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Pow board for girl, size tips?

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Hi all,

I'm planning on getting my wife a powder board for a trip to Japan. A bit of a luxury but since it looks like rental will be a good whack over £100 I figure I can pretty much deduct that cost. That said, she won't use it all that much I expect on our typical euro trips so I don't want to break the bank.

I've seen a Salomon Powder Snake board for £200 which looks good but can't choose between a 153 or a 160. She's 5'6" (167cm) and 143 lb (65kg) and athletic/strong. She's been riding for about 12 weeks and pretty good, certainly can get down anything on piste.

Current board is a 156 head matrix.

Happy to take any advice and would spend up to about £300 I reckon.

Cheers,

Malc.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
I'd say 160 is a bit big, but equally I'd go a little longer than 153 for powder. 156 or thereabouts would be about optimum, shorter could be OK with a big, rockered nose / pow-specific shape.
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
I rode a 160 Salomon Sick Stick for a couple of weeks about 4 years ago... that was a reasonable board, although it responded best in heli accessed powder to strong discipline from my 62kgs. I probably have more powder vertical on snowboards than is reasonable in one lifetime, so if I had to work it, most people will definitely have to work. I would not buy that size myself; I switched for another board.

I have not ridden the other Salomon boards, so I'd not spend me own cash unless I'd done that - getting the right size is more important than getting the right boards, for people who aren't beginners at least.

If you have to take a punt, look at the overall weight range of the whole board series, and use your intelligence to pick the right one from that. Capita is particularly useless with their specs, but other people are much more helpful (Burton, Kessler).

Overall I have been under impressed with "twin tip" (true or otherwise) powder boards. The Powder Snake claims to be "directional twin". If you're going to ride a dedicated powder board (which is what I do, in powder), even if you care about parks, you would probably not need to ride the same board there. I'd make sure this isn't too much of a compromise.

A 156 Fish would be the perfect size.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
Nothing to add to whats above, other than to say you might want to sign yourself up to a Snowboard Club UK account. £15 to join and quite a lot of UK snowboard retailers offer 10% discounts or more on kit purchases to members, so may pay for itself even on quite a cheap purchase.

Happy shopping. Enjoy Japan!
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Thanks all. I've read a few reviews of the powder snake that don't scare me but admittedly it's a gamble buying without testing, even more so when it isn't for me! A Fish is more than I could justify spending given it wouldn't come out of the quiver that often but I am getting half tempted to splash out on a Jones Hovercraft which she'd likely also get use of on piste.

Choices choices...
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 You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
why not a womens specific board e.g Hel Yes or womens hovercraft ?
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
I'm in Japan now, for the month. Been here Jan, last three years. Always riding a K2 153cm and I'm... 5ft 10! It's perfect, go small with rocker, not huge, too many trees here for that.
I have a pow board and traditional camber. She will manage with traditional if she's decent, so you don't def need a proper pow board. And I've been based in Niseko, the pow capital.
Shout if you'd like any Hokk tips if going here. Have not been to mainland for 10 years...
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
@snow_badger, cost mainly. The only women's specific boards I could find for freeride were double the cost. I'm also a little bit sceptical of the concept in general. Perhaps at the extreme ends of the scale it makes a difference but for most people... Test a 5'6", 145lb guy and girl with reasonably similar body fat (say within 7-8 percentage points) for various bits and bats and I doubt there'll be a massive difference, particularly for lower body strength.

@wiigman, thanks for the vote of confidence! I went with the 153 powder snake in the end so we'll see how that goes. We're (five of us, one beginner/intermediate the rest pretty decent) in Niseko for the first week of March. Was thinking of getting a day's guiding early in the week, maybe day one or two so any tips there would be great. I'll take any tips at all actually! A good rental shop for the other three (I'll be taking my skis and the missus her new board) would be nice and whether you think it worthwhile to go on a day trip? Hopefully this won't be our last visit so perhaps Niseko will be sufficient for this one but perhaps nipping over to Moiwa or a jaunt over to Kiroro or Rusutsu?

Also, in terms of looking for pow, we're not kitted up with backcountry safety gear. Is the general rule of thumb you need it once through the gates but are pretty much ok (if sensible) inside them?
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
I saw Ed Leigh on ski sunday on a salomon derby laying a toeside turn on piste or they said it was him.
These boards are softer twins with added powder features .
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