Me and my buddies are planning on going to Colorado for the upcoming winter. I started snowboarding last winter and I got pretty decent at riding down the BLACKS at my local ski place. For the trip, instead of having to pay for rentals all 5 days, i was hoping on buying my own board to take with me. After much intense research, I feel like I have a rough idea of what type of board i should look for. I am 5'9 and about 165-170 pounds. I wear size 8/9 MENS shoes. I was hoping some of you more experienced riders could tell me where i am wrong/right in choosing my board and/or help me find the board that i should be looking for. My research has told me that i should look for a board that is :
Roughly 155 cm
Medium Flex, 7 out of 10 (1 being Flex and 10 being Stiff)
Twinish Shape
Regular Camber
My price range is around 200 dollars for the board but am willing to spend up to 300 dollars max if the board is really that special. If you could even send me direct links of boards that you prefer for someone like me, i would gratuitously appreciate it. Thanks for reading and helping me out!
destroy your new board as fast as possible, you'll really know what u want for the next one (dont baby it, ride rocks, trees, fuckit)
get a new / lightly used board from last year or the year before from a place like here or ppl who know snowboarding. don't go rando on CList or a 2nd hand sport chalet, or get some toys r us brand just cuz its cheap.
tips: where do you ride, your local ski place? any idea of when you're going to colorado? you want directional or twin? powder or mainly groomers? rcr crc or camber? going to go park eventually?
easiest thing to do is select a few boards that are in your price range and list them.
Rome Mod Camber and Burton Custom fit that description and would be great first boards. Personally I think a CRC profile board would be a little more forgiving and would float a little better in powder (if you get some).
My first board was a Custom and it beat me up a bit but I also believe It taught me sound fundamentals, many would argue that this is the way to go.
Decent boots are the most important part of any setup though and correctly fitting boots should be your priority.
since ur newb and don't know the conditions in CO ...ur on track...except for the cam...get a crc or rcr...my rec is a gnu rider's choice...which should serve ya for some progression
I've had a quick look and you're going to struggle to find something for $300 let alone $200. A board similar to the Riders Choice that you should be able to find for a decent price is the Flow Drifter. Flow make rad boards for sensible prices and the Drifter gets some good reviews.
Rossi Jibsaw is one that comes to mind as well for these needs. And it typically runs pretty cheap. There is a 155 jibsaw magtek on the-house for <$300 right now. Thisis RCR profile though. Great beginner board which will take on just about the entire mountain.
Edit: Just wanted to also add, this isn't one of those "super beginner boards." I rode mine quite often last year and plan on riding it this year a good amount too.
Playing off the jibsaw recommendation you could go with something like Rossignol Angus MagTek, which is directional twin all mtn with RCR (camber between feet) & snowboards.com has it @ $200. (56% off). Seemingly fits all your criteria @ your pricepoint.
There is some information missing here. 200-300 dollars for just the board? You mentioned your foot size so I'm guessing you're in the market for boots and bindings as well?
I hate to be the bearer of bad news - as no one has yet mentioned this - but if your total budget for a setup is 200-300 dollars you are going to be looking at some seriously limited and (pardon my snobbery) "cheap" options.
Here is my suggestion, for what it's worth:
1. If snowboarding is something you see yourself doing more of, save more and spend more to save money in the long run. You will thank me later.
2. Keep renting until you know this is a love and not a "I'm going to Colorado" whim.
Boots first, board last. There are tons of boards out there that would fit your described skill level, but there are only a handful of boots that will feel perfect on your feet.
I know, I know - boards are awesome and boots are boring, but a well-fitting pair of boots now will make your mountain experience 1000x better (I have no solid statistics to back up this number, only anecdotal evidence).
Oh, and go camber or go home. Learn hard and be able to ride everything.
Like people have already said, boots first. Good, comfortable, well fitting boots is where it starts. If you know how to ride, it doesn't matter what board you have, you'll be able to ride anything. If you have shitty, uncomfortable boots, your board won't help. Only other thing I would suggest is to buy a board for where you plan to ride most of the time. Don't buy a board specifically for CO because it might not be the same conditions as where you're from.
Also, if you ever get the chance, demo boards. Demo as many as you can. That's the cheapest way to find out what type of board fits you.
And like Kling said, don't be afraid to ride the shit out of your board. That's what they're there for.
Good call on buying your gear. In snowboarding fit and setup are (here it comes) significantly more important than brand, model or...yup, even profile
This doubles for new riders.
You wrote:
Roughly 155 cm
Medium Flex, 7 out of 10 (1 being Flex and 10 being Stiff)
Twinish Shape
Regular Camber
I would suggest that you disregard all of that.
Choosing a cm size (155 cm) is the most common way to get an incorrect board. The size you will want will vary greatly depending on the specifics of the model that you are considering. More here: Snowboard Fit Tips Part One
You have some great advice above where it was suggested that you start with great fitting boots. You wrote, "I wear size 8/9 MENS shoes." We need to dial in your foot size a lot better to begin. Shoes size (Brannock) never should equal snowboard boot size.
And cause I would feel unfulfilled without posting this today:
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).
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