YABPQ (Yet another Board Purchase Question)

[catfish]

Hiya!

Just came across this excellent site in my quest for a new board.  I'm considering getting another board and I'm a bit overwhelmed by all the choices! 

Here's my specs:

male 37 yrs
5'11"
195 lbs
size 11 boot
freeride but likes to pop small tricks off of terrain
guessing intermediate level of ability

Current equipment:

Burton Driver X boots
Flow NTX bindings
160 Squirrely airtime board (www.airtimeboards.com)

I got a hella good deal on the board a few years back, and last year the upgraded boots and bindings to the equipment mentioned above.

Last year when upgrading, I tried out an Arbor Element board, and to be honest, it scared the crap out of me.  It was fast, stiff, and put me way outside my comfort zone and seemed a bit heavy.  I brought it back and finished the year out with the airtime board. It was like putting back on on a favorite sweatshirt , but is showing signs of wear.

I mainly ride in Minnesota but try to make it out west once a year.  There's a small ski/board joint about a mile from my house so I do get to ride a few times a week as schedule permits.

I want to start pushing my abilities, and in that effort I'm going to take a couple of lessons to ensure I'm not fostering any bad habits or making new ones as I learn. 

I'd like to continue to hone my carving skills and grow my riding "flare" - those little tricks you pop off mounds and the occasional park obstacle - be it  a box or snow structure (not rails as I feel they would damage the edges and retard my carving ability).  I'm also making myself ride switch as much as I can to further round out my boarding abilities.  As stated, I have no interest in rails or 1/2 pipe, but do enjoy quick 180s when coming out of a carve and would like to build up to 360s when popping off terrain.

Id like to stick it under $300 for the board and have something I grow out of anytime too soon.  Tall order?

Thanks in advance and thanks for host a most excellent site!

[Frosty]

Welcome to the forums!  Airtime boards.  I checked out their website.  I have never seen them before.

Good idea to get lessons.  Snowboarding is a lot like golf or other technical sports where tips and good coaching can be realy rewarding for a long time afterward.

Yeah, the Arbor Element is a beautiful board, they are pricey and they are really high performance boards.  I like them but I view them as a really nice sports car that you may only want to ride occasionally.  The wooden topsheets are so nice I would hate to damage it from people skiing across it  or bumping in the lift line.

Under $300 for a nice board like you need is not too hard to do if you order online.  The House has some awesome deals.  Here are a couple recommendations:

$209.95 Nitro Revolt Midwide Snowboard 162
$249.95 Flow Mainframe Snowboard 162
$329.95 Ride Decade Snowboard 160 (I know over $300 but awesome board that will LAST)

[catfish]

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Under $300 for a nice board like you need is not too hard to do if you order online.  The_House has some awesome deals.  Here are a couple recommendations:

$209.95 Nitro Revolt Midwide Snowboard 162
$249.95 Flow Mainframe Snowboard 162
$329.95 Ride Decade Snowboard 160 (I know over $300 but awesome board that will LAST)

Thanks for the hits.  I'll check out these boards.  I wonder if going over $300 is worth it - I'm willing to if the return on the investment is worth it - better quality vs. just more marketing hype and "features" you don't really need.  Any thoughts on that?

Thanks again for the response!

[catfish]

Well, I checked at the local and they had the Ride Decade for $279 and as a member I can return it at any time - nice safe purchase  

I picked it up and will report back !

[Josh]

Awesome.  Goood Luck

[catfish]

Well, I checked at the local and they had the Ride Decade for $279 and as a member I can return it at any time - nice safe purchase  

I picked it up and will report back !

Yeah - I really really like this board - the Ride Decade.  On my first run, going into my first carve - I was all like "Hell YEAH!".  To me it feels as if the board actually speeds up as I start a carve - maybe that "slime edge" it touts really does something!

On my old board, I was always leery  on my heel side carve - I'd find myself "washing out" (board just slipped out of the carve and I land on my butt), this new board holds the edge all the way through and the increased speed keeps my heart thumping.

Ton more pop than I'm used to - can switch stance coming out of a carve like it's nobody's business.

The person that helped me out at time of purchase steered me away from waxing the board saying it was a textured stone grind (or something like that) - no wax needed... just bring it in once a year or so, and they'll redo the stone grind on their big expensive machine.  This didn't make sense to me - NO waxing?  This jive with you folks reading this?

Thanks for the help frosty!

catfish

[rowan]

What they told you about waxing dosen't sound right to me...I'm not an expert or anything but I think if you are riding a few times a week you would definitely need to get your board  waxed more than once a year.  I try to get my board hot waxed every 5 or 6 times that I go out.  Like I said I'm not an expert at all with this stuff so I may be missing something...