Intermediate all-mountain board

Posted: 01 February 2011 11:59 PM

Hey guys,
Would really appreciate some input on getting a new board! Currently i’m riding a 6 year old burton air 153 which I’ve had since day one of snowboarding. It’s fun for jibbing about in the piste and in shallow pow, but once i get up to speed it feels like it’s going to implode, and in deep powder i have to lean waaayy back or it’s submarining. I think part of the unstableness I’m feeling is that I’ve ridden quite a bit of ice (yes NZ, I’m talking about you), so the edges are completely rounded (never been sharpened). But it’s also quite short and soft.
So, I’m after more of an all-mountain board. Would like to shred some varied terrain and good pow at decent speed without constantly feeling like I’m about to wipe out and die. Maybe the odd jump. Definitely love the *deep* powder, but thinking of getting a fish specifically for that.
I think I’ve honed in on one board, but still unsure about the length. The Amplid Paradigma seems pretty awesome. I’ve been riding maybe about 50 days in total over 6 seasons, so guessing I would be considered an intermediate rider? Definitely prepared for something stiffer than the air, but maybe not like the custom x, UNW8, burner or any of that level. My pick today stands between the Custom and Paradigma.
I’m a real lightweight at 170cm and 55kg (yes, male :) so not sure what length i should get. Thinking 156, but maybe a 153 would be better for my weight? Just worried that it might be unstable at 153, considering my current board is that length. Know of any other board that might fit the bill?

Very grateful for any help on the matter!

Cheers!

Posted: 02 February 2011 12:34 PM

Hi Mikael,

For hard icy slopes like NZ I think you’ll get the best edge grip with a fully cambered board. For your level the Custom X might be overkill. In terms of flex I gather the Paradigama is situated somewhere between the custom and Custom X. It’s a firm board for seat of the pants all mountain riding. Tobi aka Zoryfl owns one so he can probably give you the run-down of the Paradigama it’s pros and cons. As far as float in powder, the directional all mountain shape that both boards use isn’t bad in fresh powder, but as soon as you get them into powder with a slight crust anything with camber that isn’t tapered just wants to nosedive. However, if you are buying a fish for pow days then there’s no real need to incorporate rocker into the board unless you want to start playing on jumps. With regards to the fish board, check out the Atomic Banger, it’s got a nice poppy camber and grippy quadraxial glass that means it holds an edge well and dives in and out of turns. Float in pow is great and it’ll cost you a lot less than a Burton Fish or the more versatile Malolo. If you go for the Custom you’ll have to go for a Burton pow board if you want to use the same bindings… joys of ICS.

Rich

Posted: 03 February 2011 11:52 PM

Rich, thanks for the response!
Did some reading up on the Atomic Banger, and it does indeed seem like an awesome board! Will probably get that instead of the fish if I manage to get to Japan next season. Just went this year and was *struggling* on my burton air, leg constantly burning, but still soo much fun in the pow! But definitely a powder board for next time if I can afford it.

But for the home slopes of northern europe where the deep stuff is more rare, think I might go for the Paradigma 156, hoping that’s not too long for me. Although I just found the UNW8 153 for slightly cheaper, so not quite sure which is the better choice?