Jump to content

Recommended Posts

BTW, Ippy, can't understand where you are coming from by focusing on weight as the most important factor. Say, for example, three people came into a shop looking for new boards and they all weighed 65kgs, but one was 150cms tall (chubby bastard), another was 180cms tall and the last was 210cms (skin and bones), would you recommend each of them the same board? If yes, you'd end up with two very dissatisfied customers!

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • Replies 59
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Tough to say what question youre getting me to answer here? There seems to be two.

 

Question 1: Is weight more important for attributing someones board size?

Question 2: Does height modify this?

 

So lets answer them as two separate questions since if you try and smash them together youll get something very different from my actual point.

 

The answer to question 1 is categorically YES. There really is no point in arguing this. You find your board size on weight. Your height is irrelevant. The board is completely designed to produce the effect is claims based on your weight. Of course you dont have to take my word on this, just go look at any guide on board sizing and theyll tell you the same thing. More importantly go look at any manufacturers suggested sizing and youll see its ALWAYS in weights and never in height. I think youre going with the whole height to chin model. But everyone and his dog will tell you this is a very inaccurate way of measuring your board size. You may get lucky of course, but it yields spectacularly different results. A 5 foot 8 200lb dude on a 150 who measured up to his chin is going to have an extremely crappy time of things. Likewise, a 6 foot4 lanky tall weighing 145lbs is going to have a pretty dull ride on a 164. what makes it even more fun is that even if they were both on the same size deck, the stumpy dude is getting way more flex than the board should be giving him, and the tall lanky dude is getting much less. The board is effectively not doing what it was designed to do because the people just dont have the right weight to produce the effect. The tall dudes struggling to get the board on edge and the short dude is continually washing out when he gets on edge because theres too much weight for the edges to hold. Their height is playing an incredibly minor effect in all this (there shoe size is of course playing a somewhat largee one).

 

Now for question 2 which is a lot more fun to answer.

 

Does height modify this? I put it this way because i wanted to stress this point. Height DOES modify your board size, but it only modifies it moderately. Of course the more extreme your weight is compared to your height (extremely lanky and skinny or extremely short and dumpy), theres going to be a slightly larger modification. But for the most part this is ballpark on your board size (your board size being that big range between your park size and your freeride size - your pow/back country is an outlier just because theres really no obvious limit to this - bigger is better (unless fast edge to edge is important)).

 

The difference between the two is somewhere around 5-8cms. This again is case by case. The longer you ride the more specific and picky you end up getting, but for people picking up their first board or two its a sound guideline (again, i stress! "guideline"). So when you get someones height, its maybe going to modify that a few cms either way, but its still very much within the range.

 

In this case though, I dont think this dude is particularly huge. What was he? 180cms? So 5 11 and 165lbs. Seems pretty much a slightly trim normal sized dude here. We arent talking a 6' 4" weighing 140lbs here. We're talking someone whos a little taller than me and about 10kilo lighter than me. He isnt looming over his board like its a dinky toy. A 154 is going to be perfect for him. Indeed, i added in the little extra just because you guys felt so strongly that it should be 158. Its not, it shouldnt be. Its 154, 156 if he wants a bit of a freeride lean, and 158 if hes specifically looking for float. But 154 is his starting spot precisely because his weight range puts him from 150ish to high 150s (158). Its a solid place for him to shorten the board whilst not losing too much of his all mountain riding benefits and its a great place to increase the size without losing too many of his all mountain benefits. And remember, this includes lapping park, cruising, hitting up some boxes and all that other stuff the people on this site dont really rate all that much. Its not all about his float or his carving skills.

 

But i digress :)

 

Height plays a factor, but really only in outlier situations. And the reason its only a moderate bump is because the board is designed with the riders WEIGHT in mind.

 

But it IS a massive generality.

 

We did mention both of our counter examples earlier on. You thought the right board for the right weight was too short, and i did the exact same thing but found it too long. And believe me, both of us were given near enough our correct weights - though if youre this dudes weight (and HEIGHT) id have put you on a 153 or a 154 (i wouldnt have put you on a 156 by the way because thered be no reason to think youd honestly need one and in fact it would just annoy you by being a bit too long and cumbersome).

 

But its a guideline at the end of it all. We start with the weight and THEN fine tune it with other considerations (such as the dudes height; what they want to ride; how long theyve been riding; what their objectives are; what size they usually ride; what kind of sidecut the board is running - with things like MTX out there, this actually does impact the choices you can make regarding a boards length - you can shorten your length whilst not sacrificing stability for example; the boards camber profile and a million other little things). But the daddy of all of these, and our starting point is weight.

 

Actually the starting point is really what youre comfortable with. Its like a binding angle. I can tell you everything about what angles are going to work for you and why you might want a nice simple duck stance, but if you like riding +25, +10 and find +15, -9 isnt working for you, then who the hell am i to tell you otherwise. If you find the boards too short, pop it back and try a longer size. If its too long, pop it back and try a shorter one (watch those angles on rental boards in japan though - they always have them at stupid angles).

 

Size is general and ballpark and preference plays a huge part in it, but i do think hes going to feel that when the pow stops and hes stuck on the groomers or just wanting to cruise or lap park, that 158 is going to be a bit long for him. Its not going to be terribly long for him, its just i think theres a more fun and versatile size for him that will let him do it all. Just as you lot insist all hes going to do with 4cms shorter is wash everywhere (hes not) and sink (hes not), i visaulize him tripping over his edge (he wont) and being stuck on a board thats just too boring for him (he wont be). Its not THAT big a deal, but i knew this would happen anyway :) Wed all end up on a massive discussion about the abstracts on board sizing where we all agree that sizing is kinda arbitrary in the end and that really you just kinda find it yourself through a bit of trial and error. But that doesnt help this dude who just wants a straightforward answer.

 

To which i will say 154-156 is the right size for your weight. Actually its more around a 151-155 if you want to be specific, but i guess ill acknowledge a bit more board for the pow. :)

 

 

 

 

Ooooh! ooooh! one thing that is MASSIVELY impacted by height though is a boards stance width. If you have big lanky legs then youre just not going to enjoy riding a shorter board if it doesnt have a decent stance width (though the jury is actually coming out AGAINST the idea you need a nice wide stance width for balance, apparently a few pros (i cant remember who it was) in an effort to be steezy went making a clip of them riding with really narrow angles for a laugh but found it actually HELPED their jibs out more with a narrow width. Its actually a pretty big debate at the moment if you cared about this stuff - i dont to be honest). But i can only imagine that if youre pretty damn tall stance width is going to play a bit of a part in all this. And thats fair enough. Im certainly willing to entertain that point since loads of the people i know on other forums dont half bang on about how wide x decks maximum stance is (even if most people tend to center their bindings rather than open them to the far end of the inserts).

Link to post
Share on other sites

Thank you very much!

 

I am really enjoying reading all the responses, even if i dont understand half of it :p

haha, come join the fun. Tech is awesome to yap about. Its awesome because there's so much bullshit masquerading as information out there, it just takes a while of riding to start really seeing through it. :) Hopefully youre getting that what we're all fighting over isnt really your soul, but rather our own decisions and preferences that we're projecting onto your question :)

Link to post
Share on other sites

FEEEEEEEEECK!

 

Ipps is late to the party. I just saw on trusnow that as of the 24th October Rome Snowboards can no longer be shipped internationally :(

 

There went another brand. :/

Link to post
Share on other sites

I wouldn't put anyone but a midget in a 151! :lol:

 

Its all preferences and at this early stage I truly don't think he is gonna see the difference at all in what board he chooses unless its to one extreme or the other. I guess I plump for 157 as thats what I started on, and after I got the basics and was able to zip the groomers on it I found it too small for float in the soft stuff I was starting to rip. Me being a bit taller and a bit heavier than the OP I would say then that he would be able to use the board for longer than I was able to. He can learn on it no probs without it being too unwieldy, learn to zip the groomers in no time, then when he starts to expand his horizons into the side of the pistes then he'll get the benefit there too without feeling the need to buy a new board

Link to post
Share on other sites

Tough to say what question youre getting me to answer here? There seems to be two.

 

Question 1: Is weight more important for attributing someones board size?

Question 2: Does height modify this?

 

So lets answer them as two separate questions since if you try and smash them together youll get something very different from my actual point.

 

The answer to question 1 is categorically YES. There really is no point in arguing this..... just go look at any guide on board sizing and theyll tell you the same thing. More importantly go look at any manufacturers suggested sizing and youll see its ALWAYS in weights and never in height....

 

This is absolute bull shit. Ippy has a way of complicating things with more words, He is just assimilating infomation from whats on the web, and accepts the manufacturers guideline.

 

It is not weight alone that affects the board. It is the energy. The correct term is Momentum - to make it sound easier, that is Weight (mass) multiplied by Speed (velocity).

If I am 20 % lighter than you, but can go 20% faster than you, I generate the same energy. - that I can transfer to the board. The effectiveness of that transfer is one´s technique, style.

 

 

I have always argued that the manufacturer´s guideline is just that. It is also a marketing aid. And if you are really analytical, you would see that most boards are manufactured for average weight of the people - a bit on the heavy side for me.

Link to post
Share on other sites

The length issue - to have my last word on this is ...

If you are riding mogules most of the time , going shorter 151- 154 is easier to snake thru.

The longer board will change your riding. You will ride edge-to-edge. None of that sliding the tail of the board (buttering)

You will apprieciate the longer board when it gets icy. And it does get icy on piste . So the short board for gloomers argument is crap.

Link to post
Share on other sites

The thing that I would take out of all of this, is that the board is actually the least important bit of kit (don't jump down my throat yet, keep reading and if you don't agree you can attack me then), but the one that everyone is most concerned with. I find it the most exciting item to look for (I mean gloves just don't do it for me if you know what I mean). Getting good fitting boots is probably number 1 priority. If your boots don't fit well it wont matter if you are riding a 142 or a 180 or anywhere inbetween, you won't be having fun. Gloves, good dual lens goggles, socks and good quality base layers (definitely no cotton) are the next items, these will massively improve your comfort on the slopes in all kinds of conditions. Good outer layers are next, with high waterproofing and breath-ability ratings, i wouldn't be buying anything with a rating under 10000mm, 10000g. These items will last you longer than your first board and make sure whatever you are riding, you will be warm, dry and comfortable.

 

As you can see by reading this topic, and many of the other board related topics, it has taken most people on here a while to get a board that really works for them and their riding style. Partly, this is because when you start, you don't know what style of riding you will enjoy most. It took me three boards to get one that I love, but if I took it to NZ I wouldn't pull it out of the bag unless there was fresh snow, or perhaps late in day for some slushy runs, as a 159 Burton Supermodel for me would not be fun on generally icy conditions. I would be going back to my trusty 155 for the bulk of a NZ snow trip in all probability. To be honest, if you do decide to get a board, you don't want to go too short, not for Japan, but anything from 154-158 would be ok. You can always hire a longer, or shorter board to see how much of a difference it makes, this will help in your future board buying decisions.

Link to post
Share on other sites

i accept their guideline because its them designing their boards with an intended use and using their own calculations to attribute a desired weight range that would benefit from said use.

 

Also which part of this would be bullshit exactly? The question was very specific and the answer referenced the terms of the question. If you dont like the answer to the question, or you dont feel its technical enough, then why not ask me the one you decided you were answering yourself:

 

What affects a board more - your weight or the energy you apply to it?

 

I dont believe that was the criteria of the discussion in truth, but well, what the hey! im sure this would be a rather easy to work out and handy guide for most people. Im sure simulating your riding and then working out your speed based on potential friction points in your ride and your mass (times of course gravity) as well as the energy youll be using to generate your turns based of course on how slidy and how much friction you put into those to impact said velocity will be the stuff any small child is likely to be able to understand and thus attribute a workable size of board from. We'll just give you a P range of X+or-10 and that should be us right? Youll know exactly what board youll need for the most effective energy transfer!Its so simple im amazed we still use the olde archaic cartoon like way of giving you a range based on your weight! [/sarcasm]

 

Its a question of whether height impacts your board size more than your weight. It doesnt. Thanks for giving me a physics answer on why it doesnt though (mass being a feature of ones weight and not ones height - although of course if you can push your weight down your legs a bit more in a pump like action you might get a bit more downward force and thus a bit more frict... hang on!).

 

PS. He should be on a 154, dont take my word on this. Go and ask on any other snowboarding site. I guarantee youll get told to grab a 150-154 far more than youll hear 155-159. In fact id bet that most places will suggest something more akin to a 152.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Ippy, The part you don´t understand is this.

You are just stringing words together and don´t know what you are talking about.

That is what my physics professor once told me. haha

You can go back to watching Startrek and pretend that you understand physics.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Ippy, The part you don´t understand is this.

You are just stringing words together and don´t know what you are talking about.

That is what my physics professor once told me. haha

You can go back to watching Startrek and pretend that you understand physics.

Jesus christ jynxx, :/

Link to post
Share on other sites

I have just had a browse through some of the Bateleon boards. Will TBT make much difference for me at a beginer/intermediate level? The boards i have previously rented didnt have TBT. Would I struggle to adjust?

Link to post
Share on other sites

I guess i really didnt know what i was getting myself into when i first asked for help :p

haha, no you didnt. Honestly i actually attempted to send you my original post as a private message precisely so i could avoid this whle massive thread crap. What you should have established though is that we dont agree on your board size :) Try some stuff out and see how it feels, or if you must buy before you try it out, then go get a 154... i mean er, go to snowboardingforums and ask them what you were thinking about.

 

Basically stuff to take on board:

 

1. You can get set up with decent gear. You dont have to go for a package deal and its pretty much best to avoid these altogether. Grab stuff form a couple of seasons ago on sale.

2. Ebay sellers dont usually give a crap about international restrictions.

3. The board youre probably wanting is a medium-soft flex (thats mediumsoft not medium TO soft). In a 1-10 scale these are around a 4, but these scales are usually even less helpful than size charts - if you thought sizing was a can of worms, wait until you get to flex :p)

4. Arguing on the internet at work when you have nothing to do and are killing time is awesome. Arguing at home when you could be doing anything else is lame.

5 You probably also want a camber board in truth. A few people on this site have some relevant and decent experience of hybrid cambers, but nothing beats camber for getting those fundamentals down (though i have a bit of a thing for flat camber at the minute (which means im inadvertently passing that off to other people)), still i think it gives you a nice balance for niseko pow whilst also not causing you too much shenanigans when you ride in AUS... and offers a nice alternative to camber/reverse camber decisions).

6. The person advising you always inadvertently passes off their preferences as fact. Take everyones advice with a pinch of salt and get as many opinions as you can before you lay down your cash.

7. If you can demo or rent to establish some preferences, then demo or rent. If you really want to know what size you like yourself then nothing beats trying on a few different setups. Just beware of how theyve set up teh bindings.

8. As with EVERYTHING its all general ideas. Some people believe that if you arent given every minute detail of something then youre clearly being fed bullshit, but often marketing is just shorthand. Its catchy for sure, but it has a function and that function is to take masses of complicated information and make it meaningful to someone who doesnt want to understand everything about their piece of kit. Its right to be cynical, but most manufacturers are trying to explain their kit in a simple way so you can make sense of it. They arent trying to ALWAYS obfuscate (though of course they sometimes do - go look at the millions of buzzwords for reverse camber out there). The language isnt standardized and nor are the testing methods so its sometimes complicated to get your head around it. Keep a degree of cynicism, but dont get paranoid because someone didnt explain that their flex rating is actually not based on a universal independent and verifable flex criteria (for example) but an internal in-house scale.

9. In repetition of the point above: its all general ideas. Nothing tells you your preferences more than just strapping in and riding. Everything in the guide i posted above for example is to help you get a starting point for your own research, its not the final statement. Likewise, the question on your board size (which some might be amazed isnt in fact the overriding question from your original post but in fact a massive and unnecessarily long winded abstract pointless debate on sizing in general), is just a starting point. Try a 158 and a 154 if you can. If you cant then youre not going to get a definitive answer here because i aint budging... And i doubt the people questioning why i wont budge arent either. So youll have to just hunt down more advice im afraid and then piece it all together yourself. :) But if size was based solely on weight then manufacturers would just give you a single size for a single weight. They dont, they give you a range and they do it for good reason: we all have different preferences. Its a GENERAL guideline (i hoped i had stressed this enough times throughout, but maybe i didnt :)).

10. I bet you didnt think snowboarding was this geeky :p

Link to post
Share on other sites

I have just had a look at the browse through some of the Bateleon boards. Will TBT make much difference for me at a beginer/intermediate level? The boards i have previously rented didnt have TBT. Would I struggle to adjust?

 

No. You wont really have your preferences locked down anyway. Theres not much to break. Really its people that have been riding camber a while that find it a bit odd.

 

TBT just raises your contacts. It gives a looser ride when youre flat basing or pressing/buttering (and is honestly cheat mode when you want to learn switch), but when you need to ride on edge you get nice quick edge to edge (something people actually assume to be the opposite), and a really stable locked in ride. Unlike with reverse camber and hybrid camber decks one of the neat things is you still get awesome pop and the board doesnt get bounced around so much by chop and terrain (which i find my indoor does - though its kinda bouncier than my airobic if not poppier).

 

I dont like to egg the pudding on Bateleon though because some people just dont like the boards. And im not talking about people who look at the tech and think its dumb, i mean people whove ridden it and found it... weird. But for me, the day i strapped in my airobic (in niseko last year by the way) i spent the rest of the day grinning my ass off - it just kinda clicked right away - so i dont really understand why they dont like it :)

 

Of course not being a park rat, the airobic is arguably the last choice bataleon board id want (but it was the only one i could get nice and cheap to korea at the time), so i took it. Nevertheless where it blew me away was in its liveliness and stability. TBT is a freaking great choice if you want to take the risk, and something like the evil twin is going to be a really fun board for someone to start out on. I really think they deliver what theyre attempting to do (which is a board thats loose and playful when you want to muck about, but solid and stable when you want to blast). Ill no doubt post my impressions of the riot once i get a good few days on it just to confirm one way or the other on how i feel about TBT... Hopefully we'll also get some opinions on the omni too :p

 

Heres a slightly negative review of The Jam from last year to balance out my happy clappy koolaid chugging fanboyism

 

 

 

Bataleon Jam 161. Ridden with both Union Contacts and Burton Cartels. I'm assuming everyone knows the story with Bataleon and Triple Base Technology. If you don't' date=' swing by their website to see and hear their description of the tech.

 

I got pretty detailed in this review, so if you get bored, just skip to the last paragraph.

 

A quick about me to start:

 

Intermediate/ Advanced rider, around 6'2" and 215#. I'm not really into the park. I'll pass through it on the way to the lift, maybe pop off of a couple hits and slide a box or two, but it's not really my thing. I'd be happy if I could always find fresh snow in the trees.

 

My first impression of the board isn't all that great. It feels loose, and not in a particularly good way. Once I get a little speed going, I don't notice it so much. 'Catch-free' is an understatement. I never really felt that cambered boards were at all 'catchy' so this board feels very slippery. If you are riding flat based, the edges are not contacting the snow at all, so it's like you're standing on a saucer sled. When I'm on a long traverse or carrying through a spot that flats out, I tend to apply just a little bit of pressure on my toe edge to hold my line. I can't do that on this board. A little bit of pressure is not enough for the edge to make contact. In fact, this just rocks the board toward the side base a bit, and you have less contact with the snow, and the board has more of a tendency to slide around on you (typically the tail starts coming around backside). This is something you have to get used to with this board, and it took some time for me. When I fell I didn't fall while riding at speed, I fell while riding flat based in situations where I wanted to just lean on an edge lightly, but not actually start into a carve.

 

Ok, so that's the big downside for me. You're either on edge or you aren't. There really isn't anything in the middle. You can't just check your edge a little bit. Besides traversing, I realized that I tend to check my toeside edge when landing jumps, and that doesn't work too well either. My technique was to go lightly to my toe edge, then come heelside to slow/ see what's in front of me. Now, sometimes I go lightly to my toe edge, then come straight down onto my face. Maybe the issue is that I have bad landing technique, but I really can't do it the same way on this board.

 

The other downside of this board for me is the effective edge length. The effective edge on Bataleon boards is a bit shorter than comparable boards of the same size. This board is already on the shorter side for me, plus a shorter than average effective edge makes it less stable at speed. I knew this when I bought the board, so I can't really consider it a fault, but it is something to keep in mind if you're looking for one. If you're not sure of which size to go with, I'd recommend sizing up. This board rides shorter and won't hold as well as many comparable boards at the same length.

 

My first positive impression was how well this board floated in powder. Now it isn't going to replace a pow-specific tapered board, but it certainly does a better job than traditional camber. I really saw the snow flying out and away from my front foot, instead of coming up over the contact points and piling up in front of my binding. I was skeptical that a few millimeters would really make a big difference, but it did. This helps a lot in the trees, where I sometimes end up plowing the nose of my cambered board under. I can keep my weight more forward on this board without worrying about the contact point catching, digging under, and getting me all jacked up. You can still initiate turns with the front foot in new snow.

 

The lack of stability while cruising flat based isn't at all noticeable when you start laying down some carves. On edge, it feels good (minus the issue of short effective edge). When you start going from edge to edge, you notice a little bit of a rolling sensation as you go from edge, to side base, to flat, to side base, to edge again. It's not a big difference and the transition is very smooth. I actually kind of like it. On a flat board, your board goes edge, flat, edge. The curve of the side bases makes that transition feel really smooth. I feel like there's a little extra pep in my turns as I roll from edge to edge.

 

Tight turns are easier to make on this board. This is especially true in the bumps and trees. The shorter effective edge is a positive here, as there is less edge to get caught up and slow you down. I feel like the upturned contact points also allow you to get your body and your weight shifted just a bit more into the turn before the edge catches and pulls you around. That's pretty key when you're in the trees and bumps and almost always changing direction. Again, being able to say a little bit more forward because you're not worrying about catching the nose makes things more stable.

 

This board is fairly stiff, not your best option for the park, but it'll do the job. The TBT means you can still run some sharp edges out at the contact points because they're turned away from the boxes and rails. Lifting the contact points off of the snow also makes flat spins effortless and though it's not the best board to press, it is butterable, and basically just soft enough to take in the park without having to fight it too much.

 

So, in summary, the downsides of TBT can be forgiven because they have upsides as well. The short effective edge sacrifices high-speed edge hold on big carves for agility and quickness when it comes to making turns in the trees and bumps. The TBT makes it almost impossible to just 'check' an edge or put light pressure on it at low speed, but it makes for very smooth, rolling transitions from edge to edge at high speed. You get better powder float than a traditional cambered board without sacrificing all of it's stability. It spins nicely, and is fast when you point it straight and ride flat because there is less contact with the snow. This board won't replace my longer cambered board for groomers and high-speed carving, but when there's a little bit of fresh snow and I want to ride something bumpy or full of trees, this will be my go-to board. If I had to do it all again, I'd buy a 164 knowing how short this board feels. But I bought it used and that wasn't an option anyway. Get yourself a Bataleon Jam if you like getting off of the groomers and out of the park because that's where it excels, and it'll take care of business on the cruisers and the boxes when you need it to. [/quote']
Link to post
Share on other sites

Incase anybody was interested, I tryed on a friends 2011 DC Scout BOA boots. Size 10.5

Walked around in them for quite a while, seemed very comfy.

Now... contrary to Jynxx I think it was who recommended going for laces.

I am a BOA lover.

They rock. We have had one pair that had a fault in the top wheel and kept getting stuck ON (#2 son). And we snapped a BOA wire on one boot.(#3 son)

But we have had about 5 or 6 years of pretty decent riding on them with 6 people in the family.

They are brilliant on kids boots because Mama does not have to take her gloves off in the feckin freezing snow to do laces every five minutes.

And I have not had a problem with performance on mine. I am not hitting up the park though - too old for that!!

 

And don't get cheapo bindings. That was the first thing to give out on my board and binding set up mark 1

Link to post
Share on other sites

I have been doing quite a bit of digging around forums and board sites. At this stage I'm pretty keen on a Bataleon Whatever.

Probably a 156.

Sounds like a versatile board that will be useful in most conditions.

 

Any ideas how i can get my hands on one? Is it possible to get new ones from the previous season? (2011 model?)

 

I am gonna head down to the local (and only?) store, and test out a few boots. The DC ones i tryed tonight were a 10.5 and seemed comfortable. Would they fit alright on a regular 156 Whatever? or would i need to go wide?

 

Sorry for all the questions, but you all seem to know a lot more than me!

Link to post
Share on other sites

Incase anybody was interested, I tryed on a friends 2011 DC Scout BOA boots. Size 10.5

Walked around in them for quite a while, seemed very comfy.

Now... contrary to Jynxx I think it was who recommended going for laces.

I am a BOA lover.

They rock. We have had one pair that had a fault in the top wheel and kept getting stuck ON (#2 son). And we snapped a BOA wire on one boot.(#3 son)

But we have had about 5 or 6 years of pretty decent riding on them with 6 people in the family.

They are brilliant on kids boots because Mama does not have to take her gloves off in the feckin freezing snow to do laces every five minutes.

And I have not had a problem with performance on mine. I am not hitting up the park though - too old for that!!

 

And don't get cheapo bindings. That was the first thing to give out on my board and binding set up mark 1

 

Oh thanks for the info about DOA. I thought it was just part of the item code, didn't realise it refered to the wire laces and wheel :p

The DOA system did look a little fragile to me, and it would probably be getting banged around for quite some time while im still learning :)

Maybe im wrong and its stronger than it looks, but i might play it safe and go with laces.

 

I was under the impression that bindings were fairly generic and i could pick up anything that fits the boots. Guess i was wrong about that.

Any advice about what i should be looking at?

 

I would probably get both boots and bindings before ordering a board.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Hey Ippy, you got a lot to say. I kind of like it ;) Also, in all the years I've been making boardin friends, I haven't met very many people that ride boards as small as you've suggested. It would be a good poll discussion, don't you think?

 

@ Rookie, I think the 156 Bataleon would be a good choice. For bindings, I really like the systems with a toe cap. I think you should look into something with that option. There are quite a few companies that make them like that now and some low cost ones as well.

Link to post
Share on other sites

The DC ones i tryed tonight were a 10.5 and seemed comfortable. Would they fit alright on a regular 156 Whatever? or would i need to go wide?

I'd guess size 10.5s don't need a wide board. Big online shops often have very detailed specs. Check the waist measurement, they vary quite a lot both on wide and regular boards. Longer boards tend to be wider. But you might find one model's regular is almost as wide as another model's wide.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Wow this has turned into a bit of a sh!t fight kinda funny.

 

Totally agree with Ippy, board size is predominately determined by your weight.

 

Here is a couple of good write ups on choosing the right board and different camber profiles

 

http://www.snowboardingforum.com/boards/889-faq-s-equipment-guides-please-read.html

 

Camber types

http://www.snowboardingforum.com/boards/37496-rocker-camber-everything-between.html

 

 

My advice would be:

 

Board size - 155 -158 size wise especially if your going to put some weight on in the future. This should provide you with a versatile board for most conditions.

Size 10.5 boot you dont need a wide board. A little bit of toe overhang is not a bad thing eg 10mm toe and heal. You can always adjusted the overhang based on your stance angles.

Camber - I moved to the Never Summer Rocker-Camber Profile. This provides the advantages of rocker while still allowing good carving and charging on groomers by providing normal camber past the bindings. Libtech and Nitro boards have similar systems.

 

Personally i wouldnt buy a pure rocker board, it would be a bit too washy for me, mind you im not a park rat.

 

As people mentioned, comfortable boots are most important in the whole setup, no one can recommend you boots, you have to try them on.

Single BOA setups can be limiting to some people as you cant set different lacing pressure to different zones, which can create problems for some peopls. Dual BOA setup is better.

Otherwise speed laces allow you to set different lacing pressures to different areas.

Traditional laces allow all the pressure fine tunning you like, just take the longest to put on.

 

FYI

Im 188 cm, 84 kg I ride a 161 Never Summer SL, I was recommended to go down to 158, I went with the 161 to get be slightly more stable at higher speeds when crusing groomers. This board handles all terrain very well and is quite mobile for its size especially in the trees.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Oh thanks for the info about DOA. I thought it was just part of the item code, didn't realise it refered to the wire laces and wheel :p

The DOA system did look a little fragile to me, and it would probably be getting banged around for quite some time while im still learning :)

Maybe im wrong and its stronger than it looks, but i might play it safe and go with laces.

 

I was under the impression that bindings were fairly generic and i could pick up anything that fits the boots. Guess i was wrong about that.

Any advice about what i should be looking at?

 

I would probably get both boots and bindings before ordering a board.

BOA (as in Boa Constrictor) is sturdier than it looks.

I've done some major cartwheeling yardsales in my time, and never had a problem with them.

Also tend to 'pop' the wheels whenever I am taking a break - even just a quick 5 minutes - because it is so easy to do back up.

My youngest is one of those kids that will find any kicker he can and jump it - and his have never given way either.

 

But, like laces also do, you sometimes have a breakage.

 

I much prefer the twin boa system to the single - for the specific area adjustments.

And you can also get a combo of laces and BOAs nowadays - which might be interesting to explore.

 

Personally...I could never get my laces tight enough.

Papabear, swore he would NEVER use BOAs...told me they were OK for me and the kids, but he prefered the adjustability and control that laces gave him.

Then he tried them.

Now he also has BOA boots.

 

I wont say we wont ever go back to laces - that would be silly. But they are certainly a viable alternative. Every system has its plusses and minusses - you just need to work out which things make the experience more or less enjoyable for YOU. Soggy laces, and too loose boots, and taking my gloves off all the time to deal with them was what put me over the edge.

Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm another fan of the BOA system.......had my boots for 3 years now and there is no problem with the wheel or the wire getting worn out. Adjustments on the boots are quick and easy (can do it on the lift.....coming off the lift......even while riding down the groomer) just reach down and twist the wheel. That said, I put my big bro onto them and he hated them.....didn't feel like they were keeping his foot in snugly. He said they kept on coming slack......I think it was probably just the boot he had but he's ditched and went back to laces. Again its horses for courses and everyone has a different opinion. My advice is try a lot on and have a wander around the store with them before buying.....also, you are right in saying that buying boots and bindings together will be best. Make sure that the boots fit the binding well, any movement between boot and binding or boot and foot and thats a loss of control/movement between you and board. If you can find boots and bindings from the same brand then it will prob be a great fit.....they should be tailored to match each other....again though I use K2 boots in FLOW bindings and last year was on a Burton board and they fitted fine.

 

Bindings can be another can of worms to open.....mostly between the Ratchet or Step-in crew. Everybody and their mum has an opinion of them and as you've probably noticed, you can ask but you'll get a lot of different answers. If you can try before you buy then that would be optimal as you can try a few out and see what kind suits u best. Me personally, i started on the regular ratchet bindings, I bought a pair of Burton cartel's (Toe strap kind that BM mentioned). These came highly recommended but I didn't like them, I didn't feel that they locked my foot into place enough and that transferred itself into a loss of control. The toe-strap did eliminate the horrible foot cramp that can come with regular ratchets but I injured my ankle as it didn't hold it in enough.......so I stumbled onto the FLOWS (picked em up 2nd hand for cheap!). These are step in bindingd, it has a large sleeve on the front to hold your foot in place and then the highback pull up and clicks into place, securing your foot in place.....to get in and out all u do is pull down the catch at the back....no messing with ratchets etc. I personally love them and won't go back to regular style ratchets again. However many people will bag them and for whatever reason, they are kinda vilified in some quarters by snowboarders who don't think they are cool enough.....I for one think they are cool and technically good. I feel as if the board is actually part of me, any movement I make, the board instantly makes. I can't ask for more.

 

I just bought a bataleon Omni 2011 from Backcountry in the US. Never ridden a TBT board before so I'm looking forward to getting out there and I can let yo know how it feels later in the season.

 

You have probably been given far too much info here than you ever thought you would when you first posed the question, but the moral of the story is that Snowboarding is down to personal preference.

 

In my opinion, in descending order of importance when starting out.......Boots are most important (get a comfortable pair), make sure your outer and underwear will keep you warm and dry, Goggles that don't fog up, bindings that fit your boots and THEN what board you are riding on. would say that as a beginner you aren't really gonna notice too much about the +ve and -ve's of the various board techs out there, you'll be all concentrating on just stopping before crashing into that skier who has just cut across your path. Go for a board thats between 155-158 long, one of the established brands will mean that your board is likely to last a few seasons, I would say go for camber to let you get the feel for the basic mechanics, and get one that is twin shaped....this'll help when you somehow start riding down the slope "backwards". You CAN just use the Shop set-up package, but as someone else mentioned they are just getting rid of last years stock. If your wallet can stretch, try and pick them up individually after trying em out

 

Good luck with the search, let us know what you decided on and how it goes :D

Link to post
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...