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Salomon Man's Board - Length for me - Please help

18K views 70 replies 9 participants last post by  laxinchili 
#1 ·
Hi Guys, I am making a return to snowboarding this winter!!! SO EXCITED !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am in the market for a new board... I am a freeride type of guy that rarely goes airborne off the kicker on the side, etc, but mostly enjoy ripping (in more ways than one, Oh!) and carving.

I am pretty set on getting a Man's Board after what I have heard of it, and I have my eyes on a 162 from last year at a great price. My past board is an oldschool Rossignol RS, also at 161. My concern is that I have lost weight since I last rode, going from about 185 to 160-170. The mans board looks like a sweet combination of new tech with no BS.

Considering I'm that i'm now noticeably lighter, would you guys still recommend a 162 for me, or should I look @ a smaller board? 159 perhaps??
I just want to do the best I can with my tight budget!

Please give me any pointers here, including suggestion for other boards. My ears are open and welcome any wisdom.
Thanks in advanced!
 
#3 ·
Ultimately losing 3cm (barely more than an inch) on the board length is not going to make a huge difference either way, but the shorter 159 should be a little more nimble than the 162. I think if I were you I would go with the 159 if you can find it. If not, you shouldn't have any real trouble on the 62 since you're already accustomed to riding boards that size.
 
#4 · (Edited)
Thank you for the responses guys.

I just weighed myself again and HOLY SHIT I HAVE LOST WEIGHT! Marathons man, they change your body.

I am now 153 lbs (with only shorts and tee)... adding another 10 lbs for clothes/boots/pack... what do you guys suggest now lengthwise??

(I just found out suggest weight by Salomon for 162 is 155 lbs- 195 lbs [175 avg]... i'm definitely on the lower end... and the 159 is 130-185lbs [157.5 avg])
 
#5 ·
(I just found out suggest weight by Salomon for 162 is 155 lbs- 195 lbs... i'm definitely on the lower end...)
Hmmm you've dropped 35 lbs...

and this board is definitely on the firmer side, they say "7" personally I felt it was a bit firmer than that on the 159 (and I'm 210 lbs). The 62 seems too much for your size now, definitely. So you're somewhere between the 156 or the 159 then.
 
#7 · (Edited)
I just got back into the mix 2 years ago after brief hiatus and upgraded all my gear last year. I used to ride a definition 161 but went with the 159 man's board.

Its plenty of board for me. stable, stiff, handled all the garbage conditions I rode on last year well (east coast and two co trips). I'm closer to 200 and found it fine. I don't think the 162 would be a huge difference since as DavidZ said you are used to a larger board.. i just don't think its needed.

It does require your attention but its a great board IMO.. I just hope I get to use it on some decent snow this year.
 
#8 ·
Hey, I used to ride a Salomon Definition 156 myself (when I was 140 lbs). Was a great free-riding board. I've been doing a lot more park recently the last couple of years and have been trying other brands after having a bunch of Salomon boards (450, Burner, Forecast (ERA?), Definition, Daniel Frank pro model).
 
#10 ·
Its all about what kind of all mountain riding. To me the sizes you are looking at are way too big. I ride a 154 Proto all mountain and 154 evo park at #175.

I realize there are many active members here who espouse larger boards.

There are also alot of eurocarvers throwing out advice, its important to understand the difference.

I ride the mountain like a skatepark, what some people call "all-mountain" is actually all mountain boardercross or groomer bombing.

I made a similar re-entry to the sport about 3 years ago at 34, you may end up with the perfect board - I didn't and its been a journey with bindings as well.
 
#12 · (Edited)
Thanks everyone for the help. I will now keep an eye out for a 159 due to my drop in weight.

@lonerider: shred-worthy pics dude!

@snowklinger: I got some salomon F-22s this year (last year's model 50% off) and I freakin love them. I have some old SPX PROs that I may replace with this year's Chief binding. Figured might aswell go Salomon with the board, although Libtechs are looking nice to me and are from the 206. The man's board really does look like it's what I need though.
:D


edit: with all that said, I am open to any and all suggestions for boards/bindings. (someone suggested me union forces)
 
#13 ·
@snowklinger: I got some salomon F-22s this year (last year's model 50% off) and I freakin love them. I have some old SPX PROs that I may replace with this year's Chief binding. Figured might aswell go Salomon with the board, although Libtechs are looking nice to me and are from the 206. The man's board really does look like it's what I need though
159 is a pretty big board for someone who weighs 150lbs.

That was my entire point.
 
#15 ·
A lot of it, is where you are riding.

If you never see powder or very rarely, you could get an even shorter one.

If you live in B.C. or the PNW, you'll drown on those itty bitty boards, we get thick wet heavy snow most of the time.

I'd stick to the 162, you won't notice the difference on hard pack days but I bet you will on pow days.
++Bigger boards go faster, ride smoother & are more stable.

TT
 
#22 · (Edited)
There are DOZENS... so be prepared.

This forum is VERY Never Summer biased... I happen to own Never Summer and really like it, but there a lot of bandwagon jumping fanboys on here as well. Neversummer Cobra and/or Heritage and/or Premier F1 (that progression gets stiffer)

Libtech is popular on this forum (I personally absolute hate their recent boards... I loved their regular camber Jamie Lynn Phoenix with Golden Fleece Basalt Fiber... and then didn't like the BTX/MTX version of it the next year).

I liked the Ride Timeless, which was then called like Ride <something> TMS, but then they renamed all their boards and I have no idea what is what now :/

I saw someone vouch for the Salomon Man's board... you can get that now... or spend another 2 weeks researching it.

Update... ah you are looking for used board... try GearTrade.com and look for the ones Backcountry.com puts up. Those are returned board that they are selling... they are very upfront about the condition of the board and I think the pricing is very reasonable.
 
#24 ·
From what I've read here, it is a stiff 161.5 board. It "sounds" like a good match for you, but I'm always skeptical about store guys... especially since when they are steering you towards the most expensive pro model the store has that all the kiddies want for Christmas. I suggest demo'ing that board before buying it (it's not like it's going to get MORE expensive).

SPX Pros are a solid binding. I had a pair of SP4 Shaped (wings) and SPX6( SP6?) in the 2003-2006 range (my memory is fading).
 
#25 · (Edited)
Ok well there has been alot to respond to.

First off my skateboarding experience covers EVERYTHING for a long time, although it was always about street and hills more than ramps and parks because I'm old and there was no parks on every corner when I was growing up.

That being said the last few years that I skated it turned to alot of downhilling on decks that we cut out of various plywoods and whatnot and made ourselves. The most bad ass thing I have ever done on a board of any kind (water, snow, street) was on a tiny thin fiberglass 70's style board I bombed a 2mile hill that I guarantee you a very low % of people would try. The only reason I pulled it was that I was in bare feet and boxers so I wasn't about to just bail it lol! I guess being 19 and in shape dint hurt either hehe.

Surfing is my first love and I have spent a ton of time shortboarding and longboarding in all kinds of conditions, I truly love both, however if it is over shoulder high I admit you are unlikely to find me on a longboard.

Your assessment Lonerider of your buddy who bonks everything going down is similar to me(probably between u guys really). And also why I made the point that it is important for the OP to understand where advice is coming from in this forum. There are a ton of 30+yr old people here who represent a pretty wide demographic within snowboarding. There are eurocarvers. There are people who never want to try a 180 or 360. I am particularly comfortable in the sideways stance and on the short/fat side compared to tall/skinny, so I tend toward the shorter end of the weight ranges (which should be ignored completely anyway).

Also consider that for a 154, the new blunted Proto and Evo have exceptionally long rail lengths. Therefore, not only does the extended rail make it ride like a bigger board, but so does the blunted tips. I think the new 154 Evo and Proto ride like classic 156 on the CONSERVATIVE side, if not '57 or 58.

All of these nuances are important to consider. I simply feel that the loudest and most heard demographic on this forum (or at least in this thread so far) is gonna add cm's above the median, even if I personally do ride a bit on the short side.

Really you guys don't think 159 is on the large end for 150lbs on a modern board? I would sure like to hear from someone like BA, Nivek or Wolfie on this.

It's not like it matters to me what the guy chooses, it just seems like he's getting a pretty narrow slice of the pie from this thread.

You can be a smart person do all the research in the world and end up with a board u don't like if experience isn't guiding you.
 
#34 · (Edited)
Surfing is my first love and I have spent a ton of time shortboarding and longboarding in all kinds of conditions, I truly love both, however if it is over shoulder high I admit you are unlikely to find me on a longboard.
Nice! I recently got to go to Maui (most of the travel and lodging was paid for) recently and went longboard surfing there. It was WAY easier than trying to surf in Norcal (I'm a terrible paddler) and I managed to get a few cross-steps, switch hops (me, not the board), before falling off the board. I learned how to do cross-steps on a longboard skateboard after being inspired by this video.

Your assessment Lonerider of your buddy who bonks everything going down is similar to me. And also why I made the point that it is important for the OP to understand where advice is coming from on length in this forum. There are a ton of 30+yr old people here who represent a pretty wide demographic within snowboarding. There are eurocarvers.
So... how close would you say your riding style is to the OP's style.

All of these things nuances are important to consider. I simply feel that the loudest and most heard demographic on this forum is gonna add cm's above the median, even if I personally do ride a bit on the short side.
It's funny - from my point of view I feel like most people suggest shorter than normal boards. Grafta just posted in the other thread I'm on right now that a 158 cm board for a 160 lbs rider "sounds huge for your weight." For instance Snowolf is the most prolific poster on this website and he is riding like a 156-158cm boards at 190 lbs for freeriding only - that's almost the same length I'm riding at while I weigh 45-50 lbs less than him - no disrepect to him, I believe myself to be the better freerider (still just a weekend warrior though).

Also consider that for a 154, the new blunted proto and evo have exceptionally long rail lengths. Therefore, not only does the extended rail make the board ride like a bigger board, but so does the blunted tips. I think the new 154 evo and proto ride like classic 156 on the CONSERVATIVE side, if not '57 or 58.
See, this is where I think I have more experience and knowledge than you (not necessarily GOOD experience... just experience) because I have ridden much longer board than you and I have ridden boards with very long effective edges compared to their overall length.

The Proto 154 with blunted tips has an effective edge of 122cm - which is a more than the SL 155 has without the blunted tips (120cm) - but 2 cm is less than two fingers widths <insert sexual joke here> or less than 2% difference. That's almost nothing. Compare that to the Virus Avalanche FLP AFT 160cm freeride board Poutanen is getting, which has an effective edge of 149cm!!!! When you compare that to the 129cm effective edge of a Proto 160cm sn image of Crocodile Dungee saying "that's not a knife... this is knife" comes to my mind.

I think a 159 cm is ok for an experience rider who is only going to be doing freeride and powder. It would be different if it were a novice or a jib-oriented rider like yourself. I will end this post... with what I always tend to post when someone attempt to suggest any board over 160 is "way too long" a video the Radical Surf 222 cm board.

 
#27 ·
Really you guys don't think 159 is on the large end for 150lbs on a modern board?

:dunno: I do & I don't.
If your fairly new, you don't have a big mtn with powder, it's icy & all your doing is park. I think that's too big.

If you ride mt.Baker, nope. You just don't see that many hard packed groomers, every 2 or 3 days it snows a foot. There is a little mtn less than an hour north of baker that closes Mon,Tues & Wed. Thursdays are epic, sometimes it's 4 feet deep, you need a big board for that shit. @ least once a month:D

You ain't that old:cheeky4:, I think I got ya by a year:dunno:

TT
 
#28 · (Edited)
ya but we dint have sk8 parks liek the kids these days. I started skating in '86 on a Santa Cruz Rob Roskopp. When I was in my early 20s in chicago there was a big badass one that we would drive 30min to and pay 10 bucks to skate. Not like now where theres a free concrete park every 10 minutes.

edit: rereading the thread: Lonerider I assure you I know how to "carve", and I'm not a park rat by any means (trying to get over it and get in there tho).
 
#31 ·
Getting all exited about a couple of centimeters:dunno:.

AT your weight since you are clearly not looking to freestyle much why not go with the 159:thumbsup:.

You could also go 156~157 without any issues IMO.

I am 170lbs 6ft and mostly ride a 157 proto, I find it spot on for all mountain freestyle personally. Carves pretty well too. I also have a 161 stiffer cambered deck which is clearly better for freeride and is perfectly OK for 3s and mellow freestyle.

I rode a 165 before that and I personally have found that the newer boards do allow better stability and float at a shorter length. Having said that if I want to bomb I like the 161, the 157 is good at speedy carving, but I wouldn't take it up to the same speeds as I feel comfortable with on the longer cambered deck.

All in all everyone has their preferences and opinions. Lonerider clearly likes longer stiffer decks for riding the mountain, but thats not to say you can't carve or ride steeps at speed on slightly shorter decks.

I personally wouldn't be riding all mountain on a 154, I wouldn't ride anything bellow 157 for what i like to do. Each to their own
 
#36 ·
To the OP, I've been browsing Seattle's craigslist & it is stacked.

There are a shit load of lib techs on there, I guess being made there helps.

I would just browse that & do your research on some of the wicked deals you find in there.

TT
 
#39 ·
Thanks guys! Just reading you guys bouncing knowledge and different perspectives on the sport has taught me a lot.

I think I will try to get a used board on Craiglist... probably a T-Rice from last year (the never summer cobra looks freakin sweet though!)

I pretty much settled on a rocker - camber - rocker type since I have my old school 161 rossi rs still laying around in good condition and that is full camber
 
#49 · (Edited)
noted, thanks.

Could you please recommend me a board from the following companies:

GNU, Rossi, Salomon, K2, Capita, Burton, Ride, Jones
Down down the rabbit hole!

Well ok, I have a personal bias against Mervin companies (Gnu, Libtech, Rossi are all owned by Mervin) because I don't like BTX or MTX (to be fair I haven't ridden the latest C2BTX or C3BTX). If you really want to try... I think my friend has a 2009 Lib Tech Jamie Lynn Phoenix 155 (156?) he's been trying to get rid of.

Salomon Man's Board sounds good.

K2 I really love the old Jibpan, but they discontinued that model (not sure if there is a renamed version). I have ridden the 2011 Parkstar and 2011 Fastplant and they were decent freestyle board... but something in the construction made them kind of "meh" for me as that didn't have a lot of pop in my mind. I read about Slayblade, TurboDream and Raygun... but since I haven't ridden it myself, I can't say much.

Capita - I never got to know this brand well enough. I hear people shout out Horrorscope (freestyle?) and BSOD (camber freeride?), but I know next to nothing about what those boards are like.

I generally have shied away from Burton boards in recent years (I did ride there first gen rocker in like 2009-2010 and it was crap... I think they have a new version out now).

Ride - I used to like their boards, but they've renamed all the boards and I have no idea now.

Jones - only board I've research is the Hovercraft... and it didn't sounds like the board I wanted (they sound very stiff, and not very damp and they like to go in a straight line). Kirkrider has one (but hasn't ridden it yet).
 
#52 ·
hehehe I'll read around for a while more before dropping cash on it

but next come the bindings... I have some salomon spx pros from 05, these ones:



Now, how much better are current bindings with toecaps??
Do you guys these are still viable??
I wanted to upgrade to Salomon Chiefs for this year, but if the upgrade wont be very noticeable/don't really need it, I would rather save the $$$.
 
#53 · (Edited)
hehehe I'll read around for a while more before dropping cash on it

but next come the bindings... I have some salomon spx pros from 05, these ones:



Now, how much better are current bindings with toecaps??
Do you guys these are still viable??
I wanted to upgrade to Salomon Chiefs for this year, but if the upgrade wont be very noticeable/don't really need it, I would rather save the $$$.
I actually do like true toecaps (I haven't been a fan of the hybrid toecap design that Rome has been sporting recently) - but I don't think they are a must have feature... you probably can buy some toecaps and retrofit your current bindings.

In my opinion, I think your bindings still usable. The main job of the binding is to attach your boot to the board, and that really hasn't changed too much. In general bindings have just gotten lighter, with more adjustment options and are slightly more comfortable/ergonomic/responsive... but they are incremental changes (although 6 years of changes do add up). Always buy previous season gear... so maybe wait until the spring to buy whatever binding you are eyeing right now for 50% off. Also... it is often easier to adjust to new gear if you only change one item (board/boot/bindings) at a time.
 
#57 ·
In real life there is relatively little difference. I can spin up to 540 and ride switch with minimal changes on a directional board.

Again it is about matching the board to the rider... unless you are literally riding switch half the day... there is zero reason to even think about riding a true twin. Board construction and materials are going to be much more noticeable.

Most get a true twin for identity and/or ego issues as they want to show they hope to be a serious park rider.
 
#59 ·
The lonerider tells the truth, I don't think I've seen a single thing I disagree with.

I've had a few Rossi's back in the day, didn't think they were anything special.

BUT, I got to demo a Rossi Jibsaw last year, & it was awesome.
Rossi's Amp-tek is the real deal, I don't know what the exact profile of the jibsaw was, but it had magnatraction.

I had a Burton Hero @ the time & after riding the jibsaw for 2 hours, I hated my board & sold it before I could wreck it.

If you like Rossi, I doubt you'll be disappointed with any of their boards
The Krypto sounds wicked & they make it sound really easy to ride, it might be, but with a flex of 9 out of 10 that makes me think your going to have to be on your game @ all times. I've picked it up & checked it out

The Rossi One sounds like a really nice board, it is almost the same as the jibsaw, & I loved the jibsaw. For me personally, the Rossi One sounds like it would suit my riding style better. & with a stiffness rating of 7 it's going to be a lot more forgiving & fun than the Krypto.

For bindings, I just bought Terjes 2nd pro deck from 1995. With the original bindings.
I have about 4 pairs of recent Burton bindings Cartels, Missions, C02's & customs. I was surprised @ how little they have changed.


TT
 
#62 ·
All I do is freeride, & I thought the Jibsaw was awesome, it's a twin.

the one is more freeride than the jibsaw, it's directional twin.

I think that's the one, pull the trigger:thumbsup:

TT
 
#68 · (Edited)
so its down to the krypto/one and the billy goat... three stiff freeride boards with magne traction and two with opposite camber rocker profiles... a 100 dollar price difference... BG seems to be more stiff since i can get away with a 163 krypto (130-200+ lbs)/for the one (considering timmytard's comments about it being more forgiving) I am at the midpoint for 156 but feel like going for the 159

will try to read up on camber profile differences



edit: snagged up some last years Flow NXT-AT's on sale.... Before I stopped boarding I was about to pull the trigger on flow many times, this deal presented itself and I hopped on it... so exciteddddd... got my stiff flows and if I want softer, the spx pros
 
#69 ·
I rode a buddy's BG last year and think you would be happy with it given you were looking at the man's board to start with. Tough to get a total hold on things in a single day and something didn't feel totally right for me.. but I chalk that up to riding it for one day and it also really being the first/only board with some of the new tech stuff I have ever ridden.

It was damp, and I felt it was a little easier for me to maneuver in some tight spots... I do think I had more stability at real high speeds on my man's board. Would love to ride it more.. would also love to get some time on a few of the NS and Arbors and get a feel for those.
 
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