livelyjay

Looking to get some gear for my wife now that she's ready to commit to snowboarding.

Stats: 5'3", size 6.5-7.0 boot, 135 lbs

BOARDS
What size should she get? She's more interested in free riding than freestyle.
What are some recommended brands/boards for an intermediate boarder?

BOOTS/BINDINGS
What's a good bang for the buck binding?

livelyjay

* bump *

Any one have any suggestions? We're going shopping later today and it would be nice to have some advise to go on.

wrathfuldeity

option bella
never summer infinity
arbor push
152-156 range
for fairly aggressive confident or if she wants to get there

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livelyjay

Wouldn't a 152-156 length be a bit too long for her though? She's at the high end of beginner/low end of intermediate. I guess I misspoke in the initial posting about her ability. I'll check out pricing and reviews for the boards you mentioned. After researching this forum, other forums, and snow shops online I think we're going to concentrate on boots first, then bindings, then find a decent board.

bufo

I'm also 135 lbs and ride a 152. I think 150-153 is a good range. Also consider the Rome Vinyl, my girl has it and loves it. It's a medium flex board and can handle freeriding and freestyle. She tells me how it's more stable and it's harder to catch an edge compared to her old board.

livelyjay

This is getting confusing, but at least I'm getting a feel for the length. It will also depend on how high the board sits compared to her height, since 5'3" is an estimate. Chin/Nose range for an all-mountain board right? Guess we'll see what we come up with tonight. I can get the Lamar Fascination in 149 at Dick's for $130 after sale price plus coupon, which we might just go with so there is more finding for good boots and bindings.

As for bindings, I've read good reviews on the Burton Lexa bindings, but what is everyone's experience with Flow bindings? Wouldn't they work better with distributing the pressure around the foot? In the end it does come down to how well the binding fits with the boot she picks.

It's a good thing finding boots in theory is easier - just find a pair that fit great and keep you warm.

Augie09

I got my wife a set up last year, and she loves it.

Got Forum Boa boots, she loves 'em. Wouldn't get her laces for any reason, cause I'd be the one tying them. Got her a rome vinyl board, can't remember the lenght, 151 or 152?, but she loves it. and as far as binding's got her some blingy gold plated forums, she asked for em

bufo

Board length is more dependant on weight than height, so I wouldn't do the chin/nose measuring thing. I've never heard any good things about Lamar boards, so I would be hesistant to buy it. You should really consider what people have already mentioned on here or search around this message board.

livelyjay

Well, we went to the local board shop and bought the whole deal: board, boots, bindings.

Salomon Lotus 147
Salomon Vigil Boot
Ride VXn Binding
$518 with tax, 2 year trade in policy (get 50% towards more gear), lifetime free waxing for her and family members, and free adjustments. I could have saved about $70 buying the stuff online (cheaper prices plus no tax), but it was nice to support a local shop and have them set everything up for us right then and there.

The person helping us was a women and has been boarding for quite some time now, done a lot of demo tryouts, etc. She actually sounded like she knew what she was talking about. She said at my wife's height/weight she could go from 144 on the low side to 152 on the high side. We went with the 147 because it was at my wife's lower lip with her boots on while the 149 and 151 seemed to be a bit long for her.

My wife loved the boots. She tried on Burton Lodi, some other lower end Burton, and a Vans with boa lacing. The Burtons felt good, her heel lifted in the Vans, but the Salomon's fitted her very well.

She really didn't try on any other binding than the Ride VXn. I had read some stuff about them online before hand (just a coincidence), the padding on the main strap is awesome, and the boots fit solidly into them. All in all this was a great experience and we have this forum to thank for a lot of it.

Minger

Dogfunk has 07? Burton Mission Bindings in small for $35 - fits up to womens size 9. Even if they aren't women's bindings, they're still good bindings.

didn't realize you guys already bought the gear

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Board: Directional
Bindings: Burton Missions 07
Boots: Burton Freestyle 07