Which Burton V-Rocker for an intermediate-level female?

Posted: 16 December 2011 04:39 AM

I’m trying to figure out which women’s Burton V-Rocker board would be best for me. I am looking between the Lux Rocker, Blender, and Nug. I’m not a very aggressive rider (I don’t go to the terrain parks and going insanely fast isn’t my thing either since I’ve suffered broken bones from snowboarding in the past). I mostly just cruise down the mountain, but I want a lot of control and to be able to turn and carve easily. I rode the blender today and liked it, and am going to try the Nug tomorrow to see how I like it, but there isn’t a Lux to demo. Basically, my question is how do these boards compare to each other in terms of riding style?

Posted: 16 December 2011 01:11 PM

Hi Ashley14

The Nug (or are you trying the Nugget?) is going to feel very different to the Blender. You’re supposed to downsize considerably for this board, so if you were riding a 148 Blender, you should be looking at the 138 Nugget. (the Men’s Nug only goes to a 142 and the weight range starts at 50kg) The reason for shortening this board is to give a lower swing weight, and also to make it super-easy to initiate turns. The effective edge on the Blender 148 is 1110mm, whereas on the Nugget 138 its 965mm, so it’s going to feel like it rides a lot shorter too.
What it comes down to is that the Nug (or Nugget) should feel like it’s a lot easier to handle.

This does have some drawbacks though - if you don’t really go into the park and spend most of your time on the groomers, you may find that downsizing for the Nug will make you feel less stable. The longer a board is, the greater the stability you get on piste and at speed. The shortened length may also work against you if you’re riding in choppy conditions where the Blender would perform better.

The Lux is a slightly softer flex than the Blender and I think you might find the board too soft for you on piste if you already like the Blender.

You might also want to try a Lipstick if there is one to demo. This is a great all-round, all-mountain board choice and is a little stiffer than the Blender. The little extra stiffness means it’ll feel better for carving and piste cruising, it will handle chop well float well in the powder. Compared to the Blender, it’s less jib-specific, but still has enough flex and pop to let you play around if you decide you want to at some point in the future. Its still a really fun board, and it’s got a nice forgiving element to it as well.