So what’s better for an intermediate all-mountain guy?  Batleon’s TBT or Burton’s Flying-V?

It depends on what board and what kind of terrain you are riding. Bataleon’s Freestyle TBT is great for riding jumps and learning spins, it really helps you to roll onto an edge from your setup turn and when kickers get a little soft it stops your carve from being too aggressive. On the freeride boards the TBT Freeride makes transition between edges really fast, but you don’t get that from the Freestyle TBT (in my opinion), so Bataleon TBT is great providing you want to choose a specific riding style.

If you want an all mountain freestyle/freeride board, I’d probably say that the Burton Flying V is better. I like the way turns are easy to initiate, it holds a good edge in carves, seems to float well in deeper snow and when you work carves you really feel the board flexing into the carves from the waist of the board… feels quite unique… if you like the idea of the Flying V but you want the board a little more Freeride orientated then the Never Summer SL is a winner, so damp and powerful, yet still pretty easy to ride, plus you get a 3 year warranty.

Basically both TBT and Flying V are good technologies but they feel quite different, if you want to stick with camber but want it to be a bit more forgiving then TBT won’t dissapoint. If you want some of the qualities of rocker but don’t want to loose the grip and pop of camber then Flying V is a good compromise. I think Flying V is slightly more progressive for intermediate riders.

Alright thanks man.  So if i spend most of my time on the slopes (mostly groomers but when there’s powder I’m there) and do some kickers sometimes TBT would be best for me?

It sounds like you want to develop your riding in all terrain and for all aspects of riding (groomers, powder, park) the Burton Custom Flying V is the best option for doing that. If you wanted to progress most at riding jumps I’d go with a Bataleon board with freestyle TBT like the Evil Twin or the Goliath. If you wanted to push your Big Mountain Freeride skills I’d go for something like the Bataleon Omni with Freeride TBT.

Thanks for your help and what size would you reccomend for me?  I’m about 6 ft. 250 lbs. with a 10.5 or 11 boot?  It doesn’t need to be short for jibs, I’m not gonna be doing too much park other than jumps.

I’d look at the 162 if you want to jib around the pistes and generally mess around on the Flying V. If you want to charge pistes and pow then you should look at the 166. That’s if I’m right and next years size options are the same as this years. Definitely don’t opt for anything less than 162.

Rich