I just went on my first snowboarding holiday in Avoriaz. I struggled on the first 3 days with a rental board (Burton progression I believe) but then the next 3 it got a lot easier, picked up how to carve and got much quicker and far more confident, managed to throw some bunny hops and a few 360 butter moves in towards the end.
I really enjoyed the trip and will be going yearly most likely.
I am 5 ft 5 and weigh around 10 stone (changes dependig on weight training) with size 5 UK feet. Obviously these are awkward sizes.
I am looking for a board good for piste, a bit of freestyle etc. So a little bit of flex and pop I assume would be good.
What sort of size board should I look at and what would be a good board to keep learning on but having plenty of room for improvement?
Any help appreciated.
If it was a burton progression, it is a rocker board. From what I understand rocker boards are a little more forgiving and easier to learn on. Ive never owned a rocker board though. I own a flat board which is seems to be more forgiving than a cambered board. Id say buy a cheap reputable brand rocker board, learn on it and get better, then buy a new board when you figure things out more and get a direction of what type of stuff you want to be riding. Then save the old board as a rock/crappy condition board.
I ride a Dinosaurs Will Die Genovese. I love it as an all mountain freestyle board.
IM not sure what companies are available in the UK though.
I did hear that rockers were easier. However I did try out a mates burton process off axis and found it much nicer to ride.
I think a traditional camber board is what I prefer, for some reason I just didn't like the feel of a rocker.
My issue is I dont think it is smart to fork out for a process etc when it will get knocked up while I learn.
Yeah, I would say start by looking at the boards you have already tried/like.
How much is 10 stone?
(actually... I googled it) 140 lbs and size 5ft, you're looking at a small board... around ~150cm
Start by seeing what's available in around that size (ie something between 149 and 152 cm depending on flex or if you change in weight is towards heavier or lighter) and short-list based on availability.
Since you already like cambered boards and want something playful and decent all over the mountain, see if you can find a Salomon Villain 150-152cm which has a little bit of rocker in the tips but behaves almost like full camber.
If not, look for something similar.... around the lines of Burton Custom camber (this is full camber), Ride Machete (I think this is very minimal camber and rocker in the tips) or Yes Basic (camber with rocker tips). There's more options, but start from there, and see what you find in your sizes and around your area.
Out of interest, what was Avoriaz like? I'm heading there in 4 weeks for Snowboxx
There's a guy who runs a shop near me down the South of England called Snowboards4u, and he has a website too (just Google it), and all his stock is last seasons stuff. I went in there today and got some new snow pants. It's normally pretty well priced. If you happened to be local, he does better deals in store than what he sells on website usually. And he gets his batches of stock around May, so if you wanted to wait until then before you bought anything, you can grab this seasons stuff just after the winter ends ready for next year.
I don't have any other area to compare it to as it was my first snowboarding trip. That being said it seemed pretty nice. We had constant snow so vis was quite poor but plenty of runs were sheltered and made for good riding.
I stuck to the reds and blues. They were typically compact snow but we did go during a school holiday. Overall it seemed like a pretty decent place and some of the runs down to the bubble were brilliant.
Look for used camber boards if that is what you were digging. something from a reputable brand will do. If you have mates that snowboard, ask them to come with you when you look to buy used stuff to make sure you don't get ripped off.
For some reason I am finding it very hard to find used snowboards such as the process, custom twin, yes basic,yes the greats etc in the UK. Let alone in my size.
I have no clue, the pictures are not popping up for me. I am from the US, so I have no idea if those are a good deal. Both companies make good boards from what I know. I have never owned a battalion though. Either wait until someone from the UK gives advice, or if you know someone local that snowboards go and check it out with you.
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