Looking to buy a new snowboard set.
Posted: 26 January 2012 01:34 PM
Hi everyone!
First post here as I never needed to ask a question yet, been just lurking on the forums to read the advice on the many other threads, but now I hope some of the experts here can point me in the right direction.
My height is around 178cm, weight currently fluctuates between 145-154 lbs though I should be cutting it down to 135-145 lol.
Background:-
Started snowboarding about 15 years ago, but as I don’t live in a country with snow so I don’t get to snowboard regularly. I would think I am an intermediate snowboarder and by this I mean; (1) I have no problems going down the slopes except maybe for the super expert slopes I might have a slight slip or two in very icy conditions (but I recover quickly not a real fall) (2) I am a regular stance snowboarder but I am comfortable going down the hill either way (3) I can do some small kicks on the side of the slopes, do some jumps around the edges (off piste), spin around relatively easily but….
Current Board:-
The current board I am using and have owned for 4 years is a Burton Shaun White 156 board I believe from 2008. I got this board because it was on sale and it’s a freeride/all-mountain regular camber board I believe. I am not too sure of my binding angles as it’s a forum binding on a burton board and the angle is unreadable, but it should be around positive 12 or 15 degrees on the front and negative 8 on the back. There is some offset on the board as I used to use it off-piste as well. My bindings is a Forum Platform v2.2 bindings. I use Burton Driver-X boots (2007) size US 9.5.
What I want to get:-
I am currently to buy a whole new set of gear and outfits even since my old setup is getting old. Pants are sliced, bindings gave way midway down slope recently etc…
I was considering on getting a rocker board and preferably light setup since I find myself just going on the green slopes with my nephew and niece and fellow beginner friends and I find my old setup pretty good enough for zooming down the hill if I want to. I also want to freestyle more instead of freeride and plan to hit the park sometime versus just jumping off the sides of beginner slopes.
I think my current board is currently quite a hard flex because I have a hard time buttering. Even if I used my hands to just flex the board, on comparison I find it quite stiff. It could be that I need a shorter board as well.
I was looking at getting the Stepchild Headless Horseman Board 2011 because yes graphics matter to me =) and I can get it for cheaper than the newer FTW board. Could someone advise if this is a good choice? I was looking to get it in the 154cm model (151cm too short?). For bindings, could someone recommend me a light plastic bindings? My current Forum bindings are solid and metal but quite heavy.
For shoes, I was looking at getting the Deeluxe boots from Japan. Yes I am Asian so I feel these shoes might fit my feet better? My feet is also quite different on both sides so having a custom fit on the oven baked boots I feel might be good. I was also looking to get a softer flex boots versus my current boots. However, they are quite expensive so is there any other recommendations some other people can give me?
In essence, if I want to transition from freeriding to more freestyling, what advice can you give me.
Thanks!
PS: I was also looking to get the Airblast Ninja suit for innerwear and I prob get Special Blend pants again but does anyone have recommendations for a bright coloured snowboard jacket?
Posted: 26 January 2012 06:13 PM
Ok, so your 2008 board might be the Operator…? If so, then yeah, I can understand it’s not the easiest thing to butter!
I’ve had a look at the Stepchild board you mentioned - the reviews seem great but not sure it’s going to be all that different in overall feel to your board now. I stand to be corrected by one of the guys here who’s ridden it though!!
What I did recently was buy myself a board specifically for messing around on, which sounds like what you want to do? I have a couple of great all mountain boards, and a stiffer park board which I normally use on jumps, but I wanted something that was easy to press and had a nice forgiving flex so that if I got a new move wrong, I wasn’t going to get planted in the snow.
You’ve mentioned you want lightweight, and the good news is that with something like that you can drop the board length - some boards have been specifically designed for sizing down. The two I’m thinking of are the K2 WWW or World Wide Weapon, which you can downsize 5cm, and Burton Nug - downsize 8-10cm. Of the two, the K2 is softer, with an extruded base rather than sintered, which is good and tough if you’re planning on hitting boxes and rails, but slower, so you’ll need a longer run-up than usual to get the same speed. The Nug is pegged as a park board that can also ride all mountain, but I haven’t tried it so can’t comment on how riding something that much smaller down a piste would feel!!
I ended up going with the women’s version of the WWW, and despite it being a softer board, it still holds an edge really well and feels stable on landings too. I teamed it with a set of Union Contact CMYK bindings, which I actually use all over the mountain as they’re soft enough on this board but still perform everywhere else.
I find Union bindings excellent - great construction, light (some lighter than others) and responsive. So far they’re also really durable - much more so than some other binding’s I’ve owned (not mentioning any names). If you want uber-lightweight check out the Contact Pro’s. My b/f rides them all over the mountain and in the park.
On boards, you might also want to check out the Never Summer Evo and Proto - both get rave reviews and my b/f has this year’s Proto, which he has adopted as his ‘everything’ board beacuse it seems to do pretty much everything really well, including all mountain and powder as well as jumps and jibs.
Boots - totally personal. What one person finds comfortable is hell on someone else. The best thing to do is take yourself to a store and try lots on to try and find one that suits you. There are lots of brands that do heat moulded liners, which you can generally get done in the shop as soon as you buy them.
Your Driver X’s are a super-stiff boot, so lots of boots are going to feel softer to you. I would avoid buying a pair off the web without trying them first. There’s nothing wrong with doing that, but I’m a big fan of try-before-you-buy. Especially with boots.
I can’t comment on your clothing question other than to say have a look in some stores and pick what you like… just DON’T buy the yellow onesie boiler suit I saw someone riding on the mountain this month. Wrong!
Posted: 27 January 2012 02:12 AM
Hey snowkat thanks for the response.
I was looking at the NS Evo as well for sure. I don’t think I would want something like the Proto as I am looking for a more specialized park board than an all mountain board.
For bindings, I was indeed looking at the Union bindings in the store! The only question I have is that right now I am using toe cap bindings, Can the Union bindings be used in the toe cap position? I have not use anything but toe cap bindings for a good 5 years and from what I remember, I preferred it because I like the pressure it created putting my heel firmly into the bindings versus cutting off the blood to my toes lol. Any thoughts on this? The contact pro looks good, I only saw the contact in the store heh.
Posted: 27 January 2012 07:33 AM
Hey there,
as snowkat already mentioned, the NS Evo would be a good call.
Also, boards like the K2 Darkstar or Fastplant would be worth having a look at.
If you are not that much into rails and stuff and don’t want to lose too much of your freeride ability, also check out freestyle boards more on the allmountain side with zero camber like the Amplid Paradigma or the K2 Slayblade.
For shoes, I was looking at getting the Deeluxe boots from Japan. Yes I am Asian so I feel these shoes might fit my feet better? My feet is also quite different on both sides so having a custom fit on the oven baked boots I feel might be good. I was also looking to get a softer flex boots versus my current boots. However, they are quite expensive so is there any other recommendations some other people can give me?
The most important thing about your new setup, are your boots.
No matter what bindings or board you are riding, when your boots don’t fit properly it will be a nightmare.
You might know this already, but I’m still telling you again to save money wherever it’s possible when it’s coming down to board and bindings but do NOT hesitate to buy the more expensive boot when it just fits better than the others.
Hope this helped a little
Cheers Tobi
P.S.: I do ride the Union SuperPros ‘10 and they are supposed to have a strap that can be used as toe-strap but honestly, it’s not really working for me and my boots..
They are said to have improved, though!
Posted: 27 January 2012 09:06 AM
Hmm seems like no one is really feeling the Stepchild HH board?
Yeap totally understand abt the boots but I am awaiting for someone I know who has ordered the same boots and done the custom fit thermoliners to let me know how they pan out and fit. I suspect my Burton Driver X boots might be a little stiff for the rocker board but I am willing to give it a shot for a bit lol.
Posted: 27 January 2012 09:14 AM
I think peeps are just wary about not recommending a board they haven’t ridden.
Tom, my brother who occasionally contributes rode an HH for an entire season. He loved it. said it was lively but forgiving. Mikee who rode the FTW this season said it was on the heavier side but enjoyed riding it. Both have said that its flex is more all-mountain than you’d expect, you can ride it pretty much in all disciplines other than AL descents and BoardX. Pipe, rails, piste, pow it’s pretty good for the lot.
Posted: 27 January 2012 09:31 AM
Sounds like I will just pick up either a HH or NS Evo whichever I can get a better price on and use the extra money on boots (since these are definitely very particular and I don’t think I can find a good fit discounted pair) and a new pair googles. I have a couple but they all have fitted me pretty badly and given me weird bruises on my cheeks heh.
Posted: 27 January 2012 09:46 AM
Just re your question on bindings - my Contact’s toe strap can be used as an over the toe or toe cap. I use them in the cap position as I don’t find a traditional over-the-foot responsive enough.
Anyways…. my Contact’s are fine as a cap strap - they’re secure and responsive, but due to the design of the strap they don’t encase your toe like some do. I’ve ridden other bindings with a proper cap strap, and they’ve not been as good as the Unions.
I think as long as you get the right size for your boots and set them up properly, yo shouldn’t have a problem. I would suggest you buy your boots before you get your bindings and if you get the Deeluxe ones, maybe take them with you to a store that sells the bindings you want to double check sizes if you’re worried.
Posted: 27 January 2012 10:52 AM
Thanks is quite informative, unfortunately the store I go to is small and doesnt have a ready stock of all the bindings in their sizes, in fact they do not have the contact pros, most of the stuff they have to order in anyway so is quite hard to try.
Does anyone know of good stores in Australia? I was thinking of going to OZ or NZ mid year to snowboard.
