Looking for advice on a new board…
Same question as redjames, just didnt want to hijack his thread 
I’ll be in America in a week and need a new board for the season in Canada.
Here’s my info…
- Height 194cm
- Weight 80kg
- Boot size 11.5
- Riding style (how/what do you ride? how would you like to ride? all-mountain, freeride, freestyle etc.)
Basically I want a board that’s versatile and good at everything. Exactly as you put it on the other thread Jeremy… “a board for everything - all mountain, park, and powder”. I’ve never tried a rocker board but reckon a board with a bit of rocker, a hybrid, would be the best. So yeah pretty much exactly along the lines of what you were saying on this thread Jeremy https://www.boardworld.com.au/forums/viewthread/1192/
- Budget ummm, well I want something good but not too dear, maybe a limit of $500.
My old board is not a wide but I’m real borderline with 11.5. I use a wide stance and if I can remember right (been too long) its a 12 or 15, - 6 or - 9 angle. I didnt usually have much toe drag but it was a pain when I did. Usually with hard toe turns. Plus it was worse in the tiny amount of powder I’ve ridden in. Maybe a semi wide would be good?
My old board was a 163 I think, which seemed pretty good, but I havent experimented much with different boards.
I already have boots and bindings, I may buy some new stuff later in the season though. They are both from Nidecker (Swiss company). The boots are versus 08 and the bindings are legend 08. As far as I know they are both pretty decent. Heres a little spiel I found online about the boots “The universal model of reference. In the powder, parks or pipe, the Versus offers support, a progressive flex and the increased shock absorption in the heel.” and a bit for the bindings “The leader on the market The Legend provides you with a powerful ride in the powder or any piste around the world”. Dont know how reliable that is though. Maybe the boots and bindings are irrelavant , I just thought I would tell you in case its at all important for deciding on a board.
Thanks!
I know you’re travelling from the USA to Canada. Given how our exchange rate is at the moment, you really shouldn’t be too restricted by keeping to a $500 budget. I’m not sure what tax you can get back when leaving the USA, but it would be worth inquiring.
My first suggestion would be to look at a snowboard like the Burton Custom Flying V (all-mountain camber/rocker combination board). This board is going to do it all, and do it all well. In Whistler, you really need a board that can handle all conditions - you can get it all in the same day! You might be riding epic pow at the peak, and hitting the park on the way down to the slushy bottom.
The Custom Flying V has rocker between the feet, camber under the feet, and rocker nose and tail; this is a great option if you want a versatile all-mountain board. Burton’s Flying V is the same as Nitro’s Gullwing camber or Lib Tech’s C2, and many other brands offer something similar.
In regards to boot size, you should be fine with the Custom Flying V - the board isn’t narrow to begin with, and they also have a wide options which aren’t overly wide either, so you have it covered either way.
Another board I would look at is the Lib Tech TRS (has C2 camber).
I would also like to suggest the Signal Omni Wavelength, which I reviewed here - however it has a relatively narrow waist width which wouldn’t be ideal for your boot size. For anyone else looking for a great all-mountain snowboard for overseas, it’s definitely worth checking out!
In regards to size, I think you could step down slightly from the 161 mark, especially if you want to ride park a bit more (and Whistler has great parks!). A board with rocker is going to offer more float than a full-cambered board of the same size.
I’m more than happy to keep discussing this with you, so hit me back with any questions!
With the 11.5 boot size it is recommened that you get waist width 261+, my boards is a 251 and my size 12 boots doesn’t seem to have any toe drag.
I ride +15 -15 with no apparent toe or heel drag.
The best board all mountain board i’ve ridden is a Ride Antic, great feel good control.
Use this site to find your recommended board:
http://www.snowboardsizechart.com/
You know much about the Never summer boards Jeremy? I recall a mate over in whis who was pretty tall 6’4”+ was riding the revolver which seemed to be well suited to all conditions and a large boot size aswell. Could possibly be another option but I’m not sure if it’ll fit into the $500 budget.
To be honest I’m not too familiar with Never Summer. I have never tested a Never Summer board, but I have heard very positive reports about them.
Yeah same here, few guys I rode with this season have the evo’s and love them to bits, reckon they are a brilliant all rounder. Could be another option for you Dan. Some of their boards also have the mix of rocker and camber.
I’m 189cm, 70kg so similar to you. You might want to save up for boots since with shrinkage tech you can get a smaller footprint. I’m a 10.5 boot, but can squeeze into a burton ion/slx 10, which with shrinkage tech has a footprint of a 9 = I am now rocking medium binders. With your 11.5, squeeze into an 11 which has a 10 footprint = you can ride decks with waists as narrow as 249 (that’s on one of my decks). Last year’s boots are dirt cheap right now.
Next for boards, I’ll just say, get something with camber and rocker (flying v/c2/camrock) in a 160-162. That should work great for you. I normally ride 162’s and the last few years I was on a 164. This year I’ll be on a 160 with c2.
As Rider says, a shorter board will be more fun in the park, but for a big dude like you, a 160 will do the trick since you need an allround board.
Thanks for the comments fellas. That helps a lot. The versatility of those boards is just what I’d want.
I’m just checking out some of the boards, mainly so far the Burton Custom flying V and Nitro Team Gullwing for reviews, prices etc. I noticed the Burton and Libtech hybrids are about $100 more than the Nitro, which is substantial. The Nitro is $450 at Evo, seattle, for eg.
That shrinkage tech sounds awesome Gamblor. Will try to get it for my next boots. Don’t plan on getting new ones just yet but who knows, I may get a bit excited when I’m actually shopping
Around 160 - 162 sounds like a good length for a board prob. Jeremy you reckon I could get a 159 with a camrock board? Maybe with a wide? The Nitro wide comes in 159 & 162.
Another thing though, all the reviews and websites seem to classify both the Burton and Nitro for Intermediate to Advanced, even expert. I would say I’m only just nearing intermediate really. Do you know whats with that? And would that be a drama?
I’ll keep doing some research on these boards…
Edit: The Custom flying V seems to be pretty well loved out there. So many good reviews.
Whistler is big mountain riding and I would stay at 160 & above, since you’re bigger than me. My park board was a 162 and freeride was a 168 when I was in whistler.
I demo’d the custom flying v and found it meh. Nothing too special. The easy livin flying v on the other hand, was friggin awesome!
maybe look for a wide joystick?
I demo’d the custom flying v and found it meh. Nothing too special. The easy livin flying v on the other hand, was friggin awesome!
maybe look for a wide joystick?
From the jyst I’m getting from the reviews both boards are all mountain, but the easy living is more park orientated whereas the custom flying V is more freeride. Does that sound right to you Gamblor? Anything in particular you didnt like about the Custom?
Whistler is big mountain riding and I would stay at 160 & above, since you’re bigger than me. My park board was a 162 and freeride was a 168 when I was in whistler.
Using the board finder on the burton site it reckons I should have the Custom flying V 163. With slight fudging its a 160…
Edit: Pretty sure my old board is a 163 actually.
Largest easy living is only 158 too
You don’t need to step up to a 163 unless you are only going to be freeriding, which I doubt would be the case. I think you should stick to the 160; it will be more versatile from top to bottom (so many fun hits and jibs on the way to the bottom). It’s big enough and has rocker to handle big powder days, not to mention how easy it is to set your stance back an inch or two if you need more float on super deep days. The waist width on the 160 is 255mm - I think that should handle your 11.5s ok. Stepping up to a wide is an option, however if you decide to get new boots as Gamblor suggested, you might be stuck with a board that’s wider than you need - and when you’re riding tight tree lines, that’s not what you want. Either way, your board is going to outlast your boots. As a side note, you should squeeze into the smallest boots possible, especially if you’re riding seasons. My actual foot measures up at 9.75 and I squeeze into a 9.0 boot; it’s tight as hell for a week and then I have perfect fitting boots for the next 150+ days.
The Joystick is an option, but I feel it could be a tad on the soft side for heavy, chopped up snow (and you get that in Whistler). It’s also got V Rocker instead of Flying V camber, which will sacrifice some stability and edge hold. Don’t get me wrong, it’s an incredible board, and I just bought one for myself, but it wouldn’t be my first pick if I was only buying one board for Whistler. I might be wrong…
Don’t worry about the board being intermediate/advanced - any of the boards being suggested will be fine. It just means you’re going to get better features i.e. high speed sintered base, lighter/stronger materials etc. You’re going to progress a lot over the course of a season anyway.
Thanks for the good info there Jeremy! I will respond tomorrow when I get the chance (ie your Sun evening).
In your first paragraph you are specifically referring to the Custom flying V, yeah? I am fairly certain my old 163 also had a waist width of about 255. The wide version comes in a 158 and a 162. I think you are right that the 160 should cope with the boots, just. And good point about the boots, with some newer shrinkage ones a wide board would probably be too cumbersome.
Bit of a side question, you mention the board should outlast the boots. How long would you expect a board to last normally? I thought it was about 100-150 days? Do your boots normally last 150 days? Mine are only about 8 days old. Wish they were older I could justify getting new ones more
Yeah intermediate / advanced should be ok your right. I guess that’s where I wanna be towards the end of the season anyway.
Have you tried the Custom flying V?
I demo’d the custom flying v and found it meh. Nothing too special. The easy livin flying v on the other hand, was friggin awesome!
maybe look for a wide joystick?From the jyst I’m getting from the reviews both boards are all mountain, but the easy living is more park orientated whereas the custom flying V is more freeride. Does that sound right to you Gamblor? Anything in particular you didnt like about the Custom?
what I didn’t like about the custom fv is the custom shape lol. I have a custom x and it really felt like the same shape. It’s a shape that is good anywhere in all conditions, but as my friend puts it, ” it is lacking in sexy”. When I ride it, I don’t notice the board - it rides well but doesn’t make me think, “OMG I love this board!”. but it’s never let me down either. It’s still my go-to board for gnarly backcountry.
As for v-rocker vs flying v, you will find with either one that it will be a totally different feeling than what you’re used to. I really think you’ll get used to whichever you get. You will see guys riding both types all over whistler, and if they can rip, they rip. So make sure you get a board you’re stoked on.
Burton boots only last me 40-60 days. Try to stay away from boots with those see-through air packs in the sole, as those eventually let in water. It’s like buying something with the least number of moving parts to minimize the failure rate.on my ions from 2 years ago they just have the air pack windows in there for cosmetic purposes and sure enough my boots leak water. In the future I will just get boots with solid soles.