Freeride board recommendations

Hi all,

I'm looking to buy a new freeride/all-mountain board and would like to
get some recommendations. I am an advanced-to-expert rider who mostly
sticks to the steep stuff (preferably with powder) but I like to ride
the park now and then too. At the moment I ride a K2 Darkstar but I
feel it's a bit too soft.

My stats:
Height: 179cm
Weight: 71 kg
Shoe size: 8.5 (UK), 9 (US)

I live in Norway and intend to buy online from the US. Most shops can't
seem to ship Burton boards outside of US/Canada so that kinda rules
Burton out.

Cheers,
MiG

www.donek.com

Michal wrote:
Hi all,

I'm looking to buy a new freeride/all-mountain board and would like to
get some recommendations. I am an advanced-to-expert rider who mostly
sticks to the steep stuff (preferably with powder) but I like to ride
the park now and then too. At the moment I ride a K2 Darkstar but I
feel it's a bit too soft.

Prior AMF or MFR, depending on how much you like the park. Donek
Phoenix or Incline, again depending on your park inclinations. The AMF
and Phoenix are more general, the MFR and Incline geared to fast freeriders.

www.priorsnowboards.com
www.donek.com

Don't forget to check out the used/demo deals at Prior.

Neil

Thanks! Are Prior and Donek boards only sold online through the
manufactures? None of the online shops I have checked e.g. DogFunk seem
to stock them, and they are the ones with the big sales right now.

Anyone got something to say about Option and Ride boards?

MiG

Michal wrote:
Thanks! Are Prior and Donek boards only sold online through the
manufactures? None of the online shops I have checked e.g. DogFunk seem
to stock them, and they are the ones with the big sales right now.

Donek and Prior boards are also sold through bomberonline.com but only a
limited selection of the alpine versions. You're best off going direct
if you want one of the freeride or freestyle models.

If you're looking for a good all-round freeride board, you can also
check out Rad-Air. They should be a lot easier to find where you are
than through US online shops though. Sold online in the US through
www.hardbooter.com and www.exoticboards.com. See www.rad-air.com to
find other places to buy.

I don't know anything about Ride and Option.

Neil

www.neversummer.com

I have the Premier T5 and it is by far the best board I have ever had.

Check out boardzone.com nice prices!

Michal wrote:
Hi all,

I'm looking to buy a new freeride/all-mountain board and would like to
get some recommendations. I am an advanced-to-expert rider who mostly
sticks to the steep stuff (preferably with powder) but I like to ride
the park now and then too. At the moment I ride a K2 Darkstar but I
feel it's a bit too soft.

My stats:
Height: 179cm
Weight: 71 kg
Shoe size: 8.5 (UK), 9 (US)

Hi, Michal. I'm 175cm, 68 kg, Shoe size 7.5 US advanced-to-expert
rider. I agree with Neil G on all of his brand recommendations. I've
personally ridden the Prior AMF 156, Prior MFR 158, Donek Incline 155,
Donek Phoenix, and Rad Air Reto Lamm 156 and all are very nice boards.
However, since you don't do any freestyle I would avoid the Prior AMF
was it's a little soft and turns very tightly - the MFR is much more
what you are looking for. Similarly, the Phoenix is more of an
all-around board, but the Incline/Wide is the freerider board. I would
recommend the Wide as I have smaller feet than you and the Incline is
narrow for me, plus it doesn't float very well in powder. The Wide is
only a "mid-wide" so it isn't for bigfoots, plus it gives you more
float in powder. However, the Doneks really let you "feel the snow"
which I personally don't like, on groomed terrain they are awesome...
but in cruddy soft snow, or super icy stuff and all the bumps and
vibrations come on through to your feet. The Priors are built for
Whistler snow, which is like the snow here in Tahoe, which is very
variable... going from very wet, heavy, and bumpy to refrozen hardpack
and death cookies. For that I really like the damp ride of the Priors.
The Rad Air Reto is also a very nice board... built for speed. It is
designed as a BX style board so it soaked up the chop and holds on
controllable in icy conditions. Very nice board, smooth to ride...
likes to rip.

www.donek.com
www.priorsnowboards.com
www.rad-air.com

Hope all of this helps!
--Arvin

Michal wrote:
Hi all,

I'm looking to buy a new freeride/all-mountain board and would like to
get some recommendations. I am an advanced-to-expert rider who mostly
sticks to the steep stuff (preferably with powder) but I like to ride
the park now and then too. At the moment I ride a K2 Darkstar but I
feel it's a bit too soft.

My stats:
Height: 179cm
Weight: 71 kg
Shoe size: 8.5 (UK), 9 (US)

Hi, Michal. I'm 175cm, 68 kg, Shoe size 7.5 US advanced-to-expert
rider. I agree with Neil G on all of his brand recommendations. I've
personally ridden the Prior AMF 156, Prior MFR 158, Donek Incline 155,
Donek Phoenix, and Rad Air Reto Lamm 156 and all are very nice boards.
However, since you don't do any freestyle I would avoid the Prior AMF
was it's a little soft and turns very tightly - the MFR is much more
what you are looking for. Similarly, the Phoenix is more of an
all-around board, but the Incline/Wide is the freerider board. I would
recommend the Wide as I have smaller feet than you and the Incline is
narrow for me, plus it doesn't float very well in powder. The Wide is
only a "mid-wide" so it isn't for bigfoots, plus it gives you more
float in powder. However, the Doneks really let you "feel the snow"
which I personally don't like, on groomed terrain they are awesome...
but in cruddy soft snow, or super icy stuff and all the bumps and
vibrations come on through to your feet. The Priors are built for
Whistler snow, which is like the snow here in Tahoe, which is very
variable... going from very wet, heavy, and bumpy to refrozen hardpack
and death cookies. For that I really like the damp ride of the Priors.
The Rad Air Reto is also a very nice board... built for speed. It is
designed as a BX style board so it soaked up the chop and holds on
controllable in icy conditions. Very nice board, smooth to ride...
likes to rip.

www.donek.com
www.priorsnowboards.com
www.rad-air.com

Hope all of this helps!
--Arvin

Arvin,

Did you get a chance to ride the tanker? If so, how did it compare to
the Reto Lamm