new board for the newbie

Hi,
Just wanted to ask yet another variation on the "What board should i
get?" theme. I'm a beginner, have ridden about 4 times so far. In
terms of ability, i can string a few turns together on the greens and
easy blues but i'm still falling a lot. I live in the bay area and
will probably be doing most of my boarding in tahoe. I'm not sure
whether i ought to wait a bit longer before buying my own stuff, but
the clearance sales lately have been tempting me, so i thought i'd
post here to get some opinions. I am 5'3", adult, female, but am
rather light for my height at about 83 pounds. The last board i
rented was a 146, and a 143 before that; i think i may have been given
a 139 before that, but don't really remember. In any case, i haven't
really noticed much of a difference between the different lengths,
being more preoccupied with not falling on my ass. The different
people i have talked to have suggested a range of lengths for me, and
i'm somewhat confused by the conflicting advice. At REI, the guy
suggested something around a 144 or 145, but they didn't really have
anything suitable for me at the time. Today i went to another shop,
and the first person i spoke to was mostly pointing me in the
direction of the 147-150cm boards, but he never asked me how much i
weighed. After trying on some boots (salomon ivys, to get an idea of
whether the lower-priced vigils would be worth getting in from another
store that had them in stock), i asked a second person, who said that
given my weight, i would probably be ok with a kids' board like the
burton punch or the salomon fierce, (which he recommended over the
burton) which was only 139cm. He also said that a somewhat flexible
freestyle board like the burton troop 140 might also be ok for me.
The salomon fierce kids' board is $140 on sale and the troop is $245,
but i'm worried that they will be too short for me in the powder at
tahoe. On the other hand, since i'm on the light side, i don't want
something that's hard for me to control (other boards on sale included
a burton clash 147 for about the same price as the troop, a salomon
substance in a variety of lengths, and a rossignol sublime that both
salespeople thought i would quickly outgrow because it was very
flexible). The troop also came in a 146; this is billed as a "park"
board, so i wasn't sure whether it would be good for a beginner who's
not really planning to do park/pipe, etc. anytime soon. So, in
summary, is there going to be a big difference between a 139 and a
146? If so, which would be better for someone of my height and
weight? And would i be better off getting the cheaper ($140) fierce,
or the ($245) troop, which he said would probably last me longer. I'm
not really a speed freak or anything, so i'm not looking for something
too stiff and fast. Anyway, sorry for the long-winded post, but any
advice for a confused beginner would be much appreciated.

Thanks,
ads
p.s. other boards i have been looking at online include the burton
feather and cruzer, k2 luna, ride catalyst, and the rossignol zena

p.p.s. Sorry, last question. As a beginner, is it worth looking into
flow bindings? i think i would have to order them online, so i
probably wouldn't be able to try them on beforehand...

(ads) wrote in news:4a70b0d7.0402282258.27084090
@posting.google.com:

Glad you are having enough fun to want your own ride!
The board length should depend on two things - your
weight and what you will ride most of the time. I
would consider giving Burton and Ride a phone call
as you are getting 'conflicting' advice. I myself have
no feel for whats right for your weight being in
the 170lb range! But the manufacturer will have taken
this into consideration and knows whats what (hopefully).

As far as the conditions part of it - if you think you'll
be mostly in powder (lucky you!) then stretch a few cm
more, the board will float better. But this may be at
the expense of some regular slope handling. Don't forget
you can always move your bindings back an insert or so
on a powder day.

One thing I might be careful with is the degree of flex
in the board. I think, but not certain, that a lighter
rider might be better on a slightly less stiff board, than
say a 160lb on a Donek. You seem to be leaning this way
as well.

As you have some stores with possibilities, have you
tried arranging a demo day with 2 or 3 boards? Granted
3 or 4 runs each wont do any full justice, but probably
will be enough to rule 1 or 2 out.


p.p.s. Sorry, last question. As a beginner, is it worth looking
into flow bindings? i think i would have to order them online, so

save the flows for an experiment late next season or early the next.
you will be a better rider by then and have a much better feel for
what is 'right' for you. You can probably also find a pair to demo
by then I have a pair I got a few years ago which I'm gonna
let a friend take. I liked the convience, but didn't feel as in
touch with the board as regular straps. Finding parts is sometimes
a pain, and people seem to either have great or really bad
experiences with build quaility.

Whatever you buy now, expect you'll be replacing in 2 seasons. Its
part of the learning curve to toss those hard earned $ away But
seriously, you'll probably find what was good in the beginning
just doesn't suit any more. You didn't mention it, but if you
spend dough on anything, get good boots. The great thing about
being a girl is not having to feel any guilt about asking to try
them all on! And don't buy the boots until you have your
board and bindings done, this way you can make sure they fit
all ok.

Good luck

mike

I hadn't really thought about this before, but REI's return policy
would be *excelent* when buying a board. As a beginner, I think it's
really hard to know what you want out of a snowboard, so the first one
you get really is just a wild guess. That's why I say don't break the
bank on the first one... but with REI, after your first season if you
don't like it, you should be able to take it back.

I personally think you'd be happier on something around 143 than
something much shorter or softer than that, unless you're really
focused on riding park.

83 pounds

They key to finding "your board" is to find something flexy enough.
Most adult boards are designed for someone heavier than 83 pounds. If
you've been renting, you've probably been riding boards that have been
"overused" and are thus a lot softer than when they are new. (Unless
you've been riding demo boards which probably have a little less abuse
on them. Normal rental boars are special rental-only models; demo
boards are boards that are available retail, they usually cost a bit
more to rent)

He also said that a somewhat flexible
freestyle board like the burton troop 140 might also be ok for me.

That makes sense to me.

The troop also came in a 146; this is billed as a "park"
board, so i wasn't sure whether it would be good for a beginner who's
not really planning to do park/pipe, etc. anytime soon.

The labl "park board" could mean any number of things, but if it's soft
enough so that you can bend it int a turn at reasonable speeds, then it
might be fine.

Where are you riding at Tahoe? In my earlier days (97 - 98) I used to
demo a lot of boards at Boreal. Get there early and ask them for a
list of the demo boards in your size, take one of them out in the
morning, and see if they'll save you another one or two and you can
trade on and off during the day. That should help you get a better
idea of what you want. If you can make it up there on a weekday, you
can probably demo 3 or even 4 boards in the same day since there won't
be lot of other people trying to demo; if you go on a weekend you might
get stuck on the same one all day.

Hi,
Thanks everyone for your advice. Sounds like demo-ing a few boards
might be a good idea; hopefully there will still be some good deals
around by the time i've had a chance to do some research. To the
person who asked where i have been snowboarding - so far around Tahoe
i've been to Sierra, Kirkwood, and Sugar Bowl. Of the 3, i preferred
kirkwood, so i will most likely be going there most frequently.

One more question: is anyone familiar with chorus snowboards? I have
noticed one of last year's models selling online for around $150 (the
red 142cm one), and the few reviews of it that i have seen have been
positive. I have a feeling it would be be better for a more
experienced boarder, but i just thought i'd seek some opinions, since
it seems to be a good deal (retail is about $400 from what i can
gather...) Would it be too hard to handle for a beginner?

thanks again to everyone for your help,
ads

(ads) wrote in message . com...
Hi,
Just wanted to ask yet another variation on the "What board should i
get?" theme. I'm a beginner, have ridden about 4 times so far. In
terms of ability, i can string a few turns together on the greens and
easy blues but i'm still falling a lot. I live in the bay area and
will probably be doing most of my boarding in tahoe. I'm not sure
whether i ought to wait a bit longer before buying my own stuff, but
the clearance sales lately have been tempting me, so i thought i'd
post here to get some opinions. I am 5'3", adult, female, but am
rather light for my height at about 83 pounds. The last board i
rented was a 146, and a 143 before that; i think i may have been given
a 139 before that, but don't really remember. In any case, i haven't
really noticed much of a difference between the different lengths,
being more preoccupied with not falling on my ass. The different
people i have talked to have suggested a range of lengths for me, and
i'm somewhat confused by the conflicting advice. At REI, the guy
suggested something around a 144 or 145, but they didn't really have
anything suitable for me at the time. Today i went to another shop,
and the first person i spoke to was mostly pointing me in the
direction of the 147-150cm boards, but he never asked me how much i
weighed. After trying on some boots (salomon ivys, to get an idea of
whether the lower-priced vigils would be worth getting in from another
store that had them in stock), i asked a second person, who said that
given my weight, i would probably be ok with a kids' board like the
burton punch or the salomon fierce, (which he recommended over the
burton) which was only 139cm. He also said that a somewhat flexible
freestyle board like the burton troop 140 might also be ok for me.
The salomon fierce kids' board is $140 on sale and the troop is $245,
but i'm worried that they will be too short for me in the powder at
tahoe. On the other hand, since i'm on the light side, i don't want
something that's hard for me to control (other boards on sale included
a burton clash 147 for about the same price as the troop, a salomon
substance in a variety of lengths, and a rossignol sublime that both
salespeople thought i would quickly outgrow because it was very
flexible). The troop also came in a 146; this is billed as a "park"
board, so i wasn't sure whether it would be good for a beginner who's
not really planning to do park/pipe, etc. anytime soon. So, in
summary, is there going to be a big difference between a 139 and a
146? If so, which would be better for someone of my height and
weight? And would i be better off getting the cheaper ($140) fierce,
or the ($245) troop, which he said would probably last me longer. I'm
not really a speed freak or anything, so i'm not looking for something
too stiff and fast. Anyway, sorry for the long-winded post, but any
advice for a confused beginner would be much appreciated.

Thanks,
ads
p.s. other boards i have been looking at online include the burton
feather and cruzer, k2 luna, ride catalyst, and the rossignol zena

p.p.s. Sorry, last question. As a beginner, is it worth looking into
flow bindings? i think i would have to order them online, so i
probably wouldn't be able to try them on beforehand...

As for helping ramp up your board skills, there's a new training board
out: Trampoline Bounce Board
-http://www.funspot.com/trampoline_bounce_board.html