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as an addendum, I used my brothers much shorter 154 board (I started on a 157, then a 161 and now I have a new 163 for this year) in Scotland last New Year, conditions don't come much icier than Scottish Powder!! It was horrible, hardly any edge control, didn't feel like I could safely stop on the ice walls that double for ski slopes in scotland, I just don't see the benefit in a shorter board unless its park you are gonna be predominately hitting

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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!

 

Alas, the whatever was newly made for this season so you wont be able to grab it... which is fine anyway if you ask me, the upgrade to TBT is pretty huge this year anyway so if given a choice id pick up the 2012 bataleons over the previous years no problem.

 

The evil twin gives you a few more options though and is honestly the board bataleon are famous for so i wouldnt discount it as an option.

At 10.5 youre kinda on that threshold for normal width boards. It can be done pretty easily. You wont be getting crazy drag or anything and it should be altogether fine. Youl have a bit of overhang, but unless you are seriously euro carving its not going to be a huge problem. If i remember right though, DC boots are pretty big in general. Maybe you want to look at some boots with a smaller footprint too. Lots of companies are doing it now, but its basically boots that on the inside are your normal size, but the outword footprint of the boot appears up to a size smaller. Lots of the burton have it for instance. They call it shrinkage tech. But honestly its moving away from being a special thing that only a few lines carried, to something thats fast becoming standard. Just check what the boots footprint is. If it has some kind of shrinkage, itll mean that youll be riding a size 10.5 but as far as your boot length goes itll have the same footprint as a 9.5.

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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.

 

i honestly think this sites a bit of a rare bubble. It doesnt really have a snowboard emphasis so you dont really have as many people offering advice as you might get elsewhere. I think most of us here are kinda... distinguished :) And it comes through in our board choices and decisions, so theres a tendency on this site to size up. And a reluctance to do what most people in the mainstream are doing. We all kinda like ripping, we all enjoy just riding for the most part. Park, buttering and crusing isnt really a factor in most of our thoughts when it comes to snowboards since thats what the er, ...less venerable members out there do. So youre going to get a lot of people recommending slightly longer sizes to "take advantage of the pow pow" here and for stability. And thats fine, so long as its explicated.

 

For me, i spend most of my time on snowboarding forums (trusnow, snowboardingforum, easyloungin), so i get the almost opposite end of the spectrum where people are constantly sizing down everywhere. As i say, the dude would be more likely to hear recommendations for a 150 or a 152 at his weight. And also this wouldnt be wrong either. Its a bit of a park emphasis and hes giving up stability for maneuverability but so long as thats explicated and so long as people can point this out, then its no big deal.

 

Theres nothing wrong with saying:

As a beginner you should probably be on a slightly shorter board because youll enjoy the fact you can get nice quick turns, itll feel nice and plaible and itll give you a solid platform for progressing. But when you start getting some speed up, or when it gets sketchier the boards not going to be as good to you as something with a longer effective edge (or actually with contacts if its the whole reverse camber/camber issue). Still, when your mates are panicking on a box, youll not be eating shit :)

 

Theres nothing wrong with equally saying:

As a beginner, you should probably be on a slightly longer board because youll enjoy the extra stability youll feel when you start progressing and hitting sketchier terrain. Sure, its not going to be as quick to twist about, and sometimes it might feel like the boards got a life of its own, but when you get out of the bunny hills and properly start linking turns, you might appreciate that extra length every time you hit a sketch piece of terrain. Sure, you might not find it as playful or as fun as a shorter board, but thats not really what you want to do with this! you want to slay powder, and rip through the chop and crud leaving all your mates behind.

 

Finally theres nothing wrong with saying:

As a beginner you should be on a decent size for you that gives you the most options to explore the terrain and not pigeon hole you into a specific style of riding. Sure you wont float as well as a longer board, and you wont find it AS playful as a shorter size, but its going to let you do it all without having you feel like youre missing out on something because you feel uncomfortable dropping into switch or riding flat boxes because it feels too long, or you cant hit bigger jumps because you dont have a solid landing base or you dont want to go explore that pow stash because youll probably sink because the boards too short and end up having to unclip and walk out. :( Instead youll be hitting it all up and enjoying it all because thats what its all about :)

 

The 154 isnt short for his weight at all. Its actually a little bit long for his weight (1-2cms) for an all mountain ride size (a medium do it all size). The 158 is the top range of where he should be comfortable. and the grounds of that is arguably that very few people would suggest he gets on anything even a couple of cms longer than it. 154 is a solid range because it gives him the scope to tinker it a little bit plus or minus without sacrificing that all round ride. The longer he goes the further away he goes from cruising, and the shorter he goes, the further away he goes from ripping. Its all a GENERAL guideline though in the end ('crusing' and 'ripping' are hardly scientific terms after all). You guys would be for the most part deeply uncomfortable at the idea of him on a 150. I understand why you might think that, but i promise you that the wider snowboarding community (which does actually comprise of park rats), would tell you different. Again though id personally consider a 150 at teh very bottom of his range and too specific a ride. Just as i also consider the 158 at the very top of his ride and a bit too specific. I like that hes looking at a 156 though, if only because its a nice compromise and it shows hes reading it all and considering all the points. Ultimately we all know that in a year none of this will matter anyway because the dude will be on his own setup and riding the length he likes best regardless of what we suggest. :p

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Hi Rookie

 

Sorry to delve into this one so late.

 

Heaps of stuff on E'Bay or Gumtree just check them out google the board and as long as it fits within a certain size weight category you will be right (Doesn't cost much to courier from east with e-go).

 

Buy new boots though whether here or in Japan.

 

Bought My Fish last year 156 from Cashies $100 and Mission Bindings on E'Bay for $100 boots in Niseko year before for $100.

 

Perfect I could sell the lot and make money.

 

Don't over analyse the board or bindings you will have heaps of fun.

 

In saying that though I will be at Mainpeak on Saturday.

 

Seemore

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Rookie,

Glad to hear you found something comfty.

I actually bought BOA Van boots for my missus for X´mas. She liked it at first but started complaining she bought 1/2 size too small.

We were lucky to find a Van BFB model ( short for best f***ing boot) aptly named. Actually, we both wear them.

They are lace ups.

I like the lace ups because the laces are easy to replace. You just have to hope the wire won´t break on the mountain with Boa.

Keeping the boot tight is not always what everyone wants. WE had a talk about this before and we know Mamabear´s family is a Boa family.

BM and I are fussy with our lace up, we are constantly tightening and loosening them up. In my case I tighten the toe side boot and loosen the rear side boot. I like to tighten the inside-lining string tight (I like the feel of my ankle ball-joint being gripped) but not the width of my feet. I don´t tighten my outside laces too much. I want to have a good bend with my legs and overtightening outside lace or a stiff boot is a problem.

Since you are not very heavy, you don´t need stiff boots I reackon. Stiff boots takes out flexibility out of your style.

 

Hey, he is not a beginner anymore. btw. He has already done a season with more than two weeks. That´s better than someone who had done 3 seasons, a week every season.

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In saying that though I will be at Mainpeak on Saturday.

 

Seemore

 

I'll be there for sure, Tried on some boots yesterday and im gonna pick some up at the sale.

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So long as they are NOT the EST bindings they should be fine, but you will need an adapter plate (I think they are called 4x4 plates) the to get the holes to line up right, it would replace the original Burton circular plate that comes with the standard Burton bindings. You should be able to get them online for cheap, I would expect no more than $30 + shipping.

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You're lucky I have nothing better to do........I just popped my Burton Cartel's onto my new Bataleon board....no problem but you do need to have the 4X4 style baseplate. I got mines with my Burton bindings as well as the 3-D plate. EST won't work as they are specific to the channel system that the new Burton boards have. I did take a picture just to shw you I wasn't talking shit but my computer is playing funny buggers and I can't upload properly

 

PB050099.jpg

 

PB050097.jpg

 

**EDIT: Managed to get the pics up

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