Stupid(?) Board length question

[lonerider]

Originally Posted by david_z

yeah but based on the fact that he's 6'5" a 151 might be too short thing's only going to come up to his dick if he's lucky.

What sort of stance does he need at that height and will a 151 Draft allow for that? IDK.

Huh? I thought the OP (syphabiscuit) only mentioned his weight. Ralch (a separate poster) said he was 6'5" 240 lbs.

I personally think 151 really short for myself... but I've seen people my weight (155 lbs) ride sub-150 cm boards. It looks silly, but if all they want to do is press and butter and doesn't actually plan to make a real turn on the snow.. it's a free country.

[poutanen]

Originally Posted by ralch

This is the exactly what I expected to read. I am thinking to get something around 164-165cm (probably skunk ape). Presently, I have 170cm and it is not my board. It's to heavy and difficult to manoeuvre.

If you're riding a lot of groomers you might want to consider something like a Burton Custom X in 164 or 164W (no need to go wide unless your boots are huge). I haven't compared the two in person, but it looks like the 165 Skunk Ape is designed for a 140+ pound person, and the Custom X 164 is designed for a 170+ pound person.

The custom X is stiff too so while you shorten the board you won't be ending up on a wet noodle.

I'm 160-170 lb (depending on my mood) and ride a 159 cm Burton T7 which is the stiffest thing they've made in a while. I spent a lot of time in the trees and find it easy to toss around, but it's got the stiffness available to rail when charging the groomers.

Not sure if Burton does demo days in Europe, but if you can demo a board I'd do that before buying. Can't seem to find info on their website at the moment but they do demo days all over the place.

[syphabiscuit]

Ok, I'm gonna make up something which will cause argument but let's say there are 5 types of board and to have a board for every occasion you needed only a 5 board quiver. For the average person - 180lbs and 6 ft (I'm 5'11") how does this sound then: (assuming blunted tips on every board for ease)

Street. - 152
Park Freestyle - 154
All mountain Freestyle - 156
Groomer/carver - 158
Powder - 160

As a point of reference for someone wondering, maybe.....

What do you reckon? Cause I reckon I'd be worried about going for a 160 (162) board even for powder....but then, I don't know!

[poutanen]

Originally Posted by syphabiscuit

As a point of reference for someone wondering, maybe.....

What do you reckon? Cause I reckon I'd be worried about going for a 160 (162) board even for powder....but then, I don't know!

Not sure how much blunted tips take off the number from a "standard" board, but I'd say some of those numbers are short for a 180 pound guy. There's nothing scary about a 160+ cm board! In fact for pure fall line powder riding I'd want something significantly longer.

Again, I'm 160-170 and ride a 159 and toss it around in the trees where I have to be quick with my turns and speed checks. I'm looking at a 163 for all out charging at the slight sacrifice of spin mobility.

[syphabiscuit]

Ok, so blunted tips aside, then 6ft 180lbs:

154
156
159
162
165

Is that more reasonable do you think Poutanen? What size is your freestyle stick?

[poutanen]

That sounds about right, my freestyle board is a 153 but I got that when I weighed 140 pounds. It's too small for me now, think I'm going to have it bronzed and mounted in my basement!

I'd say that's a good guide for a 180 pounder, take off a couple cm for inexperienced riders but intermediate to advanced that's a good target.

[lonerider]

Originally Posted by syphabiscuit

Ok, I'm gonna make up something which will cause argument but let's say there are 5 types of board and to have a board for every occasion you needed only a 5 board quiver. For the average person - 180lbs and 6 ft (I'm 5'11") how does this sound then: (assuming blunted tips on every board for ease)

Street. - 152
Park Freestyle - 154
All mountain Freestyle - 156
Groomer/carver - 158
Powder - 160

As a point of reference for someone wondering, maybe.....

What do you reckon? Cause I reckon I'd be worried about going for a 160 (162) board even for powder....but then, I don't know!

I'm 5'9" 150 lbs and the sizes you listed for are what I use at 150 lbs (I ride a Proto 154 for park, I have a SL 155-156 for all mountain, and my last two powder boards were 160).

I didn't mention it before... but in my opinion you could afford to look at boards a little longer. The longer board will give you more effective edge (let me know if you don't know what effective edge means), which will give you more edge hold and more control. With reverse camber, blunted edges and various construction profiles it is hard to give you exact number... but here are the ranges I suggest.

154-155 for street
155-156 for freestyle
159-160 for all mountain
161-163 for groomer carver
161-163 for powder board

Don't be afraid of longer boards - especially at your size (big and strong). Remember a 163 is only actually 2 inches longer than a 158 (has adding two inches an about .25 lbs every made something difficult for your entire body to move?). Also realize that a powder board typically has an oversize nose , meaning it's effective edge is shorter and so it will generally behave like a much shorter board. My Never Summer Summit 160 has an effective edge similar to most 155cm board and so it really rides like a much shorter board.

I have ridden around a dozen snowboards over 165cm and the longest board I have personally ridden is 178cm although I would say that such big mountain boards are generally unnecessary for most people riding in resorts I would say - especially with modern board tech and construction). It's like driving a car with 300-400 hp, it may take a little getting use but you know how to drive properly and don't panic you can do it. Are you the type of person who panics and slams on the gas pedal instead of the brakes in a school parking lot? I didn't think so.

Not that you would.... but you could:

[BigmountainVMD]

Originally Posted by poutanen

If you're riding a lot of groomers you might want to consider something like a Burton Custom X in 164 or 164W (no need to go wide unless your boots are huge). I haven't compared the two in person, but it looks like the 165 Skunk Ape is designed for a 140+ pound person, and the Custom X 164 is designed for a 170+ pound person.

Dude... Those weight ranges are bogus. The only person riding a 165 Skunk Ape comfortably would be over 6 feet, over 200 lbs and at least a size 12 boot.

Those calcs are not correct as well and I believe they only apply to camber boards (not the hybrids in the NS line). I would knock at least 2 or 3 cm off any measurement it gives you.

I think at 6 feet tall, your weight is higher up, so with a 151 floppy ass Arbor Draft, you will start to butter and then have the board shoot out from under you.

[syphabiscuit]

So, seriosuly then, if I wanted to get a premier f1 (NS boards are my easiest point of reference) should I be looking 165? Discount this!

So the summit rides like a 155?? Weird! But I guess the nose is just for the float....so I guess it is better to think in terms of effective edge length compared to board length...?

[poutanen]

Originally Posted by BigmountainVMD

Dude... Those weight ranges are bogus. The only person riding a 165 Skunk Ape comfortably would be over 6 feet, over 200 lbs and at least a size 12 boot.

Those calcs are not correct as well and I believe they only apply to camber boards (not the hybrids in the NS line). I would knock at least 2 or 3 cm off any measurement it gives you.

I think at 6 feet tall, your weight is higher up, so with a 151 floppy ass Arbor Draft, you will start to butter and then have the board shoot out from under you.

So you know more than the manufacturer then?!?

Never rode a skunk ape but is it as stiff as a Custom X? If not I'd suggest a stiff board for a 240 pound guy. Otherwise it's going to be a wet noodle...