better for novice to practice on, camber or rocker? freestyle or freeride?

[marvs 0]

First an intro about my level>

I am a pretty much beginner snowboarder, just started this season but I could say I am already in novice level since I can do linked turns on beginnner level slopes even at considerable speeds (I still fall sometimes though) and I'm still trying to learn Turns on intermediate to very steep slopes, still falling a lot.

 

That said, I've been crazy on wanting to buy my own snowboard and I've done researching on my own and almost everyone says for beginners/novices, rocker boards and/or freestyle boards are best since they're forgiving, light, blah blah so you wont fall a lot and easily execute turns. Basically the idea is you will appear that you are able to "board" at higher level than your actual level. Kinda like the board assisting you so you are less likely to suffer from your mistakes. Thats what I think anyway.

 

But the question is this, isn't it much better to learn using a traditional board (camber and/or all-mountain), kinda like learning the hard way, learning to turn using a less forgiving, board etc etc, learning the basics and proper techniques without assitance from your equipment. Then afterwards when you get better, everything else gets much easier no matter which board you use?

 

What do you guys think?

[Tubby Beaver 209]

TBH I don't know, I learnt using a cheapo board....that way if I broke it then no harm done!!

[Oyuki kigan 0]

Here is some free advice from an instructor

 

Make it easy on yourself. You will fall less and have more fun. Which is the point. Besides, dudes in the Olympic halfpipe were riding rockers in there. Its not cheating.

 

PS The 'hard way of learning' is on an alpine board

[Jynxx 4]

I dig your line of thought. I am on my 3rd season, and I started my first 2 days on a Salomon rental board, 151 with a setback stance (meaning the center of the binding is setback from the centre of the board). The great thing about this board was it was so easy to change my stance angle and I found a comfty duck stance for me.

I rode my own board from then onwards, first board being SantaCruz Fusion TT 151, what's called an all mountain freestyle twin tip, centered stance. The difference was amazing. I also widened my stance. I was into switch riding and stuff and hitting pipe-like sections of the side of the runs. I also have a Rome Vinyl 151, a slightly tapered directional twin which my missus loves and rides exclusively. She rides it with a half a inch setback. This is a nice board, does everything very well including powder, easy in mogules, too.

Then on my second season, I bought a 157 Salomon Burner, a freeride board with an inch setback, and I ride that most of the time. Reason? So much more stable at high speed and ice. Takes pow well, too. Talking about pow, I will look for a powder board and THAT will be rockered .

As for which technique is better, easier, I don't think that is the way to think. I think it's about "feel" and hence, it's comes down to where you ride, how you ride, and what you wanna do with it. I don't think there is a all in one board.

When you ride a longer board, you cannot slide out your tail and you will learn edge to edge weighing. This is essential in my mind to have control on higher speed. I ride the camber boards because I like having longer effective edge and I will need a longer rocker board to give me that if I were to go to steep icy places. The marketing goes the other way, you can ride a shorter board when you go from camber to rocker, blah ..