Looking for New Board (Cobra, Raptor, Premier F1)

[BigmountainVMD]

It's the OPs SECOND SEASON. I can't see too many people needing a quiver in their second season. He's gonna end up like all these kids buying an aggressive T. Rice Pro as their first board. You can ride it, sure, but you will have more fun with something a bit softer like the SL.

He wanted a stiffer version of the Evo that can handle crud/speed better. The SL is a directional twin (or twin with setback stance), the Cobra is directional... too unlike the Evo.

Kid has a Toyota Tercel and wants to upgrade... do you tell him a Subaru WRX or a Porsche Carerra? Heritage is too stiff. If you are hitting 40 ft booters switch, then get the Heritage.

Sell the Evo, get the SL. You will be happy. I fell like one of the biggest of new boarder issues is getting a "stiff" board that is really more stiff than they actually need.

[lonerider]

Originally Posted by BigmountainVMD

He's gonna end up like all these kids buying an aggressive T. Rice Pro as their first board. You can ride it, sure, but you will have more fun with something a bit softer like the SL.

He wanted a stiffer version of the Evo that can handle crud/speed better. The SL is a directional twin (or twin with setback stance), the Cobra is directional... too unlike the Evo.

Kid has a Toyota Tercel and wants to upgrade... do you tell him a Subaru WRX or a Porsche Carerra? Heritage is too stiff. If you are hitting 40 ft booters switch, then get the Heritage.

Sell the Evo, get the SL. You will be happy. I fell like one of the biggest of new boarder issues is getting a "stiff" board that is really more stiff than they actually need.

Hey wait don't YOU have a TRice Pro along with a Proto? What were you saying about kids buying a TRice Pro?

Actually, I agree that an SL would be the best single board option (and I don't disagree there is no need to get multiple boards)... but if he is definitely going to keep the Evo (for some reason like not everyone accepts my "wisdom" as fact )... then I would suggest getting something a bigger difference from the SL (I say this from experience having owned a 2004(?) Evo, 2009 SL, and 2012 Proto). Actually if you read the OP's last post... he was already leaning towards the SL-only option (he's going to demo the boards this weekend).

I also agree that some boards are too stiff for novice riders to handle... but modern snowboards today are all pretty soft overall (there are exceptions... those are basically always the most expensive freeride board each company makes). Even the Heritage is only a 5.5 out of 10 on Never Summer's scale. I've tried out a lot of boards over the years and trust me... there are some STIFF boards out there that you have never tried from companies you likely have never heard of.

I've never ridden the Heritage... but I HAVE hit a 40 ft booter switch*. Heritage is probably overkill for that as well, but OP was looking for freeriding/powder, not park/jumps - and the added dampening and stiffness would be good for that.

* - video is just me hitting a 40 foot kicker with a straight air... my cab 180s and backside 360s were super sketchy looking and not worthy of posting on the web.

[ghuss37]

Whether I sell my Evo or not will depend on how much I like the stiffer boards like the Heritage and Cobra when I demo. If I like those boards a lot, I will probably keep the Evo for when I get brave enough to start trying to do jumps/rails. If I'm not crazy about the Heritage/Cobra then I may sell the Evo and get the SL for a better overall single board. Also depends on how much I can get for my Evo. It is a longer Evo (157 or 158) so I'm not sure how in demand it will be.

Any recommendations on sizes for demoing? I'm 5'10.5". 158 seems like a good size but I'm open to suggestions.

[ghuss37]

Originally Posted by lonerider

Hey wait don't YOU have a TRice Pro along with a Proto? What were you saying about kids buying a TRice Pro?

Actually, I agree that an SL would be the best single board option (and I don't disagree there is no need to get multiple boards)... but if he is definitely going to keep the Evo (for some reason like not everyone accepts my "wisdom" as fact )... then I would suggest getting something a bigger difference from the SL (I say this from experience having owned a 2004(?) Evo, 2009 SL, and 2012 Proto). Actually if you read the OP's last post... he was already leaning towards the SL-only option (he's going to demo the boards this weekend).

I also agree that some boards are too stiff for novice riders to handle... but modern snowboards today are all pretty soft overall (there are exceptions... those are basically always the most expensive freeride board each company makes). Even the Heritage is only a 5.5 out of 10 on Never Summer's scale. I've tried out a lot of boards over the years and trust me... there are some STIFF boards out there that you have never tried from companies you likely have never heard of.

I've never ridden the Heritage... but I HAVE hit a 40 ft booter switch*. Heritage is probably overkill for that as well, but OP was looking for freeriding/powder, not park/jumps - and the added dampening and stiffness would be good for that.

* - video is just me hitting a 40 foot kicker with a straight air... my cab 180s and backside 360s were super sketchy looking and not worthy of posting on the web.

Nice video man. I hope to someday be able to do some jumps. I am not sure how to get started doing that stuff without killing myself or breaking my arms.

[lonerider]

Originally Posted by ghuss37

Whether I sell my Evo or not will depend on how much I like the stiffer boards like the Heritage and Cobra when I demo. If I like those boards a lot, I will probably keep the Evo for when I get brave enough to start trying to do jumps/rails. If I'm not crazy about the Heritage/Cobra then I may sell the Evo and get the SL for a better overall single board. Also depends on how much I can get for my Evo. It is a longer Evo (157 or 158) so I'm not sure how in demand it will be.

Any recommendations on sizes for demoing? I'm 5'10.5". 158 seems like a good size but I'm open to suggestions.

how much do you weigh?

[Cycle4Fun]

Originally Posted by ghuss37

Any recommendations on sizes for demoing? I'm 5'10.5". 158 seems like a good size but I'm open to suggestions.

Weight is what's important. Not height. I'm riding a 158 SL at 160 lbs naked.

[ghuss37]

Weight fluctuates from 170-185 but never more than 185.

[lonerider]

Originally Posted by ghuss37

Weight fluctuates from 170-185 but never more than 185.

I'm 5'9" 150 lbs, and I rode an Evo 153(?), Proto 154, and SL 155. For you I would suggest stuff in the 158-161 range, since you are a little less advanced, I would try with the lower end of the range first.

[BigmountainVMD]

Originally Posted by ghuss37

The evo has a ton of pop and someday I'd like to get into the rails/jumps but not yet.

He said he would like to get into rails/jumps someday... Thus I am not recommending a freeride board, and am leaning to the softer side of all-mountain boards --> the SL.

Originally Posted by lonerider

Hey wait don't YOU have a TRice Pro along with a Proto? What were you saying about kids buying a TRice Pro?

Yes, I bought a T. Rice just before my 8th season... not my second. And yes, I bought a Proto... when I realized that the T. Rice was TOO STIFF to dick around with the way I wanted to. It's awesome for bombing steeps and hitting big jumps, but IMO, I think it's a bit too stiff/long to be the all mountain play-thing I was looking for (in retrospect, the TRS would have been closer to what I was looking for). And once I had the Proto, I realized I had only a small increase in chatter at high speeds, relative to a huge increase in comfort for presses, boxes and all around playfulness.

I've seen numerous posts on this forum from kids like, "This is my second season, I'm tired of renting gear, I'm looking at the Lib T. Rice pro." I think these kids are being misled and can have much more fun on something a bit more playful, ESPECIALLY if they ever intend on hopping into the park.

If the OP was like "Its my 4th season, I can carve clean lines but my board chatters too much" I would say hop on the Heritage, Premier or even the T. Rice because I happen to think it is an amazing carving machine, but not for someone in their second season.

Originally Posted by lonerider

Actually, I agree that an SL would be the best single board option (and I don't disagree there is no need to get multiple boards)... but if he is definitely going to keep the Evo (for some reason like not everyone accepts my "wisdom" as fact )... then I would suggest getting something a bigger difference from the SL (I say this from experience having owned a 2004(?) Evo, 2009 SL, and 2012 Proto). Actually if you read the OP's last post... he was already leaning towards the SL-only option (he's going to demo the boards this weekend).

I also agree that some boards are too stiff for novice riders to handle...

Yes and yes. It's a good idea to demo for sure.

[lonerider]

Originally Posted by BigmountainVMD

He said he would like to get into rails/jumps someday... Thus I am not recommending a freeride board, and am leaning to the softer side of all-mountain boards --> the SL.

I think we basically are on the same page. I agree that if he was only going to have one board - SL would give him the most options to try out different riding styles. However, as I said... if he is stubborn on a two board setup ... then the SL is too close to the Evo.

Originally Posted by BigmountainVMD

Yes, I bought a T. Rice just before my 8th season... not my second. And yes, I bought a Proto... when I realized that the T. Rice was TOO STIFF to dick around with the way I wanted to. It's awesome for bombing steeps and hitting big jumps, but IMO, I think it's a bit too stiff/long to be the all mountain play-thing I was looking for (in retrospect, the TRS would have been closer to what I was looking for). And once I had the Proto, I realized I had only a small increase in chatter at high speeds, relative to a huge increase in comfort for presses, boxes and all around playfulness.

I've seen numerous posts on this forum from kids like, "This is my second season, I'm tired of renting gear, I'm looking at the Lib T. Rice pro." I think these kids are being misled and can have much more fun on something a bit more playful, ESPECIALLY if they ever intend on hopping into the park.

If the OP was like "Its my 4th season, I can carve clean lines but my board chatters too much" I would say hop on the Heritage, Premier or even the T. Rice because I happen to think it is an amazing carving machine, but not for someone in their second season.
Yes and yes. It's a good idea to demo for sure.

I also agree here. Travis Rice is a 175 lbs rampaging bull of a professional athlete - what works for him is not going to work for everyone else. On the flipside, though I see kids riding Burton Nug style boards with DULLED edges thinking that they are going to be able to Jib like Jeremy Jones. In my experience/opinion, if you got a true freeride board, than at the very least they would learn how to turn/carve properly. It might be a little harder to do a nosepress or butter, but if you learn the correct technique you could still do it. With a stupid soft board... you can fake a lot of tricks with GAPER-style... which is fine until you take it to a real street-style rail or 30 ft kicker... and then you are going to wreck yourself.