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I need some advice on getting a new board for this season. I am an intermediate rider and looking for a freeride or all round type board. I have narrowed down to two, namely Salomon 450 and Salomon Fastback. Does anyone have any experience riding these boards?

 

I also remember that last year there was a thread on buying boards over the internet. Did anyone have any success with this or able to recommend a decent site?

 

thanks in advance.

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Thanks for the reply. The reason I ended up with Salomon is partly because my boots and bindings are Salomon, partly because they seem to have had good reviews and partly becuase of the limited choice in Japan. There is such a wide huge number of manufacturers out there that I wanted to narrow it down some how and ended up with these two boards. What board are you riding at the moment? or what board would you recommend?

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salomons are good (number 2 on my list).

all of my friends ride salomons

they are pricey, but . . .

 

they are better than alot of the crap out

there (burton, forum, etc.) - sorry if this

offends anyone, but the best team riders,

slickest graphics, and sickest videos don't make up for sweatshop construction, poor customer service and LIMITED warranties.

 

i'm moving to japan (hopefully nagano or

sapporo) next september, so I got a board

this year that would take that into account,

and i decided on the never summer premier.

it's waaay better than anything else i have

ridden. much better than my burton and my

nidecker.

 

check it out at www.neversummer.com

 

and check out the award it won,

and the corresponding posts

i think they say it all.

 

the board works well on groomed, ungroomed,

backcountry, and powder.

 

i'll probably have to get another board

for the pipe though. but i'm gonna get

it end of season, when everything is

discounted.

 

as for limited selection, you can call

or email manufacturers directly. chances

are they will be happy to hook you up.

your dollar, is after all, what keeps them

in business.

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Hey Chris

 

I demoed a Salomon 450 and 550 at Whistler a couple winters ago. I suppose the 450 has changed a bit since then, but at that time I found it to be a responsive, smooth-riding board that was less forgiving than a big-mountain board (Burton Supermodel) that I was riding that year.

 

I liked it.

 

But know what? I rode the Salomon 550 immediately after, and it had me whooping and screaming like a sterno-crazed alkie on the way down. I kept it for an extra hour and I thought the demo booth guys would be angry, but they just laughed and said everybody does that when they get on the 550.

 

What was so good about it? Well, in normal riding around it performed as well or better than any other board of that size and market niche that I'd rented or ridden.

 

But the real zinger was when you stressed it at speed, in fast turns or on questionable surfaces (ice, ruts, bumps, crud, etc.). That thing is incredibile! It was like a razor biting into the snow, then suddenly a super strong rubber band popping me out of one turn and into the next. It actually felt alive.

 

So that's where the whooping and crazed screaming laughter came in. Never had a board do that before. I bought one that day (not cheap!) and rode it all last winter too.

 

Something to do with carbon fiber X shapes embedded along the board to give it special flex and snap properties. It seems to be a board for advanced riders, since its best properties only come out when you are maxing things out (well, to ME, maxing out...I am not a pro by any stretch!).

 

The 450 is a scaled-down, slightly more forgiving and user-friendly version of the 550. If you get it you will surely have a good board and no worries about your gear holding you back.

 

Regarding ski makers who now make boards (like Salomon, K2, Rossignol, etc.) they have brought their years of R&D and know-how to the snowboard platform and I personally find them less gimmicky and more solid, reliable and better performing than "old school" snowboard companies that use OEM made platforms, sweatshop or casual labor, and cooler-than-thou marketing aimed at snotty teenagers who eat too much hormone-laced US beef and wish they were real skateboard punks with some sort of genuine cause to justify their adolescent anger.

 

WHEW!

 

Thanks for listening. I feel better now.

 

Anyway, good luck with your board.

 

PS I got the Salomon bindings but not the boots. How do you find their boots? Never tried them yet, but am looking for new booties this season.

 

Badmigraine in Tokyo.

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well i'm not chris, but i've

tried on almost every boot out there.

salomons are stiff.

high end DC boots have the best fit by

far with their pump system.

that's what i got.

and they are made in korea, so

you could probably find some on the

streets of Seoul for cheap !

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Yeah, Ivo, that's right. Mine is pretty stiff. It's one reason that the super performance only comes out when you really torque or max out the board. It takes some effort to flex it to the point where its best attributes come out.

 

If you are a light or medium-weight person, or your riding style is smooth and feathery, you may have trouble reaching this point.

 

I personally always seem to be going pretty fast and also muscling through bumps (I spend a lot of time snowboarding in moguls...used to be a skier and can't give them up!) and doing strange things and falling down a lot. For that reason, I like the stiffness and the stability it gives me.

 

I've rented some softer boards or pipe-type boards and they didn't match my bumbling lurching style at all.

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Yeah, Ivo, that's right. Mine is pretty stiff. It's one reason that the super performance only comes out when you really torque or max out the board. It takes some effort to flex it to the point where its best attributes come out.

 

If you are a light or medium-weight person, or your riding style is smooth and feathery, you may have trouble reaching this point.

 

I personally always seem to be going pretty fast and also muscling through bumps (I spend a lot of time snowboarding in moguls...used to be a skier and can't give them up!) and doing strange things and falling down a lot. For that reason, I like the stiffness and the stability it gives me.

 

I've rented some softer boards or pipe-type boards and they didn't match my bumbling lurching style at all.

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badmigraine - I got the boots in Whistler last winter. I chose them simply for the feel and the fact that they seemed to have the best heal support after trying on numerous other pairs. I used them all last season and have no complaints at all. Pretty pricey but definitly worth the investment. My riding seriously improved after I started using them.

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