First board recommendation - just past beginner stage
Hi All!
I’m after some advice on my first board, I’ve just started boarding this year and am completely hooked!
I’ve done about 6 days of total riding, and am able to get down double blue runs without issue, albeit very slowly and controlled. I’m not very aggressive and would rather cruise down a run than bomb it. Eventually I’d like to hit the park (no big jumps or pipe), but I think most of my time over the next few years will be spent doing butters, ollies and carving down groomers at Perisher.
I’ve done a bunch of research and have narrowed it down to the below boards:
- Yes Basic
- Slash Happy Place
And also considering beginner rated boards that are cheaper like:
- DC Focus
- Ride Agenda
But if you can recommend anything else please let me know. I’ve only ridden two rentals, a 150cm K2 rocker and a 155cm Rossignol camber, I did prefer the rocker as I found it much quicker to turn, although I had loads of fun on both boards so I think I’ll be good with any non rental!
Cheers,
Hype
Hey @Hyperize,
You’ve done your research well and narrowed it down to two really nice boards (Typo and Happy Place). I’ll start by saying, you’ll be surprised how quickly you will progress the more you spend time on the mountain. What seems like an ambitious goal now will not seem so ambitious down the track. Consider this board as an investment, not just for now, but as you progress. You will have this board for quite a while so just keep that in mind.
The Basic is one of the best selling boards on the market and for good reason. It’s a super versatile and fun board to ride, it does everything well, it offers excellent value, and it’s backed by YES’s lifetime warranty. You can’t go wrong with the YES Basic.
The Happy Place is similar, in that it also has a CamRock profile, biax glass, mellow flex, true twin etc. It’s another very nice, fun, versatile board. It does have one distinct upgrade on the Basic in the sintered base. A sintered base is generally higher quality, faster, and absorbs wax more effectively.
The other board I would throw into the mix is the YES Typo, which is again similar to the Basic but with a sintered base and YES’s award-winning “UnderBite” shape. Consider this a beefed up version of the Basic. Lifetime warranty. It’s also available at a really great price right now.
Please feel free to ask any further questions and I will be more than happy to help you. You can also contact me directly if you would like to discuss as purchase: jeremy(at)boardworld.com.au
Awesome thanks @rider26 !
I did read some advantages of extruded bases like easier/cheaper to repair and less waxing, but the main thing I want is it to last me a good number of years.
Board sizing wise, what do you suggest?
Height: 174cm
Weight: 84kg
Boot size: US 9.5/10 (I will go to a shop and get sized up properly and buy a good pair)
Cheers,
Hype
Awesome thanks @rider26 !
I did read some advantages of extruded bases like easier/cheaper to repair and less waxing, but the main thing I want is it to last me a good number of years.
Board sizing wise, what do you suggest?
Height: 174cm
Weight: 84kg
Boot size: US 9.5/10 (I will go to a shop and get sized up properly and buy a good pair)Cheers,
Hype
around 157 to start with. don’t go to much of a beginner board. like rider said u will progress
quick if you put the days in, then be stuck with the board or selling it for nothing, to upgrade.
also if you have the opportunity, ride with good boarders. it will force you to keep up and prob
put you out of your comfort zone at times. but then when you go back to cruising on your own you will
notice its easier on those cruisy runs. ride make solid boards. I had a few timeless’ back in the day,
still have one in the garage after 8yrs of riding its still in real good nick. have a machete atm and its a fun board. flat base rockered tips, good all rounder. but I prefer camber, so when im not riding with
the kids I pull out the rome agent! if you wanna learn to carve properly camber is the way to go.
I’d suggest a med stiff cambered deck. Rome agent, DC Mega, Burton Custom, etc… mostly because trying to find a rocker hybrid board that you like, might take some trial and error. Developing good skills on camber early on will allow you to ride any profile down the road (when you get a feel for what you’d like).
Just my 2 cents.
Hey @Hyperize, I’m gonna back @rider26‘s recon of the YES Typo!!!!!
The ONLY negative with the Basic is that it has gone to an extruded base!!!!!
The Sintered base of the Typo is light years ahead of an extruded!!!!! You definitely will notice the difference, especially on the flat run outs and traverses at Perisher!!!!!
And the CamRock Profile is perfect for what you’re after based on ya list of desires that you want from your board!!!!!
Go the 158 based on your stats!!!!! ??
Thanks all!
On my last day of boarding I borrowed my mates 2016 Bataleon disaster (151cm), I found it to be really stable on edges, I was able to stabilize after catching an edge a few times, and turn initiation was super quick which I loved! Although I found it turned almost too easily sometimes, especially off lifts as I put abit of weight on an edge it just wanted to turn, I guess that’s why my mate is constantly doing butters 
I think I would’ve really liked the board if it was my size and had my stance width (it felt very narrow to me). It did feel abit unstable at fast speeds, but this could just be my noobness.
Still tossing up between the basic/typo/slash happy place, but seeing as I won’t be boarding for another year I can take my time, maybe see what the next year brings?
Hey @Hyperize,
That easy turn off the lifts, along with the non catchy edges, is due to the base profile havin the contact points lifted away from the surface when the board is flat!!!!!
Bein a really soft board is where ya mate has no issue with butters!!!!! But this is why you felt the chatter once you got some speed up!!!!!
Hope this helps?????
And it’s a good time to be on the lookout for next years board, as Australia gets most of the new models before the NoHe, allowing us to get either a bargain on last years, or if you have the coin you can get the latest and greatest!!!!!
Yes Typo straight up, i’ve ridden mine for 2 seasons and it is an amazing board for the price. I rode it super hard this season, and flogged it hard, i literally couldn’t break it except when stacked dropping off a 4m cliff and took a little bit of edge out (totally my fault). It’s a board that just keeps on giving. It is such an amazingly stable board and yet it is still super playful.