Nuff 0 Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 Hello all, you have a great forum here. I've been reading it for few days now and there's lots of useful info here. Like the poor credit card facilities in Niseko which will save my ass. I'm preparing for my trip in March to Japan. Two weeks of are dedicated to snowboarding and I'm planning to visit Zao Onsen, Nozawa Onsen, Shiga Kogen or Hakuba, Niseko and I'm purchasing all of my gear right now. Before I've always used rentals and it was a hit and miss. The boots were always wrong, too much heel lift and cramped toes, and I was never happy with the board/bindings. Frequently I had experienced toe drag which followed by a crash. I mostly do all mountain with maybe 5-10% park and I enjoy boming down the mountain. I do green and blue runs. Very often the green runs are in between blue ones to give my (left) leading knee a bit of a break, since it has seen 3 reconstructions. I might do few jumps here and there with frequent crashes. All of my riding until now was in Australia (aka Ice). It's going to be the first time I'm going ride any powder and I'm wondering what my board choice should be. I'm 184cm (6') tall and 84kg (185lbs), but on a good day I can be as high as 90kg (198lbs), I would say that I'm progressing quickly to intermediate level or maybe I'm already there. I've pretty much set myself on a 2010 Lib Tech Travit Rice board. But I'm undecided if I should get 157cm board, since it's going to be easier to manouver. But I'm not sure if it will float on pow with my weight. Especially if I get heavier. The sales guy told me that I will be fine. But I'm not so sure about it and I'm thinking about getting the longer 161.5cm board. What do you guys suggest? Cheers! Link to post Share on other sites
HelperElfMissy 42 Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 Is that the Lib Tech Power Banana? If so, being a rocker board you can actually get away with a slightly shorter board than normal for the POW. What you need to work out Nuff is what you want to do with your board, where you want to ride it, for how long and whether or not you can afford more than one board. I rode a board that was probably a little too short in Niseko 2 years ago, but I needed it to be that short (chin height to me) to give me the control in Aussie Ice while I learned and progressed. This past trip I upgraded - I went for the same camber and ride style in a board but longer - bridge of my nose height - still not a POW plank, but better in the powder without having so much change that it meant I couldn't control it on the groomers. Papa on the other hand spent the big bucks on a dirty great POW stick and is it is true love. However he also has a 2nd board suitable for groomers and Aus conditions. Did that confuse things? Link to post Share on other sites
tripler 0 Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 I'd go for longer than you imagine. People seem to have no problems controlling 172s round tight trees. And in open powder, the longer the better. I'll be trading in my 165 wide board for a 172 next one I buy. I weigh the same as you but I'm 10cm taller. But height is pretty irrelevant, it's all about weight. A couple of times on POW this season I'd definitely liked to have had a few more inches. Link to post Share on other sites
HelperElfMissy 42 Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 Originally Posted By: tripler ... I'd definitely liked to have had a few more inches. uh-huh.... Link to post Share on other sites
Jynxx 4 Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 I'm 60kg tops and I ride a 157 cm. I'm considering something longer for a dedicated powder stick. But no full rockers for me. What are you getting tripler ? Link to post Share on other sites
tripler 0 Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 that people often seem to be advised to go shorter than they should. A board can be pretty long before it has any major disadvantages. Though I must say when I borrowed a 180cm, that wasn't much fun on groomers. Link to post Share on other sites
Jynxx 4 Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 Which 172 board are you thinking of for your next one ? Link to post Share on other sites
Tex 3 Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 Yah ditto, get the longer one 4.5cm is hardly a big difference anyway, just get the length you can handle and 161.5 you should handle fine... Link to post Share on other sites
tripler 0 Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 Originally Posted By: Jynxx Which 172 board are you thinking of for your next one ? Lib Tech Skunk Ape BTX or Snow Mullet. They do another board (Skunk Ape MTX) in size 180 and 190. Strangely the recommended weight for the 190 is less than the 180, whereas for their other boards heavier = longer. Thought it might be a typo but it's on their own website as well as retailers'. Can anyone explain the reasoning behind a longer board for a lighter person? Link to post Share on other sites
blu 3 Posted January 24, 2010 Share Posted January 24, 2010 Mine is a Burton Custom 161.5 - a reliable all/any mountain board. But not as good as a 167 would be on some days. A good does it all choice. Link to post Share on other sites
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