AlexS 0 Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 I'll be in Hokkaido for two weeks next January. I'm planning on riding Niseko and Rusutsu, and maybe a cat trip. I'm wondering if there's any other places to check out in close proximity to Niseko/Rusutsu? Also I've been told by several people I need a powder board. I'm looking for something under 500 I don't care if its last seasons model. I don't really know sizing with powder boards so I'll leave my stats here and hopefully somebody could give me a size. Gender:Male Height: 5'7 Weight: 135 lbs Foot Size (US): 8.5 Rider ability: Intermediate-Advanced Link to post Share on other sites
Jynxx 4 Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 You are about my size. You are also lucky living in the States (I assume) and can get good boards at better prices than ... say Europe. There are 2 thoughts. Go long or go short and wide. People tend to go for short and wide snowboards assuming ( and true to a certain extent) it is better in trees. While I am in Europe and I like steeps and glaciers, I like length and narrow widths on my board. I also like the feel of swallow tails. You don´t necessary need a powder specific board, just a board that handles all-mountain and powder, but let me ramble a bit. You want a size for us. To be honest, 5 cm difference in size really doesn´t make a huge difference imho. I can go 157 or 162 and the float isn´t all that different on a camber board. What would make a big difference here would be a board with a very fast base. It will help you getting out of flat runs, and the speed will help you float. Most newer camber boards are getting longer nose (aka nose rocker) and this helps with float. In very steep sections, you may prefer a board about 160 the most because it is easier to swing the board (compared to say 166) and choose a long sidecut radius (meaning a straighter looking board - not with a wide shovel and narrow widths) so the edge grips For powder specific... You can go shorter 156 with a big shovel (nose), wide board, or even a full rocker just for powder. I wouldn´t like to use that on hard pack or steep. Go long, go swallow tail. 172- 186 length. This would be pure carving heaven on deep stuff and hard pack. Big, open steep area ... I haven´t tried trees on this lenght and I admit by brain says it would be more difficult. Tell us what you are riding now. If you are a park rat, my advice probably don´t apply. Get a Twin -tip rocker .. Link to post Share on other sites
AlexS 0 Posted April 2, 2012 Author Share Posted April 2, 2012 I'm more of a park rat because of where I live but I'm not going to be in the park at all in Japan. I just want pow..I heard it's more deep than steep and definitely some nice powder runs so I'm thinking a shorter wider board Link to post Share on other sites
AlexS 0 Posted April 2, 2012 Author Share Posted April 2, 2012 Oh and I'm riding a Smokin Superpark 148. It's clash rocker - rocker between bindings, camber outside bindings. It's really more of a park board I don't think it'll work well in the powder at all. Link to post Share on other sites
Thundercat 60 Posted April 2, 2012 Share Posted April 2, 2012 I'm a huge fan of the Burton Fish. It rides comfortably about 6cms smaller than your usual board size. Link to post Share on other sites
Jynxx 4 Posted April 2, 2012 Share Posted April 2, 2012 AlexS, my Mrs went from a Rome 151 to Salomon 157 in one day, no probs. Your Smokin´ ...interesting rocker and camber combo ... I wouldn´t have a clue how it feels Fish or Hovercraft at about 156 would float you no worries, but don´t expect quick edge to edge on piste. I don´t know what width your current board is, but me and Mrs is on the firm opinion that (at our size) we don´t want a board wider than 250mm (for what we like to do). Width has more effect / feel on the ride / technique than length. Maybe you might like to compensate by going to the short side of the short/mid-width powder boards and choose a narrower width. Our current boards are 157-159 (but have an effective edge that is like 160 boards) and the widths, 248, 253 mm . They boths float us, We do set back at max, and they do nose dive if you put your weight to the nose. There´s the Salomon powder snake or Sick stick if you like Twins ... I am personally very interested with the Dupraz ... says one can ride center weighted in all conditions ... Link to post Share on other sites
surfarthur 22 Posted April 2, 2012 Share Posted April 2, 2012 Burton Barracuda has been getting good reviews for the powder, about half the amount of taper compared to the fish, so a bit easier on piste, and plenty of rocker in the nose. I have always wanted a fish though, I love the look, the swallow tail... Link to post Share on other sites
ippy 66 Posted April 2, 2012 Share Posted April 2, 2012 most park boards let you ride your regular size. If youre wanting to hit the park as well though, chances are youre going to be looking for something in your right flex range. You DONT NEED A POWDER BOARD FOR NISEKO. Its just nice to have one when it gets a little flat. Youve ridden pow before right? Powder boards arent in any way an essential to anyones quiver, theyre just a nice addition. Anything with reverse camber at the nose is gonna feel nice, but then again, one of the dudes on another forum is in alaska and rides serious pow almost every day, and his one favorite board this season was the K2 happy hour... This is a dude with THREE charlie slashers, a fish, 2 indoor FKs, a BSOD, an outdoor living, and a split hovercraft. The dude loves his powder, but its the k2 that hes really been stoked on which is kinda wild. Hang on, ill try and dig out his little summary on it... been riding a happy hour 57 all week. in a nutshell, i ****ing love this board. i like every board i have even when there are things i would change about them, but after riding this all week, i don't know what i would change. i can't think of a single thing so far that doesn't feel the way i want and that's never happened before.i think the biggest thing is the flat profile. as i've said before, there is no "best" rocker/camber combo or any other type of profile that is "best." instead, i think it's all about finding the one that offers all the things you want in one package. what i want is full edge contact at all times (so no rocker outside the bindings), the feeling of grip along your entire edge (rather than between the feet like a lot of rocker boards), not loose anywhere, instant pop (you can get a slight lag with some rockers) where the tips are always on the snow ready to spring back at you.... all of these things are what you get from camber, but what i didn't want was the way cambered boards don't float in pow like rocker boards. basically, i wanted the feel of a cambered board, with the float of rocker. so far flat is it. who knew it would be that simple? the board carves like crazy too. i've ridden lots of boards, even just this year alone, and none of them are like this. i don't even think my cambered board (same length, width, and a similar flex) feels the same in carves - i like this more and feel like i lock into them better than perhaps any of my snowboards. i don't know what it is. i've never had such an easy time locking in to fast, deep eurocarves that leave trenches... knees touching the ground, face pretty close, and the surf hand feeling the snow. it just works super well. as far as "stability" and all that shit, it's great. it's not like a big mountain charger, but it feels at least as damp as any board i've had, probably on the better end of things, no chatter as far as i can tell, etc. on some other boards at times, including the bsod, i could feel every bump more than i liked - haven't felt that yet with this one. the flat profile leaves things feeling nice and locked down whether riding pretty flat based or on edge at any level (mellow carve, fast deep carve, etc), any speed, and any terrain so far. haven't really had any pow days on it yet (the entire season was pretty much one big pow day, but we're getting spring sun this week) but since it's the same size as everything else i ride, i know it will work just as well. i did have one other pretty much flat board this year and i liked the way it felt in pow a lot, especially pointing it down tracked pow fields. one of my favorite things about camber is the feeling of suspension you get in those situations, but i also wanted that feeling in a board that has natural pow float. so... again, flat seems to be my answer. i don't really know what else to say, the board just rides basically exactly the way i want. it feels so comfortable for me, like it's an extension of my body.. so smooth. everything lately has felt super good on it, granted conditions have been really nice, although pretty much the entire season has been awesome so that's not really saying anything. i think i'll be sticking with flat boards for a while.. it's working so damned well. next year i'd like to get the new happy hour in a 59, though the 57 is fine. it also stokes me out to be riding a FUN looking board. so tired of black black black. i like the bright orange and i love the pointy tips. anyway, this deck stands out to me for sure. i'd say it's my favorite board of the year along with my cambered capita outdoor, and also along with the outdoor, one of my favorite boards i've ever had the pleasure to ride. i wouldn't say i'm surprised, but.. just stoked at how well this worked out. so glad i decided to give it a try. and as much as i enjoyed my BSOD, i will not be missing it. it's still in good local hands though... edit: k2 says flatline is "the perfect balance," and as of right now i could not agree more. that's it in a nutshell. It kinda goes without saying, but this dude is one of the most knowledgeable guys about gear ive come across, so his opinion is definitely worth a read. That all being said though, ive loved the Ride berzerker this year. I love in particular that youre seeing a kind of directional rocker appear in more mainstream boards (by that i mean rocker at the front, but not in the back), and if youre interested theres a little bit in the new board thread about two boards with Rides hybrid all mountain that helps explain what theyre up to... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pc-LEhW0hYM and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXUimHwznQU&feature=plcp&context=C41c2488VDvjVQa1PpcFMmqyzxAhey3LpPYMlWeXxWa2PzIo2EDG0%3D (its the same as the 2013 - poorer sound quality unfortunately). and heres the comparison between the two: I can tell you one amazing thing about it though... when you shift the bindings fully back it really gives you a LOT of float. Center them and youre right back on a twin with pop all over it. I really like that it feels pretty different. Ive been on loads of boards where switching the bindings back kinda gives you a bit more float, but not all that much really. Youre still riding on a rudder, and still trying to keep your balance inside everyone elses tracks... this didnt. This just straight up switched into a surrogate pow board. I loved that about it. I kinda like s-rocker style though so it fits me down to the ground. I love the way my charlie slasher feels (the taper dont mean shit to my ride, it still feels like a normal snowboard to me with fast edge to edge), and i love the way the zerker feels too. Basically if im picking up a board next season its going to have rocker in the nose and camber in the tail. After a couple of seasons on them, i can tell you straight up that it doesnt affect the ride all that much in switch at all. It still feels like a regular snowboard. You just might not get ALL the benefits youre getting when its ridden nose first is all, but its not like youve suddenly forgot how to ride switch or how to ride a camber board... So theres a couple more ways you could go... you dont need to have a full powder stick for niseko, i rode my airobic all over it and had a blast last year (though my quiver killer floundered a bit), and one of my mates spent the entire time KILLING IT on a stairmaster. I think reverse or flat in the nose is definitely going to make you have an easier time of it since it can get slow in places, and no one wants to get stuck and unclip... but well, if youre good with your lines, you should be okay on anything to be honest. And if youre not all that good at judging the snow, maybe you might want to look towards something thatll give you a wee chance to stay above it when it starts getting a bit flat and deep. Either way theres about a bazillion boards out there you can use for both park and pow, and i really think the Highlife next season is going to be one of the decks at the top of that list... oh! and lots of companies spent this season mucking around with zero camber tweaks, so yeah... youre kinda spoiled for choice. oooh! dont get me wrong, having a powder stick is awesome fun in your quiver, but as your main ride, its a pretty pricey investment at the end of the day... definitely your call to make on that one. Im a cheapskate though, so i want my deck to do everything. In which case id pick up the zerker Link to post Share on other sites
AlexS 0 Posted April 2, 2012 Author Share Posted April 2, 2012 Well I know I could rent but with the money I'd spend renting I may as well buy, and if I buy a board for the powder it may as well be a good board built for powder and a nice addition to my quiver. I'm going out to school in the PNW so I'm sure it'd come in handy in the future anyway. That being said I am still looking for a pretty cheap board... The Powder Snake looks good I like the flat profile and rockered tip. I don't know about the rockered tail though? I also think the Charlie Slasher looks good too(Would I want 154 or 158?) Anybody ridden both of these and have an opinion on the better board? Link to post Share on other sites
griller 9 Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 Interesting, ippy Link to post Share on other sites
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