What Board.

pmccormack

Hea Guys,


Recently got into snow-boarding and looking at a month or 2 in the snow this winter. So im looking at buying my first Board.

What im looking for is something that will run well on the mountain mostly but if I were to stay in the park for the day would be ok for jumps and attempting some rails.

Im 6ft, size 11 feet and 13stone.

Just looking for some advice on board length I think i should be looking at 156-158cm and need advice on the width.. im looking at this Board but am open to suggestions.

Also the world of bindings baffles me so any advice on them would be great.

Boots wise I think im fairly set on ordering a pair of ThirtyTwo's TM-two

Any advice would be great as im looking to get some off season Bargains.

Cheers
Paddy

paulharte

Hey paddy,

I reckon you are on the right page with your ideas there. 32's are the lightest boots around and look pretty sweet too! Get the right size... if you think they are prefect, try a full size lower.

Length wise, you are on the right track, if you are looking to get spinny then 156 or so is your man, if you are more into powder riding then 158-ish is better. You would be surprised how much difference length makes. My 153 and 155 feel completely different to ride and spin. You can still ride pow with a shorter board, you just need a bit more leg strength.

I would go for a soft or mid-stiff board for general freestyle. Stiff boards are more suited for eurocarves and riding supermassive kickers.

Bindings are a question of taste, a lot of ppl recommend rome 360s or burton missions. I've yet to find my absoloute fave binding myself, but i like technines.

pmccormack

Cheers for the reply.
Yea it would be more mountain riding for this season I loved the small bit of powder I did this year so def will be In that more this winter.

Cool think I may be in the market for a set up soon then.

One more question in reality how long do boots last ive been told by some that you would be lucky to get a season out of a pair of boots, I would have thought that with the build quality these days they would last alot longer.

Cheers
Paddy

Mitch Buchannon

Hey Paddy,
Im riding a Rome Anthem 153 with the Rome 390 bindings. Ive been using them for about 3 years (3/4 weeks each year) and I cant fault them.

Im only 5'6'' / 5'7'' ish (and a little on the heavy side) and I think the board is a bit long for me to get spinny. I could be wrong as Im hopeless at freestyle:( and most of my mates ride off piste/back country so I tend to head off with them as opposed to heading to a park to learn. Im seriously thinking of heading down to KT or to one of the snowdomes in the UK to get some freestyle instruction. If I do, I'll be on my own so if Im looking at doing something I'll post here and see of anyone is interested in joining me.

Anyway back to the question at hand, the link below should point you in the direction of different types/brands of boards for different things. Paul who posted above is way more experienced than me so he might throw a bit more info your way.
http://www.snowboardlengthcalculator.com/

pmccormack

Cheers
Man ill have a look at the link in the morning

paulharte

this should answer you questions... or possibly none of them... who cares, its class!!

http://vimeo.com/12892332

JoeSexton

I think a standard width board should be just about OK for you.
I would suggest going for a reverse camber/rockered all mountain board.
The reverse camber means that even though the board is on the stiffer side, riding powder will be a doddle and you can have some fun with it in the park.

I would recommend the Burton Custom v-rocker or the Rome Agent 1985.
I mostly do park stuff but my Salomon Grip is amazing in the powder.
If you are on a tighter budget, Sierra Snowboards do their own-brand boards which are based on designs by Burton and other companies.
The Sierra Reverse Crew is based on the Custom v-rocker: - http://www.sierrasnowboard.com/Sierra-Reverse-Crew-Snowboards.asp

As for bindings, I would suggest Rome Targas or Union Forces, both pretty much indestructible.

pmccormack

JoeSexton wrote: »

As for bindings, I would suggest Rome Targas or Union Forces, both pretty much indestructible.

Th Rome Targas are they super flexible ive read about them and they say you can adapt them changing the amount of flex with inserts. Just wondering are they that adaptable and how user friendly is the system other that that they look good and not too pricey

Cheers
Paddy

JoeSexton

I have the Rome 390s, rode them all last season and they are great. I would say they are more of a park binding though as they are really flexy but they'll get you around the mountain OK.
I only rode the Targas for a few hours on a friend's board but they are a bit stiffer than the 390s which makes them better for all-mountain. They are really comfortable and easy to adjust without screwdrivers etc. The Union Forces are quite stiff as well.
With regard to the width of your board, it depends to an extent on your stance angles. I have a standard width board with size 10 boots and my stance is +15
-15 and it fits fine. A little bit of overhang isn't a problem, I probably have half an inch on each side and it doesn't affect me at all.

Snowie

Im 6.1 10.5 stone, and i ride a saipent pnb1 165 with carbon k2 cinch bindings from 2008 delighted....

My advice is choose wisely every one will suggest there own brand or board but it may not be for you.. Instead think of what you want with in your board like my pnb is as stiff as a plank but perfect for my style.

You may want something with thats a lot more forgiving then what i ride on...:)

my other advice would be wait till you get out there theres allways good deals within ski resorts if you look hard enough....

Propa_Paul

If you are gonna be going for a couple of months then its worth trying to get hold of some test boards when you are there. Id much rather risk getting over there and having to ride a rental for a couple of days while I made mates to lend me their sticks or found a shop that has test boards then buying somthing that is just gonna suck for the whole time........ alternatively a lot of the big magazines will do a summer test trip at a glacier resort where you can rock up and test out all next years kit....

phili_g

I got an email last week from Sierra who are having a sale, you can get the Sierra Reverse Crew and a few other Sierra boards for $199.

I bought my Burton Custom V-Rocker for $249 last March and with shipping and customs it came to about €300.

If you spend more than $500 you get free shipping