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Reccomendation on pow-specific resort board?

8K views 42 replies 19 participants last post by  jae 
#1 ·
Hey guys. I have a 2013 159 rossi one mag that I love as a daily driver but it leaves much to be desired on deep powder days. I've been looking at maybe getting a powder specific/soft groomer board for primarily riding Mammoth, where the snow can be pretty wet & heavy. Been looking at maybe the Jones flagship or hovercraft. I'd like the hovercraft but at 185 lbs and size 9 feet, puts me in a weird spot as far as the sizing goes, I think. The flagship at 161 seems to fit my body well, but worried it's more of a "quiver killer" which I'm more sure I need since I have the One. E.g., not as good in pow as a pow specific board. Any recommendations/thoughts would be greatly appreciated :)

My Specs:
185
6'
Size 9 Boots

I really like the rocker-camber-rocker profile of the One so looking to get something similar but with more float. I'd like to have stability on soft groomers, float in pow, manueverability in glades. Looks like I'm ALMOST there with the hovercraft...but the 160 is sooo wide. I'd also really like to "surf" some powder.

Thanks again
 
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#2 ·
I'm 185-190lbs, 6'2", and also board mammoth (and have a Rossi one mag)

I love my dupraz. It's a 5'5" dupraz but tbh I wish I had gotten the 6'. Mammoth is big enough with wide enough runs to support it.

The dupraz can bomb down groomers really well - you won't sacrifice edgehold with it. But it does feel VERY different. Your weight distribution is completely changed from "the one". But that change in weight distribution is what makes it so fun in powder. Do a search on this message board for Dupraz, it comes up a lot.

It's a hard board to find in the US though...
 
#4 ·
Thanks for your replies, guys.

I'm also looking into the capita spring break snowboards, but no info anywhere on sizing. No weight ranges, etc. I actually just contacted them directly...

For the hoverboard....156 vs 160? Worried the 160 would be too wide, but that's where it puts me as far as weight goes (well, I'm right at the max weight for 156)
 
#5 ·
Hovercraft is very forgiving and easy to ride in powder. It also carves very well on groomers. I was really surprised. With your weight I would go bigger than 156cm (that's the one I own). I weight around 160 and I ride completely centered. You want a surfier ride? Set it all back you will have basically no tail :). I tried and prefer it centered. it is really stable and easy to turn.
 
#7 ·
I have not ridden the HoverCraft, but it gets a lot of love around here from those who do ride it.

What I have found in looking for a pow / resort board is a deck that is RCR, ( same as your One) Tapered & Directional. This to me is an awesome formula for a great ride.

Now this is prefaced by you not being too interested in riding switch.

If that is of interest, the YES PYL is a great deck to consider. Although it is not a true RCR profile, the Burton Barracuda is another solid board to put in the mix.

I own both and really enjoy the ride offered by each of them. They handle powder like a dream and still cut a nice line on groomers. The Burton is more surfy in it's ride; the PYL much more dialled in.

If you can, get yourself out on a demo day and test drive. That will give you the best feedback as to what rides best for you. But a RCR, tapered & directional deck would be a solid choice.
 
#10 ·
I actually tried to find the Optimistic, no luck :(

Thank you all for your replies, getting alot of insight here through researching these boards!

Regarding the hovercraft, would the 160 work for my boot size? According to the jones sizing blog, it's only recommended for size 11+


"Lighter, smaller riders who rarely ride boards bigger than a 157 cm (even in pow), should check out the Hover/Ultra-craft 152 cm. If you normally ride a 157-162 cm board and you’re an average sized guy (most riders), you will want the Hover/Ultra-craft 156 cm. If you normally ride a 162+ cm board, or you have size US 11/11.5 boot or bigger, grab a Hover/Ultra-craft 160 cm. The Hovercraft 164 cm is a seriously big/wide board for tall/heavy guys or those with massive feet (US 12+). Note that all Hover/Ultra-craft are fairly wide for their length. Average size riders with over-sized feet are still perfect on the Hovercraft 156.

The Hover/Ultra-craft split can be sized the same as the solid. A 156 cm splitboard may sound small for riding deep pow, but the Hovercraft 156 cm actually floats like a 162 cm without the extra 6 cm of board weight to carry on the way up. Again, if you are heavier (180+ lbs / 80+ kg) or have bigger feet (US 11+), go with Hover/Ultra-craft split 160."

Source: https://www.jonessnowboards.com/base-camp/blog/jones-snowboards-sizing-guidelines

Evo size chart: Jones Hovercraft Snowboard 2017 | evo
 
#11 ·
Depends on how you want it to feel and your terrain. I would say for resort a 156 would be fine. The 60 will have more float and more stability but will be a little more work on edge.

Others: Flow Darwin, Burton Branch Manager, Lago Open Road, Rome Sawtooth, K2 Party Platter or Ultra Dream, Ride Warpig or Alter Ego, or a Nitro 163 Quiver.
 
#14 ·
You'll be fine. I don't get why people are so scared of width sometimes, especially for a powder board. You won't notice it at all in pow, and the Drives will keep it nice and responsive on hard pack.
 
#19 ·
At a certain point, width does play a role. Take my 24.5cm feet and a 26cm waist width Hovy and the board gets real hard work, also in pow ;)
 
#17 ·
Interestingly enough, i still have a healthy amount of toe and heel overhang...even more so because I believe I'm running a click narrower than the reference stance. Front binding is sitting just below where the shovel starts growing. Also might be because my Thirtytwos are huge. Board has no markings and I had no idea where to mount the bindings so I just used my stance width on the rossi
 
#20 ·
Most (all?) Jones decks don't have reference stances. And why should they? I always thought that reference stances are a pile of shit - your personal preference (and to an extent personal anatomy) should determine your stance width, not what the board designer thinks.
Maybe a small exception for something like S-Rocker (where it is useful to know where the nose rise starts and position the front foot accordingly) but generally just ride what feels comfortable.
 
#38 ·
I just wanted to give everyone an update...

Had an amazing time in the powder over the weekend. At 156, the thing floated my 180lb ass like a dream. Never had an issue with getting stuck, even at slower speeds....which I've actually never experienced before. I loved it! Nice surfy feel.


On the groomers this thing went super fast. It took me a while to trust the fact that the tail is so small, but once I put my faith in it, the thing was a speed demon. On the last day of the trip, the groomers were pretty hard and I had my Rossignol One out, and definitely missed the speed of the hovercraft. You can straight-line with the hovercraft on hard groomers which I did not expect. It was also extremely fast in the powder, amazing feeling.

Not the quickest edge to edge board I've ridden with my size feet but still really fun to carve and throw the thing around.

The one spot I had a bit of trouble was extremely messy, but soft mogul & chop at end of first day where I got bucked from all the bumps...but I think this is due to the fact that I was going super fast through the bumps and still learning the board. This was much better the second day...and I believe as more to do with the conditions, my shitty technique, and noodle legs than the length of the board. 160 probably would have made this more difficult because of the width (turning).

Not sure why most of you guys were overwhelmingly recommending the 160...the 156 was just enough. If I had bigger feet, may have gone with the 160.

The other big negative thing is that I am now terribly bored with my Rossignol One! If I don't get another all-mountain board, the Hovercraft might be the one board I use except for the shittiest days. Eyeing the flagship now :surprise: :crazy2: $$$$$
 
#39 ·
Glad you like it fellow hover boarder. :). Yes it makes it almost too easy riding pow or flats. I discovered that it loves wax too. Makes riding powder almost too easy, and I can fiddle with the action camera, look around and still not worry about getting stuck. On groomers it carves like a knife with that straight tail and at 156 it's easy to turn between trees. My other board is a full camber A-Frame, I love it. But I'm on the Hovy most of the time especially with the tons of snow we are getting in Tahoe.

You can improve the edge to edge speed with flatter binding angles, where your toes are closer to the sidecut.
 
#43 ·
it's because you're riding mammoth. our snow is so fat and heavy... take that board to anywhere there's real powder and you probably would want the 160. idk man I was having no trouble last storm with a 160 twin... hopefully this coming 3 storm cycles will be light pow(not holding my breath).
 
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