Upgrading stick: Ultralight vs. Raptor vs. Undisputed vs. A Frame vs. Other?
Posted: 02 November 2011 04:48 AM
Hey all,
It is time for me to shell out some coin and upgrade my board. My Never summer T5 has served me a great 7 years, but it is unfortunately time to put it out to pasture. A sad day.
My details: Experienced rider >12 yrs, all big mountain steeps/off-piste pow/bc/some heli. 5’10’‘, 210 lbs, 10.5 boot.
Right now I am considering:
1. Ultralight 167XL - concerned that the XL may be a problem given bootsize? Unfortunately longest reg. is 163
2. NS Raptor 169 - just love their boards
3. Undisputed 167
4. A Frame 170
5. Others that I am missing and should consider?
Any recommendations on the above 4, or any additional suggestions given my details above and current selections would be hugely appreciated.
One additional question. While I am at it, I may choose to upgrade my current salomon bindings. To that effect, does anyone have any views on the quality of Nidecker Carbon bindings? How do they stack up against Union? Any specific recommendations for bindings to complement one of the boards above? Like I said, I currently use Salomon (and salomon boots) and like it quite a bit. Have tried Burton Cartel’s before, but really didn’t like the highback - it dug in to my calves too much and made for a very uncomfortable ride…so would want to stay away from anything similar.
Thanks.
Posted: 06 November 2011 12:24 PM
Hey Hkboard,
Sorry that nobody has got back to you. We have a number of really helpful regulars on here that are always sharing their knowledge and opinion but at this time of year there are so many posts from people wanting help on choosing a board that it’s almost impossible to reply to everybody.
So first bindings. I’ve not ridden Nidecker bindings myself but I was at one point going to invest in the Lucky Clover binding for a freeride board but they were a little expensive as I would have had to order them from Switzerland. I haven’t heard anything bad about their bindings, they look solid and they build their high end bindings pretty stiff. I know what you mean about highback pain… unfortunately if you’re going to ride a stiff binding them there is a possibility that at somepoint along the length of the highback there will be a pressue point… unless of course you ride a boot that was designed to fit within the binding e.g Salomon Malamute and Calibre bindings. One thing I’d advise is that when you are buying bindings for freeriding a slightly deeper/larger area ankle strap is a real plus, it gives a bit more response and just feels more solid when you’re riding icy traverses and you need grip or riding heavy spring corn when you’re pulling on your front foot to keep it out of the slush.
To your list of boards. You’ve got two big mountain guns on there. The Undisputed and A-Frame are the kinds of board you ride long, they’re very directional but have minimal taper and aren’t really set back all that much. THese are the boards for steep faces where you are pointing and going balls out. You need a longish tail so that big carves aren’t skidding out and so that you have plenty of effective edge on sketchy snow. Camber keeps you on your feeton tail heavy landings. Between the two it’s difficult to choose… I’ve ridden both. I like the way the Undisputed rolls from edge to edge, it feels nice and agile but at the same time the A-Frame is a proper beast and feels so planted at speed on icy groomers. THey’re both great.
The Raptor is a bit more soulful. The RC tech gives it a really nice feeling in carves, easy to work the board through medium length carves and then lively out of them… super pop. Also the profile floats really easily in pow. THis board has all of the performance you’re going to need, it’s just a bit more fun when you’re not travelling at the speed of light. The Ultralight I’ve only ridden with Camber and it was a good three years ago now. I remember it being extremely light, particularly in the nose which made it feel extremely agile, I don’t remeber getting much chatter but it certainly wasn’t as damp as the other boards on your list, particularly the Raptor. Just a super nice board for cruising the groomerd and setting loose in the pow but pergaps not as ferocious as the other boards on your list.
Boards you might want to take a look at. The Rossi Experience and Krypto… some of the Prior boards havesome insanely progressive powder shapes, they have some nice mid wide widths areound the 25.8cm mark which would be a good fit for your boot size and you can customise certain aspects of your purchase. Also check out Venture boards and the Unity Dominion which sounds right up your street.
Rich
Posted: 06 November 2011 11:22 PM
I’d also suggest taking a look at Venture. Really good quality gear (all the boards are hand made) and a good selection of sizes and waist widths.
The Storm or the Odin would probably suit you best. One thing to note is in my opinon the boards ride a little shorter than you migth expect. Not sure if its the shape or what but i own a 166 storm and standing it next to a 162 lib tech you’d think they were the same. Hear really good things about the Odin if you want something for big fast turns on the steeps
Hope this helps
Posted: 07 November 2011 04:33 AM
cartels no longer have the forward lean they had years ago.
Solid all mountain binding.
If you want a responsive and super light binding to go with one of the decks you’re looking at:
Burton Diode hands down.
Unreal lightweight with ridiculous response.
Replaced the c60 and Co2 in the burton line.
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