Snowboards - does it make any difference which one?

A snowHead

I've read about all of these different snowboards and they sound great (I love being sold too), but is there really that much of a difference between them?

For example I have done 2 weeks boarding and I'm very much still learning. I bought a K2 Union to learn on, which I've found out is an intermediate / advanced board. Would I find it easier / quicker to learn if I downgraded to a beginners board? Or is it just marketing, after all how different can a board be???

A snowHead

The k2 union is a wide freestyle board around mid -flex.
A flexier board will be easier to turn as well as shorter boards. Great for messing about on bumps and shallow powdery trees.
It may be a little chattery at VERY high speeds on piste.
A stiffer board will be more stable at speed and landing jumps (however small) and better in the deeper powder.
You WILL notice a longer or stiffer board being harder to turn on steeps.

At two weeks a midflex freestyle would prob be fine until you get into powder then the short nose will need you set the bindings back as far as possible and stay at mach 5 to get enough float. Being a wide board might be a bit of an advantage.

If you are getting on fine with it then stay at mid-flex. Maybe supplement it with a longer board for powder days around the same flex. (think burton custom wide).

What weight and height are you and what length is the board?

Tux

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

What Tux said, and better to grow in to a board than grow out of it !

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At a beginners level probably not a lot of difference, any all mountain bard will do. I borrowed a burton custom for the first two trips, i then got had a palmer honeycombe x and used it for about 4 years (7-8 trips). I have decided that my board was crap as the edges are always burred no matter what i do and it struggles on ice, it always grinds to a halt on flats when everyone else flies past and it always pulls to the left no matter what the binding settings.

For that reason I decided I needed a new board, I too was dazzled by the array of options and fantastic marketing speel and was dunfounded. The reality is if you are a pro boarder who is in the park you will need one type of board, if you are doing off pist all day another type, but for the rest of us a good all mountin board will do the trick. I have just bought a nitro blacklight which gives a bit of everything and is highly rated. The reality is that anything that actually worked properly would have done the job compared to the last one I had. I could have settled fo ranything but I thought I may as well get someting good but the truth is it probably would not make any difference what iI bought this time round as long as it worked.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

rayscoops, Exactly.

There are massive differences between boards, but at two weeks it's not really an issue. Any decent board (like yours) will do, just "grow into" it.

Never understood the point of "learner" boards.

The only problem I see is that some peeps automatically blame the board for not progressing/just being crap, and look for the "miracle" board that will put this all right, when it's often a case of hard work and perservering with what you've got. I guess it's just easy to blame the equipment, than face reality.

Good luck.

John..

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Just got a Burton Custom 165W with ICS (is this the coolest mounting system in history or what?) to complement my Ride Berzerker 159. I am now the proud owner of a 'quiver'. I think the Custom would suffice but I'm keeping my Berzerker for being an idiot in the park and for days when snow cover isn't great so I don't wreck my new one (and for trips to Brecon).

The Berzerker isn't that great at speed, being a flexy true twin (nowhere near as easy to ride at speed as my old Ride Decade), I'm hoping the Custom will play nicer Smile

Not searching for a 'miracle board', just using the right kit for the job

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Isn't the K2 Union a true twin too? If he isn't planning on riding switch then a directional/all mountain board would be better to learn on no? Riding a flexy true twin after riding an all mountain I noticed how much more stable the AM was, I wouldn't have wanted the twin as my learner board!

After all it is free

Thanks for the tips guys - much apreciated

I am a 'big' bloke - 6' 1'' , size 11 and 17 stone, so sounds like the K2 Union is the right size.

I take on board the comments - I am not a gifted boarder even though I love it and want to get much better. I have caught a few edges and hurt myself which I suppose has knocked my confidence a bit, so I was thinking of getting an 'easier' board to ride to build that confidence back up.

I know it's sounds better to 'grow' into the board, but I was just wondering whether there was something easier than the K2 Union for a numpty boarder. Grow out of that, and then progress onto something else full of confidence!

6'1" and 17 stone? I'm 6' and 16 1/2 stone my Bezerker is a 159 true twin and I think I would have progressed much slower if I'd learnt on that. You should look to get an all mountain board in the 164 - 168 range (directional twin), you'll find it a lot easier to ride. No disrespect but unless you're a real quick learner you won't need a park board for a while.

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It may be worth hiring a few in a resort before buying. A guy here in Tignes has a Decade and hired a Banana with a view to buying one. It did nothing in powder that his Decade couldn't but was nervous on piste and useless on hard pack/ice.

He was so glad he tried one first.

snow reports

I was in a similar situation when I bought an intermediate/ advance board last year. I wasn't honest with myself and thought I was better than I was. I had only managed 2 and a half weeks but thought that buying a better board would help me progress.

Wrong. It hindered my learning as it would often throw me late in the day when I was tired and my mind wondered. I lost confidence and the last day spent riding very slowly (which didn't help) I ended up selling it and I rode a decent hire board at xmas. My level shot up and I'm now riding miles better.

You know it makes sense.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

I would think this is much more down to muscle fatigue. Any board can spit you out when you are trying to with straighter legs because you are knackered. Add in some icy or mogulled slopes and it's easy to catch an edge.

A snowHead

A snowHead

flyingjase, from the sound of it i'd say providing you don't want intend to go high speed down the piste, the board you have is probably a good match for where you are in your riding ability. A bigger stiffer board will be more stable but will turn slower. If you're at the stage where you want to link your turns well, you should be well served with a flexyish board that will turn sharply. Once you get the skills down, you should decide what you want from your board - i.e. what you want to spend your days doing - do you want to hang around the park, disappear into deep powder, or careen down the piste like there's a jellyfish in your underpants. For me it's the latter two every time, and the middle one when it's available, hence a bigger stiffer board for me.

PS i'm a lanky one too (6'4) so i share your pain. When we fall, it is from a great height and hurts more (thats my excuse)

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

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rayscoops, thats exactly right. You need to learn to ride a more advance board as with for example cars. But when you're a beginner I feel you need to learn the basics then progress with a good foundation. Practice doesn't make perfect - perfect practise makes perfect!

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Gainz, maybe I was just too tight to buy an appropriate board for my level at the time, after all a board is for life not just for christmas ..... or was that puppies Puzzled

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A board is for puppies?

Neh Neh

A stiff board lends it self to proper carved turns and good edge control. A flexy board washes out into skidded turns much quicker.

Prob go as far to say that a flexy board will limit progression from skidded turns.

Tux

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

After all it is free

I am new to snowboarding, but surf, wake-board water ski ect ect ect.....

In 2008 i went to Nesiko to try out Snowboarding, i like to be technical in my choices of equipment no matter what sport i am doing.

This is what i found from a beginners point of view. :

Hired 3 different boards, all about the same length but ALL different flexibility.

Purchased a Zuma form town.

The boards i hired were great, what i found is the more flexibility was easier for me to lean on for a few reasons.

The more flexible i found it didn't hurt my leg muscles as much, which in turn gave me the break i needed to start to understanding my binding settings.

The Zuma i purchased was very very flexible and i had a ball on it until i hit a tree and broke it.

After 21 days over 8 hours a day of solid snowboarding i was getting the hang of things quite well.

I hired a board that had little flex in in and decided to climb the last part of Anapuru and dive over the back side on the steep off piste slopes, it took me over 2 hours to get the guts to do it, and thats when i found out how important to a beginner the flex in a board is!!!!!

This bloody board would not turn for me, i mean i was trying all i could to turn it but it was a slug!!!

I really thought i was going to die there a few times and after what should have been a 20 min ride, turned out to be an exhausting, frustrating, hurting 2 hour run.

So for me as a beginner, the flexibility in a board is a must, i have repaired my Zuma and all is sweet now and back to a load of fun.

Just my 2 cents worth, hope it helps some beginners.

Turning in deep and steep powder is much more about the rider's skill and the board's size. I like a stiff board but in powder it makes very little difference. When in powder, if you just lean over, as though carving, you will find yourself covered head to foot in snow. The faster you go, the more you can lean but cautious riding on steep fields requires you to use the board as though it is a rudder, lifting the tail across to start each turn.

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I am looking to start boarding even though I'm an experienced skier (don't tell the other skiers on the forum). My skiing gear is all Atomic and quite expensive so I don't really want to spend a packet on kitting myself out with snowboarding gear.

I plan to hire for my first session but would be interested to know if anyone had any experience with Nidus snowboards being sold on eBay. As a snowboarding newbie I want a reasonably flexible board that won't cost a packet.

Help!!

Snowboards - does it make any difference which one?

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