Good freeride board / expert rider: Burton, Prior, Jones, Dupraz? Help please!
Posted: 18 September 2011 01:58 AM
Hi fellow boarders, just found this amazing website - forum!
Found it as I was looking for some reviews on good freeride boards… and some advice possibly.
I’m 1.81 - 6ft / 87Kg - 198Lb - shoes 11.5US - 11UK - 46, been rinding mainly a Burton Baron ES 168 great all mountain board, stable at speed, no vibrations, ok on powder and backcountry, but I’m now looking for more performance and float on powder, also getting into heli and more extreme stuff. I like the surfy feeling and I’m also for looking stability at high speed (shooting down slopes occasionally), and of course something that can also land properly when you boost regular airs.
Not sure whether to go for rocker or camber or hybrids - which
I’m not a teenager, I’m an older rider who looks for a comfy ride with NO vibrations as I got a very weak front knee, so it has to be a smooth soft ride like on an air cushion if you know what I mean ;-)
The selection so far is:
BURTON
BARRACUDA 169 (it would have been the Malolo, but is now out of production, shame), it looks like exactly what I look for from the brand I know, but I’m not married to it and don’t mind to change… especially after the die cut shapes on bottom sheet fell apart (out of warranty of course), and it was a Series13!
FISH 164 Love the shape and I know it’ll do the job on powder, for sure. But how about the groomers? And… can you actually land on that tiny little tale? not sure about that.
MALOLO 166 (2010)
Found one on the web at a ridiculous price, graphic’s horrid though! Is it dated?!
One problem with Burton is the EST system: the two little screws worry me.
PRIOR
KHYBER 170 Love this brand and board, nice taper great powder weapon, can ride both directions and looks like it’s also a tree super killer! Graphics amazing and you can even have your own..
SPEARHEAD 172 Here another nice option from Prior, probably more all mountain then the Khyber, dying to test these boards!!!
JONES
HOVERCRAFT 160
FLAGSHIP 168W
Love these boards and I like the man too, appealing brand.. had anyone tried them? They look like the perfect powder + carvin weapons, and love the classic look too!
DUPRAZ
D1 6’ (178)
Here come the French, always different and ever so cool! This is the pure old school mountain surf board, won’t miss the sea for sure, but hey it’s a gamble to take as it’ll be so different from everything else I’ve ever tried before… Probably great second board?
I’d like to know what do you think about it and if you have personal experience to pass on.
Many thanks for reading this post.
Posted: 19 September 2011 02:30 AM
Welcome!
One thing that jumped from your criteria is the NO VIBRATIONS part. Last season I jumped on a K2 board (Turbo Dream) that has a tech they call Harshmellow dampening. After riding a couple of handful of boards that tech is legit and most definitely cutout a lot of the chatter on the hard pack groomers we were riding that day.
Of the K2 boards that have that tech and fit more of your style (powder, surfing-feel, extreme terrain) the Gyrator is up to those tasks. Of the rocker/camber war I tend to like the flat bases for their ability to ride well in a variety of terrain. It’s packed with a lot of solid tech so it’s will be stiff but fast and light thanks to the bamboo core and high-quality sintered base.
On the Burton Fish one of the Absinthe movies showed a freestyle rider hitting all sorts of jumps with it so it can handle the abuse but not sure how it would feel to land tail-heavy on that sucker.
Prior is also a big force in backcountry snowboarding. They design and make their boards in Whistler, BC so they have a killer proving ground for their designs. I’ve had my eye on maybe getting the AMF as a splitboard… super expensive but it’s nice to have dreams. :)
Hope some of that helped…
Posted: 19 September 2011 11:56 PM
Yo Steve,
Thanks for your input. I like the Gyrator, it’s just the graphics…
I know is probably the last point for most, but not for (I’m a designer myself). I find most boards designed for kids, they don’t keep it real: Freeriders don’t necessarily have the same taste as a teenage skateboarder. I’d go for something more classic, wood, tribal… or if you want to try and make it ‘cool’ do better. Problem is that most firm don’t pay for designs, they tend to use students (they come very cheap..) and that’s reflected in the final product. Not for me. If a brand wants to attract a freerider should do better to catch their taste, I hope not to be the only one with this view!
I’d normally go either for either custom graphics (Prior offers this service) or for something more appealing, less black and messy. I’d love to design my own range!
Shame cause Harshmellow dampening sounds good…
Posted: 20 September 2011 03:27 AM
Hi Mr Moon,
Nope, you’re not the only one. I find a lot of graphics a little challenging personally though I think there is some amazing artwork out there. (bit of an occupational hazard for designers) There isn’t much out there for gray haired shredders and maybe to some degree freeriders as a group. It’s a youngsters market and I have no problem with that, but (sigh!) I too would love to put together vintage line for the mommas and the pappas. Maybe one day. Until then, I’m stoked about my teal green Darko’s.
Cheers
Posted: 20 September 2011 06:28 AM
I hear you, as an ex-computer animator I have a hard time watching movies and not finding continuity errors. :)
Probably one of the better brands for design packages is Endeavor Snowboards out of Vancouver. They source the artwork out to true artists in different genres and have some of the sickest sublimated topsheets and die-cut bases in the business. Most of the boards are freestyle but the Live series might due the trick.
Another that popped into mind as a “classic” look is the Rossignol Experience. Definitely a big mountain freeride weapon, it’s Xavier De La Rue stick and he is one of the balliest freerides out there today… insane lines off equally insane faces. Last years model actually looked a little more better actually, I just opened up another window and the base looks retarded a bit… lol, your corrupting me with your sense of style bro. :)
Posted: 20 September 2011 07:07 PM
Hey Steve
LOL… Yeah I have a couple of friends that are afflicted with that one too.
Love Endeavor, always some strong graphics. last years Guerrilla and this season’s NEXT had me geeking out from day one. Both by Rory Doyle. As for the “Experience 10 / 11” Transparent top sheet, visible board structure, thing of beauty… even if they spoiled if with a logo. Yeah I know I’m shallow and superficial but I can’t help it. Hell I’m a one board man for a reason…
Cheers.
Ps. You see, it kind of creeps up on you.
Posted: 21 September 2011 12:36 AM
Steve, you know where I’m comin from.. and glad I’m not the only one making this point. And of course I’m a one board man too. Although planning to try snowkiting (been a kitesurfer too), not sure to be able to kite on a powder board with 20+cm taper ;-)
Rossignol is stilish for sure, quite like the tribal / wood stuff, but I’m not sure about the shapes and tech haven’t really heard any reviews so far?
Has anyone tried any Jones??
Posted: 21 September 2011 12:49 AM
As to whether or not the Fish can handle groomers and jumps, go to youtube and search for ‘Mu and his Fish’ Ok, so Pro’s can shred on anything, but its fun to see a pro doing the Burton European Open’s slopestyle course on a fish.
There’s a lot of internet/forum love for Capita’s Charlie Slasher which is a bit more powder focussed, but apparently can slay it all, while the designs of Arbor’s freeride offerings could appeal.
As for Jones, there’s been positives and negatives over some of their offerings - see the Flagship review on this website - but near universal love of the Hovercraft, with highlights being its ability to charge groomers and then handle anything that gets thrown its way in the powder, darting between trees, on the steeps etc.
But I’ve not ridden any of them, and couldn’t give you a guide as to how they feel.
If it’s dampening you want, you might also want to look into different bindings. My non-EST Burton bindings offer less comfort than my Union Contact Pro’s due to the absence of a full sole cushioning system (Union calls theirs the accelerator i think).
Posted: 21 September 2011 01:11 AM
Yo Milli, nice one, just seen Mu and his Fish… it makes this topic sounds like crap talking, as in the end it’s all down to the individual and his comfort zone and skills! The dude rides the most powder only board in the entire Burton range as a pure freestyle toy!!! Lots of landings on the nose though ;-) I just think landing on that little tale might be a little uncomfortable for a big guy like me.
I’ll have to ready the Jones reviews later on, and yes spot on the binding point. Bindngs are like foot pads on kiteboards, the damp so much on landings and chop… I too have non EST Burton, and in fact back then there wasn’t any anti shock in bindings, and they could certainly make a whole big difference.
What do you ride btw?
Posted: 21 September 2011 08:56 AM
Yeah Mr Doyle smashed the graphics on the Next Series. I think there is only around 5mm of taper on the Next it’s just the natural taper of setting back the sidecut inline with the setback stance… if it was 20cm the board would be a triangle ;) I think you are right though, too much taper probably isn’t going to work well with a kite.
The Jones Flagship and Rossi Experience are pretty much the same board as far as shape and profile go. Jeremy Jones and Xavier de le Rue worked on the shape at Rossignol and when Jeremy left to start his own brand an agreement was made that allowed Jeremy to take the shape he had been working on.
From what I have heard about kiteboarding you need a torsionally stiff board with a long effective edge and a shallow side cut (long radius). I saw a couple of people doing it in Obertauern, Austria last season… they were making it look very difficult!
Posted: 21 September 2011 10:11 AM
Moon,
I’m a snowdome regular so I have a short 154 reverse camber board and have also just picked up a 162 Capita BSOD for groomer blasts and some off-pisted powder fun. That’s light as hell, but I imagine that compared to the K2’s it has absolutely no dampening at all!
If you have the cash of course, you could look into Gentemstick, who are a japanese company that focus on powder boards of all shapes and sizes. The problem is, they cost in the region of £1000-19000 ($1600-2800 ish)!
As for the Burton Barracuda, again this is a board that has got lots of positive feedback, with Kazu Kokubo using it for his part in Burton’s team flick ‘Standing Sideways’ (I’ve not watched it yet). A middle ground between the Malolo and the Supermodel, and its on many peoples wish list. It was on mine, but I wanted the BSOD more!
Posted: 23 September 2011 02:01 AM
Yeah Mr Doyle smashed the graphics on the Next Series. I think there is only around 5mm of taper on the Next it’s just the natural taper of setting back the sidecut inline with the setback stance… if it was 20cm the board would be a triangle ;) I think you are right though, too much taper probably isn’t going to work well with a kite.
The Jones Flagship and Rossi Experience are pretty much the same board as far as shape and profile go. Jeremy Jones and Xavier de le Rue worked on the shape at Rossignol and when Jeremy left to start his own brand an agreement was made that allowed Jeremy to take the shape he had been working on.
From what I have heard about kiteboarding you need a torsionally stiff board with a long effective edge and a shallow side cut (long radius). I saw a couple of people doing it in Obertauern, Austria last season… they were making it look very difficult!
Yeah… def not a taper for kiting and no triangles ;) gotta check some boards for kiting later though, first gotta have to get my first main freeride board as my Baron ES is falling apart now…!
I dig the Jones Flagship and the Hovercraft too, and in fact the Rossi Exp looks like a twin brother. Well done Jeremy to pull out that agreement, it mustn’t be something that easy, especially with a giant like rossignol!!! As I need a wide I wonder if I need to rule out the Hoverc as only the Flagship comes in wide?
He’s split the entire range this year, it looks like the new trend now…
Posted: 23 September 2011 07:34 AM
Width will be no problem. In fact the hover 160 has a slightly wider waist than the flag 168w. Those boards would fit very well with what you you want but you said NO vibrations… Last years flag was pretty chattery, but i think they tried to improve on that in 2012. I have no clue if they were successful though.
Posted: 23 September 2011 11:27 AM
Width will be no problem. In fact the hover 160 has a slightly wider waist than the flag 168w. Those boards would fit very well with what you you want but you said NO vibrations… Last years flag was pretty chattery, but i think they tried to improve on that in 2012. I have no clue if they were successful though.
Dude! ‘chattery’ is exactly what I fear most… or at least what my knee fears most! Thanks for making the point, it’ll be interesting to know how the other boards in my selection performs on it like Prior or Burton for example?
In my experience the high range of Burton doesn’t seem to chatter at all, and this is what I like about them. Any feedback on chatter would be great!
Cheers
Posted: 24 September 2011 10:19 AM
For my 35 y.o. but healthy knees the chatter on last year’s flagship is not a problem, but its there. I felt it the first days (coming from a supermodel), got used to it, forgot about it. But if you have an old injury or particular sensibility… dont know.
I ve never ridden a never summer or the alumafly core burtons but people say they absorb everything. May be wait for reviews of the ‘12 jones models to see if they ve dealt with the chatter.
Posted: 24 September 2011 11:26 AM
Yeah chatter bother my knee a lot. Didn’t have any of that on my B Baron ES, great smooth ride and really want to improve it not the opposite. RE: Aluminium core, I’m not too fond of, tried the T6 once, which was supposed to be the best anti-vibration board in the market due to the honeycomb-alluminium core: it was the opposite for me. In fact being so light in weight was just transferring all the vibrations straight to your knees…
So I guess I’d have to look into medium-stiff boards not ultra light in weight and with goooood bindings with shock absorption.
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