Help buying a freestyle/Park board.

Posted: 06 January 2011 01:09 PM

Hey guys,

Last year i did my first ever season in Whistler and of course i’m hooked, for the season i was riding a Capita Indoor Survival FK 154, Burton Cartels and Rome Libertine boots.

Now i absolutely loved the board, and would happily go and buy another one for my next season (this time it’s going to be in Banff) but considering it is the only board ive ever ridden i thought i would do some research first. My riding style is i guess freestyle, i love just using natural terrain to do jumps and spins, i love buttering, quite a fan of drops and i hit up the park quite a bit, generally just hitting small and medium kickers and very basic boxes and rails, I might progress into more jibbing but for now im definitely way more jump/buttering orientated.

These are the boards that have appealed to me most, i’d love some feedback and i’m more than happy for any recommendations by any brands (these are my three favourite brands though):
Capita Indoor Survival FK
Bataleon Airobic
Stepchild Headless Horseman

Also with the bindings i really liked them but i think id like a more stiff binding overall, as soon as the cartels loosened a bit throughout the day i just felt way too sketchy.
All help appreciated guys.

Posted: 07 January 2011 03:37 AM

Hey Enfilade,

I’ve been riding the Headlesss Horseman for the past 6 months and reckon it’s the prefect choice for you. The slight rocker profile will help you with jibbing and buttering and the bamboo core will give you the strength and pop for hitting kickers and stomping big drops. I’ve used mine for everything from freeriding in 7ft of fresh, to hitting 60ft kickers, fs boardsliding kinked rails and I even took it in the superpipe today…......and was very pleasantly surprised. Good luck finding one in the shops though!!

With regards to bindings; Salomon Chief are wicked (very tight, responsive and comfortable) and Rich is digging Drake Super Sports….......I’ve also been hearing lots of good things about Union bindings.

Best of luck,

Tom

Posted: 07 January 2011 04:37 AM

Thanks heaps for your advice Tom,

So you would definitely suggest it over a Capita board? It’s going to be hard to leave the brand, they’re just so damn cool. Also do you think for the style of riding i’ve told you i do that Union Force bindings would suit?

Thanks again, Karl.

Posted: 07 January 2011 09:30 AM

Welcome to the forum!  I used to live in Banff, living in Calgary now…  unfortunately a rough season for the Big 3 so far, not a lot of snow and temperature has been kind of warm.

Another board to add to the pile would be the K2 Fastplant…  has a jib rocker profile and bamboo core, perfect for freestyle but wouldn’t be a bad board all over the mountain as long as you don’t go too short with it.

I’ll be getting my hands on a 2011 Salomon Answer in a few days, more all mountain with it’s stance and shape however it too has bamboo for pop in the core and even sidewalls.  Will post a review on it once I ride it a bit.

You have a few good shops in Banff too.  I like Rude Boys, very chilled guys and good stuff.  Unltd is good too but pretty pricey I found.

Good luck in your search. :)

Posted: 07 January 2011 09:39 AM

I couldn’t agree more, if you want to look at alternative brands to Capita then the K2 Fastplant is the bananas (nothing to do with Mervin Bananas). I’d also look at the Amplid Dopamine, it’s got the right shape for park and a slightly firmer flex than most freestyle boards for all mountain performance.

Steve - Picking up a Salomon Answer!!! Damn I really wanted to test one of those. I’ve heard so many good things about that board. I saw an interview with Josh Dirksen, probably the most chilled and inexcitable man on the planet and he was talking about the Bamboo they use in the Sick Stick core ~(pretty similar core) and he was visably excited talking about it. It must be good. Definitely looking forward to the review. Nice to see a return to camber!

Posted: 07 January 2011 09:58 AM

From almost selling my gear to getting another deck, how fortunes can turn in a few months lol.

Have some serious hookups with Salomon thanks to Sportchek, couldn’t refuse getting a new deck.  The Answer looks pretty dope, I was thinking hard about it cause I’ve enjoyed rocker so much but I read a review that the tips are raised early so it’s not as twichy, something which I found in the Novus.  We’ll see, we badly need some snow in the rockies though…  BC is stealing all our pow! :)

Posted: 07 January 2011 10:06 AM

Tell me about it! We haven’t had any snow for about 10 days now and the last time we had significant snow was in the middle of December. The park is all set-up but with temperatures for the last week ranging from +1 to -25 it’s as hard a concrete, I’ve been wearing my helmet every day! And the worst thing is, we had over a ft forecast a couple of days ago for the start of next week and now that has changed and we’re due nothing.

If you’re listening big man, send Steve and me some snow. I hear the big man upstairs is an avid reader of Snowboard-Review.com. He’s also pissed that we can’t decide on a new logo and haven’t sent him any stickers:)

Posted: 09 January 2011 03:40 AM

Thanks for all your help guys, although i totally love Capita i think i should try something different and takes Tom’s advice of the Headless Horseman. Hopefully i can find one somewhere online mid this year for a bit cheaper, i’m coming over for the 11-12 season (i live in Australia and still have quite a bit to save.) What are the big 3 like? I’ve only experienced Australia ski fields and Whistler/Blackcomb.

One thing ive definitely decided is this time around myself and the boys im coming over with are going to get night jobs so we can have any day free to ride, essentially meaning i could ride three times as much as i did in whistler.

Also sorry to keep bugging you but is there any boots you would highly recommend for my style of riding, just keeping in mind unless you highly suggest otherwise i want lace up boots, they just felt much better to me.

Thanks again, Karl.

Posted: 09 January 2011 04:07 AM

Oh, thought you were here already…

Riding in the Rockies is nice…  from Banff you can easily hit several resorts, Norquay is just outside of Banff (less 10 min car), Sunshine is the next maybe 20 mins by car.  Lake Louise is up the road, 40 min…  Nakiska is probably 50 min towards Calgary and Kicking Horse is 1 hr 30 min.  Like I said lots of choice.  Snow is variable, we don’t tend to get the epic drops that Revelstoke and Fernie see due to the mountains.

Boots wise sounds like a softer flex would be your ticket.  I really like the look of Burton AWOLs but I have yet to try on a pair.  Vans makes some sick soft boots and Nike is all the rage this season.  Best bet is get in a shop and try on a whole bunch.