On Wed, 11 Mar 2009 11:07:58 +0000 (UTC), Switters
wrote:

On Tue, 10 Mar 2009 22:53:25 GMT, Pip Luscher
allegedly wrote:

On a slightly different subject, ISTR it wa you who suggested a
different setup on my snowboard last year, which I tried out on my new
one [1]. Worked a treat.

Good to hear it. I've learnt a few things over the years

[1] I swore earlier this year that I wouldn't buy a new snowboard; I
couldn't, and it wasn't worth it. Then, purely for curiosity's sake, I
wandered into a shop that sold snowboards. And walked out many pounds
lighter. And a few pounds heavier, too.

heh, yah weak-willed whus.

Guilty.

Hopefully it was a good decision though.

I think so. New board's an intermediate all-mountain type, a Ride
Havoc. The old one was an ex-rental beginner's board with step-in
bindings.

On trying out the new board, my initial reaction was "Help! I've
forgotten how to turn!" It immediately felt more stable than the old
one. It carves much better and transitions from edge to edge on piste
are a much more controlled affair. It rides powder nicely; just lean
back a bit and it glides. It also seems to have a bit more pop than
the old one and tiny ollies seemed easier (we're talking a few inches
here, so I won't be entering any big-air competitions just yet).

I tried the old one again after a couple of days as a comparison and
the difference was amazing: on the very first casual toe side turn,
the board whipped round so fast I fell forward onto my hands; the
boots felt like they were attached by hinges even after I tightened
the boots' ankle straps up to the edge of discomfort, and the whole
plot generally felt nervy.

The only downside to the new one is the increased difficulty in
turning on steeps; last year I was getting reasonably confident on
mogul runs, though not actually riding the fall line. This year I was
having to work a lot harder to turn quickly and spent rather more time
sitting down. I'll get used to it eventually.

Placing the boards base to base, there was little obvious difference.
The new one was almost identical in length and width overall (one
claimed 158cm, the other 160) and had maybe 1-2mm more side cut each
side. Stiffness was hard to gauge; I did try bending them and gripping
one end between my knees and twisting but any difference could've been
my imagination. Given their superficial similarity, the difference in
behaviour was quite surprising. Pleasing too, otherwise I'd have
wasted a load of money!

--
-Pip