First board advice - looking at something with camber

Hi all - another newbie looking to buy my first board here.

I’m 6’2’‘, 76 kg, size 10.5 boot and have been boarding for a few years now. My style is mostly all mountain, doing groomers in Perisher, with some park laps thrown in (pretty much just doing the jumps). I do enjoy carving down mountains and popping off small jumps on the way down each run.

I only recently learned about board profiles, and last week I went down to Perisher with a Burton Custom Flying V (2014 model?). So quite a lot of rocker. The board was good but I found I wanted better carving, more edge hold and a bit more stability at high speeds. The Flying V was quite twitchy and seemed to want to turn itself all the time, particularly when riding flats.

So after a bit of research, I started looking at camber boards, which is what I think I want to buy. Particular boards I have in mind are the Burton Custom (not the Flying V), and the 2017 Burton Trick Pony, which I understand has been redesigned with a camber profile. Size 158 is the sort of length I’m looking at, but I’m not sure whether I need a 160. The Flying V I rode was a 155W and it went okay.

As an aside, I’m also looking at Burton Cartel bindings with Salomon Launch boots (I have a narrow ankle).

I’d appreciate any and all feedback on the above - I’ve mostly been focused on Burton boards thus far but I’m keen to not get too hung up on one brand. So alternative boards would also be appreciated.

Thanks guys!

EDIT: I should also mention that I’m intermediate level - I’m pretty comfortable carving down a mountain and landing park jumps, and am now starting to move into learning to ride switch, increase speeds, maybe attempt some grabs and 180s/360s on jumps.

Hi mate and welcome, I’ve been a bit MIA on here for a long time for various reason, getting married, building a house, new job etc but I like these type of threads.

Never had a Burton board myself but my board progression started on camber, found it hard to spin and in al honesty the board was very basic and not great for what I really wanted to do.  Ended up with a Lib Banana which was good but started to experience what you describe as in twitchy and not great at speed flatbase, reverts etc.  I then grabbed a C2 Trice which was rocker between feet to mild camber to the tips, this improved somewhat but it really wasn’t where it was at for me.  I then went to a DC ply with camber between feet and flat to the tips, I liked this profile a lot more but felt it was a little noodley.  Next up I grabbed a DC Mage, slightly stiffer and more aggressive than the Ply and I haven’t looked back.

I don’t know too much about the Burton range, the DC Mega and Media Blitz may be potentials as would perhaps the Yes Greats.  Yes boards get a lot of love on here as do Flux Bindings.  Personally I stick with Ride bindings, in particular the Rodeo’s, I love them, the aluminium base and heelcup just feels strong and solid.  I did try the Now IPO’s but really didn’t like them, I’m at odds with most on that front though. 

You’re bootsize and weight lends itseld to a lot of boards width wise so you’re not gunna have any dramas with choice.  Bummer you missed the demo day a couple of weeks back at perisher, great opportunity to see what works and what doesn’t or you.  The previous year I rode a lot of boards at the demo day, among them was a Yes greats, Ride something or other, Rome Mod Rocker and the Mega.  I went straight out and sourced a Mega after that as I loved it. 

With that said my next board purchase might be a Rome Mod Rocker Or Rome Mod Stale, I didn’t do the demo this year unfortunately causeI woulda loved to try the Stale.

I dunno if any of this helps at all, gives you some other options outside of Burton though!

Welcome to Boardworld, @Vandelay!

It’s great you’ve done some of your own research and determined the type of profile that you prefer. Like you, I prefer camber to rocker. You just can’t compare to the stability and performance of camber. But, it’s personal preference, and each to their own.

The Burton Custom is a tried and true performer. It’s been around for, I’m going to say, about 20 years now! Of course it’s changed over the years, but it’s always been a solid performer, and probably the best selling snowboard of all time.

The Trick Pony is a bit different… its profile is flat, so while versatile and a happy medium, it’s just not going to perform the same as camber.

That said, let’s throw some other suggestions your way. It sounds like you definitely want a versatile board; something that will carve well and ride the entire mountain easily, while still being fun to progress on, but also great in the park and for learning freestyle tricks. At your weight, I wouldn’t put you on a 160cm board.

Rome Reverb 156—a beautiful true twin, full cambered snowboard. Everything you need and nothing you don’t. Predictible, great performance, fun to ride, and a great board to progress on.

Rome Agent 156—this is the exact board I was riding this past season in Whistler. High performance, energetic, and super versatile. A slight step up from the Reverb in regards to material. It’s almost a true twin… in fact, it pretty much performs as a true twin, but you have just a slightly longer nose length for increased float in powder. This is the last one we have and it’s on sale.

YES Greats 158—while not full camber, I can’t go without mentioning this board. This board has a “CamRock” profile which is camber between the feet and rocker nose and tail. It’s the complete opposite of the Flying V, and while the Flying V (and that type of hybrid) felt loose like a rockered board, CamRock feels and performs more similarly to a cambered board! Yet you still get some key performance advantages: easier/quicker turning, easier to press and butter, and increased float in powder. Honesty, this board is just phenomenal. I’ve had the pleasure of testing it last season, and it’s hands down one of the best snowboards I’ve ever ridden. With YES, you also get a lifetime warranty.

YES Standard 158—same as above with the CamRock profile and lifetime warranty. The Standard is a wonderful, highly versatile board. Comparable to the Greats with a couple of key differences: the Greats is asymmetrical in shape and flex (tighter heelside sidecut and stiffer heelside flex), and the Standard has a “directional volume twin” shape—which is awesome. Basically, it’s a true twin, but the nose/tail volumes differ, giving increased float in powder without affecting the shape in any way.

Arbor Coda 156—another really nice, predicible, full cambered snowboard. It’s going to perform well in all conditions.

Let me know if you have any questions on the above boards.

The Cartels are solid bindings for sure, but are you interested in other suggestions?

Thanks guys. I’m really liking the look of the Yes Greats. I’m not opposed to the CamRock profile, and it pretty much looks like it’ll do everything I want it to, including being somewhat decent in powder if I decide to do a Japan trip. The reviews seem to think it’s an amazing board as well.

I’m definitely open to other binding suggestions. I was only thinking about the Cartel ESTs to match the Burton channel system.

No worries, @Vandelay. That’s what we’re here for.

You will not be disappointed with the YES. Greats. It’s an amazing board. Carves like a dream, stable and fast, super versatile, top-shelf materials, and a lifetime warranty.

I would highly recommend you look at the Now Bindings range. I’m a huge fan of Skate-Tech myself, and most of the YES team also rides Now bindings, not to mention a guy by the name of Jeremy Jones.

I wrote a review on an older model which you can read here. It explains how Skate-Tech works.

I would steer you towards the Pilot. Just with your 10.5 boots, you can get into the medium in this model which is a huge advantage. This particular model has a wider heelcup. I’ve been riding the Pilots for the past season and I can assure you from first-hand experience, they are a winner (better than the Cartels). Before you purchase the medium, I am just double checking with our Now rep to confirm your particular boots will fit.

Thanks, the Now bindings look really good actually. What are your thoughts on the Now IPO? Would I fit a medium in that model as well? Also, why is a medium binding a big advantage?

Our legendary rep @amine has confirmed your boots will fit in the medium Pilots.

The Now IPO is one of the best value bindings on the market, in my opinion. You get a lot of bang for your buck with these! However, you will have to get the size large in this model.

It’s an advantage getting a medium bindings because you get a much snugger overall fit… less clicking with the ratchets to get your straps tight, and you have a smaller binding-print on the board. With a size 10.5 boot, you would have a fairly small sized boot for a large binding as the cutoff is usually around the 10.0 mark. It’s not that it wouldn’t work, because it would, but it’s always nicer when you can fit into a medium with a boot around the cutoff point. Either will work. My preference would be to get you into the Pilots.

I loveeee the Burton Custom. Demoed the 158 the last time I rode (my normal size is 154) and it’s probably my favorite board that I’ve tried for just riding around and carving. The flex is perfect (at least the demo model) and the camber isn’t too aggressive like the Flight Attendant.