Help a lost and confused wife

Posted: 06 December 2011 03:40 PM

Hi,

For Christmas I want to get my husand a board. I have already booked Attitash for a 10 day get away. Here are the problems 1) I have no clue about snowboarding but I want to share in my husband love for it 2) He hasn’t been riding in 8 years so I have nothing to go on. He was good back in the day and had a skateboard accident that has taken him off the mountain but he is ok to go back ( with a few pins and surgeries). So here is what i can tell you he is 5’5” 165 pounds wears a mens size 10.5 shoe. I know a lot of this is up to his personal style but if there is a generic direction you can point me in I would love it.

Thank you
Hopelessly Lost Wife

Posted: 06 December 2011 07:10 PM

Wow - er, not sure where to start with this one!

Burton.com has a board finder on their website that could really help you - if you go to the ‘Gear’ option at the top and then to Men’s, right under where it says ‘Men’s Gear’ there is an option for a board finder. it asks you to put in a series of variables like height, weight and what you want to ride as well as the overall level of the rider, then makes a recommendation based on those. Burton are one of the world’s biggest snowboard brands, so the chances are that you’ll find something here.

Because you’re going to the east coast (which can be prone to ice), you may also want to try a board from Lib Tech www.lib-tech.com. They have a technology called Magnetraction on their boards which helps grip in icy conditions - basically a wavy edge to the board. The Skate Banana has been a really popular all round board for guys in the last few years.

Another option would be a K2 Turbo Dream on www.k2snowboarding.com, or the Ride DH2 on www.ridesnowboards.com. My other half has ridden both of these boards all over the mountain, and if your husband has riding experience he should have no problem with either of these - even if he’s a bit shaky to start with!!

The other thing to consider is bindings - does he already have them? You will be very unlikely to be able to hire bindings by themselves so you will also need to provide these for him or go out after Christmas and buy some. Also boots, and although you can hire them, it’s worth considering buying some as it makes a huge difference to personal comfort.

Good luck! If you wanted opinions on anything specific I’m sure the guys on this forum will be able to help with how a specific board actually feels…

Posted: 06 December 2011 07:31 PM

Thank you so much!!!! I plan on letting him get the boots and the binding I just want something to put under the tree on christams :) I’m thinking of the 146 Burton Nug….

Posted: 06 December 2011 09:42 PM

If he hasn’t been snowboarding for a while, you may want to give him something a bit more traditional.

The Nug is a fun board, through I’ve only tried the twin rockered version from 2011, not the 2012 directional ones (rocker and a camber version I think), but I don’t think it’s a good board to start back with or is it, contrary to what Burton says, a quiver killer/one board to do it all.

Either a cambered board - if that is what he was previously used to - or a hybrid with camber underfoot and raised/rockered contact points at the tips (to take away the catchiness if he is a bit rusty) in ‘regular’ sizes might be an idea.

If you’re looking at Burton, and Burton alone, then you’ll be looking at their Flying V or Camber Humps profiles for that hybrid approach and the Custom and Process come highly recommended.  The review on this site is very positive about the Custom Flying V for this year, and that board can pretty much do it all, being a mainstay of the Burton range.

Posted: 06 December 2011 10:51 PM

The only thing good about the NUG in this situation is that it’ll fit under the CHristmas tree.

There are a couple of failsafe snowboards that you can’t really go wrong with when you’re buying boards for hubbies:

K2 Turbo Dream
Burton Custom Flying V
Endeavor Live / Guerilla
Nitro Team Gullwing
Rossignol One

THese will do park and freeride and will meet the needs of Intermediates through to experienced riders.

Rich

Posted: 06 December 2011 11:02 PM

Hi - as Rich & Milly say, it would be best to avoid the Nug for the moment. It has a really specific application and it’s definitely something your husband would have a strong opinion on.

The Custom is a much better option - since he’s not ridden in such a long time it might be best to go with the camber option as he’ll be more familiar with how the board feels, however he shouldn’t have too much of a problem with the Flying V either - just avoid any models from last season (10/11) as the general opinion was that edge hold left a lot to be desired. You should be looking at the 156 length in this board. Your husband also fits the weight range of the 159, however I think this might be a bit long considering his height.

Posted: 07 December 2011 12:53 AM

And since I’m accused of being a Capita salesman, the Outdoor Living is a good cambered board for all mountain fun and games - though the base and top sheet graphics are a bit loud - while it’s rockered equivalent, the Indoor Living, is also good.

As for Burton, but not Burton, boards, you could always have a look at Forum boards, particularly ones with the doubledog profile (their hybrid camber rocker).

And I second any recommendation of Endeavor boards.  Great build quality, they are fun and the graphics are classy.  For graphics alone, the High5 series from this year (and last years line) are some of the best artwork I’ve seen. Not just on snowboards, but on any functional product.