New setup advice for freeridinig

Posted: 01 January 2011 02:37 AM

I’m buying my first new setup in ten years!  I’ve just got back into snowboarding seriously about two years ago.  I enjoy riding steeper stuff, off-piste, powder, tree lines, wherever the snow is best.  I’m trying to decide between a Jones Flagship and one of the Never Summer boards (probably the Raptor). Both seem to get excellent reviews and I’m having trouble deciding.

Also, want to set to get either the Union Force SL or Burton Cartel re-flex bindings. 

My local mountian is Squaw in Tahoe.  Offers alot of steep runs, tree lines as well as some powder bowls.

I’m 6’ 190lbs

Any advice would be much appreciated!

Posted: 02 January 2011 08:04 PM

That’s a difficult decision. Both boards were two of my favourite freeride boards of the board test. It’s hard to recommend one over another because they are both great. For hard carving and fun turns on piste I prefered the Raptor. For lightening quickk response and incredible float in powder it would be the Jones. If you riding is more powder focused I’d go for the Jones… more groomer focused the Raptor. If you decide it’s the Jones you want, it might be worth checking the Jones Snowboard facebook page to check availability as the Flagship has pretty much sold out.