I love back country riding. A friend of mine suggested we should get splitboards and go more "where the lifts don't go" next season. Finding as much untouched powder as we can.
So far looking for splitboards I found that most of them are 160+ cm. It feels kind of big for me. I am 5'6" and 155 lbs (170cm/70kg). I am not that super aggressive in my ride style. I am an experience rider. I have no problem riding tough back country trails.
My current boards are from 148 (park) to 154 (all mountain). Boards larger than 156 feels big and clumsy when I ride back country.
I am looking for a board that is:
- light (both for riding and hiking)
- not to stiff (7-8 on 10 grade scale is bordeline to stiff)
- quick edge to edge
- quick turns in tree lines
- as small as it get but still floating in powder
But since this is my first splitboard I am open to any suggestions.
Welcome to splitboarding! You'll love it, it opens up sooo many options! (Standard reminder: get your avy gear n classes, be wise, learn to say no :blahblah: )
Check out women's splits. They are made in small sizes which would fit your weight. E.g. Jones has the Solution (more the freeride shape) or Hovy (more in the pow shape) in women's version, which don't have a girly appearance.
Hmm. So the 148cm women Solution in Pink doesn't have a girly appearance? Not quite my color of choice. But the green 152cm looks ok.
But I found that the men Solution exists in size 154cm. Comparing Solution W 152 with the Solution 154 I found:
- The 154 i stiffer 8 compared to 7.
- The 152 has waist width of 23.9 compared to 24.4. Good quick edge to edge but perhaps to narrow. I have size US8.5 (UK7.5, EUR 41) on boots.
Good tip on looking at womens board. If they are a bit softer and lighter it could be something.
gnu did a bpro split in 155...but idk if they are still doing it. And then there is the gnu beast, beauty and billygoat splits that you might consider.
I have a 159 billygoat split that has the c2btx...works great but it is not the lightest, fairly stiff in the cam sections but torsionally looser.
Keep in mind that you will be hauling around a pack with avalanche equipment (and potentially other gear, food & water, clothes, etc.) when splitting.
So unless the board is specifically designed to be ridden short (say, like a 156 Hovercraft) smaller than 160 will probably be pushing it.
It depends on the pow. I'm 81kg on 159, then fully loaded avy gear with float bag, lunch, water maybe another 9kg...it works alright for about 30cm of pnw stuff we get.
When buying I thought about going a bit longer into the 162/66 range for the deeper snow. But in reality, if its that deep, I'd probably be riding inbounds and lift assisted slack. And I wanted something to that would do early and late conditions when the lifts were not running.
However I have a 164 Charlie Slasher that I could split
btw...I have men's size 6.5/7 feet/boot size and the billygoat 159 was about the narrowest at 25cm
For comparison: I am 155-160lbs and have a 161 Solution. No way I would go shorter for that board at my weight if the riding involves any powder (not that I could have anyway because my feet are size 9.5 and the shorter solutions are too narrow). Doubly so with a heavy pack.
Hovercraft/Ultracraft split that has been mentioned could be a good choice for going shorter.
There was also a Burton Spliff 148 with a weight range supposedly up to 185lbs, but some reviews were quite bad. And now there is a Fish Split but that is quite powder specific.
For comparison: I am 155-160lbs and have a 161 Solution. No way I would go shorter for that board at my weight if the riding involves any powder (not that I could have anyway because my fees are size 9.5 and the shorter solutions are too narrow). Doubly so with a heavy pack.
Hovercraft/Ultracraft split that has been mentioned could be a good choice for going shorter.
There was also a Burton Spliff 148 with a weight range supposedly up to 185lbs, but some reviews were quite bad. And now there is a Fish Split but that is quite powder specific.
I weigh 110lbs ride 152 Solution and probably could have easily gone to 156. Actually when I was choosing splits it was between that and NS SL. In backcountry you want a bigger board than you normally ride. At your weight and with your foot size I wouldn't bother with anything less than 156-159. Considering you're riding deep pow with about 10 extra pounds of gear even 160 is not a bad idea.
they both come in sizes you'd be interested in.. They are really the same board they just call the smaller ones a women model, but it's really the same deck. When you order the board you can choose the graphics so you won't get stuck with some thing you don't like.
Priors are super great boards I have four of them, 2 splits, and they are all I've been riding for the past 7-8 years...
So... Prior makes another board that might interest you that is a floating machine The Khyber Splitboard
Here are the specs..
Also I'm not familiar with the Krona, but the Canadian dollar is kinda like the Mexican Peso right now and maybe you weren't aware of that, so it really makes that deck quite a bit cheaper... PLUS Prior runs sales 3 times a year where you can usually get $200 off any custom ordered board.. I buy mine always when they run the sales.. They do it at the end of season, on Thanksgiving ( October 10th ) and then one other random date in the year....
tbx. Your are so right - didn't know that the Canadian dollar has dropped so. My plan from the beginning was to find something at the end of season sale.
What about shipping? Couldn't find any info on their page.
With all talking about splitboards I got an interesting offer (non splitboard):
- Burton Cloudsplitter, 158. On sale for 2000 SEK = $230. This is a new board still in plastic. I have bindings for the channel.
Nothing? No one has any information about trapper snowboards?
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