Women’s snowboard buying help!

Posted: 23 February 2012 12:51 AM

Okay so I am an intermediate/advanced rider. I go down mostly blues and blacks quickly and spend about 15% of my time in the park but I plan on spending more time there once I get a board. Also I’m about 5’9” and way 140 so I was thinking somewhere between a 149-152. 

Does anyone have any recommendations/thoughts from these boards or any other possible options?

Gnu b street
Burton deja Vu flying v
Rome lo fi
Forum spinster
Ride omg
Never summer recommendation?

Posted: 23 February 2012 10:11 AM

Hi - I had a B Street for a bit. It’s a nice playful board, but I found the banana to be a bit too loose for me on normal runs. Also (and this is a totally personal thing), magnetraction was overkill for me as I found that sometimes it would grip too much where I wanted the board to slip. If you’ve ridden a board with magnetraction before then no problem - you know what to expect, but if not I would definitely try to demo if you can. All that said, it provides really good grip on ice, so depending on the conditions you normally ride it could help you.
If you’re looking at Burton, I’d go with the Lipstick instead of the Deja-vu. I think it’s a better all-round board. If you’re confident on black runs and take them at any kind of speed, you’re going to want something that will hold it’s edge and be stable. The Deja-vu is a bit softer than the Lipstick. I’ve also had a play with a Lipstick in the park, and while it’s a stiffer board, it doesn’t actually feel like it when you’re doing butters, but it still jumps really well.
Re the others, I’ve heard really good things about both the Rome LoFi and the Spinster, but I’ve not had the chance to try either of them. I know Marie France Roy rides both the camber and rocker versions of the LoFi, so I’d say they’re more than capable of what you want them to do!
I love Ride boards, but sometimes their edge hold isn’t great. Again, it’s going to depend on what conditions you normally ride - if you get groomed pistes and parks you’ll be fine, but if you get a lot of ice I might try and demo it in these conditions.
For Never Summer, have a look at the Infinity. It’s a blend of rocker and camber, and it’s made as an all mountain performance board. If it’s anything like the rest of the range, it should be awesome.

You haven’t specified what camber you’re after, and these are camber, hybrid and rocker - all have their good points. It depends what you’re used to riding already and what you want the overall ride to feel like as to which one you go for.

Posted: 23 February 2012 05:42 PM

thanks so much!

I typically ride at Breckenridge and Vail if that gives you an idea of the conditions. And I was thinking camber between the feet with rocker on the tips. I’m not exactly sure what that is defined as…original camber? What board do you ride? I have also heard that the new track system on the burton boards isn’t the best and that theres a lot of flex in the binding area. Would that provide more control or make it cath edges easily?

Posted: 23 February 2012 07:40 PM

If you’re looking for camber between the feet, and rocker from just outside the bindings, you’re looking for hybrid camber. The boards from your selection that fit that profile are the Lipstick, the NS Infinity and the OMG. The Spinster is the opposite - rocker between the bindings and camber under the feet. The Gnu is full rocker. The LoFi can either be full rocker OR camber (they do two models).

Basically, the full rocker will mean the board will have a skaty type loose feel on the snow. This is great for jibbing, and if you particularly want to mess about on the slope and the looser feel lets you be less precise with the board and won’t necessarily throw you off if you happen to get something wrong where another board would.
Full camber is great if you really ride your boards - it’s the most stable profile at speed, but if you’re trying to learn park it’s also the least forgiving.
Hybrid camber is exactly what it says - a mix of the two. You get a playful ride, that is stable at speed, more forgiving than a camber board and will really help you progress in technique and confidence.

I’ve got two Burton boards presently with the ICS system, and my boyfriend has about 5. Neither of us has ever experienced an issue with too much flex in the binding area, and we use them all over the mountain in a variety of situations. As far as I am concerned, the ICS system is as stable as any binding mounting method. Burton bindings do vary massively in their flex though, and some are much better than others. I have definitely experienced matching the wrong bindings with a board, so that would definitely be something to consider when buying bindings. the ICS system won’t make you catch your edge. If you’re considering the Lipstick with Burton bindings, look at the Lexa binding or higher spec. Personally I have an issue with the build quality of Burton bindings, and I actually ride Union Contacts with my Burton boards with a conversion plate to make them compatible with the ICS system. Not everyone does a conversion plate though so be careful what you buy.

If you want to know what I currently have in my quiver here we go: Burton Feelgood 144 (camber), Burton Barracuda 149 (S-rocker for powder), K2 EcoPop 145 (K2 all terrain-rocker), K2 VaVaVoom 143 (K2 jib rocker), and Ride Fever Pitch 147 (camber).

Let me know if I can help any more :-)

Posted: 24 February 2012 12:30 AM

it’s crazy how much technology there is in the snowboard industry. I’m primarily a wakeboarder so I’m still trying to figure out all of the snowboard terms and which would be best for me. The hybrid camber seems to be the one for me. I’m all about progressing and learning new techniques. I really am open to any board, any brand. 

The neversummer infinity and the ride omg sound best from these options. Maybe the lipstick
but i just don’t know if i want to get locked in to burton bindings in case i want a different brand board in the future. If you could have any hybrid camber what would you pick?

What are your thoughts on bindings?
How do you go about choosing the best ones as in what qualities do you look for?

Posted: 24 February 2012 09:58 AM

You’re right, Burton do try to tie you to their brand with the ICS system, but you don’t have to ride Burton bindings with it necessarily. Some of the binding manufacturers make conversion kits which allow you to ride a normal set of bindings - Union, Drake and Forum to name three. There are lots of people who’ll tell you that riding non-Burton bindings on ICS is a bad idea, however I say if it works and you’re not putting yourself at risk with a botched setup, then go for it. As I said in my last post, I ride Union Contacts with my Feelgood and Barracuda. You can usually pick up the adapter plate from a stockist who sells the bindings, but it’s always a good idea to make sure it’s going to work first - i.e. go to a shop that stocks the Lipstick and then ask if you can try mounting a Union binding. If it locks tight to the board then I’d say you’re fine.

However - you’re also considering the NS and the OMG, where you wouldn’t have that issue. :-)

There are SO many bindings out there - and they’re less gender-specific than boards, so the choice is huge. Union are my favourite brand at the moment - they make some really good looking, lightweight, performance-orientated bindings. I have the Contact CMYKs, which I not only ride with my Burton boards, but with everything else too. They’re versatile enough to put on my Va Va Voom (which is effectively a noodle) and also on my Eco Pop which is the siffest board I own, and they perform all over the mountain. I’ve also heard excellent things about the Force, and my b/f rides the Contact Pro and loves them.
Other bindings - I’ve ridden Burton Lexa and Cartels, Ride Beta LE’s (a few years old now), and Flow - but wouldn’t recommend Flow as although the rear entry system is a good idea, I didn’t particularly like how it works in practise.
I usually pick bindings on reviews, because it’s really difficult to walk into a store and say ‘I want a binding that does X’. To be honest, I also look at what the pros ride, cos lets face it, if its good enough for them to do all the stuff they can do, then surely it must be ok for me?

Hmm - if I had to pick a set up?? Probably the NS Infinity, with a Union Atlas binding - the bindings get great reviews, plus being a girl, I can say that either the purple ones or the black/bright green would both go awesomely with the board!
BUT don’t just go with my opinions….

Posted: 24 February 2012 11:37 PM

snowkat701 - 23 February 2012 11:40 PM

If you’re looking for camber between the feet, and rocker from just outside the bindings, you’re looking for hybrid camber. The boards from your selection that fit that profile are the Lipstick, the NS Infinity and the OMG. The Spinster is the opposite - rocker between the bindings and camber under the feet. The Gnu is full rocker. The LoFi can either be full rocker OR camber (they do two models).

Just wanted to throw out a correction so that KEETERSKEETER has the right information when she goes to make her purchase.  The NS Infinity’s profile is rocker under the feet and camber outside each foot.  If you want a better explanation KEETER, you shoud go to Never Summer’s website and check out their description of their R.C. tech.

Posted: 25 February 2012 12:36 AM

Thanks @portlandpete don’t worry! I’ve been doing plenty of research beyond this. Even though it’s not what I said I wanted I am still open to the rocker between the feet. I do think I’m leaning more towards the OMG though.