Board recommendation
Looking for a quiver of one board mainly for Australia and Japan.
I’d like something medium or a bit stiffer flex, that has some float in powder. Something stable that maybe is a bit harder to catch an edge with. Something that I can still ride a little bit switch. Don’t ride any park but hit a lot of side hits and natural terrain.
I’m 5’11 84kg and size 11.5 boot us.
Have been riding 158w a Salomon huck knife and I don’t love it. It’s too playful in the tips and maybe too small for me, I feel like I squash it everytime I land off anything decent size and if I land tail heavy it just folds. Its really nice carving and has great pop though. I’ve been catching more edges than I usually do, especially just after landing if I don’t land bolts.
Any advice especially on size would be amazing!
Hey @Sush1 , what angles do you ride? with 11.5 boots, you probably don’t need a wide board which might be the issue here.
By all means you can upgrade to a 160 or bigger but in Australia, that’s not going to be too fun to ride as it’ll be a work out just to turn the board.
If you wanted something with a bit of play but still quite stiff, I’d definitely suggest looking into the CamRock profiles by YES. It’s regular camber with a bit of rocker in the tip and tail which would help with float in the japan powder.
Something like the YES Standard: https://www.boardworld.com.au/products/yes-standard-159-snowboard-2018 - Comes in a 159 which would be a bit bigger than your Salomon and with a small set back stance, should float in powder nicely.
If you want something stiffer, look at the Jones Ultra Mountain Twin: https://www.boardworld.com.au/products/jones-ultra-mountain-twin-160-snowboard-2018 which has quite a wide profile for a regular sized board so your boots shouldn’t be an issue. It’s quite stiff and should rip through the powder but still perform quite well in Australia on groomers and down the un-groomed slush.
If I’m completely off track, let me know and maybe I can have another look around for you.
Welcome to Boardworld, @Sush1!
I find what you’ve said about your current board to be the most telling for what you should be riding. The board you’re riding has Salomon’s Quad Camber, which is essentually camber between the feet and rocker nose and tail. If you’re finding that too playful, I feel you should definitely be riding a board with a full camber profile. This will give you more stability and predictablity, especially at the nose and tail, not to mention increased overall performance.
The same can be said about the size, but it’s also important to directly compare the boards as a change in flex and camber profile will also affect how it feels. I don’t think you need to be riding too much longer than you already are, especially if you go to full camber, but the fact that you’re feeling like the board may be too small means that stepping up slightly will be within your comfort zone, and most importantly, it will give you a noticeable increase in overall performance (stability, carving/edging performance, energy, float in pow). Also, a bit of extra length with compensate for the float you’re losing by giving up rocker in the profile.
The other consideration is your boot size. You need something mid/wide for your 11.5 boots.
Two boards came to mind immediately as I was typing this:
Arbor Coda Camber 160W: https://www.boardworld.com.au/products/arbor-coda-camber-160-midwide-snowboard-2018
The Coda Camber is a beatiful board aesthetically and is a highly versatile all-mountain snowboard. The camber profile has two distinct design features which will be of benefit to you; parabolic camber and uprise fenders. The parabolic camber gives you the benefit of true camber but gradually reduced the amount of camber as you get towards the nose and tail. Also worth notiting that the parabolic rocker is the opposite to the board you’re currentl riding; Quad Camber strengthens in camber as you get closer to the contact points, which could be why you find it so catchy when landing. Uprise fenders give 3 degrees of bevel at the contact points, essentially lifting them off the snow, which makes the turn initiation noticeablly less catchy. The Coda Camber is a high-performance all-mountain ripper. Wide but not too wide, I feel this board could be perfect for you.
YES. TDF 159: https://www.boardworld.com.au/products/yes.-tdf-ghost-159-snowboard-2018
Teh YES. TDF is full camber, but what they call “modern camber”—simialar to the Arbor with the uprise fenders. You basically get the contact points lifted off the snow for a less catchy ride. The TDF is technically a wide board, so no issue for your boots. There’s a few things I love about the TDF which I think will appeal to you. Firstly, the Directional Volume Twin profile is essentially a true twin shape but the nose and tail volumes (not lengths) are offset to give you increased float in powder. I also love the core of the TDF, which shares the same core as the Greats and Standard. Their bamboo + poplar core is so nice… super energetic and lively, noticeable dampening when riding through chop, with a lot of pop for ollies and snap out of turns.
Just some options for you to think about, but either of these boards would be suitable and from what you’re saying, right on the money for what you’re looking for.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Hey @Sush1 , what angles do you ride? with 11.5 boots, you probably don’t need a wide board which might be the issue here.
By all means you can upgrade to a 160 or bigger but in Australia, that’s not going to be too fun to ride as it’ll be a work out just to turn the board.
If you wanted something with a bit of play but still quite stiff, I’d definitely suggest looking into the CamRock profiles by YES. It’s regular camber with a bit of rocker in the tip and tail which would help with float in the japan powder.
Something like the YES Standard: https://www.boardworld.com.au/products/yes-standard-159-snowboard-2018 - Comes in a 159 which would be a bit bigger than your Salomon and with a small set back stance, should float in powder nicely.
If you want something stiffer, look at the Jones Ultra Mountain Twin: https://www.boardworld.com.au/products/jones-ultra-mountain-twin-160-snowboard-2018 which has quite a wide profile for a regular sized board so your boots shouldn’t be an issue. It’s quite stiff and should rip through the powder but still perform quite well in Australia on groomers and down the un-groomed slush.
If I’m completely off track, let me know and maybe I can have another look around for you.
I was thinking about the Standard and Mountain Twin as well, but from what he’s saying about the Quad Camber board he’s riding (essentially CamRock), I think he should think about stepping up to full camber. TDF is pretty much the Standard but with modern camber.
I do love the idea of the Ultra Mountain Twin, though. Worth considering for sure!
A bit more info on Arbor’s camber system.
Hey @Sush1 , what angles do you ride? with 11.5 boots, you probably don’t need a wide board which might be the issue here.
Hey guys, thanks for the awesome replies.
Usually ride 15 / -9, I’ve had issues with drag on boards with less than about 258mm waist.
I thought I would clarify my aus/japan use case. I’m a bit more interested in japan performance as I do most of my riding there and am happy to deal with whatever in Australia.
The site says the yes standard comes with WAIST WIDTH: 263mm on a 159, that’s very wide for a non wide board if correct, if that’s the case maybe that would be a great option! Do you think it would be a better choice than the typo? It seems like the typo might perform a little better in pow? but doesn’t have the slam back inserts which look amazing. (edit - found a cheap 159 as board world is out of stock so might go for it)
Ultra twin looks really good also, I’ve read about it’s very extreme stiffness, but maybe that might work out well for me. I don’t care much about buttering, much more worried about landing gear. Do you think it would be better than just a regular jones mountain twin? Maybe more stable?
The arbor and tdf look very cool also, if i was riding only Australia, i’d go full camber for sure. Especially with catch free technology as i love that feel. I worry how it will go as a single board for japan though, might struggle a bit in the powder?
Went to the local store and the guy recommended a jones explorer or buton flight attendant as I said I’m not too worried about having it a bit directional if I gain some float, what do you guys think of those options?
Thanks for the help, so far all the boards you’ve mentioned are ones I haven’t seen so I’ll have a good look at them!
No worries, @Sush1.
Yep, the Standard is wide.
Look, all the boards you’re mentioning are great boards in their own right, but going on what you said in your original post, I don’t know if they will be meeting your requirements. The best guide is what you’re feeling; you’re lucky that you actually know your preferred performance characteristics based on the experience you’ve had with your current board. I would go with your gut feeling here. You feel like it’s washing out at the nose and tail… well, you need more camber in the profile. All the boards mentioned here with CamRock are awesome, and they perform great, but some of us just need camber. I’m suggesting that you might be one of those people. You have to ask yourself why you’re feeling what you’re feeling.
I don’t at all feel that just because a board is full camber you can’t make it float in powder. All boards, including pow boards, used to be full camber. Shape, width, length, setback… all of these characteristics can give you float in pow. Personally, I think the Coda Camber would be a gun! It has a longer nose than tail to give you increased float. Set that thing back an inch or two and it will rip when it’s deep.
Ok awesome thanks, I’ll have a good look into the Coda Camber and TDF also then. The arbor definitely looks amazing and the raise contacts sounds very similar to my old endeavor board that I really liked.
Random question - do the slam backs in the yes standard work with minidisc bindings, I have nitro zeros specifically. I read they dont?
I think I’ll choose 1 of the 4 you guys have mentioned, they all sound really great a 1 board quivers that suit my style.
Random question - do the slam backs in the yes standard work with minidisc bindings, I have nitro zeros specifically. I read they dont?
I’m not sure I understand your question.
Nitro’s Mini Disc should fit any standard 4-hole pattern snowboard. I can’t think of any reason whatsoever why it wouldn’t be compatible with the Standard or any other 4-hole pattern snowboard.
Random question - do the slam backs in the yes standard work with minidisc bindings, I have nitro zeros specifically. I read they dont?
I’m not sure I understand your question.
Nitro’s Mini Disc should fit any standard 4-hole pattern snowboard. I can’t think of any reason whatsoever why it wouldn’t be compatible with the Standard or any other 4-hole pattern snowboard.
Just those extra 2 powder inserts it has, I thought it would be fine but because there is a gap before them I read they aren’t compatible. Might have just been wrong though.
Does your Mini Disc use a standard 4x4-hole pattern? By the sound of it, it might use a smaller 2x4-hole pattern. That’s the only reason I could think of why it wouldn’t work. If so, you could probably still make it work by rotating the disc 90 degrees, but you’ll lose the heel-toe adjustment capabilities.
Would you mind uploading a photo of the Mini Disc?
You feel like it’s washing out at the nose and tail… well, you need more camber in the profile.
I’ve put over 30 days on a 158W Huck Knife as well (except I absolutely love mine!), and that board has a lot of camber. More camber height than my 164W Custom X. The rocker is barely there, I’d say the board is 90% camber with 5% rocker at each tip. He’s washing out because as he’s said, he feels the tip and tail are too soft, and if you don’t keep your weight centered when carving it can get a bit washy, along with not holding up to heavily back seat landings. Those reasons are partly why I love it, it’s my AM freestyle board so I love that I can carve around, launch off any sidehits, and still butter and twist it around with ease. Flex profile works perfectly with the camber for my style of riding.
That said, of the suggestions in here I think you’d be happiest with the Yes Standard, especially if you can get those slamback inserts to work. I wouldn’t fathom taking my Huck Knife to Japan! The Camrock profile, extra width, and ability to slam it back will make your experience over there so much more enjoyable. The extra stiffness sounds like it’ll suit your riding style a bit better, where the tip and tail are less likely to wash out but having a bit more rocker than you’re used to will keep them butterable and a touch catch free. The rocker and stiffness combo should allow them to flex enough for some playfulness, without completely folding on you for those backseat landings. It’s an overall more aggressive and more versatile board than the Huck Knife, and seems much more suited for what you’d demand of it.
@phedder thanks for the reply. I think the Huck Knife is a fantastic board like you said, I might have just undersized it a bit for my style or it might just be a bit soft in the tips for my style, or maybe I’m just not used to it that much yet. I’m not much of a butter-er so that aspect might be wasted on me. The pop and carving attributes were probably the best I’ve ever experienced. But either way, I’m just going to push towards a quiver of one for now.
Sounds like the standard is going to be the best option. Unfortunately I’m pretty sure the mini disc bindings don’t work with the slambacks (good ride site said they didn’t and testing on my board they don’t seem to be able to bridge the gap between the last and 3rd last of the holes). So it might end up I either need a new set of bindings or a different board. I’m leaning towards maybe a bit of a stiffer set of bindings just to complete the whole set up. Unless I can find something else really similar to the standard. The versatility of having a centered stance and then being able to set it back so far seems amazing.