YES Basic vs. Greats for beginner

So, I’m just starting out in my snowboarding endeavour and I was wondering if I could get some opinions on this. I’ve been looking at the YES Basic, seems like a great board and reviews well. I could also get the YES Greats board for about $57 more. Do you guys think I should just go for the Greats? I’m just a beginner, so something easy to learn on would be good.

I’m about 5’11” and 155lbs. I was thinking The Basic in the 155cm and the 154cm Greats.

Thanks all!

Welcome to Boardworld, Took!

Either board would be great to learn on. They are both super versatile and easy to ride.

If the Basic is the current 2013 model, I would steer you towards the Greats. The Greats features a sintered base while the Basic has an extruded base. The sintered base justifies the difference in cost right there. The Greats will perform better as you progress, but it’s still perfectly fine to learn on. It has a medium flex with rocker in the nose and tail, making it a fun and versatile ride. High performance, versatile and easy enough to learn on.

My call would be to go for the Greats. Let us know what you decide.

I would also vote for the Greats. But remember the Greats has an asymmetrical heel sidecut. For me personally, I don’t like it.

In my opinion, there’s no doubt the Greats is the ‘better’ board of the two. However the Basic has just the perfect flex that’s not too stiff for a beginner, but not too soft for any level boarder to charge on - so you’d progress faster and easier with the Basic. An extruded base is also just fine for a beginner.

I agree with you chucky. If it was purely for a beginner, Basic wins hands down. But he’s only going to be a “beginner” for a little while. The Greats will still be fine to learn on (granted not as forgiving as the Basic), but I’m assuming Took will want to keep this board for a while. He’s going to start progressing pretty quickly and I think when you consider the lifetime of the board, the Greats is the better choice.

Where will you be riding, Took? i.e. which countries? How often are you going to be riding?

Thanks guys for getting back so quick. It’s all very helpful.

I live in Canada unfortunately not on the west coast, so no Whistler for me. I’m in Ontario, so it’s pretty much all groomers here. Snows decent but no deep powder for sure. My plan is if I can progress enough this year, next year to get a pass for Blue Mountain here in Ontario but also take some trips to Quebec. My brother lives in Colorado and I’d love to visit him and board out there.

I’d like to get out at least once a week.

You guys think those board sizes are good too? I’m not a big guy and it seems taking a bit shorter board might be the way to go.

Thanks again, just discovered these forums and they are sweet.

I would go with a 156 Greats. Just for reference I’m 5’5” 150 lbs and I ride a 156 PYL. The 54 would be nice in small mountains but if you go on a trip out west, the extra length would be good for powder.

Im 165 lbs 5’6” i ride the 156 Greats its a sweet board amazing at high speed, great edge hold…  It does have some forgiviness but not too much,  should be fine to process on,  i highly recommend

Hmm, I’m having a really hard time deciding on which size to grab. Most of the reviews I read have people riding the 156 who have 10 lbs on me. And I’m not a strong guy, although I guess that will come with experience and riding time too lol. Anyway, thanks again everyone. Super helpful and I’ll be picking up a Greats this week…in one size or the other! Super excited to get out there!

What size boots do you wear?

I wear size 9.5. I could probably wear 9s, but my middle toe is quite longer than the rest and just gets crushed in 9s. Not that you needed to know all that, but yeah 9.5 boots.

Get the shorter board.

Small boots, beginner and lighter than these people should all push you in the shorter direction.

I ride a 155 and I got more than 10lb on you lol.

For your boot size, go for the 154 0r 152 in the Greats, or the 155 or 152 in the Basic.

I ordered up my board today. I went with The Greats 154. I think it will be good to have the slightly smaller board. The vast majority of my riding will be local, smaller hills and stuff. Plus I’m pretty lean and thin, figured be easier to handle the smaller board. Thanks all, great suggestions and input. I’ll throw up some pics when my gear arrives and I’ll be sure to keep following with these forms!

Great choice

Went out tonight for the first time with my new board! Initial impressions are that it’s great! I had tried a camber Custom a couple weeks ago and that was so hard to ride. I was able to start linking my turns together, board felt stable. Heel side turns were easy and I could really dig in on those, my toe side is another story. I’m getting there, but it’s definitely weaker and I don’t feel as in control on my toe edge.

I’m pretty exited, we have really good conditions right now. Major snow storm on Friday gave us like 20cm of snow!

Here it is: