Advanced female - what board?

[Richie67]

Originally Posted by mixie

why not? I don't understand why people are willing to drop $$$ on a board without doing some demo-ing first. It doesn't make sense to me....I wouldn't spend 300-500 bucks on something unless I was damn sure I liked it. Is demoing not an option due to where you are located?

I demoed the B Pro, Lotus and Envi, all on powder days. ...and I'd read reviews on all three prior too my demoing. I found out real fast that reading reviews is not even close to actually riding the the damn things.

I bought the envi, and I want a lotus for a powder board...but seriously all three were really great boards that I'd have been happy with if I bought them without a test ride. I liked the b pro the least of the three. However the new b pro has pink unicorns. Who doesn't love pink unicorns?!?!

Whats so hard to understand? Maybe it isn't an option where that person is situated. In Queenstown NZ where I live its 60 bucks a day to demo a board in the main retailers, 75 if you want bindings. I could demo 4 boards, be out half the price of actually buying one and not be any closer to a decision. And thats forgetting the fact that the main demo shop this season had 3 lib techs, a few GNU's and a few YES boards available for demo.. nothing that interested me.

I had absolutely no choice, I bought a new board solely based on online reviews and tech advice (which I take with a pinch of salt).

[mixie]

Originally Posted by Noreaster

Heh. Well, NS is a damper board in general but its not like you'll be riding on a cloud. It dampens vibration more, you'll still feel it though.

out of the B Pro, Lotus and Envi, the Lotus is the most damp. BY FAR.


i demoed it on a powder day but I made sure to take it to some icy scrapped up groomers and it also went thru a lot of chopped up pow/crud. That thing could float over anything like a dream.

In the dampness competition the Lotus won hands down over the other two. I felt it was too damp. It was almost dead...no pop to it at all. Great in the pow but lacked a little something off jumps for me. However I am realizing that I like a stiffer longer board then most people seem to.

I read someone else on this forum say they liked the flex between the bindings better on the C2BTX (envi) over the Lotus shape (whatever that is) and I agree.

[Noreaster]

Originally Posted by mixie

Great in the pow but lacked a little something off jumps for me. However I am realizing that I like a stiffer longer board then most people seem to.

I'm curious, how do you feel off jumps with a stiff board like Envi?

[mixie]

Originally Posted by Noreaster

I'm curious, how do you feel off jumps with a stiff board like Envi?

I love it!!! But....everyone is different, which is why I say demo if you can. I like that it gives me some pop, the lotus I felt like I had to ollie to get airborn. Then again, I did hit a kicker way too fast on the lotus (didn't see it coming in the white out conditions) It launched me and I fucking ate it. hard. lol.... Im bad at describing things tho. and i guess i just have...weird taste?

I didn't think the Envi was as stiff as as the b pro and stiffer then the lotus.

[Noreaster]

Originally Posted by mixie

I love it!!! But....everyone is different, which is why I say demo if you can. I like that it gives me some pop, the lotus I felt like I had to ollie to get airborn. Then again, I did hit a kicker way too fast on the lotus (didn't see it coming in the white out conditions) It launched me and I fucking ate it. hard. lol.... Im bad at describing things tho. and i guess i just have...weird taste?

I didn't think the Envi was as stiff as as the b pro and stiffer then the lotus.

Thanks.

Interesting... I was considering Envi for a while and eventually went with Ollie Pop. Both are fun boards though.

[cocolulu]

I'm another Infinity owner (about the same height/weight/shoe size). I've also ridden Arbor and GNU.

I kind of agree with what Noreaster said. I've ridden ice on the Infinity, and as long as your edge is sharp, and you're not trying to speed-carve icy double blacks, the Infinity can handle it well.

For me at least, the Infinity is really damp like people say, and it's on the heavier side.

I do like GNU's C2BTX boards though (I hate hate hate their rocker boards). I imagine that the serrated edge would be really good if you ride in icy conditions all the time. Their boards are definitely lighter. I don't like how their tips are unprotected though (no metal edge on the tips! they get scuffed really badly).

Basically:
Never Summer - heavier, damp, durable, great for high speed cruising
GNU - lighter, maybe holds edge on ice better

I have never tried the Lotus, so I can't say how it compares.

One board I've always wanted to try is the Smokin Vixen. It has GNU's magnetraction (supposedly a bit less aggressive?). But it's an all-mountain true twin, and it looks like you're looking at Directional boards.

I actually like Arbor boards a lot, but it's more of a light, nimble, playful board. It still rides groomers very well, but the board I rode (Cadence) is very different from the Push.

[silverwhale]

Originally Posted by mixie

why not? I don't understand why people are willing to drop $$$ on a board without doing some demo-ing first. It doesn't make sense to me....I wouldn't spend 300-500 bucks on something unless I was damn sure I liked it. Is demoing not an option due to where you are located?

I demoed the B Pro, Lotus and Envi, all on powder days. ...and I'd read reviews on all three prior too my demoing. I found out real fast that reading reviews is not even close to actually riding the the damn things.

I bought the envi, and I want a lotus for a powder board...but seriously all three were really great boards that I'd have been happy with if I bought them without a test ride. I liked the b pro the least of the three. However the new b pro has pink unicorns. Who doesn't love pink unicorns?!?!

I agree, I would absolutely love to be able to test them! But unfortunately due to my location (not close to any large hills) and schedule (I'm in school most of the time so can't really travel anywhere) I won't be able to. So I'm just trying to get as much info as I can on all the boards. And unless I'm going crazy I don't think there is a 2013 envi model? I'm hoping if I just buy one I will like it enough and won't know what I'm missing anyway

Originally Posted by mixie

out of the B Pro, Lotus and Envi, the Lotus is the most damp. BY FAR.


i demoed it on a powder day but I made sure to take it to some icy scrapped up groomers and it also went thru a lot of chopped up pow/crud. That thing could float over anything like a dream.

In the dampness competition the Lotus won hands down over the other two. I felt it was too damp. It was almost dead...no pop to it at all. Great in the pow but lacked a little something off jumps for me. However I am realizing that I like a stiffer longer board then most people seem to.

I read someone else on this forum say they liked the flex between the bindings better on the C2BTX (envi) over the Lotus shape (whatever that is) and I agree.

Sorry, it was the lotus you demoed? You were sounding really positive about that board and then said you thought the lotus was a bit too damp so I'm just not sure if you are referring to the lotus in the preceding paragraph as well.

Originally Posted by cocolulu

I'm another Infinity owner (about the same height/weight/shoe size). I've also ridden Arbor and GNU.

I kind of agree with what Noreaster said. I've ridden ice on the Infinity, and as long as your edge is sharp, and you're not trying to speed-carve icy double blacks, the Infinity can handle it well.

For me at least, the Infinity is really damp like people say, and it's on the heavier side.

I do like GNU's C2BTX boards though (I hate hate hate their rocker boards). I imagine that the serrated edge would be really good if you ride in icy conditions all the time. Their boards are definitely lighter. I don't like how their tips are unprotected though (no metal edge on the tips! they get scuffed really badly).

Basically:
Never Summer - heavier, damp, durable, great for high speed cruising
GNU - lighter, maybe holds edge on ice better

I have never tried the Lotus, so I can't say how it compares.

One board I've always wanted to try is the Smokin Vixen. It has GNU's magnetraction (supposedly a bit less aggressive?). But it's an all-mountain true twin, and it looks like you're looking at Directional boards.

I actually like Arbor boards a lot, but it's more of a light, nimble, playful board. It still rides groomers very well, but the board I rode (Cadence) is very different from the Push.

I remember looking into the Vixen as well ... can't remember why I took it off my list. All good points though, thanks.

Everyone is so helpful but I'm not actually sure if this is making my decision easier Oh well, I'll be more informed at least

[mixie]

Originally Posted by silverwhale

Sorry, it was the lotus you demoed? You were sounding really positive about that board and then said you thought the lotus was a bit too damp so I'm just not sure if you are referring to the lotus in the preceding paragraph as well.

yeah, I demoed the Lotus, it's the board Im referring to in both segments you quoted.

I actually really, liked the Lotus a lot. I just liked the Envi the tiniest bit better. The Lotus is very very damp, and it's a great board. I don't think you'd go wrong with it. I would consider buying one for a powder board. It floated better then either the Envi or BPro did. I had issues with the BPro, couldn't get my bindings right. Was sinking a bit...I almost want to give it a do over hearing how many people DO like it. And the pink unicorns. I FUCKING LOVE UNICORNS.


My only complaint with the Lotus was it just felt a bit dead to ride in comparison to the Envi. I want to say it felt like it(envi) had more pop? But perhaps that's not the right way to say what I mean...There's another poster here who has an Envi and she described it perfectly. Somethign about the flex in between the bindings is better then on the Lotus? It's hard to explain but maybe it's more pronounced? For an example, when Im skating like when I get off the lift I don't put my back foot agasint the binding, I actually place it right in the middle of the board, right over what ever bendy bit that might be. Anyway, you can really feel it and it's super easy to control just when skating around. See? hard to explain but there was just something about the C2BTX that I liked better then the RC or whatever it is NS calls their board tech. I also really, REALLY liked the magne traction on it.

I am lucky that I can drive to resorts with a wide array of demos I guess! Good luck finding a board, in the end the gear is probably not nearly as much of an impact on our riding as we think it is...sigh!

[wrathfuldeity]

Just a note: When I demo'd the b-pro for a full day...it did take a 3-4 runs to adjust; I also had to bring it back into the shop twice to get it dialed in. First time the stance width/center was slightly off and the tail would not release quite right when coming out of turns, 2nd time was to get my boot/bindings centered across the width of the board...which to me fwiw is the character of a performance machine...has to be calibrated to work right and then it does a very fine job. Once these two minor adjustments were done I just spent the rest of the day hotrodding around the a cold packed hill. It handled the chop, groomers, moguls, drops, small airs (I don't do big air....old knees)...really fun all around board that did well with varied terrain and snow.

Compared to my cambered boards it did not have quite the pop and rebound...which is expected but it had enough. It did turn on a dime and would rail tight turns while digging a trench....which some might think is grabby...but you just learn to suck up the knees/unweight/cross-under to the next edge. As for digging 50+ mph trench on groomers did great again only slightly less stable then with my cambered fr stiffy...but you want to be on point and have rock solid attention, because if you weren't where you are supposed to be fore/aft boardwise in the carve it could feel abit twitchy. And this thing was so great in the moguls...almost effortless...I felt like a gazelle lightly bouncing through the bumps....compared to getting hammered with my cambered stiffy or folding up with a more flexy board.

[silverwhale]

Originally Posted by wrathfuldeity

Just a note: When I demo'd the b-pro for a full day...it did take a 3-4 runs to adjust; I also had to bring it back into the shop twice to get it dialed in. First time the stance width/center was slightly off and the tail would not release quite right when coming out of turns, 2nd time was to get my boot/bindings centered across the width of the board...which to me fwiw is the character of a performance machine...has to be calibrated to work right and then it does a very fine job. Once these two minor adjustments were done I just spent the rest of the day hotrodding around the a cold packed hill. It handled the chop, groomers, moguls, drops, small airs (I don't do big air....old knees)...really fun all around board that did well with varied terrain and snow.

Compared to my cambered boards it did not have quite the pop and rebound...which is expected but it had enough. It did turn on a dime and would rail tight turns while digging a trench....which some might think is grabby...but you just learn to suck up the knees/unweight/cross-under to the next edge. As for digging 50+ mph trench on groomers did great again only slightly less stable then with my cambered fr stiffy...but you want to be on point and have rock solid attention, because if you weren't where you are supposed to be fore/aft boardwise in the carve it could feel abit twitchy. And this thing was so great in the moguls...almost effortless...I felt like a gazelle lightly bouncing through the bumps....compared to getting hammered with my cambered stiffy or folding up with a more flexy board.

Hmmm thanks for your reply. I wanted to avoid the "twitchy" feeling you mentioned - sometimes when I get going on my current board it starts to slide (maybe I just need to get the edges sharpened though lol). I also want a board I can use to cruise without much effort if it's the end of the day - so something else to think about.


Thanks for all the responses, it's been great to get more opinions! Once I decide I'll make sure to post a review or something to help anyone else out there looking for something similar