A bit lost, so long post.

Posted: 01 September 2010 05:30 PM

Hi fellow riders, and thanks in advance for any advice.

I’m one of those older farts you see on the mountain.  42 years.  5’9”  155 lbs. 
I learned to board in Vermont in the mid-90’s which was pre-kids, and rode a burton asym-air 154 with 3 strap bindings.  Lived there 3 years and probably rode 15-20 times a year.  Back then I’d have considered myself an intermediate carver.  After Vermont, we had kids and I rode 2 or 3 times a season for a decade on that burton, and while I loved the board, I always wanted to have something that I could learn to ride switch on. 
So 3 years ago I bought the Lib magne-traction in 156 and new boots and bindings, and went to Vail for a week.  It’s wider and a bit stiffer than the old burton, but lighter.  Besides being out of shape at altitude, I didn’t love the board.  Last two years riding on our local hills with hardpack, crud, and ice, it was easier for me, but I still don’t love it.  It feels slower edge to edge, and while it carves great at speed and locks on in ice, it’s not flickable.  If I were stronger, or better, or riding faster. . .

So, being one of the lucky guys (whose wife makes a great living), I figure I will sell it with all it’s 10 or 12 days of easy riding, and buy something more suited to me.

I’d like a board that will carve a decent turn at medium speeds (meaning nobody in NC or Virginia ever passes me on a blue slope but a few do on the blacks) let me learn to ride switch (at slow speeds!) and maybe try a 180 or such off baby sized jumps. 

I have no aspirations to ever exceed a 360, and may never manage that.  If I ride a rail, it will be one of the toddler ones you see the 5 year olds learning on, and I’ll spend a lot of time riding easy stuff with my kids.  I’d like my next board to feel quicker edge to edge than the lib mtx.  The lib is close I think, but still a lot of work for me.  Maybe too wide?  Or too stiff?

Oh, I’ll probably be riding 6-8 days east coast a year, and a 5 day trip out west each year now that the munchkins and wife own their own boards.  (Just bought my wife a Rossignol Justice.  We’ll see how she likes it.)

Any thoughts? 

Thanks,
Todd

Posted: 01 September 2010 09:20 PM

Hi Todd,

Welcome to the Snowboard-Review.com Forum.

Ok just need a couple more answers to best help you.

* What’s your current Lib Tech board? And board length?

* What size feet have you got?

Cheers

Rich

Posted: 01 September 2010 11:08 PM

Hi Rich,

All the board says is Lib Magne-Traction.  I realized after I posted I bought it 4 years ago.  It’s black with a green wavy blade sword on it.  Length is 156.  I suspect it’s one of the original Magne-Traction boards. 

I wear size 9 boots and am set up around +15 in front, and +3 or +6 in back.  Less then +3 hurts my right knee.

Thanks,
Todd

Posted: 01 September 2010 11:41 PM

Hi Rich,

I just checked.  It looks like I have board #41 out of the original run of 500 Magne-Tractions Lib made.  Know of any board collectors who might want it :)

I’ve been reading a lot today, I think my problem really is that the board is too stiff, for me, for the kind riding I’d like to work on.  I can carve the lib at decent speeds, but I really can’t ollie it or “butter”, and I can on the Burton.  Time to hit the gym probably.

Todd

Edit:  From my reading, the Never Summer Evo-R in 153 or Nidecker Blade in 154 seem like options.  Would these be easier to butter, & looser and more playful at slower speeds than my 156 Magne?

Posted: 02 September 2010 10:10 PM

Wow an original Magnetraction! Those boards are cambered too, I can imagine its a fair bit stiffer than the reverse camber versions coming out of the factory these days.

Personally I think if you’re after a board for carving you ought to be looking for a board in the region of 157-159, going smaller isn’t necesserily going to make the board softer, I’d choose the right length and type of board and then narrow down the flex options. I think you could be on the right track with the hybrid reverse camber options.

Ok so here are some options for boards that will meet your requirements:

Rossignol Taipan - So we’ve recommended the Taipan to quite a few people this past week. The Rossi 4.4k base is super fast and the AmpTek profile loosens up the ride and directs the pressure of carves as the start of the effective edge and through the feet. The raised nose and tail profile makes carve initaiation easy as pie and forgiving for giving some freestyle tricks a bash. I’d look at the 156.

Signal Omni - A similar board to the Taipan from a different brand. I think this board really works in the park, Tom really like it on the groomers too. The use of Triaxial glass should keep you on a solid edge.

Nitro Addict - This is a newbe to to the Nitro lineup and personally I reckon it’s got the cleanest graphics of the whole lineup. The board uses biaxial glass and a composite wood core which means it’ll be fairly soft flexing. It also uses the Gullwing camber which is much like Never Summer’s RC technology.

All these boards are going to be around a 5/10 on the flex front. I reckon your old Magnetraction cambered board is probably a 7/10, as my cambered Rossi JDub is firm and an 8/10… I’m guessing it’s not as stiff as that.

Do you have experience of rising any other boards? How did you get-on with them?

Posted: 02 September 2010 10:48 PM

Oh just thought, you might also like the Arbor Element RX . Rockered profile makes the board super nice in powder and easy to carve and butter around on the pistes, it’s probably one of the most easy going all-mountain snowboards on the market. To erradicate the loss of grip from using rocker, they have used an unblended maulti radius sidecut, it’s like a toned down Magnetraction. Awsome wood topsheet too!

Posted: 02 September 2010 11:20 PM

Fantastic info Rich, thanks for all that information.  I read all the reviews on those here and at Shay and Angry snowboarder.

Reading through everything and thinking about this, I realized that if I ride the Lib where it’s comfortable, I’m down our local hill in 2 minutes and have time for a 3 course meal before my family catches up.  I’m also exhausted by it and probably need the meal time to recover, LOL.
So I expect I’m going to be focused on learning to butter, ride switch better, and maybe even jib for the next few seasons.  I can already carve like a Euro-F@g in a one piece powder suit.  Even so, my board guesses weren’t too far off based on what you recommended.

That Signal looks awesome, a lot like the Nidecker Blade, while the Nitro is a lower cost Evo-R from what I can see.  The Rossi may be a bit stiff I think, given I’m becoming more of a wimp as I get older and fatter.  My current weight should drop to 150 by opening day, which is another reason I was thinking shorter.

I can find:

2010 Signal Omni in 153 or 156 for $290
2010 Nidecker Blade in 154 or 156 for $319
2011 Nitro Addict for $350
2010 Never Summer Evo-R in 153 or 155 for $410.

If you re-assess based on me being out of shape, 150#, and planning to focus more on just playing on the hill, which of those would you get?  Or are they all good choices? 

Thanks again!  Your advice is far more insightful and logical than what the sales people around here can manage.
Todd

PS/edit)  No other boards than the AsymAir 154 and the Magne-Traction.

Posted: 02 September 2010 11:34 PM

Easy on the Euros… I’ll be living in Austria from November. I’ll have to dust off my one piece and bum bag (Fanny pack in the States) and start putting sun cream on my forehead so I don’t get a red patch from having a gap between my hat and goggles… actually on second thoughts, that’s the look out there:-)

I think if you choose and of those boards you’ll have a good time. I’d still suggest you go for the boards around 156.. I think you’ll appreciate the extra length when you get a dump of pow, you’d be kicking yourself if you only had a 153 with you! Talking to Arno the head of R&D at Rossignol at Ispo in February he’s designed the Taipan for exactly what you’re after a snowboard for developing your freestyle skills without sacrificing on the cruising performance, it’s also softer than the 7/10 suggests. As long as you like the look of it, I wouldn’t discount it.

To be honest it sounds to me like the 156 Omni is a great fit… and at $290, well, that’s a damn good price.

Posted: 03 September 2010 01:36 AM

Was only said in jest, one piece powder suits have their place.  I’m never at that place, but I know it exists. 
Half the guys I used to go riding with were on Tele skis, and I was usually the oddball, although my Marmot shell and fanny pack did fit with the tele crowd. 

Thanks again for the advice, I’ll sleep on it a day or two and let you know what I go with.  Think I should put the Lib on ebay?  It’s in embarrassingly pristine condition.

Todd

Posted: 03 September 2010 08:40 AM

Dunno about eBay to sell the board…  unless you put local pick-up it’ll probably be a bitch to pack and ship.

Sounds like you are well on your way to getting a new deck, but I have a challenge for you!

By the end of the session I want you to hit a 360…  flatland, off a cat track, whatever…  I will join you in that challenge, I can barely hit FS 180s on flatland so I have my work cut out for me as well.

What do you say? :)

Posted: 03 September 2010 03:28 PM

Fair Challenge Reloader, and I’ll give it a try.  It’ll inspire me to keep going up to the gym on our third floor and running.  On top of that, we’re having dinner with some friends tonight where we’ll plan at least one, and possibly two trips for this winter, and the season passes at Wintergreen should go on sale soon.

After I posted yesterday, I’d pretty much decided to order the Signal Omni, but then read one more test of it where they mentioned it has a really wide stance.  And the boards specs on their website confirmed it.  The narrowest stance was 22”, and I’m most comfortable at 21 or so.  Being +/+, that one inch makes a difference to my creaky right knee. 

That was a bummer, but it put the Rossi and the Never Summer back at the top.  Loved the Rossi graphic and hated the NS graphic, like the Cam-Rock concept a little more, but couldn’t get past the 7/10 stiffness on the Rossi versus 4/10 NS, so I pulled the trigger on the NS. 

The Justice I ordered for my wife was a 2010 too, because it said it was a 5/10 stiffness and the 2011 has a 7/10 rating.  Might be silly, but I can’t see putting a complete beginner on a reverse camber board since it’ll feel squirly running strait, and love the Cam-Rocker concept for loosening a board up and helping in powder.  Even my daughter’s Chicklet and my son’s Chopper have a little camber. 

So much for brand loyalty, huh.  Burton/Burton/Rossi/NS.  I know I didn’t buy one of the 3 boards you initially listed Rich, but I did buy one that could be a first degree cousin to them and your advice was really great.  Very much appreciated!
Thanks
Todd

Posted: 03 September 2010 03:40 PM

Hey, no worries, it’s been a pleasure to help. And the Never Summer Evo is a top board, it won our king of jib competition this year and it’s certainly no slouch on the whole mountain.

Funny you should say about hitting the gym, I’m not the biggest fan of exercise for the sake of exercise, I’d much rather play soccer or at least do something that inadvertadly means I’m exercising. However, I’ve started running 4 miles 3 times a week. tell you what it makes a hell of a lot of difference, my legs are feeling much stronger than last year. What with running and cod liver oil tablets I reckon i might be able to do a whole season on the mountain!

Have a great season and be sure to let us know how you get on with the new board.

Rich

Posted: 06 September 2010 02:37 AM

Hey Rich,

I have a question for you.  I’m getting the NS, and it’s probably going to be the only board I ride unless I drag the old burton out on a poor coverage, so I was planning to sell the Magne-Traction.  My friend heard that and asked why don’t I just sell it to him.

He’s a total beginner.  5’10”, and around 230lbs even though he’s not really fat.  He’s the guy you don’t want to get hit by in hockey since his forearms are the same size as my calves.

Anyway, would the Magne-traction be a reasonable board for him to start on, or should he rent?  Oh yeah, size 11 shoes.  If he’d be better off renting, I’ll put the board on e-bay.

Thanks,
Todd

Posted: 06 September 2010 10:59 AM

Hi Todd,

I’ll be honest with you, I think you’re best-off putting your Lib Tech Mag on Ebay. Your friend is going to need a board in the mid to late 160s (cm) length-wise. I’m sure he’ll need a wide board too, to prevent overhang, and like you said he might want a board with a slightly more forgiving flex, although I’m sure your Mag would be like an elastic band under your man mountain friends feet.

If he’s planning to hire, I’d ring ahead to some shops and makes sure they have a board big enough for him. If the hire shops where you are, are as dire as they are in Europe you’ll probably have to try a couple of shops before you find a suitable board.

Rich

Posted: 06 September 2010 10:04 PM

Hi Rich,
That’s pretty much what I told him, but I wanted to confirm it before I listed the board.
Thanks,
Todd