vote4pedro

the arbor formula is a little cheaper. it has their version of magnatraction. it's their entry level board, but they make great boards.

Arbor Formula Snowboard - Men's Reviews & Sale | trusnow.com

snowbrdr

Great board. Love mine. Worth every penny and no need to upgrade next year.

__________________
snowbrdr
Gnu Carbon Credit 153
K2 CTX

eelpout

Yep, Mervin has a very broad selection across their lines. To be fair, Rossi does have 3 men's boards with Magne-Traction covering the basics, the One (all mtn.), JDub (freestyle/pipe) and Experience (freeride). Though they are their most expensive. But $450 for a 2011 One isn't bad for a brand new board. I'm still scratching my head over how the JDub is $100 more than the One and Decoy. Must be the combination of MagTek and adding the dual torsion box core. Or it's the wonky graphics.

You might check out Smokin' boards since they license Magne-Traction too. Or maybe the new Jones Mountain Twin (also $450) which has a mellower version of Magne-Traction.

Hurricane

Check ebay or geartrade.com for a nice used one.

BMORE410

You would be wrong 400+ are high end

JoeR

There can't be any "wrong" or "right" here because people's budgets, and sensibilities, differ. Nevertheless, I don't think it is very helpful to lump all $400+ boards into a single, "high end" category. There would be far too much variation within such a group. Even in a single company's lineup, the differences are clear. Is the $430 Ride Machete in the same price category as the $650 Ride Slackcountry -- a board that costs 51% more? I don't think so. Even $100 makes a big difference to many buyers. There are lots of boards in the $500 to $600 range, a fair number in the $600 to $700 range, plus jaw-dropping outliers like the Burton Vapor.

dknj

Even though I may have started it with the 'ouch' comment on 375, lets not debate the definitions of price ranges here and I am not interested in something used, but thanks for the input and suggestions. I am all set on boots and bindings and want to focus on a board for the less then ideal east coast conditions which include hard pack, crust, icy sections, not continuously groomed, etc. I'll likely use a different board for powder and dont go into the pipe too much. I will demo a magna-traction or something similar at least once before I buy but I'd rather not try boards out an entire season long. My budget is anywhere between 275-350. I'd be really happy with paying less, but dont mind a bit more if needed.

Are my main choices things like GNU Carbon Credit, Ros One Mag, Lib Tech TRS BTX, Arbor Forula, Smokin? Anything else with something similar to magna-traction?

I plan to be flexible with which brand because I don't want to spend countless hours shopping around.

snowbrdr

I am sure there is more than one board that you would be happy with if not any of the above. I will say, being an east coast rider, that the magna-traction of my carbon gives me better edge on icy spots and the rev-camber makes for a more fun and easy to turn board.

__________________
snowbrdr
Gnu Carbon Credit 153
K2 CTX