“No!! Not again!!” That’s right - Powder board advice.(Please)
I so wanna try the peace keeper in steep deep pow!
Hey, no problem. One reason why I go with pow boards that are more in the allmountain catergory is because the resorts get tracked quickly nowadays. I’ve never ridden the 420 but have lots of time on nugs, roots and I’ve also ridden the fishcuit (basically boards that you size down for) and while they are awesome in trees and can hold their own in untracked pow runs, they are let down by the shorter nose when things get tracked. Here in Hakuba you’ll be riding in knee deep and hit somebody’s track then back to knee deep. The shorter boards are greatly disadvantaged to longer boards in that situation and you will feel the legs burning from all the extra pumping you have to do.
Then you have regular-sized tapered boards with small tails like the fish, hovercraft, camel toe etc. They float better than the shorties and are great in the trees. They have long tapered noses so can handle the sudden dips easier, and can absorb the chop the more things get tracked. The negative to them is - going switch is difficult. You may think, “no problem, I don’t need to ride switch in pow” but in my case, I found that it made my riding more mellow. They float so well that you just sit back and cruise (add soulful surfing imagery here). It wasn’t until I got onto twinnish pow boards that I remembered how fun pow 180’s are.
One other negative is the smaller tail gives you less to slash with.Next category are the swallowtails. Generally, these boards run a longer length (like that Notch). Obviously awesome in pow, these boards perform best with a big open bowl in front of you. They’ll smash through chop at the end of the day too. They are harder to do quick turns with though (does depend on whether they have nose rocker or not though). If I was doing a backcountry tour I’d want one. For resort, I’d want more of a 4x4 type board.
Finally, there’s the twinnish pow boards. These boards are for doing freestyle in powder…but don’t let that turn you off. It also means they are more like 4x4 offroad beasts. These include the Burton Juice Wagon, Trick Pony, next year’s Flight Attendant, Salomon Sick Stick and Powder Snake, next year’s Smokin Jetson, K2 Ultra Dream and Peacekeeper, to name a few. They don’t float as well as the fish-like boards or swallowtails, but they do float better than normal boards AND ride well on groomers. The bonus to a board like this is when traveling, you don’t have to bring a quiver and never have that “I wish I had brought the other board” problem.
Sorry, I seem to have typed an essay. Anyways, for you, maybe try the tapered small tail boards. Get a Fish or a Camel Toe if you want to save money.
ps. I seem to have missed Charlie Slasher/Burton Landlord type boards. These are hybrids that fall between fish boards and twinnish pow boards. While twinnish pow boards are more regular boards that are good in pow, they are more pow boards that are good on groomers. Less taper than a fish but slightly longer length (+2cm) is normal.
You are always a fountain of knowledge Marc! Thanks for the thoughtful reply.
My fiance told me I should harden up and use the board I have which isn’t bad advice but where’s the fun in that? I’ll sneak a new board in my bag before we go, she won’t even know ‘til we get there.
The fish is high on my list but I have a while to make up my mind. I may end waiting to buy something until we’re in Europe before heading to Niseko, I imagine range and sizing would be no issue there.
Or why not get a powder board from Japan?????
A board built by the locals, for local conditions!!!!!
Just tell the Boss it’ll be more like a memento than a new snowboard!!!!! 
Or why not get a powder board from Japan?????
A board built by the locals, for local conditions!!!!!
Just tell the Boss it’ll be more like a memento than a new snowboard!!!!!
That’s pretty logical and sound advice! She won’t be with me on the slopes cos she’s a speed-hump (said with love!) so she won’t even know it’s happened til it’s too late!! I had this idea that sizing would be an issue in Japan but the last trip to Hakuba disproved that theory when we went board shopping after one of the guys snapped his board in half on a tree at Cortina.
Or why not get a powder board from Japan?????
A board built by the locals, for local conditions!!!!!
Just tell the Boss it’ll be more like a memento than a new snowboard!!!!!
That’s pretty logical and sound advice! She won’t be with me on the slopes cos she’s a speed-hump (said with love!) so she won’t even know it’s happened til it’s too late!! I had this idea that sizing would be an issue in Japan but the last trip to Hakuba disproved that theory when we went board shopping after one of the guys snapped his board in half on a tree at Cortina.
The Gentem boards are fantastic, if your in Japan try them out. Much higher quality build than most of the mass produced stuff. They are a bit on the expensive side though.
If your looking for something locally try Rich at Catalyst Snowboards, they have some pretty cool pow boards, and make a super solid board at a decent price. I got hold of one of their “plough” prototypes this last northern winter and loved it. The long nose really makes a big difference to the speed you carry. A lot of the more generic pow boards are built using the same nose shapes as you will find on 95% of snowboards, roughly 20cm long, with a much tighter curve that acts like a break I find in deep stuff. If you can find something with a big drawn out nose of around 30cm then get on it!
Another one the might be worth a look are Offshore snow shapes, they have some sweet looking pow boards that are all made locally, Ive heard a few good things about them out of Japan to.
Yeah the Offshore Snow Shapes boards look rad!! If i wasnt already snow-bonering over the yes 420, the Offshore ‘Snurfs Up’ would be my next choice for a pow board
Offshore Snow Shapes Facebook
BUT i’d most love a gentemstick too!! My board wish list is alot longer than the numbers in my bank account balance!!
Offshore looks rad!
The Gentem boards are fantastic, if your in Japan try them out. Much higher quality build than most of the mass produced stuff. They are a bit on the expensive side though.
If your looking for something locally try Rich at Catalyst Snowboards, they have some pretty cool pow boards, and make a super solid board at a decent price. I got hold of one of their “plough” prototypes this last northern winter and loved it. The long nose really makes a big difference to the speed you carry. A lot of the more generic pow boards are built using the same nose shapes as you will find on 95% of snowboards, roughly 20cm long, with a much tighter curve that acts like a break I find in deep stuff. If you can find something with a big drawn out nose of around 30cm then get on it!
Another one the might be worth a look are Offshore snow shapes, they have some sweet looking pow boards that are all made locally, Ive heard a few good things about them out of Japan to.
Thanks man! I’m definitely going to take a Gentemstick for a test drive while in Niseko next year.
So it’s decided! 
No purchases til Japow in Jan 
Check out the Moss range as well!!!!!