New Board Advice: Quiver of 1 or 2 - Snowboarding Forum

daniel42 · 06-21-2012, 01:24 AM

I posted this question on the ride forum, but it doesn't seem to be very active lately so I am trying here.

I currently have 2 boards:
2006 154 Burton Tadashi Fuse - which I pretty much ride all the time.
2004 159 Option Freeplus (I am 5kg below the min weight for this) - which was my first board (a really silly choice) but now I only ride it when the conditions are too deep for the tadashi (knee deep and up)

I am:
Weight: 63kg (140lb)
Boot: 2005 Size 9 Dc judge
Bindings: 2009 Rome Targa
Ability: 35 days worth and no idea. Better at freeriding than park. Getting stuck into my dynamic carving (I think). Trying small spins off side hits and 20ft jumps in the park. Boardslide rails/boxes on my way to the next jump in the park.

I ride:
In New Zealand where I
-Mess around on groomers, bomb groomers, do jumps in the park and ride pow (the one time it actually dumped)

In Japan, Hakuba (possibly Niseko one day) where I
-ride inbounds pow, slackcountry pow, trees and then all the same stuff I do in NZ

So I like the Tadashi, it's fast edge to edge, nimble, can be a relaxed ride if I want, the only problem is I struggle in deep Japan pow on it (Tadashi Fuse seems fine in all his video parts in deep powder though) and it doesn't like icy and chopped groomers so much (has no problems with chopped pow though).
The Freeplus must be ridden hard at all times so its not a relaxing ride, slower edge to edge and it's generally a plank for me. It does float better than the tadashi but I struggle with it and find it a bit unwieldy as it is stiff for me.

My options:
1. Replace the Freeplus with a powder board - maybe something like the Salomon powder Snake which floats and sounds fun and works on groomers. So I would take the Tadashi to NZ and both the Tadashi and the new board to Japan

2. Replace both boards with one board

The second option is attractive to me if I can get something that has all the things I like about the Tadashi, but can handle the deep powder of Japan and can handle icy and chopped conditions a bit better. The Berzerker isn't a twin and although I like the feeling of a true twin I'm sure I could get over it. I suck at switch though I keep making claims each trip that I will work on it and never do.

Basically this review by ippy makes me want to buy a Ride Berzerker:
2012 Ride Berzerker Review - SnowJapanForums

I guess boards like the turbo dream and coda are also options, but that above review seems to cover pretty much everything I want to do with the board. I definately do want it to handle the deep pow in Japan though.

Keep in mind I have only ever ridden camber and have no chance to demo.

Any comments or suggestions would be welcome.

Edit: Was thinking 155 would be the best size in the berzerker.

Thrillhouse · 06-21-2012, 01:50 AM

Hi Daniel,

i bought a 159W Berzerker for the current NZ season and after 7 days riding so far i don't have enough great things to say about it! If you've ridden in NZ you'll know how icy it can be; this badboy handles slippy stuff with ease. It's so easy to hold your edges when turning and it picks up speed like nothing else i've ridden before. I couldn't help myself and took it off piste to see how it handled in some pow pockets and it seems to glide through no worries (although i've picked up a few core shots thanks to my curiosity!

)

it also rides switch very well and has pop for days! so yeah, if that's the single quiver board you're thinking of then i say DO IT!

Edp25 · 06-21-2012, 05:43 AM

I find my tastes have become specialized as i have progressed. If you like your current decks on home turf and can afford it, go for a dedicated powder board. You'll love it. Enjoy!

Leo · 06-21-2012, 07:45 AM

Not sure how much shipping would be, but this is a killer deal from our resident gear expert. Due to the size, this would be a replacement for your pow stick unless you want to wait later this year for this board to be released and pay the retail price:

http://www.snowboardingforum.com/buy...mer-cobra.html

Here are a couple reviews on the board by Snowolf and myself:

http://www.snowboardingforum.com/equ...mer-cobra.html

http://www.snowboardingforum.com/equ...cobra-leo.html

Snowolf has the powder performance covered. I have the groomer/small mountain and some park covered in mine. Sounds like it's up your alley.

The Berzerker sounds like a great option as well. Look into the Ride Highlife too. It's stiffer than the Berzerker so it's going to be super stable both oh and off the groomers. It's also noticeably poppier than the Berzerker. If you're looking for a 2013 model, the Highlife will have popwalls which is carbon laid into their slimewalls. I demoed this tech on their '13 Machete GT and the pop is super nice when taking off from an edge.

So if you want more playfulness, go for the Berzerker. If you want the most stability and pop, go for the Highlife. Both have Hybrid All-Mountain shape which has rocker in a softer nose and camber throughout. Great powder riding shape.

jdang307 · 06-21-2012, 12:49 PM

I was thinking the Cobra might be perfect but since I haven't ridden one, yet, didn't recommend it.

Nivek · 06-21-2012, 08:03 PM

One of my favorite boards as of late has been the Signal OG Flat. I ride my 151 (I'm abouts 68kg's) everywhere from tree pow in Colorado to slush jibs in SoCal. I'ts narrow like your Tadashi so the nimbleness you love will be retained, but its still a stable and very smooth ride. Flat means you'll get a taste for what rocker does in pow without the flap you'd get from a full rocker like the Coda in gnarly crud. There isn't anything super special or crazy hightech about the construction, its just a fun classically built snowboard that will never disappoint. At 63kg if you're not interested in it being very jibby and want the float get the 155. Oh and they'll love you over in Japan for being on a Signal. Try the Omni 156 if you are interested in some rocker but want the energy in a turn from camber. Its a twin with setback inserts so when you are back in NZ in the park you can set it to ride true twin, then just readjust for default when you head to Japan. The more abrupt "kink" like rocker points add some grip to the otherwise predictable and smooth radial sidecut. And obviously the rockered tips will give you great float.

If you are interested in trying rocker the Berzerker really is a fantastic board with tons of energy and quick edge to edge. I rode the '12 Highlife and as a big brother it was a monster board designed to kill rodents and eat gnar death cookies up like the Honeycomb monster. The Berzerker is a more nimble and a bit more refined and manageable extension of the original Highlife.

The Coda is a really good board that you could love, but going from full camber to full anti-camber is a bit of a gamble if you've never ridden any form of rocker. They ride very differently. That said, I could probably ride a 155 Coda everyday and be satisfied. Also, griptech is by in far the most polished edge tech I've ridden.

For keepin it camber here's a curveball, the Bataleon Goliath. I have had some of my most fun runs while reviewing boards on TBT. Its wicked fun. 156. The shape of TBT acts a bit like a boat hull in deep snow so despite the camber it will float better than your current stick. And TBT is fast. You don't have your contact points behind you causing drag so they maintain speed better than any other camber out there. This is probably the riskiest buy without a demo as TBT is a very unique feel that takes some getting used to and is a love or hate.

woah. I haven't gone that in depth here in a while.

daniel42 · 06-24-2012, 08:27 PM

Thanks all for the input. As I have never ridden any rocker and there is no chance of a demo, I thought I would stick with either some sort of camrock or flat with rocker to make the transition easier for myself.

I had considered the Cobra, Highlife, Coda and Omni as options - rejecting the Cobra and Coda because of their profiles, Highlife because I didn't want to go too stiff and then favoured the Berzerker over the Omni because the reviews tended to be more positive. I rejected TBT just because opinions of it seem to be pretty polarised.

I thought about a true twin more freestyle oriented board with some rocker but I already have a true twin and I'd prefer to go with the little bit extra help in powder that a slightly directional board would give me.

So, seeing as it seems I am not completely off base with the Berzerker and no one has been able to convince me to go with something else, I will be going with the Berzerker.

jdang307 · 06-24-2012, 11:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by daniel42

Thanks all for the input. As I have never ridden any rocker and there is no chance of a demo, I thought I would stick with either some sort of camrock or flat with rocker to make the transition easier for myself.

I had considered the Cobra, Highlife, Coda and Omni as options - rejecting the Cobra and Coda because of their profiles, Highlife because I didn't want to go too stiff and then favoured the Berzerker over the Omni because the reviews tended to be more positive. I rejected TBT just because opinions of it seem to be pretty polarised.

I thought about a true twin more freestyle oriented board with some rocker but I already have a true twin and I'd prefer to go with the little bit extra help in powder that a slightly directional board would give me.

So, seeing as it seems I am not completely off base with the Berzerker and no one has been able to convince me to go with something else, I will be going with the Berzerker.

Go for it dude.

Get the board because it's a good board, but not because you're scared of a transition. Honestly, I went from a stiff cambered board to a Never Summer SL with R/C, and it was not a huge difference. Then went to full rocker with an Arbor. There are differences but worrying about transition should be #99 of issues to be concerned with.

daniel42 · 06-25-2012, 05:23 PM

The way I see it is that I am spoiled for choice with the Berzerker, Cobra and Coda all being great boards for what I am after backed up with consistantly positive reviews. Somehow I have to choose between them and if it comes down to rocker profile and graphics, so be it...

dreampow · 06-25-2012, 07:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by daniel42

The way I see it is that I am spoiled for choice with the Berzerker, Cobra and Coda all being great boards for what I am after backed up with consistantly positive reviews. Somehow I have to choose between them and if it comes down to rocker profile and graphics, so be it...

These days there are so many quality boards to choose from. Can drive you nuts trying to narrow it down to 1.

When I came of camber I went to a 2011 ride highlife which is not dissimilar to the bezerker.
Anyway I felt it was a good balance because it still gave a close to camber carving feel with extra float due to the rocker in the nose.

Bezerker is a good choice IMO

.

I now ride a proto as my main deck and really like the profile. More fun than the Highlife was.

Would love to try a coda too. That was one on my shortlist.

I will say this for ride, they are durable my buddy now rides my old highlife and its still more or less mint.

06-21-2012, 01:24 AM	#1 (permalink)
daniel42 Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 40	New Board Advice: Quiver of 1 or 2 I posted this question on the ride forum, but it doesn't seem to be very active lately so I am trying here. I currently have 2 boards: 2006 154 Burton Tadashi Fuse - which I pretty much ride all the time. 2004 159 Option Freeplus (I am 5kg below the min weight for this) - which was my first board (a really silly choice) but now I only ride it when the conditions are too deep for the tadashi (knee deep and up) I am: Weight: 63kg (140lb) Boot: 2005 Size 9 Dc judge Bindings: 2009 Rome Targa Ability: 35 days worth and no idea. Better at freeriding than park. Getting stuck into my dynamic carving (I think). Trying small spins off side hits and 20ft jumps in the park. Boardslide rails/boxes on my way to the next jump in the park. I ride: In New Zealand where I -Mess around on groomers, bomb groomers, do jumps in the park and ride pow (the one time it actually dumped) In Japan, Hakuba (possibly Niseko one day) where I -ride inbounds pow, slackcountry pow, trees and then all the same stuff I do in NZ So I like the Tadashi, it's fast edge to edge, nimble, can be a relaxed ride if I want, the only problem is I struggle in deep Japan pow on it (Tadashi Fuse seems fine in all his video parts in deep powder though) and it doesn't like icy and chopped groomers so much (has no problems with chopped pow though). The Freeplus must be ridden hard at all times so its not a relaxing ride, slower edge to edge and it's generally a plank for me. It does float better than the tadashi but I struggle with it and find it a bit unwieldy as it is stiff for me. My options: 1. Replace the Freeplus with a powder board - maybe something like the Salomon powder Snake which floats and sounds fun and works on groomers. So I would take the Tadashi to NZ and both the Tadashi and the new board to Japan 2. Replace both boards with one board The second option is attractive to me if I can get something that has all the things I like about the Tadashi, but can handle the deep powder of Japan and can handle icy and chopped conditions a bit better. The Berzerker isn't a twin and although I like the feeling of a true twin I'm sure I could get over it. I suck at switch though I keep making claims each trip that I will work on it and never do. Basically this review by ippy makes me want to buy a Ride Berzerker: 2012 Ride Berzerker Review - SnowJapanForums I guess boards like the turbo dream and coda are also options, but that above review seems to cover pretty much everything I want to do with the board. I definately do want it to handle the deep pow in Japan though. Keep in mind I have only ever ridden camber and have no chance to demo. Any comments or suggestions would be welcome. Edit: Was thinking 155 would be the best size in the berzerker. Last edited by daniel42; 06-21-2012 at 01:45 AM.

06-21-2012, 07:45 AM	#4 (permalink)
Leo -LIFETIME MEMBER- Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Detroit Area Posts: 6,212	Not sure how much shipping would be, but this is a killer deal from our resident gear expert. Due to the size, this would be a replacement for your pow stick unless you want to wait later this year for this board to be released and pay the retail price: http://www.snowboardingforum.com/buy...mer-cobra.html Here are a couple reviews on the board by Snowolf and myself: http://www.snowboardingforum.com/equ...mer-cobra.html http://www.snowboardingforum.com/equ...cobra-leo.html Snowolf has the powder performance covered. I have the groomer/small mountain and some park covered in mine. Sounds like it's up your alley. The Berzerker sounds like a great option as well. Look into the Ride Highlife too. It's stiffer than the Berzerker so it's going to be super stable both oh and off the groomers. It's also noticeably poppier than the Berzerker. If you're looking for a 2013 model, the Highlife will have popwalls which is carbon laid into their slimewalls. I demoed this tech on their '13 Machete GT and the pop is super nice when taking off from an edge. So if you want more playfulness, go for the Berzerker. If you want the most stability and pop, go for the Highlife. Both have Hybrid All-Mountain shape which has rocker in a softer nose and camber throughout. Great powder riding shape. __________________ www.aGNARchy.com Reviews and David Z's rants

06-21-2012, 08:03 PM	#6 (permalink)
Nivek Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Mountains of Mordor Posts: 5,373	One of my favorite boards as of late has been the Signal OG Flat. I ride my 151 (I'm abouts 68kg's) everywhere from tree pow in Colorado to slush jibs in SoCal. I'ts narrow like your Tadashi so the nimbleness you love will be retained, but its still a stable and very smooth ride. Flat means you'll get a taste for what rocker does in pow without the flap you'd get from a full rocker like the Coda in gnarly crud. There isn't anything super special or crazy hightech about the construction, its just a fun classically built snowboard that will never disappoint. At 63kg if you're not interested in it being very jibby and want the float get the 155. Oh and they'll love you over in Japan for being on a Signal. Try the Omni 156 if you are interested in some rocker but want the energy in a turn from camber. Its a twin with setback inserts so when you are back in NZ in the park you can set it to ride true twin, then just readjust for default when you head to Japan. The more abrupt "kink" like rocker points add some grip to the otherwise predictable and smooth radial sidecut. And obviously the rockered tips will give you great float. If you are interested in trying rocker the Berzerker really is a fantastic board with tons of energy and quick edge to edge. I rode the '12 Highlife and as a big brother it was a monster board designed to kill rodents and eat gnar death cookies up like the Honeycomb monster. The Berzerker is a more nimble and a bit more refined and manageable extension of the original Highlife. The Coda is a really good board that you could love, but going from full camber to full anti-camber is a bit of a gamble if you've never ridden any form of rocker. They ride very differently. That said, I could probably ride a 155 Coda everyday and be satisfied. Also, griptech is by in far the most polished edge tech I've ridden. For keepin it camber here's a curveball, the Bataleon Goliath. I have had some of my most fun runs while reviewing boards on TBT. Its wicked fun. 156. The shape of TBT acts a bit like a boat hull in deep snow so despite the camber it will float better than your current stick. And TBT is fast. You don't have your contact points behind you causing drag so they maintain speed better than any other camber out there. This is probably the riskiest buy without a demo as TBT is a very unique feel that takes some getting used to and is a love or hate. woah. I haven't gone that in depth here in a while. __________________ Snowboarding Sucks.

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

06-21-2012, 01:50 AM	#2 (permalink)
Thrillhouse Member Join Date: Apr 2012 Posts: 31	Hi Daniel, i bought a 159W Berzerker for the current NZ season and after 7 days riding so far i don't have enough great things to say about it! If you've ridden in NZ you'll know how icy it can be; this badboy handles slippy stuff with ease. It's so easy to hold your edges when turning and it picks up speed like nothing else i've ridden before. I couldn't help myself and took it off piste to see how it handled in some pow pockets and it seems to glide through no worries (although i've picked up a few core shots thanks to my curiosity! ) it also rides switch very well and has pop for days! so yeah, if that's the single quiver board you're thinking of then i say DO IT!

06-21-2012, 05:43 AM	#3 (permalink)
Edp25 -LIFETIME MEMBER- Join Date: Dec 2010 Posts: 63	I find my tastes have become specialized as i have progressed. If you like your current decks on home turf and can afford it, go for a dedicated powder board. You'll love it. Enjoy!

06-21-2012, 12:49 PM	#5 (permalink)
jdang307 Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 2,063	I was thinking the Cobra might be perfect but since I haven't ridden one, yet, didn't recommend it.

06-24-2012, 08:27 PM	#7 (permalink)
daniel42 Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 40	Thanks all for the input. As I have never ridden any rocker and there is no chance of a demo, I thought I would stick with either some sort of camrock or flat with rocker to make the transition easier for myself. I had considered the Cobra, Highlife, Coda and Omni as options - rejecting the Cobra and Coda because of their profiles, Highlife because I didn't want to go too stiff and then favoured the Berzerker over the Omni because the reviews tended to be more positive. I rejected TBT just because opinions of it seem to be pretty polarised. I thought about a true twin more freestyle oriented board with some rocker but I already have a true twin and I'd prefer to go with the little bit extra help in powder that a slightly directional board would give me. So, seeing as it seems I am not completely off base with the Berzerker and no one has been able to convince me to go with something else, I will be going with the Berzerker.

06-25-2012, 05:23 PM	#9 (permalink)
daniel42 Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 40	The way I see it is that I am spoiled for choice with the Berzerker, Cobra and Coda all being great boards for what I am after backed up with consistantly positive reviews. Somehow I have to choose between them and if it comes down to rocker profile and graphics, so be it...