Back on the board after 15 years. need help buying a new board
Posted: 11 January 2012 01:57 AM
I have finally decided to buy a new board.
three seasons ago I started snowboarding again after a break of almost 15 years. Back then I had an Airwalk freeride board. I was 15 at the time. I only had the chance to ride one season back then.
The last three days I’ve been plowing through reviews and forums trying to find help to buy a new board when i found this site. Great site by the way! I need help. compared to 15 years ago its a jungle of boards out there with all kinds of camber, flex and high tech words way beyond my understanding.
What do I need?
I realized I have to be honest describing my skills and ambitions to find the perfect board for me.
I love riding in powder, jumping of small natural kicks, and i find it boring to simply race down the grooms.
This year I want to learn 360, railing and basic tricks on small kicks etc, aswell as continue to work on my switch. Basically I have got pretty good control over the board as long as its not in the air. I want to take my snowboarding to the next level.
I want to hit the terrain park aswell as having fun in the powder as I usually do.
I would say I am a beginner/intermediate boarder, and I need a board thats easy to progress on.
As far as I understand, I could benefit from a quite soft flex, and maybe a directional twin shape??
I came across a review of the Burton Nug which seems quite interresting. Could this be a board i should buy?
height: 6’1
weight 194 lbs
age: 28
boot size: 11 US
I ride in Norway (which means I’m likely to bump into all kinds of conditions)
Please help me. I am desperate of riding something else than a shady rental!
Greetings from Norway
Kenneth
Posted: 11 January 2012 08:41 PM
Hey Kenneth,
Stoked to hear you are getting back on a board after such a long time!
Yeah there are tons of options out there which actually doesn’t make choosing boards particularly easy.
I’m afraid I have no experience of riding the NUG, any board that short concerns me a little because I always wonder where the edge grip is going to come from or the surface area for float in powder.
If you are after a board that will be progressive in tha park, but will also ride nicely in the pow, I would go with a twin shaped board with a hybrid rocker and camber profile. I would suggest you take a look at a board like the Signal Omni, Rossi Angus, Burton Process Flying V, YES Basic and K2 Turbo Dream. Alternatively a zero camber twin shaped board like the K2 LifeLike would offer a blend of performance, float and playfulness that you’ll want for learning tricks on rails.
Feel free to ask questions on any boards and I’ll try best to answer them.
Rich
Posted: 11 January 2012 10:10 PM
hey rich, thank you for the reply.
I will definately check out your tips.
I’ve heard that its easier to learn on a board with a softer flex and that I would benefit from that in how i want to ride. is that a fact?
Kenneth
Posted: 12 January 2012 10:57 AM
I’d probably go for something with a moderate flex 4-5/10. The problem with riding super soft boards is that they really constrict your riding to the park and also if you’re not landing on the bolts, they can wash out. Actually I forgot to mention the K2 Happy Hour… that’s be a good starting place too.
Posted: 12 January 2012 02:23 PM
I’ll check out the k2 aswell. Thanks alot for educating me on the flex issue aswell. I’m heading out to all of the snowboardshops in Oslo today to try different setups and hopefully find a new setup. Do you have any other suggestions to what I should keep in mind in case I bump it to a salesperson with noe clue, but an ironwill to sell me something?
Kenneth
Posted: 12 January 2012 03:37 PM
Ok here are the do nots!
Don’t buy a very directional snowboard… for what you want a twin or directional twin shape is pretty important.
Don’t buy a board with a very soft flex, or a board with a very stiff flex. Make sure you handflex them and choose a middle ground.
Don’t buy a board that is too rockered or heavily cambered. You will find the very rockered board will be slippy and a whimp on bad snow conditions, but a heavily cambered board will be a bit catchy and perhaps a bit of a bully on crap conditions as well as being crap in powder.
Don’t buy the board too short. With your height and weight 158cm is an absolute minimum. You could size down to a 156 on a board built specifically to size down on… but be wary.
Don’t buy a board that is too narrow or too wide. Check the width against your boot. A cm of overhand on the toe edge and heel edge is perfect.
That’s about it really.
Posted: 12 January 2012 04:06 PM
Awsome! Thanks alot for the quick answer! Im heading out to the shops now! Stoked as hell!! I cant wait to get snow under my feet!
HAHAHA!
Kenneth
Posted: 12 January 2012 04:19 PM
Correction… air and steel under your new board ;)
HAHAHA! Damn right!!
Posted: 13 January 2012 12:47 AM
Okay…so I went to three different stores today with a clear idea of what kind of board I need. now I am more confused.
The first place is a hardcore snowboard shop thats been selling bords for over twenty years. the guy there told me he thought the rocker tech was bullshit and that I should get stiff boots. he recommended two boards
1. Allian Prism Ltd 158
2. Icon movement 2011
bindings: SP slab one ft
boots: sp celcius
the second place was a burton retailer. he recomended the custom flying v, the deja vu with camber,
the third place recommended this setup: DC MLF Likka pro, bindings: ride capo, boots: 32 TM-two. He said he would rather recommend a flexible camber over a rocker board, and that this board would work in all conditions. he also said i could try the burton mr nice guy.
the two places where the salespersons seemed to know the most both recomended traditional camber. and stiffer boards.. contradicting my own beliefs and the help I have gotten in this post.
Im of to three more places tomorrow, bur my initial frustraion over choosing a setup is sneeking back in there… jeeez..
Posted: 13 January 2012 01:39 AM
Wow shop sales people can really transfer their own riding prefernces onto consumers.
There are a lot of benefits of riding traditional camber, but if you want to start learning the basics of freestyle I really think you’ll find the looser feel of a hybrid or zero camber snowboard beneficial. The dude who recommended you buy a firm cambered board, stiff bindings and stiff boots is a melon… sure I’d ride that kind of setup for big jumps but it’s completely ridiculous to ride a stiff setup for getting to grips with freestyle.
I think you need to get yourself down to a demo day and find-out what works best for you.
Posted: 13 January 2012 01:42 AM
Actually, the DC MLF isn’t a bad shout, but probably not the best for powder.
Definitely get out and demo some different boards, it’s the only way to know for sure.
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