Opinions on Flow Mercury vs. Burton Clash?

I'm considering my first board purchase after renting for the past 2
vacations (I'm completely hooked/obsessed).

I can't find much info on Flow boards (I guess they're relatively new
to the "Board" market?).

I have it narrowed down between:

1) an all-Flow package with an '05 Flow Mercury 160.
2) an '05 Burton Clash 158.

I like the Flow because it looks wicked and it's not a Burton (only to
be different - nothing against Burton).

I like the Clash because the board looks cool enough, and I know I'm
getting quality, but at the trade off of riding what a lot of other
people ride.

I was considering Ride, Arbor, Unity, Academy, Palmer, Salomon, etc.
but just could not get into the graphics on their entry to intermediate
level boards like I do the Mercury and Clash.

I'm 31 and will spend 99% of my riding time carving the slopes than
parks and pipes.

(5'7", 165#, size 10 shoe)
Any advice/opinions would be appreciated.

Thanks...

JD wrote:
I'm considering my first board purchase after renting for the past 2
vacations (I'm completely hooked/obsessed).

I can't find much info on Flow boards (I guess they're relatively new
to the "Board" market?).

I have it narrowed down between:

1) an all-Flow package with an '05 Flow Mercury 160.
2) an '05 Burton Clash 158.

I like the Flow because it looks wicked and it's not a Burton (only to
be different - nothing against Burton).

I like the Clash because the board looks cool enough, and I know I'm
getting quality, but at the trade off of riding what a lot of other
people ride.

I was considering Ride, Arbor, Unity, Academy, Palmer, Salomon, etc.
but just could not get into the graphics on their entry to intermediate
level boards like I do the Mercury and Clash.

I'm 31 and will spend 99% of my riding time carving the slopes than
parks and pipes.

(5'7", 165#, size 10 shoe)
Any advice/opinions would be appreciated.

Thanks...


My advice would be don't buy a board based on its graphics. You can
always cover the topsheet with stickers. The base is mostly going to be
on the snow when you're riding it, so graphics don't matter there
either. Personally, Unity would be an excellent choice. Those guys
make excellent boards.

Rick

Rick, thanks for the input...

The "graphics factor" is only being considered when I'm comparing
boards that have similar specs/performance. Here's my decision tree in
order from most important to least:

1) Best fit for my level (dont want to be frustrated with too stiff a
board for my level)
2) Performance & Quality (I want the most bang for my buck and exp.
level)
3) Brand/Graphics
4) Price


In this post, I have two boards that I have it narrowed down to that
are somewhat equal in 1, 2 & 4, so that's where graphics and what brand
it is comes into play.

As far as stickers go, I'm an anal-retentive purist, so the less
graphics, less stickers (besides a Clutch (the band) sticker of course)
the better for my taste.

Regarding Unity, I would love to buy one for a lot of reasons, but
factored it out thinking that the Dominion (best fit for me from what I
can tell) may be too advanced for my skill level. I'm not sure how
much more stiff the flex would be compared to the Burton or the Flow.
Any other opinions on any of these mentioned?

Does anyone have any input on Flow boards, specifically the Flow
Mercury?

Just to throw another starter board in the mix - the Arbor Formula.
Anyone have any recommendations on it's ride/quality vs. the Flow
Mercury and/or the Burton Clash?

JD wrote:
Rick, thanks for the input...

The "graphics factor" is only being considered when I'm comparing
boards that have similar specs/performance. Here's my decision tree in
order from most important to least:

1) Best fit for my level (dont want to be frustrated with too stiff a
board for my level)
2) Performance & Quality (I want the most bang for my buck and exp.
level)
3) Brand/Graphics
4) Price


In this post, I have two boards that I have it narrowed down to that
are somewhat equal in 1, 2 & 4, so that's where graphics and what brand
it is comes into play.

As far as stickers go, I'm an anal-retentive purist, so the less
graphics, less stickers (besides a Clutch (the band) sticker of course)
the better for my taste.

Regarding Unity, I would love to buy one for a lot of reasons, but
factored it out thinking that the Dominion (best fit for me from what I
can tell) may be too advanced for my skill level. I'm not sure how
much more stiff the flex would be compared to the Burton or the Flow.
Any other opinions on any of these mentioned?


Cool, that makes a hell of a lot more sense. Unfortunately, I've never
tried any of the three boards you're looking at. Based on company
reputations, Burton and Arbor are excellent choices. I have yet to
actually talk to anyone who has ridden a Flow board. Lots of people
rave about their bindings, but nothing so far on their boards. There
really are only a couple of manufacturing plants in the world, so
they're probably the same as some other maker's board, but I don't know
which one.

Rick

Yeah, it really makes me apprehensive when I can't find out much
regarding Flow boards, but instead, only have their great reputation as
a binding company to bank on.

Good point about manufacturing, and it's something I wasn't aware of.
I would like to know what manufacturing line they're coming from (will
look into).

I do like the idea of having an "all-Flow" system knowing that I won't
have any compatibility issues. Their site does a good job of building
packages for you. I'm just still hesitating on pulling the trigger on
Flow, and am strongly considering the Burton Clash or the Arbor Formula
instead...