Heading to Japan at the end of the year, need a new board!
Hey guys,
I am 24 years old, 6’6” tall and weigh 81kg. I’ve been using a 157cm K2 Fastplant with Flux DS30s for the past two seasons at Thredbo and in Queenstown on holidays. I mainly enjoy the park, hitting jumps and rails and have tried ‘powder’ once at Thredbo and it was a nightmare on the short board. In short I am a jib-rat.
I am looking to get a new board for my 3 weeks in Japan, ideally something that I can still use to hit any jumps/rails/whatever jibs I can throw myself off. I have no knowledge of the bigger all-mountain / powder boards so if anyone can give me some advice that would be rad! I am guessing I will need a new pair of bindings also since the DS30s are so flexy?
Any questions / suggestions are welcomed 
you sound like a perfect contender for the Yes 420 like I recently got!!
Hi MatHood, welcome to the boards….
When I went to japan last year I took a Burton Custom flying v 160 which was perfect for me in the Japow and Japark….. and I’m 6’ & 83kg. Get a board that can handle the powder well but also perform in the park. 
I’m sure you’ll get some great advice from the knowledge bank here….
Hey guys,
I am 24 years old, 6’6” tall and weigh 81kg. I’ve been using a 157cm K2 Fastplant with Flux DS30s for the past two seasons at Thredbo and in Queenstown on holidays. I mainly enjoy the park, hitting jumps and rails and have tried ‘powder’ once at Thredbo and it was a nightmare on the short board. In short I am a jib-rat.
I am looking to get a new board for my 3 weeks in Japan, ideally something that I can still use to hit any jumps/rails/whatever jibs I can throw myself off. I have no knowledge of the bigger all-mountain / powder boards so if anyone can give me some advice that would be rad! I am guessing I will need a new pair of bindings also since the DS30s are so flexy?
Any questions / suggestions are welcomed
Welcome to Boardworld, MatHood. 
The Fastplant is flat between the bindings with rockered tips. That’s about as close as you can get to a profile that is meant to float well (full rocker being the option with best float). If you struggled in the powder with your 157, I think you really just need to step up the size you’re riding. What was the issue exactly? Were you sinking? I assume you have a fairly wide stance which probably made it a bit more difficult too.
Anyway, I think bracer is right. Something around the 160 mark should give you more float, but also be versatile enough to hit the park. You obviously don’t want to go too much bigger than you’re used to. 160-161 should be a good starting point.
Honest question: do you want a board more geared to freeriding and powder that can handle the park, or do you want a board more geared to the park that can also float decently? If you’re looking for something more geared to powder, it’s probably a good idea to consider a slightly directional board, possibly a tapered shape. To what extent you decide really depends on what you’re after.
I was actually going to suggest a profile the same as your Fastplant, as you get excellent float but also a flat middle for stability on those rails you love. The other options worth considering are full rocker, or CamRock—which is camber between the feet and rockered tips. Have a think about what you most want to get out of this board and let us know.
Thanks for the replies guys! I am at work at the moment, just letting you know that I read your responses.
I will edit this at lunch with my reply !
That’s a late lunch!
Hahaha, just playing. 
Haha sorry guys! I got caught up in stuff and forgot!
What was the issue exactly? Were you sinking? I assume you have a fairly wide stance which probably made it a bit more difficult too.
Yeah, I was sinking, struggling to move at all and anytime I dropped my nose to try and pop or anything I would dig in at the front and die. It was hell.
Anyway, I think bracer is right. Something around the 160 mark should give you more float, but also be versatile enough to hit the park. You obviously don’t want to go too much bigger than you’re used to. 160-161 should be a good starting point.
That is what I was thinking, thanks for confirming this.
Honest question: do you want a board more geared to freeriding and powder that can handle the park, or do you want a board more geared to the park that can also float decently? If you’re looking for something more geared to powder, it’s probably a good idea to consider a slightly directional board, possibly a tapered shape. To what extent you decide really depends on what you’re after.
I think I would prefer a freeride board that can handle the jibs/jumps. I am not by any means an expert, I can do some intermediate park/jumps/rails etc with some spins and tricks but it’s not like I am doing any crazy tech stuff. I’d love to experience Japan the best that I can, and when I ride Aus / NZ I already have the fastplant to jump back onto if I want to dedicate a day to the park (which I do most days honestly).
So long as I will still be able to 360 out of some digouts, get on rails and hit jumps whilst being able to handle the powder fairly easily I am down. I’d prefer to keep it as the same rocker that I have on the Fastplant as I am used to it.
Hopefully this is the kind of answer you were looking for ! Thanks!
Quick question before I suggest any boards… what size boots do you wear?
even quicker question, yeah?
YES pick your line
Gnu Billy Goat
Capita BSOD
Check those out. Billy goat is directional twin, and other 2 are directional but not extremely directional. BSOD would be the best choice if you still like to jib. Search clips of Mike Rav if you can, he uses that board for everything including rails.
Hey Matt, welcome to Boardworld!
Here are a few suggestions:
Pow specific: Burton Fish/fishcuit, Yes 420, bataleon camel toe, Nitro pow quiver
Freestyle pow: Burton Trick pony could be a good option as it is a twin shape with side effects( elongated contact points for a longer effective edge and better float) flat camber with rocker tips and a slight set back stance. This is Mark Sollars weapon of choice- watch him in Burton presents: Backcountry. Also the K2 Ultradream, Ride Slackcountry, Burton Root, Yes PYL.. The list goes on.
Hope you can find what your after. 
they don’t sell the Burton Root anymore. Also, while it’s fun in pow, I would not recommend it for someone’s pow-specific board purchase.
Hi MatHood… If you’re 6 ft 6 tall (198cm), you’re going to want something significantly longer than 160cm!
I’m about 70kg, 184cm tall and I ride a 165cm in Japan pow. Even that can feel short on some days.
I think you should aim for 165cm at least.
Float doesn’t only come from length
Personally, I use an all mountain board even in the Japow deeps. I had absolutely no problems with speed/float etc etc with a 160cm custom Flying V and I’m 6’ and 83kg.
But, I also like to lap through the park on occasion even in Japan and this size for me could do it all. No way I’d be going for a longer board for that all mountain style that I like.
Wow, so sorry for the late reply guys. I tried logging in at home but it kept giving me an error, so I tried resetting my password but that wasn’t working. Luckily on this computer at work it is all good.
So I read all the responses here, and I checked out the Capital BSOD. It looks like a pretty good board, I read some reviews and there were some complaints about the width on it. It also appears to be a bit stiff and not a rocker board. My fastplant is a jib rocker and I would ideally like to keep that same kind of profile as I haven’t had experience with camber boards.
Someone asked earlier what my shoe size is, I am pretty sure I run Nitro Anthems in a Size 11.