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Women's beginner board help please?

5K views 19 replies 4 participants last post by  mcar93 
#1 ·
Height: 4'11"
Weight: 97-103 lbs
Boot size: 6.5
Riding style: I don't know yet. I'm a beginner though so I want a soft board
Age: 20
budget: around $250. Absolute max $300
location of riding: local place called mount kato and local hills in southern mn.

I know I should probably have a board around 130-140 but I need help finding one that would work well for me.

Would either of these be a good choice??

On Sale Sierra V Spot Snowboard 138 - Womens up to 50% off

On Sale Ride Rapture Snowboard - Womens up to 40% off
 
#3 ·
I've not ridden either of those boards, but from the specs they'll be great for you - both soft and forgiving, and the 138 (as small as either of them go) would be the right size for your weight. Really, any soft rocker or flat-rocker would work, I stumbled across last year's K2 Kandi on Evo that comes in some of the smaller sizes and well within your budget.

As wrathful said, good boots are more important - if your feet aren't comfy you won't enjoy riding nearly as much. And I'm a big believer in lessons if you can afford them now and again, good technique really helps you progress quickly.
 
#4 ·
Hi,

You have some very good suggestions above and yes, lessons can help a lot. The boards that you are considering are fine boards but by shopping around a bit you can find a complete package at equal or higher quality (including boots and bindings) for those prices.
 
#5 ·
I'm planning to get lessons too of course :)
I just figure as much as I want to go, the rental prices will add up.
As far as boots go, I already have a pair I like and plan on getting a snowboard/bindings package once I find out which board I like best.
 
#6 ·
An Ebay Shop's Recomendation?

Leslie from Dj's boardshop said a 138 would be too small for me?

"At your height and weight, a board in the 143cm range, give or take a couple cms either way will be ideal. A 138cm board will be a bit small, I wouldn't recommend going any smaller than a 140cm. With that said, The Sierra V Spot is a good board and we do have it available in the 142 size which I will recommend over the 138, link below. Otherwise, I have included a few other board/binding options that will work well for you to consider. Hope this helps!"

Sierra V Spot 142 Womens Snowboard Salomon Spell White Bindings | eBay

Rossignol Temptation Amptek 143 Womens Snowboard Rossignol Justice Bindings | eBay

Salomon Spark 143 Womens Snowboard Sapient Zeta White Bindings | eBay

Roxy Silhouette Banana Blem 141 Womens Snowboard Sapient Zeta White Bindings | eBay
 
#7 ·
Hi,

You can completely disregard that advice. Rider height is absolutely not a factor in board sizing. Only weight and shoe size count. There are many boards in 138 that will work well for you and many others that would not. It depends entirely on the designe of the specific model that you are considering.
 
#8 ·
Thanks. :) If it matters, I left out this part in the beginning "When choosing the correct board size, both height and weight play a role but weight is definitely more important. Basically, it comes down to being able to properly flex the board"

But how do I know which 138s work well and which ones don't? Are you talking about freestyle and freeride?

And how would the riding experience be different between a 138 and a 142?
 
#9 ·
Your biggest issue is going to be foot size.

Please measure your foot using this method:

Kick your heel (barefoot please, no socks) back against a wall. Mark the floor exactly at the tip of your toe (the one that sticks out furthest - which toe this is will vary by rider). Measure from the mark on the floor to the wall. That is your foot length and is the only measurement that you will want to use. Measure in centimeters if possible, but if not, take inches and multiply by 2.54 (example: an 11.25 inch foot x 2.54 = 28.57 centimeters).
 
#11 ·
Good question. This is the biggest issue that a lot of petite riders face. It is far more important than rider weight.

Consider the Roxy Silhouette that had been suggested above. In 141 cm it is 24.4 cm at the center inserts (where your feet go). That means that at zero degree angles your feet will be 1 cm short of reaching the boards edges. That would be rough but it gets worse because you will not be riding at 0 degrees. With common stance angles you will be over 2 cm within the board's edges. That makes it very difficult to get any leverage which results in greatly reduced control.

While you may not be able to achieve the ideal of roughly 1 cm of edge overhang the closer you can get to the edges the better off you will be. For your weight it is very common for the best choices to be under 140 cm. It would be really bad advice to rule those boards out as many of your best options will be in that range.
 
#14 ·
This is where it gets a little tricky. The only measurements that you will find listed is waist width...but nothing happens at the waist. Very generally speaking you will find that boards are roughly 1cm wider at the inserts (where you stand) than the measured width. Soooo a board that is listed at 23.5 will be at ~ 24.5 where you will stand.
 
#15 · (Edited)
That confuses me because I have an average foot size for women. size 7. They're actually kinda big for my height. But now it feels you're saying none of the 138s will fit me because the widths are too big. Even bigger than the 141 example you showed me. Why would a board made for someone who weighs 100 pounds or less require feet bigger than mine?

Sierra V Spot 138 Womens Snowboard Salomon Spell White Bindings | eBay
waist width: 23.8 cm

Ride Rapture 138 Womens Snowboard Sapient Zeta White Bindings | eBay
waist width: 23.5 cm

Sapient Spiral 139 Womens Snowboard Sapient Zeta Bindings | eBay
waist width: 23.7 cm

Rossignol Myth Amptek 139 Womens Snowboard Rossignol Myth Bindings | eBay
waist width: 23.4
 
#18 · (Edited)
That confuses me because I have an average foot size for women. size 7.
Hi again,

The average US women's shoe size has actually crept up to between sizes 8.5 and 9 (25.5cm to 26 cm). Your 23.5 measurement is ~ 2.2 cm shy of the average. We have a lot of threads here on the forums with women who have sizes 22 to 23.5 (and men with sizes 7-8) that are largely ignored by the snowboard industry and have to make compromises when selecting. This is the case because the models are almost always designed around a single board size and then that shape is (very close to) symmetrically upsized or downsized to create the additional size outlines. The sad truth is that much less consideration is given to the smallest sizes which make up a small fraction of sales.

Don't let that deter you. I only mention it because width should be a strong factor in deciding a board. To reiterate, when you are not yet reaching the edge, millimeters count. There are better and worse choices for your specs. Within (almost) all given models the width will decrease as the board size decreases which is why you should not rule out 138 (or similar).

Additionally, waist width should not be your guide. The boards that will end up working best for you may have sidecuts that do not progress to wide as quickly and therefore stay narrower at the inserts. To mention one that we do not carry (to avoid turning this into a sales thread) the K2 First light 138 (for instance) is 23.2 at the waist bit only progresses to 23.9 at the inserts. Not bad.

I hope that is helpful. We want you to have an amazing experience riding!
 
#16 ·
I really just wanna know if I should get the v spot or the rapture. :dunno:
I like that the v spot is super soft and "buttery" with tons of good reviews, but the rapture is more balanced and cheaper? The v spot is a true rocker and the rapture is flat/rocker. So I'm guessing the v spot would be better in powder and the rapture more stable at higher speeds? I like the ride raptures graphics better but of course that's not too important. ;P
 
#17 ·
Not necessairly...it depends...on the pow and its heaviness/lightness...meaning the v spot would work on pnw pow < 6", but > 12+" it will suck, it will fold-up and die...but perhaps will work on 12" of light and fluffy.

...but perhaps the discussion is premature in that ur a beginner and will perhaps not be riding 12+" of pow.

fwiw...learning on a super soft and buttery board...imho is not a good place to start
 
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