Powder Boards/All Mtn Freeride

[damian 0]

Not a fair question to ask as we are all different riders, different weights, shapes and sized and ride different mountains with different terrain and snow conditions etc. But, Is there a board out there that is a generally accepted excellent all mountain board that is great in powder? I am likely going to buy one without any chance of a test ride, so I don't want to divert too much into a fish or swallow tail. That might be too much of a dramatic change plus i doubt I will be riding 2' deep all the time. Perhaps the following is useful info:

 

- Most riding in Europe,

- not always powder,

- not much tree riding and if so, quite open trees (I don't like tight trees, in fact, I don't like turning much at all),

- following on, more open face powder riding with longer arcs rather than tight radius turns.

 

To be honest, I have only ever owned one board and always was quite happy to make do with it in all terrain and snow that I encountered (159 Burton Custom). I will continue to use that bashed up old board for my 'resort riding' and would like to get a board that is tailored a little more towards bigger mountains, faster riding and more powder with likely hard wind blow and crust encounters. My only thought is that I was happy with a Burton Custom before so I may as well get another, except longer (169)?

 

This will also be the board that I will strap to my back for two weeks whilst snowshoeing it. I have all but decided not to split board this season, as much as I would like to.

[montoya 0]

If interested, it's easy to contact the owner of a smaller "boutique" boardmaker (eg Chris Prior at Prior, Sean Martin at Donek, Bruce Varsava at Coiler) and talk directly with them about your needs. We have splitboards from Prior, but haven't used it yet so can't really give much hard feedback.

 

Here's a good thread about sidecut, edge length, etc:

http://www.skibanter.com/q-t_1079-Changing-Order-From-MFR-to-Khyber.html

[spook 0]

i would say go longer, but not too long, i guess it depends on how big you are. moving from a 159 to a 169 seems like a pretty big jump up in size though.

i'm about 65 kilos and 5'10", and i ride a 162 salomon 550 (its a few years old now) i used to ride a 157, but wanted something longer for the deep stuff.

i like the extra length, float and speed of a bigger board, but i also like to ride tight trees so i want something i can throw around a bit. depending on your size, 169 might be quite a big board to be riding around, but i have very little knowledge about big mountain riding. i guess you should ask people who are into alot of backcountry and big mountain stuff.

as far as sidecut and flex and all that stuff, i don't have much idea at all.

[woywoy 0]

DB, I wouldnt go as long as a 169 either. I think that somewhere like Niseko, where you ride DEEP powder most days, you could get away with it but in Europe I dont know if you need to go that long. I would go up from a 159 to a 164 or a 166 at most.

 

I have two boards at present, a 160 and a 168. I am thinking of getting rid of these and getting something in between. I dont really ride enough DEEP pow these days, unfortunately, to justify keeping both these boards and I need a compromise. I know I am taller than you and probably a little heavier but I reckon if you are riding a 159 in the resorts then a 164 Burton Supermodel, or something similar, would be perfect. That is what Craig kelly used to ride in the backcountry and he was the "man". RIP.

[damian 0]

Really, only go 5cm longer.... not much difference surely¿

 

Makes me think I shouldn't even bother, just save the money and ride my old board yet another season.

 

None the less I appreciate the input.

 

Spook: Going on your sizing perhaps a 165 is about as max as I need to go.

[Davo 1]

It'll make a huge difference DB and anyway the best way to find out is to rent something between say 162-164 and give it a go. I went from a 161 to a 163 and this made a significant difference in terms of speed. The 163 also had a lot more flex and wasn't as wide. Unfortunately it was fubared by the end of the season.

 

Just picked up a Burton Canyon 163 for 3 man. A little wider than my Silence 163 and not quite as flexible. I'm hoping it'll work out to be a sweet riding 'all mountain board', as it touts itself to be. At 29 cm my boot size is relatively big but I hope the change in waist width (25.5 to 26.3) isn't going to affect my manueverabilty in the trees.

 

The Custom seems like a good choice for you DB but I wouldn't rush into something really long-woywoy sums up the difference really well. I would love to have a second long board for the right sort of days though. I rode a 161 for a day at the end of the season when my board died and it felt gutless so I think a few cms can make a massive difference.

[Ocean11 0]

I have a 169 and I'm probably much heavier than you db (82 kg). I wouldn't want to ride anything bigger than 169, so you probably wouldn't want to ride a 169. I'm sure with a bigger board you lose the enjoyable pop of the board.

[powwwers 0]

deebs, if i were u -(which thank god i`m not ) i woudnt go any longer than a 161 (64 at a pinch). if you`re in tha deep, just make sure ya bindings are back as far as they can go.

i rode a 161 all last season and got away with it ok, and we`re similar size. (not downstairs though- i way kick your ass there ). even in tha pow, there weren`t any times when i wished i`d had some extra length.

for your type of riding, make sure you get somthin on tha `stiffer` side. check out Head Intelligence- superfast board that will excite you, Nitro- good rail to rail riding or Gentem- they make some awesome almt. boards (not just pinnies and pow boards)esp. their concave series, its probly tha closest feeling to surfing on snow as yar ganna get.

 

good luck, hit ya kick!

btw, i`m glad you`re still happy with that custom

[indosnm 0]

 Quote:

Originally posted by Dear Britain:
Really, only go 5cm longer.... not much difference surely¿

5cm is the difference between a 6'2 & a 6'4!! BIG difference i believe!

I have a 159 and now looking for a bigger board in the 162-64 range.
Don't go to big(your board), but go big(your forward flips!)

[damian 0]

 Quote:

Originally posted by Indosnm:
5cm is the difference between a 6'2 & a 6'4!! BIG difference i believe!

In surfboard terms yes, it is a big diff. But that is because the wave size diff for a 6'2 and a 6'4 is not so big, so you really notice teh change in board size. However on teh snow I am planning on going from the not so hard, not steep and mainly resort runs in Japan that I was doing to quite a lot bigger mountains, steeper and heaps longer with more exposed faces. I suppose not unlike some of the stuff over the back of Happo on the "diamond mountain" (which I never went near at the time). What I am saying is that I am scaling up in mtn by quite a lot yet only by a few cm in board. That was what seemed strange to me.

But the more experienced have spoken and I am listening

[kingjono 0]

I'm 6'1 and about 80 kilos and have no problems in powder with my Custom 166. I wouldn't want to go any longer though (especially if I had to carry it around on my back).

[miteyak 0]

If you're under 90kgs, I don't think you'll be left wanting if you go 160-164cm

[rossirider 0]

DB - rode a Burton Omen 163 all last season. Be it deep pow or steep hardpack, handled like a champ. I don't think you need to go over 164 for pow, just make sure your nose isn't too shallow.