Recommendations for a new setup!

Sup All…

Heading to Whistler and Val D’sere in Jan/Feb ‘11 and i really think my 148” ‘09 WWW Rocker isn’t going to cut the mustard in the pow fields :( so I’m asking you friendly Board world folk for some recommendations for a new setup

Current Stats

Weight: 65-70kg’s

Height: 5’7ish

Boot: Burton The Shaun Size 9

Bindings: Burton Missions

Board: ‘09 K2 WWW Rocker

Ability: I’d class my self as a intermediate, Love to get my carve on and generally feel good on any terrain. I take steep blacks slowly but i get down them Can get my Ollie on and give jumps a go here and there. I’ve had 3 seasons adding up to about a month riding under my belt… so yeah i’m still a bit of a n00b at places but yeah i can get down the hill

Riding Style: I’d say all mountain, Love hitting the ungroomed stuff and tree runs but also love getting a bit of a carve on down the groomers. Hit the park now and then but more so i’m out and about.

Budget: Willing to spend what i need to spend for a good setup that will reward progression (board and bindings).

What i love about my Current Board: Love how loose the WWW feels, I remember jumping on the WWW after only 3 days of riding the season before and having no issue on my first run top to bottom. I feel its very forgiving and has been great getting me through my beginner fears and has helped me progress

What i dislike about my Current Board: After a 40cm dump over night at guthega last season we headed out to search for some pow stashes through the trees…  some Drifts where thigh deep in places… no matter how much i leaned back the thing wouldn’t float, where as my Missus with a ‘09 Blender had no issues flying straight down :’(
And its slowwww… even after a fresh wax i still can’t keep up on straight downhill run - although that could be a stance issue also.

Thanks in Advance,

Jamie

Hey Jamie,

As for your WWW, i have the ‘08 and i love and hate for pretty much the same reasons. Now it just sits on my wall and looks good and will occasionally come out if im up for a pure thrash my board session on bad snow or street stuff.

The reason you find it really snow is the K2 make the WWW with a ptex base. It is and extruded base which is much slower than the more expensive sintered bases.
What ever board you end up getting, make sure it is a sintered base. Soo much faster, holds wax better and more durable. The ptex base is easy to repair, but not as hard/durable and the speed you loose is not worth it. My new Parkstar has sintered and it is so much faster!

Im sure the guys will jump on here as soon as they can and give you all the advice you need. Obviously there is a massive range of boards you could choose from. So is there any atm that you are eyeing off, or any particular brands that you like over others?? this may help them narrow it down for you.

Good luck

Basically, you like a board that’s loose and forgiving, but want something with a faster base and that will float better in powder. K2crewsnatchridersomething already mentioned the sintered base helping.

I am really wondering why, at 5’7, you’re riding a 148????? No wonder you have trouble floating in powder and also no wonder you find the board loose. You’re on a snowskate!
So, step 1 get a longer board.
step 2 : make sure it has a sintered base…maybe. Do you know how to do a good wax job? You’re not using rub-on wax are you? I just got a lib tec with an extruded base. We’ll have to see whether it’s slower than my sintered boards or not.
step 3: camber or rocker or hybrid? Well, remember that you’ve only been riding a month, spread out over 3 years, and on a board too small for you, so your preferences can be partly thrown out the window. Best recommendation from me is to go to Whistler and go to Showcase snowboard, the circle & westbeach (if it’s still around). Talk to the shop dudes who are very knowledgeable and see what they have to say. Also do your own research, narrow it down to a few boards with tech that sounds good, from brands that you like, with cool graphics. Then come back here and we’ll give our opinions. But remember, we’re just a bunch of guys sitting at computers who may or may not have much board experience. I like stiff boards, so maybe what I like may not be what you like. Here are some boards that I like that you can start your research with:
cambered:
burton custom/custom x

rockered/flat:
burton joystick
capita indoor survival fk

hybrid:
lib tech trice
lib tech trs
burton easy living fv

actually I can’t think of any more off the top of my head

ps. watch some snowboard vids too.
pps. stiff cambered boards are super fun too!

Cheers Mate, I had an inkling that it was the base that was holding me back.

As for boards i’m eyeing off, i’m really not sure. I’m really open to anything. I kinda thought about a Skate Banana but i don’t know if that will be too “soft”.

well, noone can tell you if it will be too soft for you. Short of demo’ing a board, you have to read up about it and decided whether to pull the trigger or not. I have 3 new boards this year: 1 I got to ride a friends for a run last year so I have a rough idea of what it’s like, but the other two will be new experiences. I know the tech and I’ve carpet boarded them, but I still won’t know how they ride til I ride them on snow.

The skate banana is def a fun board. but I bet it’s extruded

Thanks for the reply Gamblor.

From what i read on the interwebs you are meant to size down the WWW as it has a longer effective edge meaning that i should be riding a 53-55.

that’s a good start.
remember you’ll be riding in whistler and val d’isere which are big mountains, so I would stay on the longer side of the scale. Remember you can get a popular board, ride it for your trip and then sell it when you get back to Oz if you didn’t like it

Yeh your right Mizu, its centred and true twin, super soft flex. Its pure jib goodness, but no good for pow pow.

Thought i’d update this

Ended up buying a 152 YES Optimistic… Rode it for 2days in Whistler and 7 in Val D’isere. Love it! Holds a sweet edge and has really given me alot more confidence flatbase bombing. I love it! Thanks again Finney!

BTW i demo’d a Skatebanana and Hated it, felt very wishy washy, couldn’t hold an edge and felt heavy :S either way thought i’d just let you guys know!

Sounds like ya made a good choice for yaself Pyro!!!!!

Are ya gonna come down to Thredders with finney for the Shred????

Just gotta say, ive been to val and it was the best experience of my life. Snowed all night and blue bird days half the time we were there, (2 weeks total). So f-ing jealous haha

Nice work on the board. I was going to recommend a Yes board but looks like I was a bit slow. Unlike the base you now have. The skate banana would feel wishy washy as it is a full rocker board so not as stable with minamised length contact. It does have a sintered base though.

cant wait to test out my yes board this season