear Reviews!!!!!
I find their “in depth” reviews handy (such as the GNU riders choice one) but in some cases where they haven’t reviewed the board “in depth” and still give it “poor, good, excellent” marks which appear to have been obtained by a skim through the specs sheet rather than riding. You also have to be careful as they don’t always state how old the review is and can have a review for a board from a few years ago which can be confusing if you haven’t noted the changes from year to year.
It’s definitely better than a lot of the other review sites out there which are more sales/marketing pages for the brands that payed the most but I’ll always try to balance any reviews I’ve read with every day user reviews.
It would be near impossible to test ride every single bit of new equipment on the market, but I reckon they do a great job!!!!!
I’m pretty sure they state the year/model tested/reviewed along with an image, and in some cases even state comparisons with previous years versions of the same product, including changes and also stating whether or not the changes have made an improvement on previous years!!!!!
Probably be hard pressed to find a more comprehensive site I think?????
It would be near impossible to test ride every single bit of new equipment on the market, but I reckon they do a great job!!!!!
I’m pretty sure they state the year/model tested/reviewed along with an image, and in some cases even state comparisons with previous years versions of the same product, including changes and also stating whether or not the changes have made an improvement on previous years!!!!!
Probably be hard pressed to find a more comprehensive site I think?????
Yeah I never said they sucked just to take reviews with a grain of salt!!!
The reason I suspected that was the review site he had seen was you could interpret the 3 out of 5 (a 60% rating) for powder and speed for the GNU as not that great.
Their review of the charlie slasher is obviously from before the 11/12/13 models as they talk about an extruded base (11+ are sintered) yet they embed a 2013 charlie slasher video and picture making no mention of it being an old model in the review. That certainly has potential to be confusing to an ill informed buyer.
This is why forums such as boardworld are so important as people who have ridden the same or similar boards provide valuable input and clarifications.