“No!! Not again!!” That’s right - Powder board advice.(Please)
Yeah I’ve looked through the other threads. It’s been a while. And I need to scratch my itch while waiting for my next trip to come around. Unfortunately I don’t need to make any purchases for New Zealand but I am thinking of getting a powder board for Niseko next year. Why not?
The Rome Notch looks like a fun board;
http://www.romesnowboards.com/boards/notch/
but my boots are size 13 Burton Imperials and I’m worried the waist width of the Notch (256) may be too narrow for me so may count it out, my boots hang over a way on my 161 Skunk Apes which has a 12mm wider waist.
I’m 190cm, 96kgs at the moment and I’m pretty damn lean right now so there is a chance I’ll be 105 by the time I get to Niseko, especially after I eat my way through Europe for 3 weeks leading up to it 
I bought a 161 Skunk Apes to take to Hakuba with me in March and it I’m happy with how it performed on groomed runs and ankle deep fresh, it resolved all the issues I had with my old board, issues that I had from riding in Aus and NZ. When it came to knee to waist deep powder though I was struggling to keep the nose up and the burn in my back leg was getting the better of me.
All advice will be genuinely appreciated.
My honest first thoughts were:
That’s a really long snowboard!
It would be great for riding wide open bowls, but what about in the trees? That’s way more board than you want (or I would want), in my opinion.
Here are two other powder boards to consider:
Burton Fish 161 — 262mm waist
YES 420 152 — HUGE waist width
*2015 model, will be available very soon.
Especially considering your size 13 boots, I would go for either of these over the Notch.
^^^ that 420 makes me happy in my snowpants!
I did hear that they ditched the 148 though, apparently there were manufacturing problems ?!!?
^^^ that 420 makes me happy in my snowpants!
I did hear that they ditched the 148 though, apparently there were manufacturing problems ?!!?
Thanks man! I’ve never ridden a board that shape and they spin me out a bit hey! Have you ridden a 420 before? I’ve read up on it and other boards of similar build but never actually considered buying one. It’s hard to find first hand accounts of guys my size who have ridden a board like that too, all the big North Americans guys are banging on about the 170 Birdman and similar.
^^^ that 420 makes me happy in my snowpants!
I did hear that they ditched the 148 though, apparently there were manufacturing problems ?!!?Thanks man! I’ve never ridden a board that shape and they spin me out a bit hey! Have you ridden a 420 before? I’ve read up on it and other boards of similar build but never actually considered buying one. It’s hard to find first hand accounts of guys my size who have ridden a board like that too, all the big North Americans guys are banging on about the 170 Birdman and similar.
Nah I havent ridden a 420 yet, im going to buy one though, just waiting for the board gods to get it sorted 
Im also 6’2 & hover around the 90kg depending on how many pies ive eaten and everyone ive spoke too has told me how awesome they are and It would be the perfect size etc etc. Have i spoken to anyone whos actually ridden one themselves though, no. DIGITAL REVER on here took the previous years model to japan recently, you could ask him what its like.
Sweet I’ll PM him. Cheers bra.
If you would like a bit of an all round powder board that you can still ride switch and be nimble through the trees on I would recommend including the Capita Charlie Slasher on your short list.
I have posted a review of my 154 CS ridden in Japow on here before if you have trouble’s finding it let me know and I can dig it up later.
Were you set back on your skunk apes in the deep snow?
What are you stance angles? Even with a size 13, you should not have overhang on a 268 waist! (161 skunk apes wide waist width)
There are loads of pow boards out there. Take your time to check out all the offerings and choose the one that stokes you out the most. FWIW, I just ordered a 163 Salomon Powder Snake.
I just ordered a 163 Salomon Powder Snake.
I’ve heard great things about this board and it was on my short list when I got my charlie slasher.
Hey guys - I am the YES. rep for AUS & NZ, and I have in fact ridden the 420 for resort shredding (never really hit a proper pow day though), and I can say that it was super fun.
It is obviously pretty wide, so floatation in POW or SLUSH is no problem (regardless of your foot size), and it is very manoeuvrable, as swing weight is very low.
Several of our accounts have taken this board to Japan (speak to Jimi or Mark @ ESS Erina), and have been legitimately blown away by how it performs in powder, and on groomers as well. And you will actually see Romain DeMarchi & Austin Sweetin doing some fairly incredible FS riding on the 2014/15 YES. 420 in the upcoming Absinthe film (which is currently being filmed).
PS - Dustin Ortiz did the 420 graphic for 2014/15 - and when it hits stores (in Early May) you will see that the graphic is ALL TIME. But be quick, as there aren’t too many arriving in the Country. http://www.dustinortiz.com/
PSS - there was no manufacturing issue on the 148cm, it is just not being put in production until July….which means it wont be here in time for our AUS season.
Hope this helps. Enjoy the POW!!
Amine.
PSS - there was no manufacturing issue on the 148cm, it is just not being put in production until July….which means it wont be here in time for our AUS season.
Ahh well a particular store worker was telling me porky pies then!!
Does there feel like much difference between the 2??
Hey Guys
I took the Yes 420 aka the powder pig to japan and loved it. I was using Now IPO bindings and wear a size 9 boot. Plenty of float on the days when it actually dumped. but was still great on the groomers and it rode switch just fine. You ride it centred and don’t really have to lean back at all for it to keep the nose up. Occasionally I would wash out when I jumped on the anchors but that was when I was trying to spray someone with snow
AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWESOME, Im sold!!
If you would like a bit of an all round powder board that you can still ride switch and be nimble through the trees on I would recommend including the Capita Charlie Slasher on your short list.
I have posted a review of my 154 CS ridden in Japow on here before if you have trouble’s finding it let me know and I can dig it up later.
Yeah man I actually read it and it’s on my shortlist because of your review, very helpful thanks bro! I discounted it initially but it’s now in the mix!
Were you set back on your skunk apes in the deep snow?
What are you stance angles? Even with a size 13, you should not have overhang on a 268 waist! (161 skunk apes wide waist width)There are loads of pow boards out there. Take your time to check out all the offerings and choose the one that stokes you out the most. FWIW, I just ordered a 163 Salomon Powder Snake.
Day 1 stance was centered but I moved my bindings back a bit that night. Made some difference but not heaps. It was a lot deeper the next day though. Angles were -4/+14. As for the boot size I don’t think I’d want much more overhang than what I have currently but I could be wrong here, I’m definitely no expert.
I want to clarify something here; I’m not saying the board is to blame for my back leg pain, it has far more to do with me not spending anywhere near enough time on a board. I’m fit, I train almost everyday but I’m definitely not conditioned to snowboarding 8-9 hours a day. So not bagging the Skunk Apes at all, just looking for something that will make riding powder even more enjoyable next time round. I’m thinking something with some taper or a swallow tail might help here.
Hey, no problem. One reason why I go with pow boards that are more in the allmountain catergory is because the resorts get tracked quickly nowadays. I’ve never ridden the 420 but have lots of time on nugs, roots and I’ve also ridden the fishcuit (basically boards that you size down for) and while they are awesome in trees and can hold their own in untracked pow runs, they are let down by the shorter nose when things get tracked. Here in Hakuba you’ll be riding in knee deep and hit somebody’s track then back to knee deep. The shorter boards are greatly disadvantaged to longer boards in that situation and you will feel the legs burning from all the extra pumping you have to do.
Then you have regular-sized tapered boards with small tails like the fish, hovercraft, camel toe etc. They float better than the shorties and are great in the trees. They have long tapered noses so can handle the sudden dips easier, and can absorb the chop the more things get tracked. The negative to them is - going switch is difficult. You may think, “no problem, I don’t need to ride switch in pow” but in my case, I found that it made my riding more mellow. They float so well that you just sit back and cruise (add soulful surfing imagery here). It wasn’t until I got onto twinnish pow boards that I remembered how fun pow 180’s are.
One other negative is the smaller tail gives you less to slash with.
Next category are the swallowtails. Generally, these boards run a longer length (like that Notch). Obviously awesome in pow, these boards perform best with a big open bowl in front of you. They’ll smash through chop at the end of the day too. They are harder to do quick turns with though (does depend on whether they have nose rocker or not though). If I was doing a backcountry tour I’d want one. For resort, I’d want more of a 4x4 type board.
Finally, there’s the twinnish pow boards. These boards are for doing freestyle in powder…but don’t let that turn you off. It also means they are more like 4x4 offroad beasts. These include the Burton Juice Wagon, Trick Pony, next year’s Flight Attendant, Salomon Sick Stick and Powder Snake, next year’s Smokin Jetson, K2 Ultra Dream and Peacekeeper, to name a few. They don’t float as well as the fish-like boards or swallowtails, but they do float better than normal boards AND ride well on groomers. The bonus to a board like this is when traveling, you don’t have to bring a quiver and never have that “I wish I had brought the other board” problem.
Sorry, I seem to have typed an essay. Anyways, for you, maybe try the tapered small tail boards. Get a Fish or a Camel Toe if you want to save money.
ps. I seem to have missed Charlie Slasher/Burton Landlord type boards. These are hybrids that fall between fish boards and twinnish pow boards. While twinnish pow boards are more regular boards that are good in pow, they are more pow boards that are good on groomers. Less taper than a fish but slightly longer length (+2cm) is normal.