Too much board for a rookie?

[Pixel8tedOne]

Alright, since my last thread and with some great advice, it looks like I've narrowed my choice to a 162 wide Gnu Carbon Credit. The problem is now I'm seeing lots of boards going on sale, and now dropping into my price range, so my question is do I go for more of a board and grow into it, or stay with the beginner board? The other boards I'm now looking at:

161w Gnu riders choice
163w K2 slayblade
163w Ride highlife

The usual stats, 6'1", 245ish, 12.5 boots, and only been out 6 times.

Thoughts?

[supham]

I have the Carbon Credit and thought it was just average until last night when I was boarding on sheets of ice and it consistently / predictably held and edge.

[myschims]

have heard nothing but good things about gnu

[Pixel8tedOne]

Originally Posted by supham

I have the Carbon Credit and thought it was just average until last night when I was boarding on sheets of ice and it consistently / predictably held and edge.

Overall you like it though? It seems that it's a great overall board, and a few places locally now have it for under $300, so it might be the winner. I'm really leaning towards the Riders Choice now as it's only $75 more, but I've heard it's not for beginners and could ride me around pretty good.

My local hill is almost always an ice bowl, so the manga-traction seems like it's the way to go, but the slayblade seems like a board that I can get a good amount of run on.

[supham]

I do like it, but I'm new so I really don't have anything else to compare it to other than I would have been all over the ice on my skis.

[rasmasyean]

Originally Posted by myschims

have heard nothing but good things about gnu

If you ride hard freezing conditions, magnetraction rocks. There's no going back from there. But I do feel the the wavy edges are "felt" and makes the carve a little bumpy. It still holds the edge but I'm wondering whether this will slow you down or something a bit at higher speeds.

[LineDawg]

Originally Posted by Pixel8tedOne

Alright, since my last thread and with some great advice, it looks like I've narrowed my choice to a 162 wide Gnu Carbon Credit. The problem is now I'm seeing lots of boards going on sale, and now dropping into my price range, so my question is do I go for more of a board and grow into it, or stay with the beginner board? The other boards I'm now looking at:

161w Gnu riders choice
163w K2 slayblade
163w Ride highlife

The usual stats, 6'1", 245ish, 12.5 boots, and only been out 6 times.

Thoughts?

If you go with a beginner board and push hard you will reach the limitations of the board quickly. Considering you weight, I would be looking into at least a 165 with a minimum waist of 26cm. With 12.5 dogs you need to pay close attention to the waist. Some boards are labeled as wides but only have around 25cm waist. You will end up getting toe or heal drag from the narrower boards. The shorter the total length the less float your gonna get in powder due to your weight. Personally, I would go with the better quality board and save some money in the long run. The Slayblade and Highlife both get good reviews. I have never ridden either board due to the fact that I don't mess with boards that are mass produced in China. Not that there's any thing wrong with them just personal choice to keep my money here in the US.

[Leo]

Originally Posted by LineDawg

I have never ridden either board due to the fact that I don't mess with boards that are mass produced in China. Not that there's any thing wrong with them just personal choice to keep my money here in the US.

I am pretty positive that you own or spend your money on things that are outside of the U.S. aside from snowboards. Even then, you aren't 100% sure all of the materials, machinery, etc... are made of parts that are 100% made in the U.S.A.

Sorry, I can't help myself when people make a comment like that. The better argument would be that you like to buy American made products due to higher quality.

Imports stimulate our economy and in a lot of cases creates jobs here. But no argument about the many evils of needless outsourcing/off-shoring.

"Keeping your money in the U.S." is an economical myth. Also, these out-of-country factories help reduce the costs of snowboards for a lot of companies. It's a fact you have to deal with if you want lower prices. There is a reason why Lib-Tech and Never Summer snowboards have a premium on their price tag. Two U.S. companies that I fully support due to their high quality products.

OP: The Carbon Credit is a good board and if you ride hardpack/icey conditions a lot, the magnetraction will work well.

If you really want a long term board, the Slayblade and Highlife are great boards. However, if you are just learning, it will make it more difficult. Don't misread that as impossible. You can definitely learn on those two baords, just that you'll have a bit more to work at. They are both very fast and stiff boards so if you think you are prepared for that, pull the triggger. Both are ultimate freeride sticks.

[rasmasyean]

Originally Posted by Leo

I am pretty positive that you own or spend your money on things that are outside of the U.S. aside from snowboards. Even then, you aren't 100% sure all of the materials, machinery, etc... are made of parts that are 100% made in the U.S.A.

Sorry, I can't help myself when people make a comment like that. The better argument would be that you like to buy American made products due to higher quality.

Imports stimulate our economy and in a lot of cases creates jobs here. But no argument about the many evils of needless outsourcing/off-shoring.

"Keeping your money in the U.S." is an economical myth. Also, these out-of-country factories help reduce the costs of snowboards for a lot of companies. It's a fact you have to deal with if you want lower prices. There is a reason why Lib-Tech and Never Summer snowboards have a premium on their price tag. Two U.S. companies that I fully support due to their high quality products.

OP: The Carbon Credit is a good board and if you ride hardpack/icey conditions a lot, the magnetraction will work well.

If you really want a long term board, the Slayblade and Highlife are great boards. However, if you are just learning, it will make it more difficult. Don't misread that as impossible. You can definitely learn on those two baords, just that you'll have a bit more to work at. They are both very fast and stiff boards so if you think you are prepared for that, pull the triggger. Both are ultimate freeride sticks.

Yeah, the "made outside US" is pretty much modern day slavery. Because of the value difference in human labor, companies just use other ppl to make things cheaper and the Americans who are PRODUCTIVE, can afford more of them. If your job is off-shored and you can't get another one, it just means you are a weak player in the economy and are inferior to your peers and too lazy to retrain for the new age and expect like a "union" or some crap to protect you. The fact is that we aren't "communists". We are equal oportunity capitalists, so if you are a weak worker and can be weeded out by some foriegner, you deserver to be poor. And the rest of the hard workers shouldn't slow down just for the weaklings and drag down the whole nation...and the rest of the world. This is what gloabalization entails.

[Pixel8tedOne]

Thanks all, I think the big issue is indeed how fast I'll outgrow the board. While I'm learning now, i live less than 5 minutes from my local mountain and with night riding I hope to be up there at least 2-3 times a week next year.

While the CC is advertised as a board that can take you from beginner to advanced, I think while it may make riding harder at first, the other more advanced boards will have a longer run, and ultimately I need to try to get 3-5 years out of the board.

So far it looks like the Highlife and Slayblade are getting the votes, so does that mean the Riders Choice is something I should stay away from? I was thinking due to the magnetraction it would be a better choice? Is it just way too much of a board for my skill level?