You can get a decent board for less than $350 on closeout. I got my Rome Agent for $230 shipped when it's $470 MSRP. I probably spent $440 on all my new gear back in March/April. It's an all-mountain board too, but geared towards park. I can't comment on it though since the snow was gone before I could ride it. I bought it because I knew I would be doing about 50/50 freeride/park, and my park riding will be jumps, rails, and boxes ... no half pipe for me, at least not yet.
Follow sedition's advice above, buy your boots first as that's the most immediate part of comfort. I mean if your feet hurt your not going to want to use the rest of your gear any ways. You get what you pay for just like anything else, spend a little extra and get some nice comfy boots. I bought bindings made by the came company that made my boots, so there wasn't any concern with fitment there.
I have Ride bindings and boots and the company is great to deal with. I emailed them about the boots and bindings, what sizes I should consider, etc. Also when my dinging lock washers got destroyed from me tinkering they sent me new ones free of charge. I can't speak for quality since I haven't used my gear from them yet, but their customer support is amazing.
|