Powder boards for girls!

Posted: 31 October 2011 02:34 PM

Hi everyone,

I’m having a difficult time trying to find a suitable powder board. Mostly because of my stature - I’m female, normally ride a 145, 5’6 and 55kg.
So far I’ve looked at the 149 Malolo (even though it’s not made any more, have managed to find one), 158 Jones Flagship, 154 Charlie Slasher, 150 Fishcuit and YES Pick Your Line.

I’m going to be out in Switzerland venturing into the backcountry this year and want to buy a tapered board thats great in pow but also won’t give me a really hard time on piste - for this reason I’ve discounted the Fish as everything I’ve read on it says it can be a bit of an animal on groomers. It won’t be the only board I have with me so it doesn’t have to be great in the park or switch etc. My current quiver doesn’t have anything that can cope with deeper lines, as I found out in Tahoe last year.

I’m concerned that if I buy something too long compared to what I normally ride I’m going to have problems turning it quickly. I’ve also read in more than a few places that you’re supposed to downsize for a powder board - not really something I have an option to do.
From some of the reviews I’ve read here and on the web, it also looks like since some of these boards are designed for guys they’re quite stiff - one of the comments on the Jones Flagship was that it comes up as an 8 on the Burton scale (the stiffest female board is a 5).

Any advice or suggestions on alternatives or your own experiences with any of these would be awesome.

Thanks
Kat

Posted: 02 November 2011 08:39 AM

Maybe take a look at the Roxy Ally BTX.  Banana profile has really good float in the pow and magnetraction is the shit on hard pack.  Plus it goes all the way down to a 139 and being a womens brand will have more accurate flex ratings then a mens board.

You do not have to buy a mens board, even though they make 4x more boards for guys you can find something proper in the womens lines.

Posted: 02 November 2011 08:44 AM

Oh, another one I was looking at…  Salomon Idol.  Has a cross profile profile (you read that right) which sounds eerily close to my Salomon Answer Wingtips profile which is killer all over the mountain and in the pow pow.  Plus it rocks the ghost core which I’ve heard is sick light which again should help with float.

Posted: 04 November 2011 04:23 PM

Switzerland… so you’ll be riding more bowls, steeps and rocky terrain than deep tree runs?

Tapered boards are really suited to riding tighter trees, deep snow and terrain where you need to keep afloat even when the terrain gets a little flat. For big bowls and couloirs you might want a longer directional board. Taper can get a bit sketchy on super steep and fast terrain, particularly those without camber. Having said all that… there’s no board I’d rather take out on a general freeride day than my 164 Rossi Twilight. For performance on groomers I would make sure that camber runs through the majority of the boards length. A nice early rise nose and the taper will give you all of the float you need. Adding loads of rocker in there too is just overkill, particularly in Europe.

Rich

Posted: 05 November 2011 10:32 AM

Thanks for the replies!

I actually had a Gnu B-Street a couple of seasons ago, but found that the MTX didn’t really sit well with me. It felt like the board wanted to hold the edge longer than I did… I also prefer the feel of a flat or camber board. It may psychological, but with all the rocker in it I was always worried I was going to wash out at high speed.
I’ve had a look at the Idol - there aren’t a huge amount of actual reviews out there, so will have to go and check one out at a store.
My current boards are a K2 Eco Pop 145 for most days (replacing my now sadly retired Feelgood), a Ride Fever DFC 47 for park, and a K2 Va Va Voom 43 for messing around in fridges. I was debating whether to use my old Rome Vinyl for freeride - it was the board I learned on, and a 152. Some bits ive read recently say it should actually be quite good in powder, but thats moatly from the manufacturer. Sine it was way before the whole rocker movement hit the stores, it’s fully cambered. Compared to my usual, do you think this is a big enough step up on a full camber board to take into powder, or am I going to struggle with float?

Thanks
Kat

Posted: 08 November 2011 07:42 AM

If the Gnu B-Street is MTX then it had magnetraction only, no rocker…  BTX is the banana/magnetraction combo.

If you are looking for a powder board I would still point you towards are rockered deck still…  it sounds like you will be taking a few boards with you on your trip so having a dedicated pow board will help you be prepared for most conditions.

Just tonight I was watching a Ride Guide program on TV, couple of folks hitting up some cat ski and heli ski operations in BC.  The snowboarder was rocking a Skate Banana in the backcountry, hitting pillow lines, slicing trees…  it was becoming too much snow porn I had to turn off the tv.  Needless to say that board is all rockered and he looked like he was having a blast cutting those lines…  for sure I would rather rock a rockered board then a camber board in powder.

Posted: 09 November 2011 11:28 AM

I’ve been doing a lot of “research” (in other words watching a lot of videos on YouTube - now can’t wait for holiday).
My other half actually has a Joystick from a couple of years back which is full rocker, and probably good for me to ride in powder as its a 54. I’m going to give it a go at the dome before we go but I think that’s going to be a good option, and save me a few hundred £.
Thanks for all your advice!

Posted: 09 November 2011 11:34 AM

Yeah… I see your point but it isn’t built for freeriding. The only benefit of rocker is that it offers great float. You won’t have a long and grippy effective edge or chatter free control in lumpy snow (and Switzerland gets tracker out fast so you’ll want that). Any board will work in deep snow if you remove the camber it’s whether the board works in less than perfect conditions. Also you haven’t mentioned your shoe size… with a Joystick you could be getting underhang which will be as responsize as a riding a door. I’d advise against buying a long freestyle board and using it as a freestyle board, it won’t do you any favours in the long run.

Posted: 15 November 2011 06:18 PM

Contrary to what you may have heard, and what I assumed, the Burton Fishcuit isn’t really designed for smaller riders. Yes, it’s a 150, but it’s been designed for those people who like to jib and bonk about in powder, plus people who want to go through tighter tree terrain but don’t want to lose the float of a 156 or larger Fish.  But I see that a lot of shops are pushing it to women.

If you’re looking at men’s boards, then, as you mentioned, Capita’s Charlie Slasher in a 154 might be ok (though the WW is a touch under 250). It doesn’t seem like the board for steeps and couloirs, more for the powder and terrarin found in America’s pacific north west, but it gets a lot of love from owners. Though I’m not a fan of the graphics. The base I can live with, but the claws to the otherwise matt black top sheet look cheap.

Posted: 15 November 2011 06:24 PM

Milly, are you sure you’re not working for Capita these days?

Interesting info on the Fishscuit!

Posted: 15 November 2011 06:30 PM

Hah! Nah, but I am converting people quite quickly through loaning out my BSOD! The Charlie Slasher has a good price for a niche board and people absolutely love them, but if I was after a powder focussed board, I’d be going for the Fish/Barracuda.

I just get stoked on gear that clicks for me and try to shar emy experiences with others - same thing happened with StepChild’s Headless Horseman last year! I’m sure 2013 will have a new board and brand to rave about!

Posted: 15 November 2011 06:41 PM

I just thought your sales contract with Stepchild had come to an end and you were pedalling Capita!

No it’s cool, if you’ve got good experiences of a brand then that’s what the forum is all about, sharing that experience. I just feel bad for the poor brand that creates a board you don’t like.

Posted: 15 November 2011 06:48 PM

That would be Imperium. Horrible HORRIBLE boards that feel like doors with some paint thrown on the top of them.

I think it is rare for a board to be absolutely awful, but they somehow managed it.

True, I don’t care for the graphics on some boards, but that doesn’t mean that they are bad, just that I’d have to get a full length diecut to cover the top sheets and just live with the base!

Posted: 15 November 2011 07:11 PM

Really Imperium not floating your boat… which board did you ride?

I’ve been itching to get on the CITY Series… looks so clean and classic.

Actually poor old Imperium has had a bit of a hard time of it recently. Demir Julia who was the man behind the brand originally ended up having to sell it to Brands United a Belgian Sports Store company. I’m not sure they have the same vision for the brand that Demir did. It’s a shame because his orginal vision for the brand was really cool. I remember doing a season in the three valleys in 05/06 and there was so much hype around the brand. At the time shops were only allowed to sell boards to people who could ride.. and were good. Perhaps that’s where the business model fell down. I’d like to see Demir back in charge of a brand again though… he’s a super nice guy and his heart is 110% in snowboarding.

Posted: 15 November 2011 09:24 PM

Hi Milly - I’d been looking at the Barracuda (not that you can buy a 149 in the UK)!! :-s

Does anyone have any experience with it?

Posted: 16 November 2011 12:00 AM

Rich, it was the 2011 Imperium Desperado II.  But it’s been about a year since I tried it and have demoed/borrowed/tried out a whole host of different boards since then, so my thoughts may change if I were to try a new one, but my god it was bad, and nothing since then has felt anywhere near as plankish (technical term).

Kat - over at another forum I go to, there’s a thread with 200 replies, starting from demoing boards in March through to the Chinese production boards (with a number of replies focussing on it being chinese made). But the overall consensus is that people love it, comparing it to a Malolo but that it’s slightly softer and even more of a resort powder board, rather than a backcountry weapon. But Kazu Kokubo and Stephan Maurer seem to be using it a lot, so that might give some confidence.