board suggestions?

[karmatib]

hello, this winter will be my second year boarding. Id like to buy my own equipment this time so i can save some money. and lets face it rentals suck. so i do all this research and im still lost on what to buy. there is just a lot of variables and i dont have any friends that are into the sport to be able to talk ad get advice. ive tried 2 different boards at 2 seperate mountains and they were like night and day so i want to make sure i get the best for my money. so im coming here for suggestions.

Weight 245 but losing it little by little
Boot size my shoe size is 11.5
Riding style: all mountain newb but i like to pop off of small jumps ...etc no terrain park till maybe a few seasons from now.
Age 30
budget no more than 500 usd on a board
Your location of riding east coast PA mostly


Im trying to figure out what i need soon because my local skichalet is having a summer sale and the deals seem pretty good. (skichalet.com)
also any suggestions on bindings would be great,( i realize this is the board section but i dont wanna make 2 posts and waste server space) im not sure what boot i will have because i plan on trying 20 on before i buy. my feet killed me last year due to crappy boots. though they will have the 2 part quicklace system

[schmitty34]

Originally Posted by karmatib

hello, this winter will be my second year boarding. Id like to buy my own equipment this time so i can save some money. and lets face it rentals suck. so i do all this research and im still lost on what to buy. there is just a lot of variables and i dont have any friends that are into the sport to be able to talk ad get advice. ive tried 2 different boards at 2 seperate mountains and they were like night and day so i want to make sure i get the best for my money. so im coming here for suggestions.

Weight 245 but losing it little by little
Boot size my shoe size is 11.5
Riding style: all mountain newb but i like to pop off of small jumps ...etc no terrain park till maybe a few seasons from now.
Age 30
budget no more than 500 usd on a board
Your location of riding east coast PA mostly


Im trying to figure out what i need soon because my local skichalet is having a summer sale and the deals seem pretty good. (skichalet.com)
also any suggestions on bindings would be great,( i realize this is the board section but i dont wanna make 2 posts and waste server space) im not sure what boot i will have because i plan on trying 20 on before i buy. my feet killed me last year due to crappy boots. though they will have the 2 part quicklace system

What are you options for brands/boards at the local shop? That is a starting point if you are looking to get a good deal from them.

But given the info you provided, one of the starting points will be the size of the board. You should be looking at boards that are in the 162-168 range for length, and my want to consider a wide board because of the boot size. Boards with a waist width around 260mm or more would be a safe bet.

After that, suggestions really depend on what your options are because there are so many choices.

[karmatib]

Originally Posted by schmitty34

What are you options for brands/boards at the local shop? That is a starting point if you are looking to get a good deal from them.

But given the info you provided, one of the starting points will be the size of the board. You should be looking at boards that are in the 162-168 range for length, and my want to consider a wide board because of the boot size. Boards with a waist width around 260mm or more would be a safe bet.

After that, suggestions really depend on what your options are because there are so many choices.

looks like they stock burton, k2, ride, and flow. if what they have isnt respectable then i can order a board online. the only reason i want to go in store is to try on boots because i had serious pain using the burton ltr boots i was renting all last year. but as far a board and bindings i could order online if my selection is limited to crap. i guess i am more worried about buying crap. so i need a wide 162-168 range all-mountain board? i think that helps me. i kept reading two different reasons to choose board length. one depending on weight and one depending on your height. so that info helps right there. Snow Skis, Snowboard Equipment is the site if you want to check it out. thanks for being patient. im on other forums and i know questions like this can piss some people off.

[Donutz]

You're definitely on the right track trying on the boots before buying them. Don't succumb to temptation to order boots online.

This time of year, your choices may be limited, especially if you're looking at a clearance sale. for $500 you can get a pretty good new board at new-season prices in the fall. I think (though I'm not positive) that a new NS Heritage would be in your range. As some have pointed out, we're a bunch of NS sluts on this forum, but if you combine that attitude with the level of knowledge around here, I'd say it confers some cred on NS.

As Schmitty says, be primarily concerned about waist width, as too much toe- or heel-dragging will really harsh your ride. After that, use the weight calculation rather than the height calculation, especially if you're outside the average weight for your height. Powder doesn't care how tall you are -- if your board won't support your weight, you'll bury your nose and provide great entertainment for onlookers.

[schmitty34]

Originally Posted by karmatib

looks like they stock burton, k2, ride, and flow. if what they have isnt respectable then i can order a board online. the only reason i want to go in store is to try on boots because i had serious pain using the burton ltr boots i was renting all last year. but as far a board and bindings i could order online if my selection is limited to crap. i guess i am more worried about buying crap. so i need a wide 162-168 range all-mountain board? i think that helps me. i kept reading two different reasons to choose board length. one depending on weight and one depending on your height. so that info helps right there. Snow Skis, Snowboard Equipment is the site if you want to check it out. thanks for being patient. im on other forums and i know questions like this can piss some people off.

You can definitely fide a good board from those four companies, but if you aren't dead set on buying from that shop, online will open up all options.

Another thing to consider is what exactly you want from your board. Playfulness, pop, stability, carving, float in pow? Different boards for different things, and different types of boards (i.e. camber, reverse camber, hybrid).

[karmatib]

i read some reviews and descriptions about the NS Heritage which seem pretty promising and there is one person at work that i just found out boards pretty avidly and he said NS boards are sweet. i can find a heritage x (the wide version) for around 520 shipped. which is fine as i've been saving and have an overall budget of 1k before i have to put anything on the credit card. Im going to do some more looking around but i may just go ahead and order the board online so i can get what i want instead of settling for what a store in the middle of summer has.
thanks all!

[schmitty34]

Originally Posted by karmatib

i read some reviews and descriptions about the NS Heritage which seem pretty promising and there is one person at work that i just found out boards pretty avidly and he said NS boards are sweet. i can find a heritage x (the wide version) for around 520 shipped. which is fine as i've been saving and have an overall budget of 1k before i have to put anything on the credit card. Im going to do some more looking around but i may just go ahead and order the board online so i can get what i want instead of settling for what a store in the middle of summer has.
thanks all!

The Heritage is a great board, but keep in mind that it is a pretty aggressive board....i.e. it is fairly stiff and fast. It will likely be a big step up from the boards you've rented before. This is really a bad thing, just something to keep in mind.

Some beginners are shocked when they buy a new board that is more aggressive and they feel they end up taking a few steps back. You can learn on the new board, but it may slow your progress at first. Some prefer to buy a 1st board that is a little easier to learn on and then go with the more advanced board with their second purchase.

One option that may be easier to learn on would be the NS Legacy.

[karmatib]

Originally Posted by schmitty34

The Heritage is a great board, but keep in mind that it is a pretty aggressive board....i.e. it is fairly stiff and fast. It will likely be a big step up from the boards you've rented before. This is really a bad thing, just something to keep in mind.

Some beginners are shocked when they buy a new board that is more aggressive and they feel they end up taking a few steps back. You can learn on the new board, but it may slow your progress at first. Some prefer to buy a 1st board that is a little easier to learn on and then go with the more advanced board with their second purchase.

One option that may be easier to learn on would be the NS Legacy.

could you describe "aggressive" in a little more detail? is it harder to turn? does the lip catch easier?
ive had about 10 days last year of all day boarding. 8am to 8pm most days with few breaks. i can link turns quickly and recover from the occasional accidental switch stance when i hit ice patches. i still find the need to scrub some speed off sometimes if im hauling ass down some of the harder blues. im ok i guess considering ive only got 1 winter under my belt but as ive found with other sports i learn quick. i want to make sure i dont get the wrong board. its not like i can try it and then return it.

[schmitty34]

Originally Posted by karmatib

could you describe "aggressive" in a little more detail? is it harder to turn? does the lip catch easier?
ive had about 10 days last year of all day boarding. 8am to 8pm most days with few breaks. i can link turns quickly and recover from the occasional accidental switch stance when i hit ice patches. i still find the need to scrub some speed off sometimes if im hauling ass down some of the harder blues. im ok i guess considering ive only got 1 winter under my belt but as ive found with other sports i learn quick. i want to make sure i dont get the wrong board. its not like i can try it and then return it.

One quick clarification after I re-read my previous post. I mean to type "this ISN'T really a bad thing" instead of "this is really a bad thing."

A more aggressive board will likely be harder to turn than a crapy rental board. It is more responsive and less forgiving so you need better technique. Again, this isn't a bad thing, but might just take some adjustment. With a stiffer board, the board my "ride you" more than you ride it until you learn....meaning it will be harder to control and you will pick up speed quicker when you are on an edge.


If you learn quick and don't mind the extra work it will take to get good on a more advanced board, you could be fine.

The real question is more about what you want when you start getting better. Do you want a hard charging board that goes fast and can shred everything? Or do you want something a little more playful that may be a little easier to manuever?

[uh oh a virus]

I'm from that area! Do you ride Blue Mt. by any chance? Well anyway, 500 is waaay to high. Go for something around 100-200. I bought the Nitro Swindle 2010-2011 series for only 150 new at Danzeisen and Quigleys. Now I only ride park so I wouldn't be much help, but I would recommend stopping by Danzeisen and Quigleys if you get the chance. They're great their. The only good mountain company that I could think of is Neversummer.