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