Anyone getting a new ride for 09?

[travz//]

Is anyone going to be picking up a new deck this  year?
If you are, what and why? I think the new 09's have alot ot offer
across the board, and I wanna see everyones choices.

Even if you're not getting a new one, find your favorite and post it

[Frosty]

I haven't decided yet.  I have a Burton Custom 158 from a couple years ago and it's still in good shape.  Really good shape in fact.  well, I stopped riding rails so that really helps with board longevity.

The Custom is nice, but if I were more choosy I would go with the attributes I really like for my style of riding, which are:

1) Longer sidecut radius (most important).
I have only ridden one board with a sidecut radius over 10 meters (Steepwater Steep 165) and I have to say it was a thrill.  I have been riding over 16 years now so I know how to finesse a board through turns using my feet, knees, and hips.  I don't want to rely on a deep sidecut to do it all for me, plus, at high speeds most boards need to be tweaked.  I would much rather tweak at low speeds and stay mellow at higher!  The Custom 158 sidecut radius is 8 or so.  The Steepwater was nearly 11.  Problem was the steepwater was too stiff and not nearly enough nose/tail kick.  I got tired or overshooting jumps in the park so I got rid of it

2) Narrow waist
I have 9.5 boot size, so I cannot stand boards that are wide or even mid-wide.  They take too long to roll to edge and then once there they don't hold well.  Yeah they are great in pow, so just have one for heli/cat/backcountry, but for a resort board, narrow is the best for me.  My Custom is 24.9 at the waist.  Not bad, under 25cm for a 158cm board, hard to find these days.  24.7 to 24.8 is teh best for my size 9.5's, and yes, I really do notice the fraction of a cm difference!  My Steepwater actually had a 24.8 or so waist and it was so right, but the other shortcomings I mentioned previously discounted the overall ride.

3) High nose/tail kick
I like riding in powder and I like staying on top of it.  Yeah, I know just go fast and that's all you need, but the reality is there are flat spots and gapers that get in the way and you cannot ALWAYS haul @$$ everywhere.  Some "powder" boards have a high nose kick but lack in the tail.  OK, so when I land my 540 they don't want me to flow away switch through the pow to the next hit? Come on guys!  It's what snowboarding is all about.  I ride fakie like 40% of the time I am on the mountain.  Yes, higher nose and tail kick does increase swing weight and it does increase vibration, but those factors are negligible compared to the bennies.

4) Medium flex
This is pretty straight-forward.  Personal preference.  I like a board that is medium to medium-soft  in flexibility (no, not totally soft like a newbie noodle).  I can tweak it easier and it handles the deep stuff way better.


So now you know my dilemma.  My perfect board does not exist.  Oh well, I guess there are bigger problems in the world, but a fella can dream, right? If you know of a board that is even close to fitting these criteria, please let me know.

[michael21]

I am thinking about it.  Like Frosty I have a Custom but I think I want a wide board this year for my size 11's.  I am looking at the Salomon Tempest not sure though.  I have heard nothing but good things about Salomon so we will see.  May just keep the Custom, it could be that I am just jonesing rgiht now for some snow I don't know.

[rowan]

So, after reading Frosty's post I realize I have no clue whatsoever what I really want out of a snowboard.  I have only owned like one snowboard besides riding resort rentals which I dont really count....  i like my burton feelgood but have nothing to compare it to as far as experiences with other snowboards.  Im still going to order the roxy envi because i want to try MTX, but in trying to be cheap  have waited too long for prices of last years stuff to drop and cant find any left that are 152 length.  Hopefully they make this board in 09   

[travz//]

rowan your boards on ebay for $279. its a 152 brand new and thats the 2nd cheapest price ive seen it.

frosty, k2 had a board years ago that fit your specs as far as i can remember, but i cant
for the life of me remember the model name. it was an alpine board and was red
and white and had an eye loop on the tail to attach your leash to. but i remember it
had a huge tip and tail and was a directional twin. it may have just been called the
alpine, i dunno. but it was back in like 95-96 i think. they dont make em like they used to.

i want an 08 lib tech skate banana for 09. i saw the 09's and im not to keen on the
weird colors, but it doesnt seem as if they've changed anything so an 08 would be fine.

[Frosty]

it was an alpine board and was red and white and had an eye loop on the tail to attach your leash to....

I know exactly the board you are talking about.  I had a couple buddies who rode that thing.  For some reason I was under the impression that it was on the wider side.

Hey, I am eying down the Nitro Dominion.  I have never ridden a Nitro board, but I have heard good stuff about them.

[rowan]

travz thanks for the heads up on ebay,  I actually hunted around some more last night and found one on a site called  www.shorelineoftaho e.com.   With shipping included it ended up being cheaper at this site, so I ordered one there (yay!).  If you guys have never been to this site before its pretty sweet, they have some good deals there, I saw libtech boards also...

[travz//]

frosty - it might have been a wide, i cant remember. im right in the middle of being able to ride both so ive never really paid attention. but i did remember the tips because i saw the board in real life and thought it was crazy how high up they were.

keep me updated on the nitro ride when you get it man. ive never even seen a nitro snowboard. heard of them, but have never seen one in real life (the southeast is sad!).

rowan - congrats on the new board, i know you're gonna love it! wait till you see it up close, its a completely gorgeous snowboard. hang on the wall style art gorgeous even. and thanks for the heads up on the site! unfortunatly they dont have any skate bananas anymore

happy 4th of july everyone!

[Frosty]

frosty - it might have been a wide, ...

Now I remember.  It is the K2 Eldorado.  They still make them although they have ditched the classic Red, White, & Blue design (HAPPY 4TH!) for Camo :/

It actually is not a wide.  I saw dudes in Alaska riding really long versions of the Eldo and they were wide due to their overall bigger size, but the modern 159cm Eldo is actually a 24.9cm waist width, same as the Custom.

[travz//]

thats it! wow that takes me back. they ditched the eye loop though, that sucks. i thought that was the coolets
thing about the board. you could use an ankle strap instead of the little leash thing.

that sucks though, i thought that board was different than what it was, thats the same as my grudge minus
0.1 cm.

[rowan]

Hey I got my new board today  It IS gorgeous, cant wait to try it out!  The wavy edge is more subtle than I thought it would be, you have to look really close to notice it.  Even my husband, who has no interest in snowboarding whatsoever (despite my futile attemps to get him interested, he's a skiier) was admiring it!!

[Frosty]

Hey I got my new board today  It IS gorgeous, cant wait to try it out!  The wavy edge is more subtle than I thought it would be, you have to look really close to notice it.  Even my husband, who has no interest in snowboarding whatsoever (despite my futile attemps to get him interested, he's a skiier) was admiring it!!

Wow Rowan, you got the Magne-Traction board?nbsp; How cutting edge! (pardon the pun).

Definitely let  us know how it rides and if you get a pic of your rig, post it up on the Gallery.

[travz//]

just got a season pass to my local terrain park for $100. weekends only starting at friday morning 9am to sunday at midnight, no time limits other than when the slopes close.

and...i flat out traded my Forum 146 Manual for......


....a Forum 156 Manual!  The rebound on such a short board for my height was alittle annoying, being a flex
2, this should balance it out better. not to mention i traded a ridden board for a brand new one because
the 156 was too big for him by quite a bit and it was a christmas present and you cant find a 146 to save
your life. Im so excited, bring winter on!