Need some 2 cents on getting a deck and bindings…

Posted: 08 January 2010 02:45 AM

Hi gents,

Been reading a lot of the reviews and responses on the website so I thought I might try and ask some questions to maybe steer my purchasing decision.

First my stats:
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 160 lbs
Foot: 10 US
Experience: Beginner - Intermediate
Riding: All-Mountain (little to no park)

My background, I was riding till about over 5 years ago…  would get out a handful of times a season.  I lived in South-Eastern Canada which meant riding a lot of crap.  Got to the point where riding down a hill of ice was no fun so I packed it in.  Sold everything except my awesome boots and my tuning gear.

Fast-forward to today, late last year I moved out to the Canadian Rockies and live 10 minutes away from Lake Louise Ski Resort.  Looking to get back into riding and have already been out once and the itch is back.

I had an opportunity to ride a 2010 Rossignol One-Mag a couple of weeks ago.  It was a retarded-busy day at the resort (never, EVER ride Louise the weekend after Christmas…  you have been warned!) and it hadn’t snowed in a couple of days so it was hard-packed and icy on all the runs I could tackle.  The board was amazing once I could initiate a turn…  it wanted to rocket down the runs and the flex was a bit too much for me.  A great board, but out of my skill level as of now.

Started researching on the Internet a few weeks ago, focusing on Magne-Traction.  Found Mervin and their lines, Lib-Tech and Gnu.  What a disaster it’s been now throwing reverse-camber technology in the mix!  Holy crap the game of snowboarding has changed!

Sooo, here is my pickle.  I haven’t found a reverse-camber board to demo, yet.  Fingers crossed in the next few weeks I can track one down.  I like the “talk” of reverse-camber tech, no catching edges, easier turns, more forgiving ride…  but if I can’t find one to demo it would be a little nuts to buy something I’ve never tried.

What are your takes on this new technology?  My price range is limited, looking at no more then $400 CDN so it’ll cut down a lot of the field I believe.

Also I stumbled upon Flow bindings, what are your takes on their system?  They have some nice prices on their intro FLITE line but again I’m having difficulties tracking them down locally…  a lot of the shops are low on stock after the holiday sales and not restocking anytime soon.

Any advice is appreciated…  it all seems to be a love-hate thing with the camber/reverse-camber debate, I hope this thread doesn’t turn into a flame war.

Thanks!

Posted: 08 January 2010 09:38 AM

Hey there, welcome to our forums!

Concerning the rocker tech I advise you to read through our Basics Guideline where the rocker tech is described at the bottom.
There, you will also find explanations about the different types of rocker-camber-hybrids.
“R.C. is an alternative, not a solution!” (even though some brands are talking different..)
Going after your description I would say that camber is the one to go with, for you. Even though if there is pretty much pow at Louise you should have a look at the powder rockers with a rockered tip and tail for better float.

Could you tell me what conditions there mostly are out at Louise? If it’s hardly anything else than hardpack and ice you are definitly going in the right direction with magnetraction.
Can’t help you much with which of the LibTech’s is best for a beginner to intermediate, though.

Concerning Flow, my opinion is that there are some nice pairs in the higher price range of their bindings. But only there..
And in general, I don’t really like the Flows, I’m just not okay with the disadvantages.
I would stay with old-school ratchets from brands like Union, Ride,..
If you are looking for Fast-Step-In, check out the Apo Expresso or the K2 Cinch.

Hope this helped a bit, cheers
Tobi

Posted: 08 January 2010 03:12 PM

Yeah Tobi is right regarding the bindings, I’m not a massive fan of Flows, they just don’t hold your foot into the binding quite like ratchets, I guess it’s comparing slip on shoes with lace-up shoes, you’re always going to get a snugger fit with lace-up shoes. With bindings, the snugger the fit, the better feel and response… two things which will impact on your gears performance. So if you’re keen on the rear entry bindings for speed, go for the K2 Cinch, APO expresso or look at the new range of SP bindings. Personally I don’t think the 10 second time saving is worth the fuss.

Boards wise… I think a biaxial all-mountain freestyle board is going to be the most progressive board for you at the minute, maybe look at the Artec Novus or the Signal Boron. If the conditions hard pack quite a bit, then you might want to look at a light triax board like the K2 Podium or Ride Antic, it might also be worth checking out the Burton Guru, medium/soft flex, directional shape and a slight taper which will help you get to grips with off piste powder. If you fancy going for a rockered board, I think the board to look at is the GNU Carbon Credit series. With rocker and magnetraction, you should have plenty of grip for crusing around, you might sacrifice a bit of charging capability, but turn initiation will be easy, and I think the Carbon Credit represents great value for money. Another board to look at is the Endeavor Guerilla, based in Vancouver and run by ex-Wildcat pro Max Jenke, this board is great value for money, perfect for stepping up your skills.

Hope that Helps

Rich

Posted: 12 January 2010 02:42 AM

Thanks guys for the great responses and feedback, I knew this is the right place for my post.

As for the conditions at Lake Louise it’s mostly always packed-powder on the green and blue runs that I can tackle.  We haven’t had a big dump in a few weeks and just coming off the tail end of the holidays has really packed whatever is left down.  I’m looking to head out to Kicking Horse soon which is in BC and I think boosts the 4th highest vertical in Canada and I believe has had more powder lately.

Thanks for the info on the Flows, I agree with you Rich that the extra time for the better fit is worth sitting my arse in the snow.

I’ve had my eye on the Gnu Carbon Credit however doesn’t look like any shops offer reverse-camber boards for demos…  if I can’t try one I won’t bother buying it, period.

You guys also gave me another great questions to ask…  should I go with a twin or directional board?  I most definitely ride regular 80-90% of the time yet I don’t think I’ve ever ridden a directional board, I’ve always been on a twin, weird.  I would like to progress to park stuff, however I know this season I just need to get back into riding so I doubt I will get into any jumps and rails anytime soon.

I will research more of the models you guys suggested, I just really wanted to say much thanks so far for the input.

Posted: 12 January 2010 10:56 AM

OK, found a local dealer for Artec in Banff…  perhaps my next demo will be the Novus.

Some more snooping and I found a sweet priced Arbor Formula deck for under $300 US online!  It’s entry level stuff but I don’t know much about Arbor, any takes?

Posted: 12 January 2010 02:57 PM

Don’t know anything about the Formula but Arbor generally make some serious boards! Almost any of the Arbor riders I talked to totally sweared on their decks. Of course such thing is very very subjective but it’s definitly not like Arbor makes bad boards. It’s the other way round!
Still, you better find someone who can tell you some more about the Formula..

Posted: 12 January 2010 03:21 PM

As you’re spending 80-90% of your time crusing in one direction, I’d say you’d probably benefit from riding a slightly directional snowboard, especially if you’re going to be attacking the wilds of kicking horse. Directional boards are more likely to be able to handle any chop post powder day and a longer nose will help you get to grips with powder riding. A directional flex with a slightly stiffer tail and softer nose and a slightly setback stance will be fantastic for piste cruising and off piste merryment.. providing you don’t go too directional you’ll be fine off kickers and in the pipe.

Had a look at the Arbor Formula.. looks like a nice package.. progressive tri-radial sidecut should help with turn initiation and should respond well to aggresive riding once you’re skills get a bit more polished. Extruded base is nice and easy to maintain. Basically seems like a good early intermediate deck. Funnily enough, Arbor snowboards are now made in the Elan factory, so yeah they’re put together well and should have a decent warranty. Handsome graphics too! I don’t think you’d go too wrong with this deck… I think they make it in a 158.. that’d be spot on.

Rich

Posted: 18 January 2010 01:00 AM

The Artec dealer doesn’t demo their boards, only LTD boards.

A buddy of mine out here is into Salomon boards which the same dealer stocks…  on Monday I’m gonna try to wheel and deal for 2 decks and bindings, they are really overpriced compared to online dealers however I would like to support local shops and have a place to service my deck if I have issues with it.

On Tuesday I’ll be hitting Lake Louise in a Salomon Ace 160 rental, same board which my buddy wants…  I’ll keep you posted on the purchase and the ride.

Posted: 18 January 2010 08:41 PM

Nice one! Yeah keep us posted. Definitely a good move, supporting your local shop!

Posted: 20 January 2010 10:35 AM

OK, no riding at Louise this week. The girlfriend needed a better jacket so we are holding off until next week to hit the mountain. On a nutty side note I bought a pair of old Flow Pro-S FS bindings from 2003! They are banged up and slightly on the heavy side however the price was too good to pass up on it.  Also my buddy picked up an 08 Salomon Drift so I’ll have to see how low I can get them to drop the price on the Novus just for me, fingers crossed.

Posted: 29 January 2010 09:26 PM

While I lay on my couch sore and with a cold I think this is a perfect time to update my situation and thank everyone again for the awesome advice.

2 weeks ago I walked into my local Artec dealer shop and walked out with a Artec Novus 158.  I slapped on the Flow bindings and this week went to Kicking Horse AND Lake Louise back to back (hence the soreness).

I must say the Novus is a solid board.  Just the right flex pattern to help me link turns however it holds a steady line like a champ.  There is hardly any board chatter on ice…  only on the crappy frozen groomers of Louise did I lose my edge.  Hitting a little pow in Kicking Horse the board helped me stay on top, however I haven’t really ridden any epic powder to know exactly how it will act.  I think it would be a great all-mountain beginner intermediate board for most riders and I am very happy with my purchase.  I will add a full review latter on once I have a few more days under the decks belt.

Now Rich, I shouldn’t have ignored your warnings on the Flow’s…  I absolutely HATE the bindings.  I ride with a wide stand, 24” or so…  unless the ground is perfectly flat I cannot balance myself on one foot long enough to get my rear foot in.  If I try to sit my arse in the snow and get my foot in I’m shit out of luck as well because the design prevents me from pulling the hiback out of my my to get my boot in.  I see where the design is coming from but it doesn’t work for my setup.  I tracked down some Salomon Relays which I’ll pick up in a couple weeks.

I must add a plug for Kicking Horse as well.  Epic resort with the 4th highest vertical in North America I believe.  Being a novice I hardly touched all the terrain the resort has to offer.  I went with my friends to pretty much the top, spectacular views and some of the most insane double black diamond chutes I’ve seen so far.  I would recommend Louise over Kicking Horse for a beginner due to more and bigger green runs however for expert riders or those seeking a less crowded scene Kicking Horse was amazing.

Thanks again for everyones input and safe riding this season.

Posted: 30 January 2010 12:43 PM

Hi Reloaded,

I’m stoked you’ve found a board you like. The Novus is definitely a great deal, glad to hear it’s living up to your expectations.

So you’ve experienced the baffling conundrum which is finding the point of Flow bindings! Glad to hear you’re trading up for a pair of relays. A nice forgiving and snug binding which should do you well.

THanks again for posting, enjoy the shred,

Rich