Intermediate All-Mountain Board

Posted: 16 January 2010 12:55 AM

Hi

Thanks for a great site with loads of information!

I am looking for:

  [*] Board
  [*] Binding
  [*] regular straps
  [  ] fast-entry system (Flow/Cinch/..)
  [  ] Boots
  [  ] Other

Measurements:

  Body height: 184cm / 6ft
  Weight:  83kgs / 183lbs
  Shoe size: 44 EUR (10.5 US, I think)

  Riding level:

  [  ] Beginner
  [*] Intermediate
  [  ] Advanced
  [  ] Expert

  Riding style: (multiple selections allowed)

  [*] Piste   [ 65 ] % (I just love going fast as hell down a well-prepared groomer!)
  [*] Powder   [ 20 ] %
  [*] Park   [ 15 ] % (I go to the park late in the afternoon to get the feel of the first grab or 180/360)
  [  ] Rails   [  ] %

  Price Limit:  [ 450 ] £

I’ve been looking around and have found/been recommended the following boards:

Bataleon Enemy (though I think the design is boring! Dunno if Omni or Disputed is better, or if they are too Freeride-Jump-Off-A-Cliff-Pro for me…)

Burton Mayhem

Flow Merc

Forum Raider

Salomon Ace

and the Nitro Blacklight from your “Board Selecta”

I don’t know which one, if any of these, I should choose and are definitely open for new suggestions.
I could use some advice on board length and width as well please :)

I’m willing to pay a fair bit of money for the board + bindings as I only use it one week a year on average and therefore plan to keep them for a long time! Meaning that it has to be a board that is durable and one I can advance on…
On the other hand, it’s my first board and I’m not a pro, so it doesn’t have to be the absolute best there is.

Phew, that was quite a mouthful aye? :)

Thank you for your time!

Posted: 16 January 2010 02:11 AM

Hey there Kronborg, thanks for the props first, much appreciated!

The Enemy looks like a pretty stiff ride to me, probably a bit too stiff for your needs, but you better wait for what the experts have to say about that.

The Nitro Blacklight is a great board, without any question, I just don’t know if it’s within your price range? You can’t go really wrong with this deck as it is a really nice allmountain freestyle ride! Oh and yeah, it’s mid-wide which would be rather good for your boot size as well. I’d probably grab the Blacklight in 163 as you are around the same height but around 15kg heavier than me and I ride a 159.

Boards like the Salomon Ace with 252mm at 160cm length could be a bit narrow..

Bindingwise check the Union Force which is a great allround binding. Beside of the Force you could have a look at the Nitro Blackhawks and the Ride RXs.

Cheers Tobi

Posted: 16 January 2010 01:49 PM

Howdee Kronborg,

Welcome to the Snowboard-Review forum!

I was having a good think about a suitable board for you, this morning. I think the Blacklight is a good choice, quite advance, but definitely a hard charger and the mid-wide width is going to be perfect for your 10.5 feet. Another deck I thought you should check out is the Volkl Cashew 162. Rockered profile and the powder convex base make this board a freeride and freestyle killer. I’ve just put together an article with the help of some riders on the Freeride World Tour. Aline Bock is dominating the girls tour on a cashew.. and that terrain is insane.. she loves the cashew. Right got to roll, but I’ll be back with some more ideas and some thoughts on bindings.

Rich

Posted: 16 January 2010 04:17 PM

Thanks a lot for your quick replies, looking forward to hear more from you Rich.

A thing that’s been on my mind is: What are your thought about Burton? You hear a lot about them, they must have a massive advertising budget, and I have no doubt it’s a great brand, but perhaps that is also the problem with them - they are just too big a brand, and I wouldn’t be surprised if many boarders out there choose not to ride Burton because you get the feeling that everyone else in the resort does…

That said, I still think the Mayhem’s design is awesome, and I like the specs of it…

Posted: 16 January 2010 11:48 PM

My opinion on Burton is the following: Burton did a hell of a lot for the snowboarding community and helped snowboarding grow as fast as it did.
I share the concerns you have, that Burton is like not really core anymore and just a big greedy company. Don’t know exactly about it but I really like the idea of companies like Amplid which produce and test their boards within a small radius and do not outsource the production to some asian countries as Burton is (if I’m not mistaken?) to save some bucks. And Burton still added up the bill..

They are still creating some great decks and technologies and maybe it’s just me but supporting the real core and smaller brands like Contract, Amplid, Ellis,.. gives me a good feeling- appart from the fact that not every second dude on the mountain is riding the same deck you are.

Posted: 17 January 2010 03:01 PM

Nothing wrong with Burton, they’re great boards. I agree with Tobi, there is quite a bit of resentment towards Burton as they creep closer and closer to becoming a corporate uber company.. but I own 2 rossignol boards so it would be hypercritical of me to say that you should opt for more core brands. Of course it would be nice if everyone bought from small brands, but you got to agree that Burton do a lot of good for snowboarding… half the contests on the planet and half our media wouldn’t exist without the financial supprt of Burton. And if they were truely evil, Terje wouldn’t be riding for them.. think 1998 olympics!

Just had a look at the Mayhem, looks great. Directional shape, medium flex and a sintered base. Perfect for eveything you want to ride. My only issue with Burton is that in Europe they’re not really representing great value for money right now… but rest assured they’re good boards. But you will have to put up with every other rider on the hill sporting the same deck!

Posted: 19 January 2010 07:37 PM

Thanks again for your comments.

I’m currently looking at a package deal with used 2009 Nitro Blacklight 163 with Nitro/Raiden Machine bindings for around 350$ incl. shipping. Is that a good deal, or should I rather go for a new 2010 model?
I don’t have simple access to mountains (Denmark is FLAT!), so I will probably only ride the board once or twice a year for the next 5 years or so…

Posted: 19 January 2010 07:45 PM

THat looks like a pretty damn good deal.

Nitro Raiden bindings are pretty handy and there’s little difference between the 08/09 and 09/10 Blacklights. For $350 that’s a serious setup! Just be careful on the import tax, bringing stuff into the EU from the states can be a nasty little suprise.

Posted: 23 January 2010 06:32 PM

Great with all the advice, much appreciated! :)

I ended up buying the Nitro Blacklight 08/09 in 163 Mid-Wide from a German outlet (saves import taxes and shipping fees) and Burton Mission bindings at the local snowboard gear retailer.

Can’t wait to go shred the groomers, get lost in the snowcovered woods and fly in the park!!! :D

Cheers!

Posted: 23 January 2010 07:54 PM

Good choice on the new snowboard!
Enjoy your rides on the mountain and don’t forget to tell us how it went afterwards.

Cheers

Posted: 11 February 2010 10:30 PM

Hi again

So I’m back in one piece after a thrilling trip to the Dolomites!

The Blacklight was an absolute killer! REALLY glad I followed your advice! It was definitely the right size for me and it was perfect on the groomers - I rode the fastest I’ve ever ridden, and even on the flat transport pistes I didn’t lose to much speed (a problem I’ve been dealing with a lot in the past). I didn’t get to ride off-piste much and couldn’t find anyone to go to the park with me (I went there with only skiers, so what can you expect…) but then there’s all the more reason to get back out in the snow later on!

The Burton Mission bindings were great, but I did have a few problems with the buckles messing up the plastic straps so it couldn’t get as good a grip to tighten as when they were in mint condition, but I guess that can be fixed by replacing the straps. Once I got them set up to fit my boots, they were awesome!

All in all, thanks again for your great advice, and a great site with all the information you’ll ever need to become a better snowboarder!

Cheers to ya!

Oh, I almost forgot, after seing roughly 50% of all boards being various Burton decks, I was all the more satisfied with my Nitro! :)