little help

Posted: 03 August 2010 05:26 PM

hi guys im new here so let me start introducing myself.Bojan from Serbia,now resident in South beach Miamia.im riding for 10+ years,last 5 im ivsi-a instructor on my home resort.this year i decided to use my current location to get some new equipment cause in Serbia u dont have so many choices as here.
my current set up is artec cipher 155wide plus flow eleven bindings and it is a good setup for work and piste,jibbing but i wont to buy something that i can go all mountain, carve better and go powder .cipher is good but its a freestyle board and cant carve as good as i need.
so after reading every all mountain board post here i m still in dark so help me out a little bit
i need all mountain freestyle twin directional board,not to stiff (for example i had flow zen and for me it was to stiff,but it handle so good on carves),it need to come wide cause im size 13.i all ready bought bindings to try on(gnu agro fastec) so it cant be Burton with their ics system.
im 187cm with 82kg,my budget is 400$,wouldn’t like to go over 159 in size if i dont need to
boards i looked so far libtech skate banana,stepchild corporate,gnu riders choice,forum destroyer ,...i dont mind if its an older model!
thx

Posted: 04 August 2010 03:08 PM

Hi Subcrime,

You can Snowboard in Serbia? Oh man, now I have another place to put on my exptic ‘I must snowboard there’ list. So far I’ve got Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Romania, Greece, Turkey and Georgia… and now I’ve got Serbia too. I think there’s a possibility of riding in Croatia… I love livin in Europe… so many places to ride, so many different cultures! Sure sounds like a good idea to stock up on new gear before you leave the US…. sooo much cheaper than Europe.

I’ve had a think about the boards you have listed. If I’m honest they all sound remarkably similar to your Artec Cipher (nice board). If you already have a perfectly good park board, I would be tempted to go for something a little bit more directional and freeride focused, a board you can put on an edge and trust it isn’t going to wash out. My first thought is the Burton Supermodel as it’s flex isn’t too firm, it would be ideal, but I think the waist is going to be too narrow for your feet. I think for a size 13 foot we’re talking around a 27cm waist. Boards I would look at… although a little limited are:

Never Summer Legacy-R - These boards feel great carving, they work into turns easily and then flex at the waist (because of the rocker profile between the feet) which means the turns feel really deep, then you have the cambered tail to pop you out of each carve. Makes turning so much fun. And the 163 has a 26.9cm waist… perfect for your feet. This board is right in the middle of freeride and freestyle capability. It will work in the pipe and off the jumps but I’ve ridden the narrower SL and it’s awesome in the powder.

Nitro Pantera Wide - This board is a mountain destoyer. Cambered profile and triaxial glass for unbeatable edge grip and a setback stance and and slightly tapered shape for float in powder. the 163 has a waist width of 27.2cm… perfect for you. The graphics are very heavy metal! If the Pantera isn’t stiff enough then there is the LX which is a reinforced beast of a board. You can pick up the Pantera 163 @ milosport for $330… bargain!

http://www.milosport.com/NITRO_PANTERA_WIDE_SNOWBOARD_p80680.htm

Finally we have the Arbor Roundhouse - Again, I think the 163 will be ideal, this board has a waist of 26.8 which is still wide enough for a 13 boot. It has a medium flex so you can use it in the park and in the Backcountry and they’ve used Urethane in the sidewalls to help with dampening, so the board doesn’t feel sketchy on hard snow when you are flying! Also very cool wood veneer graphics.

Those are the only boards I can think of at the moment. They’re all-mountain, but definitely more on the freeride side. If you want to ride super fast on and off the groomers, do big carves and fly off big cliffs, these are the boards for you… then take your Cipher in the park.

Rich

Posted: 05 August 2010 12:47 AM

I would add a few more.

Since you’ve been riding a while you can probably tame the Rossignol One Mag 157W.  It’s stiff and aggressive so you’ll rocket down the mountain.

Still with Rossi is the Angus although it’s probably sold out.  Has Amptek which is a rockered profile so more freeriding like the boards Rich suggested. Comes in 158W.

Sticking with Artec you could check out the Novus.  I have it as my all-mountain ride and I like it, nothing really fancy about it but it does the job and is value priced.  You’d probably want the 158W.

I like also K2 boards, they have a lot of features and are priced well.  Most models also have wide versions…  probably the Turbo Dream Wide model will hit more of the all-mountain stuff you want to get at.

And if you can wait a bit I would check out the Rossignol One MagTek.  It will have a lot of awesome tech packed in it and hopefully it’s still priced like last years OneMag was so it will be tremendous value.

Posted: 06 August 2010 03:13 AM

guys thx for the replays ill check all ur suggestions,if u in min time have more off it just write it cause i wont be buying before September,October so we have time.i tend to go on bords that r not so easy to find in serbia(i know im posing now but)and for the overall look and feel of the board,cause i have a good weapon now this is just an upgrade when i have an opportunity.thx and hope to see u all in serbia one day!

Posted: 09 August 2010 08:20 PM

little update,i got my new bindings,gnu agro.i was acctually looking for sp lab1 but in states they dont have it,but this is the same binding(cause they making them in same factory) so will see how he’s gona do.i tried sp 2 winters a go on my snowboard instructors seminar and i liked the idea of fastec technology cause im a long time flow rider,but to be truthful they r not so good for powder(well until like 2009/10 models).i checked boards im lining on k2 for now cause ill always wonted to try k2 board,but arbor sounds good to,well time will tell.thx

Posted: 09 August 2010 08:26 PM

Oh yeah the SP rear-entry binding looks like one of the best options for step-in ease, and you’re right the GNU bindings are made in the SP factory, they just get the cool lib-tech graphics and branding.

Be sure to let us know when you’ve decided on a board.

Rich