Board advice for Japow
So I’m a powder virgin, but I’m heading to niseko/rusutsu for a couple of weeks in Feb 
I’ll be taking a 161 Ride all mountain board that’s a little long in the tooth, but still performs ok and should be fine for me on groomers and in the deep stuff. I also have a 156 YES Tasman that I was thinking should be ok for my other half and was just wondering if those of you with more experience can tell me if it’s gonna be ok for her. She is 168 cm so I’m a little worried it might be too long.. What length/size board would you recommend for a beginner/intermediate level pow virgin of her height? I don’t want her to be stuck with a board that is gonna suck. for her height.
My gut says it’ll be fine, but there’s no sense in lugging it all that way if it’s going to hamper her progression!
Cheers
sensitive question maybe, but how much does she weigh?
Weight is more relevant than height. The board doesn’t know how tall she is, only the weight (force) she exerts on it.
What cords said. We need to know weight and also boot size. Men’s boards are wider than women’s boards, which will make it sluggish unless she has big feet. I don’t think float will be the issue here.
Had to get the OK from the boss :D
66 kegs she is.
Thanks guys 
What’s her boot size?
Weight shouldn’t be a problem.
Hey Anti, is the Boss a strong aggressive rider?????
Cause if she isn’t, I think the Tasman will be a little bit big!!!!!
Has she ridden deep pow before?????
If she’s not on her game 100%, and loses it, she will struggle big time rightin herself in the soft powder that is Hokkaido!!!!!
Rent a Gentem while you’re over there. Or just get her a fish/fishcuit, problem solved.
Rent a Gentem while you’re over there. Or just get her a fish/fishcuit, problem solved.
Get the old power tools out and jigsaw the yes into a girl sized fish!!!
Or get a mortgage for a gentem, thats what id do!
Haha mortgage for a gentem
Thanks for all the info guys.
@ Mizu Her boot size is a womens 9 and neither of us have ever riden pow. She is still definitely in the beginner spectrum.. Don’t think she’ll be thrashing too hard..
I’m starting to think we might just be better off renting our boards over there so we have some boards suited to the local conds…. For 11 days though it’s looking pretty expensive for decent gear. The place we are staying at in Rusutsu rents ‘high performance’ boards for 5600 Y / day which is a little steep.. We might be able to get one of the shops in Niseko to delivery to Rusutsu and they are generally more reasonable at around 4000-4500 Y /day.
I guess there’s no point forking out the $$ to get there and then not having the right gear to make the most of it..
Damn my tight-fisted.. ness.. 
I agree mate, I wouldn’t hire boards as by the time you hire for 10+ days you’ve bought a new board!!!!!
I’d get new boards over here, that’ll suit the conditions there!!!!!
Oh God….I’m the queen of ‘what?! ...pay $xxx for hire when I can buy this pretty new board for just a little bit more!’
But there are advantages to hiring, especially while you learn what you prefer.
I was a bit ‘retentive’ about taking and riding MY board in the early days - it was as if I thought I wouldn’t be able to ride anything else. It was a week in Niseko where I swapped performance hire boards every day (on some days more than once) to DEMO boards and bindings that I really found my flow. I realised that long board or short, stiff or noodley, didn’t matter…I could ride the shit out of it. Did wonders for my confidence. It was also where I decided to get rid of the full camber stiff board and go for a hybrid.
Sounds like your lady would be happier sticking to one board for now - but don’t write off hiring if you make it work for you.
Antisense…I see you’re going in Feb.
I’m not there in Feb. But my boards are.
My Hel Yes might be a good choice for her.
I’m pretty good at sharing my toys - just not sure how we would work getting it to you….especially as you’re doing Rusutsu first.
I’d need it back for first week in March.
Antisense…I see you’re going in Feb.
I’m not there in Feb. But my boards are.
My Hel Yes might be a good choice for her.
I’m pretty good at sharing my toys - just not sure how we would work getting it to you….especially as you’re doing Rusutsu first.
I’d need it back for first week in March.
Thanks for the offer LMB, that’s very generous of you!! But I’d rather not borrow expensive toys from people 
just in case….
I think it’s gonna be a new board bought here as Mizu suggests, or just take the YES Tasman for her. I think she’ll adapt to it ok if it’s in the suitable size range for her size and weight which it seems to be…
Maybe we can demo some boards over there to try out what works, but the impression I get of the reviews of the rusutsu resort rental is that they don’t have a great range.
My honest opinion is the YES Tasman will work OK. Her feet aren’t too small and her weight is fine for the 156, especially in pow. Rockered nose and tail, and a wide-ish board (for her feet) will give float. Set back the stance an in or two when it’s deep and I think it will work fine. It’s not 100% ideal but I can’t see why it wouldn’t work.
IF she’s having problems, which I don’t think she will, then maybe consider renting. But I think you can definitely justify taking it over there as option A.
Amine just got back to me on the specs of the Tasman 156. He said it has a 252mm waist and the length is closer to a 158. Hmmmmm… this might need further consideration.