Hi there Rich/Tom I’m looking at buying an all mountain 1 board quiver type board that will carve good for next season. I’m currently riding a Ride Machete 155 and I really like it but prefer something a little bit stiffer and a bit better edgehold (not saying it has a bad edgehold). I ride mostly in whistler/blackcomb and looking for a board to take down the blues and black runs there, and a little bit park maybe 10% of my riding (no rails though). Not doing jumps yet but want to start learning 180’s and 360’s. My height is 5’5” and 145lbs. Been riding for 1 year and the reason I want to buy new board is that I will probably use this next board and not buy another board until it is broken.

My first choices are: Lib Tech T.Rice 157, K2 turbo dream 156, or a NS Heritage 155. The only problem I have with Lib’s board is that they dont have a full metal edge wrap which makes me questioned the durability (and in case I hit a tree or somethin). Second choices would be: Jones Mountain Twin or Bataleon Jam/Riot. I’m open to other choices or if you guys think the Machete will still be good enough. I have a feeling that I might be overthinking this a bit but I’ll be glad if you guys could help me.

I’m not Rich or Tom but if I had to pick one board to do it all it would probably be the Rossi OneMag.  This upcoming season they are putting the Amptek rocker on the OneMag, that is probably going to be “the” all-mountain board of the 2010/11 season.

Being that you are in Canada (I assume), you can get pretty sick deals at SportsChek on K2 gear…  I picked up K2 Parkstar and Ride bindings for $300 CDN.

Hmm, I’ll consider the OneMag. Wow that is a sick deal you got there for the parkstar. Gotta check on sportchek during the December sale.

I think there’s always a danger of over-thinking things, but if you’re feeling that the Machete isn’t delivering the edge hold and stiffness you want from it, then you shouldn’t worry about replacing it… I find it’s always nice to have a spare slightly softer board in the quiver for park sessions and for gooning around on softer snow days.

Reloaded has got a great point with the One Mag with Amptek… or MagTek as Rossi are calling it. On that tip, next year’s JDub is looking like a killer for riders who want a slightly stiffer all mountain snowboard. Rossi have lengthened and deepened the camber between the feet, this means it behaves more like camber than rocker, so you get great edge hold (Magnetraction helps with this too). I can’t give Rossi enough credit for building durable snowboards.. I own 3 at the moment, my 2007 JDub has taken some serious abuse in the past and looks as good as new. Looking through the options in your list, the K2 Turbo Dream is a fantastic board, but it’s quite similar to the Machete, the rocker profile is quite similar, it’s just a little stiffer and a bit more directional, a great all-mountain board, but not far removed from your Machete. The T-Rice is an awesome board, but I see your point about not having full wrap edges.. an early season Whistler tree root could cause your new purchase to explode… still, a fantastic board. I like your call on the NS Heritage, I’ve not ridden the heritage, but I rode the all new Raptor and SL. The way these boards really work well with tight carves, as the flex comes from the centre of the board, the boards bend into really tight geometry and then the cambered tail pops you out, it feels like you have the ease of working the board into a carve of a plain rockered board and then the punch out from a cambered board… really nice and super agile. Amptek / Camrock boards tend to hold longer faster carves better but you don’t get as much feedback from tight carves. Another board worth checking next season is the APO BC Powder Rocker, another all mountain firm flexing board using Amptek / Camrock profile… very, very sure on an edge, no worries about slipping out on that.

Regarding the Bataleon boards, I think you might be going from one extreme to the next, these bad boys use Quadraxial which is STIFF and then they chuck in Kevlar and Carbon too, and I think you’ll want to try TBT before you buy. I wouldn’t suggest that for the twin park boards or for the freeride Bataleon boards, but for the all-mountain boards, you do notice how lethargic / chilled the boards can be edge to edge. It’s a nice stable ride that I quite like but I don’t think it’s to everyone’s taste.

Looking at the lengths you’re eyeing up, I wouldn’t go too much longer than a 156… between 154 and 156 will be a good length for all mountain. Be careful of width too, the T.Rice is kind of medium wide, around 25.7 at the waist, this is a good width for size US9-10 feet, having more width than response is horrible for response.

Rich

Hey Rich, thanks for the detailed reply, really appreciate it. I forgot to mentioned that I have a size 10 feet. Yeah reagrding Bataleon, I might have to demo the boards if they’re available at whistler. Also I don’t think I can get a hold of APO boards here in Vancouver. So according to your advice my board choices would be:
1. NS Heritage (size 155)
2. Rossi JDub Magtek (I guess for this I should go with a 154?)
3. Lib Tech T.Rice (really eyeing this board, but not wrapping the nose and tail really turned me off)
4. K2 Turbo Dream (probably gonna go with this if I can’t find heritage or jdub)

I’m also considering Capita BSOD, have you got a chance to ride it? It has the same hybrid profile as a camrock board.

Any idea on how much will the Jdub cost?
Again thanks for the help Rich :)

I think next years JDub will retail around $500 US, unfortunately the Amptek profile is going to be the big addition for next season so you can’t pick one of last years boards on the cheap.

To be honest all of the boards you’ve listed I enjoyed riding so to pick up any of them is going to be fun. Afraid I haven’t ridden the Capita Black Snowboard of Seth, but you’re right it uses the same Amptek / Camrock profile as the JDub. It’s cambered shape had a reputation for being a massive ball-buster (super stiff and hard work), but the Early rise tips are going to help no end with loosening up the board and making turns easier to initiate.

You could also look at next years Atomic Alibi… all our reviews will be live on the site within the next month. So definitely check them out before you purchase your new deck.

Thanks Rich, I will definitely checkout your reviews when its up. Right now I’m pretty set on the 2011 NS Heritage, but will also consider JDub and Capita if I can’t find the heritage. Oh btw its Black snowboard of death, not Seth :P