sizing question

Posted: 09 March 2011 02:59 PM

Hey,

I read a lot of topics on this forum but this is my first post.
I have a dilemma and I need your advice.

So, it’s time to upgrade my 6 years old board with a new one.
I have a Nitro Titan 164 with 25.8 waist width.
Also I have boots size US13, I didn’t have any toe/heel drag with this board.

I’m somewhere between intermediate and advanced, riding especially groomers and off-piste.
I’m looking for a new freeride board, and I’m not sure if I should go for a longer board (I’m afraid I will not be able to put enough pressure if it is too long) or a wider one (over 26 waist width).
By the way, I’m 6’26 and around 170 lbs – thin and tall :)

Thanks guys! Any help would be much appreciated.

Posted: 13 March 2011 09:07 AM

I just realized I made a mistake.
I’m 1.91 m high or 6’3”.

Any help, please? :)

Posted: 13 March 2011 09:41 AM

Hey Larry,
I’d say you should stick to a board around 165-168 as you really are pretty light for your height.. still, the extra cm length will provide better edgehold, more stability and a better float in the pow.
If you ever get the chance to go on a board test before making your decision, you should definitely take the chance and try out some longer boards than 164 to see how they feel. If they feel like too much of a stiff plank, you better size down again!

Cheers Tobi

Posted: 13 March 2011 09:46 AM

Like you said Larry, you’re tall and thin. I really don’t think there is any need for you to go any bigger than a 164, in fact if you went for a slighly less directional shape a nything from 160-162 would fit your weight.

Just so I can make some board suggestions, I have a couple of questions:

* What is your riding style? Do you ride lots of powder? Do you hit jumps or big drops? Do you prefer to cruise around or ride aggresively making the most of the boards sidecut and pop?

* When you say intermediate / advanced does that mean your proficcient at all elements of snowboarding. You can carve regular and switch, make spit second turns between trees make cutbacks in pow, carve happily down black runs?

* How much are you looking to spend?

* Do you already have bindings?

* What are you looking to get from your new purchase? And what would you change in your last board, the Nitro Titan?

Rich

Posted: 13 March 2011 11:47 AM

Thanks guys.

I ride especially groomers at high speed and I like to go off piste when possible.
I don’t get too often the chance to ride powder, but I try not to miss any.

I ride blacks with no problem, I just don’t feel to confident on double blacks :)
Just started with little jumps and I want to improve on this.
I ride only regular, no switch and I don’t get into park.

What I would like to improve at my actual board is that vibrates at high speed, especially over frozen snow, and in powder I have to put my entire weight on its tail in order to float, which kills my back foot.

I’m interested in a more stable board but also responsive for tight curves :) to float with less effort in powder and some pop for my future jumps :)
There are so many new technologies on the market now and I’m not sure if they are better than camber. There are so many opinions on this…

Anyway, I read a lot of good impressions over Never Summer Raptor X and I must say it arouse my interest.
I was also looking at a Nitro Pantera wide but this has a waist over 270. Don’t you think is a little too much?
The problem is I don’t have the chance to demo any board so I have to make my choice only on reviews :(

And I want to change my bindings too as they started to create pressure points.

Thanks again!

Posted: 19 March 2011 08:57 PM

Hi Rich,

You said you’ll come back with some boards suggestions.

Thanks again!

Posted: 20 March 2011 07:04 PM

Hi Larry, sorry for the delay, I’ve had a busy week of riding slushy park with my friends who are over from England.

Ok so you are 6’2” and 170lbs, you have a size 13 US boot and you like going super fast on steep groomers. The things you don’t like about your old board are chatter and the fact that you have to move your weight right back to keep the nose out of powder.

I’d recommend going for a hybrid rocker board. There are two options here, you can go for rocker between the feet and camber at the tips or rocker at the tips and camber between the feet, we’ll call them M and W respectively. In my personal opinion I find that boards with W float a little smoother in the deeps stuff and are a little bit more buttery because the freeride boards are stiffer between eth bindings and softer at the tips. Unfortunatley because the nose is raised above the snow from the inserts you do get more chatter with this, although it’s not chatter that makes you unstable. The M methodology definitely has more conventional camber like pop. When it’s done well having the rocker between the feet and the camber at the tips means the board initiates turns really sharply and pops out of them, these board feel lively.

The Raptor X 165W would provide you with a hard charging board for railing carves on hardpack, you might also want to look at the NS Legacy the Lib Tech Travis Rice 161.5 and GNU Altered Genetics.

W type Hybrids - Next year, the Rossignol Krypto will offer a slightly less stiff riding experience than the Rossi Experience. You might also want to check out the Jones Flagship. You could also look at the Jones Mountain Twin, Nidecker Legacy and Rossignol One, these boards are less directional and will help with the freestyle elements of snowboarding.

Hope that helps for now,

Rich

Posted: 20 March 2011 09:37 PM

Thank you!

Your answer is great ... as all your reviews.