Kesserendrel

If you've seen the post about a board cracking 6" back from the tip, you know there's a good chance I'm going to be looking for a new board, which I was hoping not to do before things got cheap at the end of the winter. I think I want to go with a rocker board, and these two are on my short list. I'm a novice (4 days last March, two so far this year), albeit one who is hoping to got 1-2 times a week through early April, so I don't want something that will hold me back, while not being something that'll kick my butt until I'm good. I will be riding groomers and powder. No park, not even natural jumps yet but I hope to change that soon.

I guess my main question is whether for my purposes the Raygun will work as well as the TD. The price of the TD isn't a killer, but I wouldn't mind saving the $120. Also, what about size? 160 or 164? Last spring I learned on a cambered 160cm wide board, and that's what I wound up buying (Sierra Crew, randomly broken, don't buy one). My first day of the season was in 16" of powder and trying to ride that short a board kicked my butt --I was pretty much standing directly over my back leg all day and it killed. My understanding is that rockered boards are floatier and support a heavier rider for the length, so should I stick with 160 for learning purposes or move up into the mid-160s (which is what I was planning to do with next board when I assumed my first one would actually last a full season)?

Also willing to entertain other options. I don't want to go over $500 for any reason at this point.

My stats:
5'9"
225 and dropping slowly; unlikely to ever go below 200
regular footed
21/0 stance
US 11.5 boots
Eager novice: 3/5 greens, 2/5 blues. Hoping to ride almost all blue by the end of the season.
Riding at Bridger Bowl in MT, so lots of rather lovely fluffy fresh to ride in.

Leo

Go for the Raygun bro. Save the cash. The TD is an awesome board, but it might a bit much for you at this point. It's a fast board. I mean, it isn't going to kick your butt or anything. As long as you know how to speed check or make wider turns, then you can always take it easy. It would be something that would last you a while as well so you can grow into it.

The Raygun for the price is a sick board. You can grow into this board as well. The only negative thing about this board is the extruded base vs the TD's sintered. It's not a big deal, just means you have to wax it more often and take better care of it. The Raygun is the TD's little brother so it rides similar. A little less stable and a little softer.

K2 Raygun Mens Snowboard 2011

160 wide for raygun btw.

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BurtonAvenger

Raygun for sure.

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Lupin

[QUOTE=Leo;340353]
The Raygun for the price is a sick board. You can grow into this board as well. The only negative thing about this board is the extruded base vs the TD's sintered. It's not a big deal, just means you have to wax it more often and take better care of it. The Raygun is the TD's little brother so it rides similar. A little less stable and a little softer.
QUOTE]

I am a little confused because I always thought that the advantage of the extruded base is that you DON'T have to wax it as much? That was a pretty big factor in why I chose a Scaremaster over a more expensive board with a sintered base. I wanted something you didn't have to wax a ton because I usually only wax my boards once a year. All the sources I read about extruded vs. sintered said you don't have to wax extruded bases a ton.

Leo

The reason I say wax extruded more is because it doesn't hold wax nearly as well as a sintered base. This means your wax runs out faster. However, it's not needed as extruded bases tend to be more durable. If you want to get the most speed out of an extruded base, wax more often than you would on a sintered.

Sintered bases can go longer without wax because of its ability to absorb the wax. People wax sintered often because a non-waxed sintered base will be slower than a non-waxed extruded base. Also, sintered bases are harder to repair and costs more so waxing it very often prolongs the life.

So:

Extruded base = better to wax more often

Sintered base = wax often for max speed

When waxed, Sintered > Extruded in terms of speed. Even a waxed sintered with a few days on it is faster than a freshly waxed extruded.

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Lupin

So what would you recommend for someone that knows they will only get around to waxing their board once a year-sintered or extruded?

Leo

Extruded because like I said, when they are unwaxed, an extruded is faster than a sintered.

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Lupin

Cool, Thanks!