Which Intermediate freeride board ??

Posted: 21 December 2009 12:00 AM

Hi lads, found your site while mooching about doing some research on which board to buy..

I’ve been boarding for about 3 years after skiing for about 8 or 9 years. In the last few years I’ve probably notched up 4 or 5 weeks and loving it. I’ve always rented equipment even while skiing (although I own boots as can’t bare the thought of following someone elses minging feet into a still warm boot..) but have been disappointed with both board and bindings the last couple of times so have decided to step up and purchase for once. My boots are fairly soft but I’m not sure whether this really has much impact.

In terms of riding I’m not bothered about the park so only really interested in a board to take me on and off piste, groomed and powder.

I’m a pretty solid intermediate so want something that will take me to the next level, allowing crisper turns but will also happily float in the deep stuff. I’m not comfortable enough yet to straight line down the reds and blacks so tidying up my carving is important so I can keep up with my skiier mates on the steeper terrain, but I’m nervous about getting something too stiff in case it sets me back, but definitely need to move on from soft flex beginners boards.

I’ve only really looked on Snowboard Asylum (which works quite well as Covent Garden is only round the corner from work..) and they seem to have a good on line guide, but am VERY open to ideas..

Omatic Boron
Artec Gabe Taylor
Signal Omni

.. all seem to be in the right price range and right sort of spec…

I don’t want to spend more than about £500 on board and bindings hence looking at £300 range for a board..

I’m 5’8”, weight 71kg, 152cm to my chin from the floor..

Ideas welcome lads.. bring it on….

Thanks
Adam

Posted: 21 December 2009 12:12 PM

Hi Adam,

I know TSA very well, infact I was there at the weekend.

THe boards that they’ve suggested are kind of more on the freestyle tip, and strangely enough they always seem to suggest those three boards! However, they do represent good value for money, it’s just I’m pretty sure that TSA have sole distribution on those brands so they must be getting a very good deal on them if you know what I mean. Saying that the staff at TSA are always helpful and they’ve been very helpful to the site so I’d definitely give the shop two thumbs up.

Ok your stats a kind of similar to mine, although I’m a little heavier. If you’re looking for a board primarily to freeride around the pistes and a bit of powder, then I think you should be looking around 157-158, these sives will mean you’re not handicapped in the park, but you’ll have enough edge for icy runs and enough nose for powder. THe boards that have been suggested to you are have mostly biaxial glass apart from the Omni, but the Omni is very freestyle orientated (regardless of what the spiel says). Biaxial glass is fine for freestyling, but if you want a board with tons of edge grip when you’re carving I’d go for a triax glass. I’ll list some decks below which fit your demands.

Amplid Paradigma - THink Burton Custom with a some more balls, a kind of halfway house between the burton Custom and the Custom X. Our resident rudeboy Zoryfl just got one and took it out the other day. I think he was blown away by the edge control and grip on ice.

Rossignol One - For some reason Rossignol boards are really well priced this season. I think the ‘One’ is punching well above it’s weight for the price. A firm flex with Carbon for pop and Kevlar for damping, oh and Magnetraction edges… definitely a winner.

K2 Podium - Well priced deck with all the goods you’ll need to ride almost anything you encounter. Again K2 are providing really good value for money at the moment, especially in the UK, where they haven’t raised their prices.

Rome Headline - Wasn’t blown away by this board, but it definitely has a place. Solid on an edge and chatter free.

Apo Line - Directional all mountain snowboard designed for progressive intermediates who want to carve hard on all types of terrain. Does exactly what it says on the tin… and it’s Regis Rolland’s creation.. he’s a cool cat.

Have a look and let me know what you think… if you’re thinking about softer boards then let me know. If you’re a confident intermediate. Got carving down etc these boards will be fine. If you’re carving hesitantly then just holla and I’ll suggest some softer boards… biaxial directional boards like the Boron would be more suitable if you’re at that stage.

Rich

Posted: 21 December 2009 12:42 PM

Hi Rich, this is the challenge, I’m not really experienced enough with the technology to know how stiff to go, but I’ve certainly had issues with the softer boards not holding the carve and chattering like a brass monkey in the Icey chills we are currently experiencing.

My main concern is finding that balance between stiff enough to hold the turn but still with some sympathy for my ability.

I’ll take a look at these boards tonight and come back with thoughts.. but if you think tese might be a little on the stiff side any Mid flex suggestions would be good so I can look at them all at the same time.. the internet is a wonderful thing but there’s nothing like getting these things side by side to compare in a shop..

THanks
Adam

Posted: 21 December 2009 03:41 PM

Maybe you want to have a look at some rocker-hybrid decks as well; like the Rossi Angus or the NeverSummer SL-R.

Check our Basics Snowboard-Guide section out (http://www.snowboard-review.com/snowboard_guide/basics/) to get more informations about rocker tech and hybrids.

Oh and yeah: you should definitly check out the Paradigma (light biax by the way), it’s a great ride!

Posted: 21 December 2009 11:55 PM

Hi Adam

Ok for a medium intermediate board the K2 Podium and Apo Line are going to be the best options. If you want a softer board still then the Omatic Boron is a good call as is the Endeavor Guerrilla, if you don’t mind going for a directional twin shape (less suited to riding in pow) then Artec Novus is worth looking at, fantastic value for money. The Rossignol Scope is also a winner, if you want a fast base and progressive intermediate ride at a low price bargain.

Posted: 22 December 2009 02:03 PM

Hi, thanks again. I’ve been off email and internet for a while so will have a proper good look at these tonight..

Incidentally, have you come across the True Expression/Freedom on your explorations for the perfect board?

Adam

Posted: 22 December 2009 03:10 PM

Hi Adam,

Yeah I’m aware of True… although whatever possesed them to put a barcode on the base?

I’m always a bit wary of UK outfits… my reason: Designing snowboard shapes takes a lot of experience and understanding of carve geometry and weight distribution. Once you’ve designed a shape, it’s important to do as much testing as possible, living in the UK that’s going to prove a little difficult… trust me, running a snowboard review site from the UK is difficult enough! Also I don’t know of any snowboard factories in the UK, so the likelyhood is that these boards are being made in asia, especially at that price.. now the factories in asia are actually pretty damn good, but it takes a lot of QC and a great relationship to be able to get great product and low warranty rates, if you look at the interview with Endeavor owner Max Jenke, you’ll see that it takes a lot of travel and a huge amount of time to make quality manufacture in Asia work. So I appreciate what they’re doing and their pricing is extremely competitive, but don’t expect a mind blowing product with great features.. I think Triax glass, poplar core, radial sidecut and a sintered base is as bog standard as you’ll find. Sorry sounds like a rant on True… good luck to the guys for trying to make a UK manufacturer work. Oh and forget the Freedom! Cap construction isn’t good… it’s much cheaper than sidewall hense the £50 saving but it’s a bastard to fix if you hit a rock and I’ve had cap boards and delams happen all the time.

Hopefully I’ll test a True board in the near future… speculation isn’t particularly professional. THey look like a great board for those on a really tight budget, but if you’ve got a little extra cash to spend it might be worth spending it and getting something that has tons of experience behind the design.

Rich

Posted: 22 December 2009 04:59 PM

Thanks Rich, I’m starting to get my head around this now, and having just spent the last hour mooching about the web I think I’ve classed 6 boards like this:

Tri-Ax – bit firmer – better boards – potential for being too stiff - Rossy One, K2 Podium, Apo Line
Next tier down – good value – maybe more forgiving but might get ‘bored’ within a couple of years - Artec Novus, Omatic Boron, Rossy Scope

Rosignol distribution seems wierd - Alpine Sports in Aldershot and Snow and Rock in Guildford, but neither have these boards advertised on the websites.
Apo is similar - Bucks Boarding in High Wycombe and Snowboard Asylum, but again no web listings.

I have a local K2 dealer, and the Artec and and Omatic are slam dunk TSA.

Need to go sniff these out and have a a look…

Zoryfl… thanks for the note I’m going to have a look at these hybrids too and see whether I can make head or tail of the techno.. just want to be sure I focus on my use which will not involve rails or parks.. (mainly as my mrs would pull my green cards if I smashed myself to bits doing something stupid and currently I get easy tickets for lads holidays, plus my skiier mates want nothing to do with parks..)

Thanks for the advice.. reckon I’ll try and get something bought in the next couple of weeks ready for Tignes on the 16th Jan :-)

Posted: 23 December 2009 12:36 PM

I see your point adam and most probably a cambered board is the one that should be your choice here, but still:
Rockered hybrids like Rossi’s Amptek or Signal’s Wavelength increase float in powder and don’t lose too much edgehold due to the cambered part between your bindings.
So if you are riding a lot of pow you should just not forget about this tech..

Other than that, good luck on your choice and don’t forget to tell us which deck you chose to go with!

Posted: 23 December 2009 02:10 PM

Thanks guys, hey, what do we think about the Ride Antic??

Ta

Posted: 23 December 2009 02:23 PM

Yeah a good intermediate freestyle freeride board.. I’m just not mega keen on the whole slimewall thing, but that said it’s great value for money/

Posted: 23 December 2009 02:43 PM

What is that slime wall thing all about, marketed as better for shock absorption, is it a good thing or just a gimmick? Does it make any odds for sidewall maintenance?

I’m torn between the K2 Podium and Ride Antic..

Got a local shop with the Antic in who will do a reasonable deal on the board, bindings, bag and maintenance goodies and they’re nice guys (Snowboard Shop in Fleet if you know it?) ..

They don’t have the right size Podium, but Snow n Rock in Chertsey have it, but didn’t exactly make any noises about any sort of deal/discount for a semi-chunky order..

Do you think I’d notice any difference between the boards in ride sytle/ease of maintenance?

If not, reckon I’m gonna use the local boys….

Oh decisions decisions….

Posted: 23 December 2009 04:37 PM

As far as I am informed, Ride’s slimewalls are mostly designed to absorb impacts and chatters on rails. So it does not really give you any advantages on- and off-piste. Don’t know if it makes the edge a b!tch to repair; Why not ask the guys in your local shop? If they sell it, they might happen to have it repaired, yet..

Apart from that, I don’t think there a big difference between the K2 Podium and the Ride Antic. Did you actually notice the different shapes? Maybe you can call a decision after checking that.

Cheers

Posted: 23 December 2009 06:36 PM

I think it’s all about personal opinion. I rode K2 and Ride boards at the board test and the K2s just felt a little bit livelier. As they’re pretty much the same boards, I can only put it down to the slimewalls. Having said that a lot of folk swear by them. Maintainance wise, a Urethane sidewall has got to be more impact resistant than a Ptex sidewall so it’s definitely a positive. From what I hear the Antic is a top seller in the UK.. and for good reason it’s a progressive board at a good price.

Posted: 23 December 2009 10:13 PM

DONE :-)

Ride Antic 157 with K2 Cinch CTS purchased this afternoon from Darren at The Snowboard Shop in Fleet. I guess all the boards you mentioned are available in the UK even if on the tinterweb, for me I still like the personal touch of being able to look the guy in the eye when you are asking questions, hopefully sites like this might expand supply a bit and if demand increases for things like the Rossignol/Apo (and others) boards they might become a bit more available in mainstream retail outlets.

Couldn’t decide between the 157 and 160, but I figured the slightly shorter board might be a bit more forgiving at this stage. My skiier mates should be delighted with the Cinch effect, they always bleat like poorly lambs with the sitting down to strap in proceedings..

Reckon I’ll revisit after the first trip to acquire maintenance gear, quite keen to learn hot waxing and edge repair, just need to spread some of the cost.

Thanks for your assistance and guidance, certainly helped me cut through the marketing bobbins and dobbins. Knowing what I know now I couldn’t imagine renting again…

Ho ho ho and a bottle of rum

Cheers
Adam

Posted: 28 December 2009 01:14 PM

Nice one Adam! Make sure you post a review on the site when you’ve taken the Antic for a shred!