Does 3cm In Board Length Affect Riding?

Hi, I am 5'6" and 145lbs and been riding 152 for a couple of years. I am
thinking of getting a new board, maybe a 155. Does the additional 3cm in
length really affect how the board handles on the snow? I am aware that the
longer the board, the faster and stable at high speeds. But 3cm doesn't
seem that much to affect this.

I am also thinking of 158, but i am not sure if it's too long for me. Is
anyone 5'6"/145lbs riding longer than a 155?

On Mon, 23 Feb 2004 17:34:22 GMT, "John Smith" allegedly
wrote:

Does the additional 3cm in
length really affect how the board handles on the snow?

Maybe... it depends on flex, torsional stiffness, sidecut, running
length... it's virtually impossible to tell without riding the 2 boards
back to back. It might feel exactly the same, or it might feel like it's
twice the length.

Also the conditions you ride in will affect things greatly. My 162cm
board is great in virtually everything, but I'll use my 181cm board for
big powder runs. However, I won't take the 181 into trees anymore. Been
there, didn't like that.

- Dave.

--
The only powder to get high on, falls from the sky.
http://www.vpas.org/ - Snowboarding the worlds pow pow -
Securing your e-mail

The Snowboard FAQ lives here - http://rssFAQ.org/

Hi, I am 5'6" and 145lbs and been riding 152 for a couple of years. I
am
thinking of getting a new board, maybe a 155. Does the additional 3cm
in
length really affect how the board handles on the snow? I am aware
that the
longer the board, the faster and stable at high speeds. But 3cm
doesn't
seem that much to affect this.

For general resort riding, the board length in and of itself doesn't
make much of a difference.... but board length is usually correlated to
things that do make a difference namely effective edge length, sidecut
radius, stiffness.

For different lengths of any given model, a longer board will have a
longer effective edge, a bigger sidecut, and be stiffer.

However different models of the same length may have noticeably
different effective edges, sidecuts, and stiffness, and in this case
would behave quite differently.

Here's an example:

Burton Custom 154 - edge length = 115 cm, sidecut = 7.81 m
Burton Custom 162 - edge length = 122cm, sidecut = 8.32 m,

Donek Incline 155 - edge length = 122 cm, sidecut = 8.38 m

The Custom 154 and Incline 155 are only 1 cm different in length, but 7
cm different in edge length and about 7% different in sidecut radius.
I've never seen these two sizes in these two boards up close but I
expect the Incline is a lot stiffer too. Expect the Incline 155 to be
noticeably more stable at speed and noticeably better at holding a
carve, but the Custom 154 to be easier to make low-speed turns on.

Now compare the Custom 162 and Incline 155. Same edge length, and
almost exactly the same sidecut. All other things being equal, these
two boards would feel very similar. But, the Incline and Custom have
different flex patterns and construction. I suspect the Incline 155
will be a bit stiffer. (My wife has an Incline 150, and it is as stiff
as an older Custom 160) . So I would actually expect the Custom 162
would be easier to turn at low speeds, and the Incline 155 would be more
stable at high speeds. (Several years ago I went from Custom 160 -
Incline 160 and the Incline "felt" considerably longer. That fact,
along with the way the numbers worked out with the sizes, is why I chose
the two boards for this comparison. Yeah, slow day at work!)

So ask yourself, what do you want out of a new board? Tell us what you
like about your current board, what you don't like, and what parts of
snowboarding you want to advance in the most, and we'll probably have
some suggestions!

Mike T

"John Smith" wrote

I am also thinking of 158, but i am not sure if it's too long for me. Is
anyone 5'6"/145lbs riding longer than a 155?

5'11", 145 lbs here, and I'm considering a 162 or even 165 instead
of my current 158 boards after the recent 4 days spent at Whistler.
So far the principle of getting a board somewhat bigger/stiffer than
I can handle worked well for me in that I do grow into them and go
through hate-enjoy-want more cycle

--
Dmitry, with peeling nose

I am also thinking of 158, but i am not sure if it's too long for me. Is
anyone 5'6"/145lbs riding longer than a 155?

I'm 5'11" and 145lbs, I ride a 161. Overall it's the right size for
me, but it does require a little extra effort making tight slow turns
on steep slopes (ie in trees). It's really the combination of length,
width, sidecut and flex that create the difference in feel, and the
shorter board will probibly be different in all of these. Even if not
my much, it adds up. There's an awful lot of things that can be
different between two boards, so I think the best advice is to find a
way to ride both and then decide.

while we're on it...

i'm about 5'8 and 188-192 lbs....riding a custom 158....had a ride 155...
ride mostly east coast ice, hard pack...

but whats a good board for pow?

thinkin bout doin more powder trips out west and canada....

when i first picked up snowboarding i learned on a busted up k2 162....

that was like 5 years ago...

mag




(Jason Watkins) wrote in
om:

I am also thinking of 158, but i am not sure if it's too long for me.
Is anyone 5'6"/145lbs riding longer than a 155?

I'm 5'11" and 145lbs, I ride a 161. Overall it's the right size for
me, but it does require a little extra effort making tight slow turns
on steep slopes (ie in trees). It's really the combination of length,
width, sidecut and flex that create the difference in feel, and the
shorter board will probibly be different in all of these. Even if not
my much, it adds up. There's an awful lot of things that can be
different between two boards, so I think the best advice is to find a
way to ride both and then decide.

Magnum626 wrote:

i'm about 5'8 and 188-192 lbs....riding a custom 158....had a ride 155...
ride mostly east coast ice, hard pack...

but whats a good board for pow?

That Custom will work just fine. To get significantly better you'd
probably want a powder-specific board like a Fish or a swallowtail, but
for all-round riding including powder I don't think there's anything
wrong with a Custom.

Neil

well im 5ft 8 inch and 154 pounds orginally ride a 158 but now after
riding alot of powder went for a palmer 168 big light ,it handles like a
dream.rock steady at speed and even light enough to do spins must say
the side cut is a git in the pipe (It can be spun but cant turn quick
enough on the ground)
ide wouldnt hesitate to go for a 172 next time for my style of riding
(mainly off piste or fast carving)
As probably already said by others its all down to what you wanna do
with your board ,ive seen big guys with boards that come upto their
chest, thats fine if you want to jib and spin at relatively slow speeds.
but if you wanna bomb at 50mph or more or want powder the bigger the
better.

John Smith wrote:

Hi, I am 5'6" and 145lbs and been riding 152 for a couple of years. I am
thinking of getting a new board, maybe a 155. Does the additional 3cm in
length really affect how the board handles on the snow? I am aware that the
longer the board, the faster and stable at high speeds. But 3cm doesn't
seem that much to affect this.

I am also thinking of 158, but i am not sure if it's too long for me. Is
anyone 5'6"/145lbs riding longer than a 155?