Board sizing... re: weight of rider - Snowboarding Forum

02-24-2010, 08:57 AM

Hi everyone,

I'm new to these forums and have been boarding steadily now for about 3 years, getting a lot better... more technical, hitting the park, learning flat ground tricks.

I'm a bigger rider (5'11" 240lbs) but not fat, I play rugby, I'm built like a linebacker and I'm having trouble trying to size a new board.

I have a Burton Air 162 with Burton Mission bindings. It's ok, but I feel sluggish in it. This season I demo'd a Burton Hero 155 with Burton Cartel ESTs and I loved the rocker and responsivness of the shorter board, but it did feel a little noodley at times. I didn't find issues with speed, there was obvious chatter on the hardpack (I board the Northeast)... but nothing I couldn't handle.

My problem is I want a park friendly board, but also a shorter one... but because of the weight standard for sizing, I am told I should ride 160+ boards. I don't care about hyper speeds... I want flex and some pop for medium kickers.

Thoughts? I want a short board that can handle my weight in the park and medium kickers. Thanks in advance for the help!

Some technical info:
* Boots: Size 10, 2008/09 Salomon Maori boots
* All Mtn - 60-70% of the time
* Jumps/Park - 30-40% of the time
* If my friends were more park rats I'd be in the park more than 50% of the day.

Extremo · 02-24-2010, 02:15 PM

Check out the nitro line. You can size down but you want to stay with a stiff board. Nitro has solid boards.

Eightfingers · 02-24-2010, 02:43 PM

I am 190-200 lbs and I ride a 153 Arbor Del Ray. I am a little concerned about maxing out the weight especially with full gear on. But I like my boards to be on the smaller end, especially for park riding. A few reps told me I should be around a 160, but shit I'm 5'7" and it would be almost as tall as me(I know that doesnt matter). I have an old Burton Motion 163 a friend of my dad gave me for free, but I never ride it. I have taken it down some local bigger hills and it just doesnt feel right. I would never take it to a mountain. I say go with what you feel comfortable with as long as your not way to overweight for the board.

02-24-2010, 04:14 PM

I am looking at the sierra stunt, 250lbs here. 162w. looks like what you kinda want or check out the nitro team. All at sierrasnowboards for under 300 =D

03-03-2010, 08:25 AM

I'm 6ft 2in and 200lbs (athletic not fat). Started on a 163, downsized to a 157, now just ordered the hero 155cm. I've been told that the particular length actually depends just as much on the brand as anything else. I was toying with the hero 158 for about a week, and statistically that's what I should be on, but like you, I want a shorter more fun ride so I pulled the trigger on the 155 and can't wait to try it out. Remember these stats are only guidelines and as you point out, weight distribution is different for athletes and fatties. Think about skiers you see on those "big feet". Bottom line is we wanna have fun so as long as you aren't downsizing by 20cm I don't see the issue anymore. When my board arrives next week and I've tried it out I'll write more. I have a 157 technine for speed and soon a 155 hero for fun. No point having 2 boards that do the same thing. Obviously there is a board out there for just what you want, so do your research and take your pick. Otherwise you'll have to lose over 60lbs if you want to "fit" the sub 158 catergory.

02-24-2010, 08:57 AM	#1 (permalink)
rugger1213 Guest Posts: n/a	Board sizing... re: weight of rider Hi everyone, I'm new to these forums and have been boarding steadily now for about 3 years, getting a lot better... more technical, hitting the park, learning flat ground tricks. I'm a bigger rider (5'11" 240lbs) but not fat, I play rugby, I'm built like a linebacker and I'm having trouble trying to size a new board. I have a Burton Air 162 with Burton Mission bindings. It's ok, but I feel sluggish in it. This season I demo'd a Burton Hero 155 with Burton Cartel ESTs and I loved the rocker and responsivness of the shorter board, but it did feel a little noodley at times. I didn't find issues with speed, there was obvious chatter on the hardpack (I board the Northeast)... but nothing I couldn't handle. My problem is I want a park friendly board, but also a shorter one... but because of the weight standard for sizing, I am told I should ride 160+ boards. I don't care about hyper speeds... I want flex and some pop for medium kickers. Thoughts? I want a short board that can handle my weight in the park and medium kickers. Thanks in advance for the help! Some technical info: * Boots: Size 10, 2008/09 Salomon Maori boots * All Mtn - 60-70% of the time * Jumps/Park - 30-40% of the time * If my friends were more park rats I'd be in the park more than 50% of the day. Last edited by rugger1213; 02-24-2010 at 09:02 AM.

02-24-2010, 02:43 PM	#3 (permalink)
Eightfingers Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Upstate NY Posts: 122	I am 190-200 lbs and I ride a 153 Arbor Del Ray. I am a little concerned about maxing out the weight especially with full gear on. But I like my boards to be on the smaller end, especially for park riding. A few reps told me I should be around a 160, but shit I'm 5'7" and it would be almost as tall as me(I know that doesnt matter). I have an old Burton Motion 163 a friend of my dad gave me for free, but I never ride it. I have taken it down some local bigger hills and it just doesnt feel right. I would never take it to a mountain. I say go with what you feel comfortable with as long as your not way to overweight for the board. Last edited by Eightfingers; 02-24-2010 at 02:54 PM.

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02-24-2010, 02:15 PM	#2 (permalink)
Extremo -LIFETIME MEMBER- Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: NH Posts: 3,115	Check out the nitro line. You can size down but you want to stay with a stiff board. Nitro has solid boards.

02-24-2010, 04:14 PM	#4 (permalink)
SHOTGUNABEER Guest Posts: n/a	I am looking at the sierra stunt, 250lbs here. 162w. looks like what you kinda want or check out the nitro team. All at sierrasnowboards for under 300 =D

03-03-2010, 08:25 AM	#5 (permalink)
Snowfreak212 Guest Posts: n/a	I'm 6ft 2in and 200lbs (athletic not fat). Started on a 163, downsized to a 157, now just ordered the hero 155cm. I've been told that the particular length actually depends just as much on the brand as anything else. I was toying with the hero 158 for about a week, and statistically that's what I should be on, but like you, I want a shorter more fun ride so I pulled the trigger on the 155 and can't wait to try it out. Remember these stats are only guidelines and as you point out, weight distribution is different for athletes and fatties. Think about skiers you see on those "big feet". Bottom line is we wanna have fun so as long as you aren't downsizing by 20cm I don't see the issue anymore. When my board arrives next week and I've tried it out I'll write more. I have a 157 technine for speed and soon a 155 hero for fun. No point having 2 boards that do the same thing. Obviously there is a board out there for just what you want, so do your research and take your pick. Otherwise you'll have to lose over 60lbs if you want to "fit" the sub 158 catergory.