All mountain/powder friendly board

[JHeagz]

Haha! I feel like I have more thinking to do now than when I started this thread! Seriously though, I've been steering clear of Burton boards for a while because I'm a little concerned about riding the channel since I'm 195 lbs. May just be mental, but I like the idea of more than two screws attaching me to the board. I like the Hovercraft, but I feel like I'd get more use out of more of other boards b/c of their versatility. I know there will be one or two days a year when I wish I had it, but the benefit of any of these boards over the T-rice on those days should do the trick. Btw, I WISH I lived out West and could go split boarding!!!!! Thanks for all your thoughts. I have a lot to chew on.

[klbeardsley]

I've been riding a burton joystick the last two seasons. I'm not a fan of the channel. I never found that I wanted to change my stance on the fly and I would have to tighten it every time I went up. If I forgot to tighten it my binding would loosen up and it would feel super sketchy.. And I'm only 5'10" 155 lbs.

But I actually just picked up the Ultra dream (158) today! I read some good reviews and went to a ski convention and talked to a bunch of people. The guy that sold me on the ultra dream had just bought one himself. He hadn't ridden it yet but had talked with a K2 rep. The rep said it was the board a lot of K2 employees were using as their go-to, everyday board.

One detail that stuck out for me was the rocker on the tips. I was told that because it's a fairly dramatic curve the edge contact is further back from the front of the board. So it rides shorter in terms of responsiveness, but still floats like the longer board it is.

I haven't ridden it yet, so I can't speak from experience. Hopefully I made a good choice!

[Nivek]

Well K2 has been stressing that the Ultra is not a powder board, but a BC board. In the back country you don't just get powder, you get crud too. So its designed to be fantastic in powder, but will get you through the crud in between just as well.

[JHeagz]

Originally Posted by Lamps

Powder friendly or powder specific?

I'd say more powder friendly than powder specific. I want something that floats well and would be fun to ride in powder, but would also want it to ride OK in the crud that you sometimes have to ride through to get to the good stuff. I live on the East coast, but end up taking trips out West 2/3 times a year, so while a regularly encounter good snow, I feel pretty blessed with a few good fresh pow days over the course of a season. Can't really justify buying a pure pow specific board, but I think there is a lot of upgrading I can do vs the TRice in terms of float on those days.

[JHeagz]

Originally Posted by klbeardsley

I've been riding a burton joystick the last two seasons. I'm not a fan of the channel. I never found that I wanted to change my stance on the fly and I would have to tighten it every time I went up. If I forgot to tighten it my binding would loosen up and it would feel super sketchy.. And I'm only 5'10" 155 lbs.

But I actually just picked up the Ultra dream (158) today! I read some good reviews and went to a ski convention and talked to a bunch of people. The guy that sold me on the ultra dream had just bought one himself. He hadn't ridden it yet but had talked with a K2 rep. The rep said it was the board a lot of K2 employees were using as their go-to, everyday board.

One detail that stuck out for me was the rocker on the tips. I was told that because it's a fairly dramatic curve the edge contact is further back from the front of the board. So it rides shorter in terms of responsiveness, but still floats like the longer board it is.

I haven't ridden it yet, so I can't speak from experience. Hopefully I made a good choice!

Even if I only had to tighten the screws once a day, I just think mentally I'd feel a little sketched out on the channel. On the other hand, my girlfriend got a feelgood flying V last year and I set up her bindings for her. In terms of ease of set up and adjustability the channel does rock. We haven't had to tighten her screws since we set it up, but she only weighs 110 lbs and is not a very aggressive rider.

I've basically narrowed it down to the Ultra Dream and the Pick Your Line at this point. After doing more research and digesting feedback off this site, I've come to the conclusion that they're both awesome boards and I probably can't go wrong. I've been riding magne traction for 5 years now and think it is one of the best technologies to come out. So that's pushing me towards the PYL. I still haven't seen it in person and shitty hurricane is keeping me indoors. Hopefully I'll go see it in a week and be able to make a final decision.

[Lamps]

Originally Posted by JHeagz

I'd say more powder friendly than powder specific. I want something that floats well and would be fun to ride in powder, but would also want it to ride OK in the crud that you sometimes have to ride through to get to the good stuff. I live on the East coast, but end up taking trips out West 2/3 times a year, so while a regularly encounter good snow, I feel pretty blessed with a few good fresh pow days over the course of a season. Can't really justify buying a pure pow specific board, but I think there is a lot of upgrading I can do vs the TRice in terms of float on those days.

I have a Sherlock for just the purpose you describe, I ride it on soft snow days here in the East (Ontario), and I ride it most of the time when I do trips out west a couple times per year. I can't justify a true powder board. I have a 2nd cambered board for Ice Coast crappy conditions.

I have had several boards with the channel and I really like it. Buy yourself a proper screwdriver to fit the large screws that it uses and tighten firmly, I've not had a problem.

I'd be interested to hear from anyone who has ridden the sherlock and also true powder specific boards like fish/malolo/barracuda, is there much difference between the sherlock and the true powder boards?

[JHeagz]

Originally Posted by Lamps

I have a Sherlock for just the purpose you describe, I ride it on soft snow days here in the East (Ontario), and I ride it most of the time when I do trips out west a couple times per year. I can't justify a true powder board. I have a 2nd cambered board for Ice Coast crappy conditions.

I have had several boards with the channel and I really like it. Buy yourself a proper screwdriver to fit the large screws that it uses and tighten firmly, I've not had a problem.

I'd be interested to hear from anyone who has ridden the sherlock and also true powder specific boards like fish/malolo/barracuda, is there much difference between the sherlock and the true powder boards?

A few people on here have been raving about the Sherlock on here. I read a review that said it's great if you're on the lighter side and for intermediate riders, but the flex may be a little soft for heavier or more aggressive riders. Any thoughts?

[Lamps]

Originally Posted by JHeagz

A few people on here have been raving about the Sherlock on here. I read a review that said it's great if you're on the lighter side and for intermediate riders, but the flex may be a little soft for heavier or more aggressive riders. Any thoughts?

I weigh 190 and ride the 163 sherlock. It's a 5 on burton's flex scale - the custom X, which is their stiffest board is a 7. I read a review the other day that said that it's one of the stiffer non-cambered boards that Burton makes and that beginners or those who prefer a softer board might look elsewhere in the lineup. The reviewer said that the extra stiffness was helpful for larger jumps.

Personally I really look for stiffness in a board for carving groomers and going really fast (where I also want a cambered board). I don't find the need for stiffness in the softer snow, although I'd say the sherlock is in the middle, not a soft board.

[JHeagz]

Originally Posted by Lamps

I weigh 190 and ride the 163 sherlock. It's a 5 on burton's flex scale - the custom X, which is their stiffest board is a 7. I read a review the other day that said that it's one of the stiffer non-cambered boards that Burton makes and that beginners or those who prefer a softer board might look elsewhere in the lineup. The reviewer said that the extra stiffness was helpful for larger jumps.

Personally I really look for stiffness in a board for carving groomers and going really fast (where I also want a cambered board). I don't find the need for stiffness in the softer snow, although I'd say the sherlock is in the middle, not a soft board.

I agree completely on the stiffness comments above. This was the review I was going on. Burton Sherlock | The Good Ride I've been reading a lot of what they've been posting and found the site to be extremely helpful. Also shot an email with some questions into them and got a thoughtful response w/i 24 hours. I wish there were more sites like this where you know the guys have ridden tons of boards to give them a good perspective.

[Nivek]

Despite not really getting anything wrong with the Sherlock, ignore Good Ride. They don't know their ass from a hole in the ground. 2 examples, they call the Flow Shifty and DC Ply hybrid cambers. They claim there is mild rocker in the tips. There isn't. They're camber to mild camber. No only that but in the Shifty review they contradict themselves by calling it a cambered jib board then give it a better rating on jumps than jibs. Yeah that makes sense. They get the Era COMPLETELY wrong. Its not a freestyle version of the Merc. It's rocker/camber not full rocker. It's also never been a soft board. It pretty solidly lands in mid flex. Also apparently the Nitro Team Gullwing apparently has something that looks like a mellow magnetraction cut. I didn't know a tri-radial sidecuts looks like magnetraction. They neglect to tell you that the 2013 YES Great Riders of history is completely different than the 2011 and 2012.

They suck.