dreampow

To blunt or not to blunt that is the question I pose.

Keep in mind i have not been on the snow in 4 months and have maybe 4 months yet to go, hence i am asking such a question.

Typically blunted tips seem to be on park/freestyle decks, but here is the thing I think they are better for most kinds of riding.

Bombing, considerably longer effective edge for the length therefore more stable at high speeds. The long turned up nose and tail are useless weight for this kind of riding.

Freestyle, goes without saying.

Powder, here you would think the longer upturned nose and tail do their work, but I am not so sure.
I ride a lot of deep powder here in Japan and it seems to me the key factor in keeping you afloat (apart from profile, rocker etc) is the surface area supporting your weight on the snow.
Thats why pow sticks are longer than other quiver decks.

The problem I have with the long upturned nose and tail is that because of the high angle the boards surface area in the tip and tail aren't being effectively used to hold your weight above the snow.

Take two 158 identical boards bar the tips and tails. One is blunted the other isn't. Surely the blunted deck spreads your weight over a bigger surface thus giving better float.

The longer upturned nose might give a little more ability to stay up above the snow but I think that effect is minimal and the blunted decks greater surface area compensates for it.

Obviously a dedicated pow stick will have a long drawn out upturned nose and that makes sense. I am talking about a twin tip board.

What say ye?

snowklinger

Everything about blunted is better, but the main reason, which you forgot, is because it LOOKS better.

I'm going to go downstairs for a few minutes, and get myself blunted, just to make an example out of you.

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ETM

Longer nose works well but a shorter tail is what you want for powder.

Float is only one aspect of riding powder, you can get float through surface area but you will still get serious rear leg burn. The trick is to have nose float combined with tail sink, this gives a fun comfortable ride.

The nose should be longer but not necessarily higher, the up turn just needs to take place over a longer distance than normal much like a surfboard.
I took my neversummer SL to japan and it sucked bigtime even though its got the magical rocker that everyone assumes fixes all, it doesnt. It sucked because of its short little stumpy blunted nose.
Look at boat hull design as its a similar concept. To achieve a nice plane on the water in a speed boat they use a long slow curve. You wont see a tug boat hull running big speeds regardless of how much power it has due to the inefficient hull design.
A blunted nose is a tug boat. A long rocker nose is a speed boat.

Everything I have said is in relation to powder design only, for hardpack riding look at race boards for inspiration, they have bugger all nose and tail length.

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ETM

Powder win. Prior khyber


Powder fail. Neversummer sl

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ETM

There are multiple lessons to be learned by looking at this board as he is strapping in. Look how good it works.

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BurtonAvenger

Blunted in pow is great for pow butters. It gives you a better flat spot and is more prone to actually blasting through shit. I'm completely over rounded or pointy tips at this point in my life. The only reason to ride a round tip or pointy one in pow is if in seriously dense trees where you're going to be glancing off unexposed shit, a blunt shape will dead hit it.

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Angry Snowboarder Because someone has to call it how they see it!

dreampow

@ETM, no doubt a full on pow board with a low rising rocker style nose is way better than any twin tip board in pow.

Thats not what I am saying, what I am saying is when comparing two twin tip boards lets say two versions of your SL (same length), if one has blunted tips and one has regular round tips the blunted version will be a little better in powder. More surface area on the snow for float and as BA said better for pow butters.

Neither will come close to a pow board, but thats not the comparison here.

People like us who spend a lot of time riding in deep powder can reap the benefits of a dedicated pow stick.

For most riders its a once in a while thing and they wouldn't have a specialized deck for it.

I just can't see the advantages of non blunted tips on a regular board, apart from maybe as BA said a little added protection to help you over obstacles rather than crash straight into them. Still pretty minimal difference.

The advantages of the blunted tips are many fold and add performance in most kinds of riding. Freeride, Freestyle, Park and as I have argued powder too.

I am just putting this out cause I can't see why most (twin tip) boards are made with the rounded off tips, why aren't they all blunted?

BurtonAvenger

Mold costs really, most are established shapes and to change the mold costs casho. Plus the bend in the blunt is a bit harder to set in according to some of my friends that work in factories.

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Angry Snowboarder Because someone has to call it how they see it!

BruceWard

ETM -Thanks! Summer Bummin' and that clip from Japan? just made my day. Sweetness.

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K2 09 Darkstar 160W Burton Custom||K2 10 Slayblade 166W Ride RX||Libtech-10 Skunk Ape 169W Ride SPi

ETM

I get your point. I think you are highlighting the importance of looking at specs like effective edge and running length when choosing a board rather than just the advertised total length. A 158 isnt always the same as the next 158. Take a standard 164, cut 3cm of the nose and tail and you have a blunted 158 ;-)

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