NS board opposite of the Skate Banana

[LoEdge]

Funny you should mention the heritage because i was just reading about it and it also seems like a good choice.

[lonerider]

Originally Posted by LoEdge

Funny you should mention the heritage because i was just reading about it and it also seems like a good choice.

All of those boards are potentially good options... it's tough to know what is a good match for you. Heck, even I have trouble deciding which of the those boards would best fit myself

Buying a board(s) that you will enjoy through the season is just a age-old question that never really gets completely answered.

[LoEdge]

You're right its a tough choice

[lonerider]

Originally Posted by LoEdge

You're right its a tough choice

Demo, demo, demo. That's the best tip I have.

I've gotten boards I totally love... only to realize that I don't do the type of riding that they are good at enough of the time. One of the worse feelings is having multiple boards and always thinking "I was I had the other board right now". I had to break myself out of that prison.

Really just get a good match (even if it is not perfect) for yourself and just have fun riding.

[LoEdge]

Thanks for all your help man, really appreciate it

[mrjimyjohn]

Originally Posted by LoEdge

First off, thanks for the responses. i agree the skate banana i guess is not the ideal board for what i am doing, however it was my first board and i wasn't sure what i wanted to do and/or the person that sold it to my didn't understand what kind of board i wanted. As far as the conditions i ride in, i live in the north east and go to killington about 10-15 times a season and to local mountains quite a bit, mostly its hard packed granular and ice at the local mountains and at killington the conditions are usually good, if they dont get any snow there usually good about making it. Also, im going to mont tremblant in early jan and if usually snows non-stop there so hopefully ill get some good power conditions while im there. I just dont want a board thats similar to the skate banana, because im going to be taking them both where ever i go (esp. to mont tremblant) and depending on the conditions and what i feel like doing for the day, i can easily switch

I don't know who told you this, but they were definitely wrong. I usually make at least 1 trip there a season, and while they do usually have good conditions, they are probably not going to be what you're expecting. I'd actually pick Killington or Jay Peak over Tremblant any day.

There are many other mountains around Tremblant that are, IMO better, and less "touristy" so you won't run into over crowded lift lines, etc. My favorite place near Tremblant was actually a smaller place called Mont Garceau. It's only 1000ft vertical drop (less than half of Tremblant) but I've always found conditions to be much better.

There are MANY places in Quebec that are massively better than Tremblant if you're willing to travel a little farther, but I won't clog up your thread any more than this, lol.

TL;DR: Don't go to Tremblant.

[LoEdge]

i went there last season (dec 30 2011 to jan 6 2012) and it literally didn't stop snowing, during the day anyways, and the lift lines were 4-5 min max..... but im not here to argue

[LoEdge]

maybe i just got a good week, hopefully its the same when i go this season

[lonerider]

Originally Posted by LoEdge

maybe i just got a good week, hopefully its the same when i go this season

Right after New Years is a really, really good week to ride as everyone else went Christmas to New Years. For the last few years, I usually ride the first week of January as well and it is awesome.

[hktrdr]

Originally Posted by lonerider

So I've only ridden a 2009-2010 Skate Banana... and I'm guessing on the Cobra feel base on my expriences with the SL and read about the Cobra.

Skate Banana is roughly a 2 or 3 on stiffness and dampness. A Cobra is like a 5 out of 10 on both stiffness and dampness.

The Skate Banana is a true twin, where as the Cobra nose and tail are design to give you more float in powder and also more effective edge to allow more control at higher speeds.

The Skate Banana is flat-rocker-flat (Bananatech) which is very extreme variant of rocker and will make the board feel very boaty (like the board can pivot really easily without touching the edges). The Cobra is camber-rocker-camber so it will have less of the pivoty feeling and behave more like a cambered board once you get it up on edge (more control). In my opinion/experience, the mini-cambered sections will definitely give the Cobra more pop for jumps and turns.

The softer/rockered Skate Banana is easier to press and boardslide on a rail/box with (less likely to catch an edge on a rail too).

The Skate Banana has Magnatraction which you must have notices bites into the snow very early once you've engaged the edge. The Cobra will have a much more gradual bite feel (but I bet it will have greater overall edge hold as it is not as soft, more damp, and has a longer effective edge).

Actually the difference in stiffness is not nearly that much. The Skate Banana is closer to 4 overall - it is not nearly the noodle it is often made out to be. Rather the issue is that the tip and tail can flap because they are not stiffened/reinforced.