neni

For the upcoming backcountry tour the guide announced that one could rent a splitboard (he mentioned hovercraft and solution).

I'm 5”6’ and 123 lbs, boot size 6.5. Since this year I ride a Flagship 158 with which I'm very (very, VERY) happy. But haven't yet had to carry it for hours... and not to do so is tempting.
I've never tried a split (used short skies so far, don't like snow shoes cause they never fit into the tracks of the skies )

But to ride with a board backcountry I've never tried before, makes me a bit reluctant. How different do they ride? Compared to the Flagship? Would you recommend to try, and if yes: what size should I take? Other things I should consider?


Edit: The focus changed on page 3 from whether or not to rent a split (done and loved the system) to "which split should I buy"

linvillegorge

Absolutely rent the split. Well worth it. As far as the ride, there's not a huge difference. A little less torsional rigidity and that's about it.

__________________
"People say that marijuana smoking is going to get in the way of my career. I say to them that on the contrary, my fighting career is getting in the way of my marijuana smoking." -Nick Diaz

wrathfuldeity

with your boot size, pay attention to the waist width. I recommend trying out a b-pro split or a 156 billy goat split

__________________

killclimbz

No question you should get the split. Wrath your recommendation is probably good, but I think Jones are the boards being offered to the OP. Get the Solution, it's the same as the Flagship. So you'll know how it rides. Try to rent split bindings too. Spark or Karakorum set up is preferred. Also make sure you have collapsible 3 section poles with some sort of flick lock system. Twist locks suck and they jam frequently. You don't need to be dealing with that.

As far as the ride goes. I don't really notice a difference at all torsional wise. Mostly because you are putting a huge metal plate across the board negating a lot of that flex because of the split. The biggest difference is weight. The split will weight a couple of pounds more than your Flagship.

In terms of effort put out, you are going to put a ton out. You'll have to use a lot less with a split than carrying a board on your back and snowshoes. Not to mention if it's windy a board on your back is like a giant sail. No fun at all unless you are out sailing....

tigre

Do it! You'll get a chance to try out splitboarding on basically the same board you're digging right now. Great opportunity to learn what it's all about. It'll be so much better than carrying your board, and then carrying your snowshoes/approach skis on the way down.

neni

Checked it with google, it's a 6.5 in mens and a 8.5 in womans shoe size (the size does depend on sex...huhn...?) Anyway, it's an European 39.

poutanen

The other thing about backcountry riding is you'll be riding almost all untracked snow, no? So the board itself is far less critical than riding over choppy resort crap. I'm willing to bet almost any board feels great riding down a fresh line the entire way!

I really gotta join a split group!

wrathfuldeity

I have size men's 7 or 8 in womens...waist width of 25 cm or less is ideal for me for good edge to edge response. Figure if ur going to rent...try something different...I see lots of women on split b-pros and met a couple on billygoats

__________________

ShredLife

snowolf has women's feet too, and also rides a billygoat split from time to time...jus sayin'

__________________
get the hell off my lawn.

neni

Sure, that's what you want. But... I don't know how it is at your mountains but here madame nature can be very nasty... we have a lot of stong winds that blow away the fresh snow from exposed ridges. Thus sometimes you have to negotiate frozen snow fields to get to the fun run

Hahaha... they only have the Solution in 168w... bit big for me
Went to the local shop today. They have one single split for rent: K2 Panoramic 161 (with Spark). Other splits would have to be sent by post (for 150$ a day). I guess I go for the K2 then...