Stiff freeride-ish board for shorter person

[Pyrofeed]

I have a 2010 forum forever manual and in short its garbage at speed. It gets real messy and cant hold an edge. It is fantastic for flatland stuff and jibbing but i am now looking into getting a more all mountin/freeride board. Problem is i am rather short and prefer my boards on the shorter side of what is normal for my height, so finding boards that fit both criteria is a slight challenge. I tend to ride 150/149 with my manual being a 150. Any suggestions on shortish stiffer board?

For those who think its important i am 5'5" 150 lbs and ride on the east coast. Thanks a lot!

[Wiredsport]

Originally Posted by Pyrofeed

I have a 2010 forum forever manual and in short its garbage at speed. It gets real messy and cant hold an edge. It is fantastic for flatland stuff and jibbing but i am now looking into getting a more all mountin/freeride board. Problem is i am rather short and prefer my boards on the shorter side of what is normal for my height, so finding boards that fit both criteria is a slight challenge. I tend to ride 150/149 with my manual being a 150. Any suggestions on shortish stiffer board?

For those who think its important i am 5'5" 150 lbs and ride on the east coast. Thanks a lot!

Hi Pyro,

Trying to find the correct snowboard by rider height is impossible. This is a great example. The Manual (and Forever Manual) are designed to be soft flexing boards. The 150 is designed for riders between 140 and 200 lbs. That is to say, you are actually on the smaller side of the size range for this board and rather than riding it short, you are actually riding it "long". The board is, however, designed to be soft and while great for presses, etc, it will let youu down at speed on your East Coast boilerplate. Truly though, this is not a matter of going short or long in relation to your height, it is just the wrong model for your needs.

Please let us know your foot size as well. That will let us make some informed suggestions.

Thanks!

[Pyrofeed]

O wow...thats kinda unfortunate, i got a softer board because i am shorter, but if technically its on the long side then im assed out. I guess ill need two boards now :/ i was using the manual as a park and easy going all mtn board. Im a size 9 boot, so now i guess recomendations to replace the manual and a freeride board are in order, if anyone has advice on both, although i think the freeride board is the one id buy first, unless someone can think of a good board to fill both niches.

I was looking into some zero camber boards and like the smokin ones that also have the atx, has anyone ridden the k2s? I guess for the freeride/all mtn im leaning towards camber or zero camber unless someone can provide experience on a well made reverse for speed i.e. Arbor. For the park i dont think i wanna go with the continuous rocker again, but do want some version something like the flatkick or d.i.r.t, ive also been looking at the dh2.*
Its just hard for me to narrow it down because of my size and i cant get word of mouth from my friends because they all went burton gnu libtech, none of which ill be getting

And just to be straight, in theory, what size board would i ride park and what size for freeride, and i guess what would be the shorter end of those spectra for me? (i thought i knew, but apparently 150 is big on me? Could explain some things)

[Wiredsport]

Originally Posted by Pyrofeed

i thought i knew, but apparently 150 is big on me? Could explain some things

This is a pretty normal request, but is actually something that gets in the way of correct board sizing. Riders want to lock on to a number, "I am a 152", but there is no such number for any given rider. The correct size will vary from model to model. The introduction of rocker technologies has made this even more confusing with the size range for any rider varying as much as 12 cm depending on model.

Your current 150 has you on the low side of a 60 lb suggested range for that model. You are not outside of the range, just a bit off of the ideal. It is typically best to try to center yourself in the manufacturer spec, because the center of the range is truly the weight they designed the board around. Still, if the board is working well for you as a freestyle board, enjoy it.

In K2, have you checked out the Turbo Dream? Sick all mountain board that will definitely stand up to your local conditions. IMO, the sizing chart for that model is a little off at the small end. I would suggest the 156 cm.

[Pyrofeed]

I was talking bout the k2 flatlines, has anyone had experience with those?

[)(ood]

I've spent most of my trips this season on a 2011 K2 Believer, which is a flatline board. I love it. I bought it a little shorter for me at 154 because it's mainly my park and play board. It's good anywhere on the mountain despite the length. Only places it does not excel is in powder, and in crud, but a lot of that has to do with my heght and weight at 5'9 170-175. I just have to work a little harder on landings in powder to keep myself from goin over the nose. I would definitely recommend it as a 1 board quiver though. If you want an all out freeride/freestyle board, I would look at the Slayblade. That stick is siiick, and it's got a little setback instead of being a true twin. When it comes to stiffness in K2's flatline boards, from softest to stiffest it would go Darkstar, Believer, Slayblade... Can't go wrong with any of the 3.

[Wiredsport]

Originally Posted by Pyrofeed

I was talking bout the k2 flatlines, has anyone had experience with those?

Flatline was initially desiged for park stability. When you take away all camber and add in no rocker, you are left with 100% contact at all times. That means that you raise the edge catching problems. Thes boards are less dynamic feeling than camber, less swivel-turny than rocker. They would not be a strong suggestion for either freeride or East Coast hardpack.

[Death]

Originally Posted by Wiredsport

Flatline was initially desiged for park stability. When you take away all camber and add in no rocker, you are left with 100% contact at all times. That means that you raise the edge catching problems. Thes boards are less dynamic feeling than camber, less swivel-turny than rocker. They would not be a strong suggestion for either freeride or East Coast hardpack.

Pretty sure if Wiredsport sold K2's we'd get an entirely different opinion.

Alternate Opinion: Angry Snowboarder on K2 Flatline

[Wiredsport]

Originally Posted by Death

Pretty sure if Wiredsport sold K2's we'd get an entirely different opinion.

Alternate Opinion: Angry Snowboarder on K2 Flatline

Hi Death,

I am all for a little scepticism, especially when it comes to online suggestions, but please look up about 3 posts where I wrote,

"In K2, have you checked out the Turbo Dream? Sick all mountain board that will definitely stand up to your local conditions."

I am not here to sway people away from the brands they like and I think you will find that I have made many suggestions here for gear that we do not carry.

K2 makes plenty of sick products, but like with all brands, not all of their boards are right for every situation.

BTW, I have ridden the Slayblade (flat) and the Turbo Dream. I really like reading Angry Snowboarder's stuff, and I would be interested to hear his opinion on which of those he would suggest for Pyrofeed, and particularly how he feels flatline performs on boilerplate.

Thanks for your comments.

[Death]

Originally Posted by Wiredsport

Hi Death,

I am all for a little scepticism, especially when it comes to online suggestions, but please look up about 3 posts where I wrote,

"In K2, have you checked out the Turbo Dream? Sick all mountain board that will definitely stand up to your local conditions."

I am not here to sway people away from the brands they like and I think you will find that I have made many suggestions here for gear that we do not carry.

K2 makes plenty of sick products, but like with all brands, not all of their boards are right for every situation.

BTW, I have ridden the Slayblade (flat) and the Turbo Dream. I really like reading Angry Snowboarder's stuff, and I would be interested to hear his opinion on which of those he would suggest for Pyrofeed, and particularly how he feels flatline performs on boilerplate.

Thanks for your comments.

You make some good points, maybe I was a little too quick to pointing out potential biases, I just think some of K2s flatline boards such as the Darkstar would make great all around boards for any conditions (especially if you're interested in putting your foot in the door for alternative styled camber). Sorry if it seemed like I was attacking you, you are after all my favourite member on here, who else gives away free shit? PS: Why are you writing on here on Christmas day? Savage.