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Which board do you think I should get?

  • K2-Ultra Dream

    Votes: 21 32.3%
  • Salomon-Sick Stick

    Votes: 10 15.4%
  • Yes-Pick Your Line

    Votes: 34 52.3%

All mountain/powder friendly board

16K views 50 replies 15 participants last post by  RickB 
#1 ·
I'm looking to add a powder-friendly board to my quiver...I currently have a T-rice from two seasons ago that I love for most conditions, but find it tough to float in powder. I don't want anything too directional and I'm not a huge fan of serious reverse camber (too slippery/no pop). Right now the front runner for me is the K2-Ultra Dream, b/c I really like the BCS shaping, the camber combo and look of the board, but I've seen great reviews for the Salomon-Sick Stick and Yes-Pick your line. Anyone out there ridden any of these boards that feels strongly either way? Keep in mind I'll probably ride my T-Rice on days w/o fresh, so the edge grip isn't really too much a concern for me and will most likely be taking this in the side/backcountry.

Thanks so much!
 
#2 ·
you mentioned the camber combo on the ultra dream...it's allterrain rocker which is flat with rockered tips, so no camber.

I voted for it by the way. I demo'd it last year and liked it. It's a board I would consider buying.
Otherwise, I'd say look at the Burton Sherlock (no B boards in your poll so maybe you don't like them. If so, skip the next bit). I normally ride a 162-164 for the deep pow we have here in Japan, however last year I went with a 160 sherlock with a centered stance...and it floated like mad. I was fine on a 65cm day! The flying v camber is super fun in the pow. This year I stepped up to the 163 and I will be testing it to see how it does in real gnar situations. I'll also be testing the k2 panoramic, which has the same allterrain rocker as the ultra dream, so I'll be able to comment more during the season...unfortunately that doesn't help you much now.

So anyways, I say ultra dream.
 
#3 ·
Thanks for the response...I really appreciate the insight. I said camber combo more as a catch all. I'd say my mind is like 90% made up, but wanted to see if anyone had any really strong opinions for the other boards. Have fun shredding that Japanese pow. I hope I get out there at some point.
 
#6 ·
i don't really understand if you're getting a quiver board to ride pow with why you wouldn't want it to be directional...

i ride a Heritage most of the time (similar board to your rice) and this year when i was able to add a pow board i jumped on a deal for a Jones Hovercraft (very directional).

if its a foot or less i'll still be on the heritage - i can charge the fuck out of that board and knock down all the tracked out chundery bullshit and ride pow and ride switch and hit jumps and boxes and trees and children and all that good stuff.

if its 14"+ i'll ride the pow board and i only care about going switch for like 20-30ft at a time and any board can do that :dunno:

do you really ride that much switch in the POW?
 
#7 ·
I was in a 'directional for pow' camp until I got the Sherlock, and woah, last season my freestyle game went through the roof. Every drop & feature just got a bigger menu of tricks to choose from. Before it was : straight air or grab, now it's 180's, 3's, butter 3's plus all the grabs. Sure, it's mostly mental but for me it made a huge difference riding pow centrered on a twin
 
#14 ·
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.
 
#11 ·
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.
 
#12 ·
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!
 
#15 ·
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.
 
#20 ·
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.
 
#21 ·
I agree with Nivek. What the hell does this mean?:
However the Flying V rocker shape that the Sherlock has doesn’t have the stability that some hybrid shapes do. For us this is a longer more mellow version of the Burton Custom V Rocker for those who want a less aggressive ride for the same places on the mountain.
flying v and v rocker are completely different. If you want to talk stability, flying v is more stable than v rocker.

I also don't get the weight comment. It's one of those things you could write for any board.
I started reading a few more for fun:
the burton root:
Because of the success with the Nug so they decided to shorten some other boards but keep a wide waist. The Root is all about this and another fun freestyle board in their line. Super easy to throw around and super easy to butter. The only real complaint we have with this and all of Burtons hybrid rocker boards is the edge hold. They make great boards but they just don’t have the grip that many do when conditions are less than ideal.
you can tell they haven't ridden this board at all.
The spliff is another fuckup. oh hell, every review that I read was vague and rehashed catalogue marketing speak
 
#23 ·
I personally ruled it out b/c for purely aethetic reasons...I don't really love the look of the hempbrain topsheet they use. While look/feel may be the 6th/7th consideration on the list, I want to be stoked about whatever decision I make. I actually think the Ultra Dream is a sick looking board, but after doing more research I think the PYL is the more appropriate board for me. After reading some comments about sketchy edgehold on the UD, I just didn't feel like it was the board for me, b/c I find myself looking down over some stuff that I'd rather not slide over pretty often (think A-Z chutes in Big Sky)
 
#36 ·
LOL. To each their own, but I rarely give two shietz about how a board looks - I care more about performance and comfort with my style of riding.

Just curious but have you seen videos of Jake Blauvelt shredding up backcountry pow on his Ride Berzerker? It might make you change your mind about Ride boards in general (I'm guessing by your comments you're looking at "higher" end, premium boards....), with the Slackcountry being their top of the line powder board. Check out the vid below - so sick!

http://youtu.be/D-fNOKhGED8
 
#24 ·
Now that I've made the tough decision of which board I'm going w/ Yes has made it a little more complicated by having a 161, 161W and 164W. I feel like I should be going with a 164 regular width, but they don't make it. As a reminder, I'm 6'2, 195 lbs, size 10 boot. I'm leaning towards the 161W, but after looking at their website and seeing that the running length is only 116 CMs vs my Trice's 124.5 CM, I'm thinking that i should be considering the 164 eventhough it is a touch wide for my feet. Also reading that the PYL is more medium flex, which would rule out the 161 regular. Would love to hear your thoughts on pros/cons or anything I should be considering.
 
#26 ·
Currently I live in NYC, so my trips out west are generally long weekends or the occasional week long trip. So not really practical to get a split board. Though it may be in my future as my sanity is slowly eroding and I'm marrying a nice CA girl :D
 
#27 ·
Actually may have read that wrong...you were suggesting that splitting out East would be good. May be that I'm not too familiar w/ the terrain off the resorts, but the tree coverage out here is generally pretty thick, so not really conducive to off piste.
 
#28 ·
Pick your Line

I have seen a group of people mention the pick your line, but I have yet to see it for sale. I have time until the slopes here in Japan open up, and the heavy pow comes down, but where are these people buying them?:dunno:

Besides that. I am currently choosing between 3 boards for all mountain riding that will completely shred in deep pow. Chest high pow! Switch isn't mandatory, but I want the option. These are the 3 I am looking at. What do you guys think?

Lib Tech Lando Phoenix
Yes. Pick your Line
K2 Ultra Dream
 
#30 ·
I have seen a group of people mention the pick your line, but I have yet to see it for sale. I have time until the slopes here in Japan open up, and the heavy pow comes down, but where are these people buying them?:dunno:

Besides that. I am currently choosing between 3 boards for all mountain riding that will completely shred in deep pow. Chest high pow! Switch isn't mandatory, but I want the option. These are the 3 I am looking at. What do you guys think?

Lib Tech Lando Phoenix
Yes. Pick your Line
K2 Ultra Dream
Seems like most of the people that reviewed the PYL got their hands on it late last season when companies were promoting their up coming lines. One shop near me has a 159, but I've been waiting for the rest of the boards to come into stock. The damn hurricane delayed things by a week, but supposed to be in stock by next weekend. I don't think you can go wrong with any of those boards based on the research I've done, but I ended up steering away from the K2 b/c it seemed like it may have trouble if you're really charging or not in the most ideal snow conditions. Also, I haven't ridden anything besides a Mervin's board in a long time, so I wanted to try something new out. Otherwise, I'd probably be considering the Lando pretty seriously.
 
#43 ·
JHeagz - what Rice board do you have? blunt or pointy? maybe thats why its not so great in the pow? or... sorry to say it could just be you. i have a lib phoenix, which is pretty much the same as your board, and i have no problem in pow, last season in whistler was fucking insane, so much powder, i had multiple 50cm+ days, and my board kills it in the pow. i never got stuck or felt like there was to much pow. im thinkin you could try a different stance in the pow, or maybe its a binding issue. i have a real hard time believing your board wont float, no offence but i think its the rider. also i didnt read every page, but i saw you ride on the east coast. you must not be used to powder, thats why you have trouble floating on it :D because unless your board is physically damaged, i would say it's still good, and they still use all that same tech in the same board today. not to much has changed in the last few years.
 
#47 ·
I have a pointy, but it's a pretty stiff board (stiffer than the Phoenix) and the C2BTX doesn't float anywhere near as good as the BTX. I had a TRS BTX before the TRice, so I know the difference. Don't get me wrong, I had a blast riding in pow last year (Whistler, Jackson and Mt Baker), but I also know that there are boards that could be even more fun in powder/trees.
 
#44 ·
Yeah you're prob right. I only had a Ride Kink last year and was still able to float decently I guess. Turning and slashing was the most difficult with that board. That's why I am getting a pow freestyle board. Last year at Nagano and Niigata there were a couple times when the pow was too deep for the resorts to operate after the bunny hills. The mt was closed for a couple days because there was to much snow. By the time half the lifts opened there was over chest high powder off piste and about knee to waist high on piste. Basically had to toss on the shoes and hike up to get to the top. Epic runs!!
 
#50 ·
Sorry, I missed this post. I'm eagerly waiting for my local shop to get the PYL in stock. After emailing back and forth w/ Nidecker and talking to way too many people, I decided to go w/ the 161. If I didn't have a Trice already, I'd maybe have gotten a NS Cobra...Too many good boards...
 
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