more "universal" powder board
 

Guys, after an amazing powder Christmas in Mammoth, I started looking
for a dedicated powder board. I ride Nitro Shogun 166 right now and
it's an amazing board, handles hard pack, holds edge, wonderful.
But I was thinking about something longer or let's say, better for powder.
I'm 6'1 and 195lbs. Fish? Prior Khyber? Pow stick?
Or just simply a longer freeride board, like another Shogun 169 or
soemthing else ~172?
Which board seams more "universal": Prior Pow Stick or Khyber?
Khyber is great for tight turns, swallowtail will handle speed better.
Dean from Prior recommends Pow Stick, but Chris says Khyber is "the most fun".
I will not go to Alaska often, but I'm planing heliboarding this summer.
Will Khyber handle treeless open bowls and speed? 165 is the longest,
but it's pretty wide.
How about starting up in powder with such a wide board? Same about Fish?
The tail in swallowtails helps a lot to do that, I guess.
Any comments are welcome


Andrew

more "universal" powder board
 

Why do you need such a long board? It's really not necessary and
everyboard is a compromise.


"BigFoot" wrote in message
...
Guys, after an amazing powder Christmas in Mammoth, I started looking
for a dedicated powder board. I ride Nitro Shogun 166 right now and
it's an amazing board, handles hard pack, holds edge, wonderful.
But I was thinking about something longer or let's say, better for powder.
I'm 6'1 and 195lbs. Fish? Prior Khyber? Pow stick?
Or just simply a longer freeride board, like another Shogun 169 or
soemthing else ~172?
Which board seams more "universal": Prior Pow Stick or Khyber?
Khyber is great for tight turns, swallowtail will handle speed better.
Dean from Prior recommends Pow Stick, but Chris says Khyber is "the most
fun".
I will not go to Alaska often, but I'm planing heliboarding this summer.
Will Khyber handle treeless open bowls and speed? 165 is the longest,
but it's pretty wide.
How about starting up in powder with such a wide board? Same about Fish?
The tail in swallowtails helps a lot to do that, I guess.
Any comments are welcome


Andrew

more "universal" powder board
 

Why do you need such a long board? It's really not necessary and
everyboard is a compromise.


Long? But I don't know how long it should be. I guess if I go
swallowtail, it could
be 167-172 (to be more universal) or longer to be more powder only.
But if I choose Fish like Khumber it can't be longer then 165.
Can you help me?







Guys, after an amazing powder Christmas in Mammoth, I started looking
for a dedicated powder board. I ride Nitro Shogun 166 right now and
it's an amazing board, handles hard pack, holds edge, wonderful.
But I was thinking about something longer or let's say, better for powder.
I'm 6'1 and 195lbs. Fish? Prior Khyber? Pow stick?
Or just simply a longer freeride board, like another Shogun 169 or
something else ~172?
Which board seams more "universal": Prior Pow Stick or Khyber?
Khyber is great for tight turns, swallowtail will handle speed better.
Dean from Prior recommends Pow Stick, but Chris says Khyber is "the most
fun".
I will not go to Alaska often, but I'm planing heliboarding this summer.
Will Khyber handle treeless open bowls and speed? 165 is the longest,
but it's pretty wide.
How about starting up in powder with such a wide board? Same about Fish?
The tail in swallowtails helps a lot to do that, I guess.
Any comments are welcome


Andrew

more "universal" powder board
 

Why do you need such a long board? It's really not necessary and
everyboard is a compromise.

I'll heartily agree that every board is a compromise. (The fact that I own
and ride four boards is evidence)

I'll even agree that for many of us ( 220 pounds?) long boards are not
necessary.

But they sure as hell can be a lot of fun! Especially if you're not into
riding switch, and you are into either railing turns, floating high through
powder, or late spring riding in slush, mashed potatoes, and velvet. Longer
boards can really help you not to pearl in those conditions.

Back to the topic at hand... powder boards... to to www.freecarve.com , and
then to the "Boards" topic.

http://www.freecarve.com/gen_tab2.asp?CatID=1

Scroll down, there is some discussion of powder boards. This will give you
an idea of just how specific powder-specific boards can be!

more "universal" powder board
 

It seems to me your after a board for the "one day" of deep powder and wide
open runs. Those days are rare so I'd get a board that works for daily
riding. At 172 cm you might as well try skis.

"BigFoot" wrote in message
...


Why do you need such a long board? It's really not necessary and
everyboard is a compromise.


Long? But I don't know how long it should be. I guess if I go
swallowtail, it could
be 167-172 (to be more universal) or longer to be more powder only.
But if I choose Fish like Khumber it can't be longer then 165.
Can you help me?







Guys, after an amazing powder Christmas in Mammoth, I started looking
for a dedicated powder board. I ride Nitro Shogun 166 right now and
it's an amazing board, handles hard pack, holds edge, wonderful.
But I was thinking about something longer or let's say, better for
powder.
I'm 6'1 and 195lbs. Fish? Prior Khyber? Pow stick?
Or just simply a longer freeride board, like another Shogun 169 or
something else ~172?
Which board seams more "universal": Prior Pow Stick or Khyber?
Khyber is great for tight turns, swallowtail will handle speed better.
Dean from Prior recommends Pow Stick, but Chris says Khyber is "the
most
fun".
I will not go to Alaska often, but I'm planing heliboarding this
summer.
Will Khyber handle treeless open bowls and speed? 165 is the longest,
but it's pretty wide.
How about starting up in powder with such a wide board? Same about
Fish?
The tail in swallowtails helps a lot to do that, I guess.
Any comments are welcome


Andrew

more "universal" powder board
 

og wrote:
It seems to me your after a board for the "one day" of deep powder and wide
open runs. Those days are rare so I'd get a board that works for daily
riding. At 172 cm you might as well try skis.

Why so derisive towards longer boards? Lots of snowboards these days
are getting as long or longer than skis, especially on the alpine side.
Guys are racing on 185s or even 195s for super-g. Lots of
recreational all-mountain and carving boards are in the 170s. Several
manufacturers build big-mountain freeride boards in the 170s or bigger.
If you spend all your time in the park or pipe then yeah, you don't
want the extra swing weight but for freeriding long can be fun.

Neil

more "universal" powder board
 

"og" wrote in message ...
It seems to me your after a board for the "one day" of deep powder and wide
open runs. Those days are rare so I'd get a board that works for daily
riding. At 172 cm you might as well try skis.

I would agree that buying an expensive powder specific board for one
heliboarding trip is silly - most heliboarding tours rent powder
boards. A specialized board isn't worth it if you only ride it for 3-4
days a season. Obviously people like Neil G and Mike T ride a
significant number of days a season, so owning 4-5 boards is less
extravagant for them compare to us mortals.

That being said... Burton Fish are selling on Ebay for the $100-$150
range. The OSin 4087 178 (boat-hull nose, swallow-tail) is going for
$90-$130. At that price, it may be worth getting if you are in a
powder happy area. I've been teeter-tottering about getting a Osin 168
since Kirkwood gets 500" annually, but personally decided against it.
Never the less the 178 would probably be a good board for you if you
want to hit big open bowls. The Khyber and Fish are most for tree
riding, but I'm sure they can handle decently in open bowl (just not
has fast as a Swallow Tail). If you go to the board section on
freecarve.com and search for Fish/4807 you will see a long discussion
on the abilities of both between PSR and me.

Finally on the topic of length... I know "og" has a very strong
preference for shortboards over longboards because they are easier to
manuever, which is true.

Personally I like boards a *little* longer as they get better carving
performance as medium to higher speeds. However this can easily be
taken to extremes... especially by hardbooters. I'm 5'8" 147 and I
ride a 155 for freeride boards. I have a 162 alpine board and I'm
finding that a little short... however I did try a 174 cm board!!! it
was longer than my friend's skiis (that's just crazy) and that was a
little long for me in terms of manueverability in powder runs through
trees. It was pretty awesome on wide, wide open trails though (still a
little stiff for me). I've found that as you improve, you are much
more efficient in your snowboarindg an can ride longer and longer
boards - which will give you more stability at breakneck speeds. My
friend Randy is like 230ish and he is a racer and rides a 210!!
HOWEVER, that doesn't mean you will want or like doing that... so I
don't suggest jumping onto a long board immediately... slowly increase
the length of your board. As I've improve over the past decade or so,
I've gone up from a 152 to 154 to 155 to 156 to 157... I found 157 to
be a little long and went back to 155 for a good compromise. For
you... I strongly suggest demoing a longer board before buying it.

I would recommend you stick with a freeride board... a Khyber is a fat
freeride board... maybe you could go with a Donek Wide or Sasquatch,
which I'm told have very respectable powder floating abilties, while
being exceptionally good on groomed runs.

That's just how I see it. Og's viewpoint is somewhat valid as well.
--Arvin

more "universal" powder board
 

It seems to me your after a board for the "one day" of deep powder and wide
open runs. Those days are rare so I'd get a board that works for daily
riding. At 172 cm you might as well try skis. [sic]

Perhaps you should actually try boarding in deep powder (not
hard-based resort eg-fluff) on a board which is suited to your weight
& style. You'll ride much faster and with much less effort and your
thoughts of skis will vanish.

Obviously it depends on your weight and the board style. Light-weight
agressive riders like me can get away with about 170 in deep powder;
the majority need and use something longer. People tend to edge a few
cm more when it's very deep.

In my experience board length makes little difference to turn ability
in the trees, which is just a technique issue.

Obviously Fish and related board lengths run differently.

phil

more "universal" powder board
 

Hey Phil,

I typically ski and ride 50 or so days a year and ride deep powder easily on
a 160 cm board. I see very few riders of any merit riding boards over 168
at any weight and super long boards languish in the shops because no-one
wants them.

In my experience board length makes little difference to turn ability
in the trees, which is just a technique issue.

I respectfully disagree.




"phil" wrote in message
om...
It seems to me your after a board for the "one day" of deep powder and
wide
open runs. Those days are rare so I'd get a board that works for daily
riding. At 172 cm you might as well try skis. [sic]

Perhaps you should actually try boarding in deep powder (not
hard-based resort eg-fluff) on a board which is suited to your weight
& style. You'll ride much faster and with much less effort and your
thoughts of skis will vanish.

Obviously it depends on your weight and the board style. Light-weight
agressive riders like me can get away with about 170 in deep powder;
the majority need and use something longer. People tend to edge a few
cm more when it's very deep.

Obviously Fish and related board lengths run differently.

phil

more "universal" powder board
 

I typically ski and ride 50 or so days a year and ride deep powder easily
on
a 160 cm board. I see very few riders of any merit riding boards over 168
at any weight and super long boards languish in the shops because no-one
wants them.

My experience has been that most longboard fans are hard booters... myself
included. More often that not hardbooters are on something longer than 168.
Many hardbooters use soft boots in powder, and are often on something longer
than 168 - everything from big Customs and Fastbacks to swallowtails to
Tanker 200s.

The hard boot crowd buys a lot of boards direct from the manufacturer (Donek
/ Coiler / Prior / Burton via www.klugriding.com), or online
(www.bomberonline.com, eBay, or from the classified from the various carving
sites). It doesn't surprise me that long boards sit around stores, the big
Burtons, Salomons, and K2s don't seem to have as many fans as boards like
the Rad-Air Tanker, swallowtails, fishtails, and the hardboot-only all
mountain boards like the Donek Axis, Prior 4x4, Coiler All-Mtn... all of
which are rarely if ever found in stores.

In my experience board length makes little difference to turn ability
in the trees, which is just a technique issue.

I respectfully disagree.

Phil - could you explain in more detail?

I routinely ride my Axis 172 in trees, but find myself slowing or stopping
myself all too often. I see others doing riding long boards in trees...
mostly experienced alpine riders... but it's not exactly easy to watch
someone else ride trees without hurting yourself ;)

Mike T