Buy a shorter board because of reverse camber?

[lilfoot1598]

I am looking into buying a board with RC technology. Several salespeople have told me that you should buy RC boards slightly shorter than the size you would normally ride because of the way it responds. I was wondering if this is true, or really just a matter of personal preference.

I am looking at the Never Summer Infinity-r. Will be using it for cruising the groomers, jumps, and ground tricks. No rails or jibbing or anything like that. I found the board in a 147 , which seems to be toward the longer end of what I can ride (I weigh 105 pounds and currently ride a 143). My instinct is that a 145 would be better for me, especially if it's true that you should buy a shorter rc board.

Sooo....buy the 147 or wait until next year for the 145, which is impossible to find right now?

[jmacphee9]

whoever started that rumor is the biggest noob ever....its not true, it depends on the board. you should be looking for a 145 not the 147, as the 145 is already a tad tall for you.

[litebrite]

definitely buy the 145. 147 will be too big... and you might end up wishing you waited out for the 145 instead.

i'm around the same weight as you and 145 is the perfect size. my old board was a 143 and i didn't notice any diff moving up 2 cm. but 4 cm might be pushing it...

[BurtonAvenger]

Mervin believes in that size down bull shit. K2 perpetrates that rumor with the VVV rocker and its use of "jib tips" because of the longer effective edge, but yet they even say with their rocker size up so it negates it. Never summers you want to ride true to size. You need the 145.

[Grabby]

I weight about 110 pounds and am 5 ft tall. I personally wouldn't ride anything larger than about a 143 except for powder. I ride a 138 Rome Label that serves me well for ground tricks, jibbing, and smaller jumps and even for a majority of groomer riding but it can get a fairly unstable at higher speeds and on bigger jumps. My current 143 all-mountain board is entirely stable for bombing though not certainly not as playful - because of both the size and flex.

Some of it does come down to personal preference. Also I'm on the east coast and see little powder unfortunately and prefer smaller boards. But I think you definitely need the 145 and might even enjoy a smaller board particularly if you're staying on groomers and working on ground tricks and getting into the park. I remember looking into the Never Summer Infinity-R and noticing that the smallest women's board was a 145. I just opted for a Bataleon Distortia 143 for my new freestyle geared all-mountain board but since my season is over haven't been able to try it out yet

It can be hard to find good board options when you are this small since some companies like Lib tech and Never Summer have nothing under 145 - and Bataleon didn't even have anything under 143 if I wanted something like a jib board from them. It's lame - though I do see the amount of smaller women's boards on the increase.

[lilfoot1598]

Originally Posted by BurtonAvenger

Mervin believes in that size down bull shit. K2 perpetrates that rumor with the VVV rocker and its use of "jib tips" because of the longer effective edge, but yet they even say with their rocker size up so it negates it. Never summers you want to ride true to size. You need the 145.

That makes a lot of sense. The salespeople we talked to were referring to the Skate Banana that my husband was considering, although they did say that any RC board will need to be sized down a bit.


I'm just going to wait it out and keep researching different boards. Hopefully I'll be able to demo a bit next season. My two current boards suit me just fine and I do like a smaller board, since I'm not a hard-charging, aggressive rider.

Thanks for all the great advice!

[BurtonAvenger]

Originally Posted by Grabby

I weight about 110 pounds and am 5 ft tall. I personally wouldn't ride anything larger than about a 143 except for powder. I ride a 138 Rome Label that serves me well for ground tricks, jibbing, and smaller jumps and even for a majority of groomer riding but it can get a fairly unstable at higher speeds and on bigger jumps. My current 143 all-mountain board is entirely stable for bombing though not certainly not as playful - because of both the size and flex.

Some of it does come down to personal preference. Also I'm on the east coast and see little powder unfortunately and prefer smaller boards. But I think you definitely need the 145 and might even enjoy a smaller board particularly if you're staying on groomers and working on ground tricks and getting into the park. I remember looking into the Never Summer Infinity-R and noticing that the smallest women's board was a 145. I just opted for a Bataleon Distortia 143 for my new freestyle geared all-mountain board but since my season is over haven't been able to try it out yet

It can be hard to find good board options when you are this small since some companies like Lib tech and Never Summer have nothing under 145 - and Bataleon didn't even have anything under 143 if I wanted something like a jib board from them. It's lame - though I do see the amount of smaller women's boards on the increase.

You should lay off the crack. FYI Libtech doesn't make women's boards just GNU.

[Grabby]

You're right BA, my bad. I really just meant to say that there are less options if you're as small as myself or Lilfoot and prefer boards on the shorter side.

Not really a critique on the companies more just a frustration of being too damn small.

[BurtonAvenger]

Actually you're just part of the trend that believes you have to ride these microscopic boards to prove that you're a "Tiny" girl. It's just a trend in snowboarding that's lame everyone keeps going smaller and smaller to try and act like it helps their riding. I went through this trend back in 1997, it didn't help my riding.

Originally Posted by BurtonAvenger

Actually you're just part of the trend that believes you have to ride these microscopic boards to prove that you're a "Tiny" girl. It's just a trend in snowboarding that's lame everyone keeps going smaller and smaller to try and act like it helps their riding. I went through this trend back in 1997, it didn't help my riding.

You were a 5' tall girl back in 97? Are kids also just taking part in a trend because they need smaller boards? Should everyone just buy a 154 and shut up? Should people with big feet just ride regular boards and stop bitching when their feet drag in the snow?

Different sized people need different sized boards, it's retarded to say that it's a trend. If you're a full 60 pounds lighter than the 'average' snowboarder, I don't see how it's ridiculous to want a board a few cms smaller.