Freeride board recommendations - Snowboarding Forum

Cburdick1 · 12-26-2012, 12:54 PM

Hello all,

I'm in the market for a new board and am looking for suggestions.

I've been snowboarding since 1988 and have found that I prefer longer stiff boards. For the past few years I have been riding an Arbor Woodie Wide 169, which I believe was a precursor to the Roundhouse Wide. The Woodie carves like a demon, but it's length and weight make flipping it around in the steeps a pain in the ass.

So, I'm looking for a stiff camber board that carves well, available in a wide versions for my size 13 feet, around 165 cm in length.

This past weekend I rode 6 different Burton boards over two days at mount Hood. Conditions were perfect and I was able to get a good sense of what e boards felt like. At the end if it all I liked the Custom x Wide 164 the most.

So, if anyone can offer recommendations as to what other boards I might consider (along with the custom x and arbor roundhouse) please let me know.

Thanks!

poutanen · 12-26-2012, 04:08 PM

I've been riding the Custom Xs stiffer brother the T7 for about 70 days, in a 159 (I'm only about 165 lb) and loved it. Just moved up to a Virus Avalanche FLP AFT and I see the light now. It's got a more boardercross oriented shape, meaning a 160 cm board has a 140 cm+ effective edge, instead of in the 120s.

I was out carving on it today and it's about as good as it can get for carving with softboots methinks.

Had it out in a couple feet of powder a week and a half ago and it felt at least as good if not better than my T7 159 in the powder.

They're custom made, NOT cheap, but they can make them to any width you want for an extra fee.

If you're really REALLY serious about freeriding in all conditions, I've been thrilled with mine so far. It's taking my riding to a new level.

SJ10 · 12-26-2012, 06:30 PM

I'm in a similar boat (size 11/12), similar riding experience (20+ years) and board performance wants. The CX 164w has been my daily for that last few seasons and I've been impressed with the overall ride and carving ability. It carves as well or better than my other freeride boards (NS Titan, Raptor, Ride Highlife, Nitro Pantera, Salomon Burner, Option Supercharger).

I don't have too many other recommendations other than the CX, or T6. The T7 will be too narrow. I'd like to try an Arbor A-frame but think that will be too narrow as well. There may be a few options from Nidecker, and then there's the more custom market as mentioned. I'd look in to Prior and Kessler in addition to Virus.

poutanen · 12-26-2012, 06:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SJ10

I don't have too many other recommendations other than the CX, or T6. The T7 will be too narrow. I'd like to try an Arbor A-frame but think that will be too narrow as well. There may be a few options from Nidecker, and then there's the more custom market as mentioned. I'd look in to Prior and Kessler in addition to Virus.

Yeah I should mention I've been thrilled with the T7 too (even though it's not available anymore and wouldn't be wide enough)... I've heard the Custom X is a great board and if it's anything like the T6/T7 I imagine it'd be great.

Another board I was seriously considering (other than the Kessler Ride or Prior Freeride you mentioned) was the Volkl Coal XT. It's a pretty serious board... I love the Virus but I don't think I would have been disappointed by the Volkl:

Völkl International | Snowboards | *Coal XT

Cburdick1 · 12-26-2012, 10:51 PM

Thanks for all of the recommendations. I've also come across the Donek Incline

Incline

Which appears to be a solid board, geared to what I'm looking for. Anyone have the dirt on it?

poutanen · 12-26-2012, 11:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cburdick1

Thanks for all of the recommendations. I've also come across the Donek Incline

Incline

Which appears to be a solid board, geared to what I'm looking for. Anyone have the dirt on it?

It was another one of the ones on my list when I was searching this fall. It's a decent board and in the same price range as the Volkl Coal XT and Burton Custom X ($600-700 range). The nice thing about the Donek is they include dimension changes at now extra charge.

If you're willing to go to the $1000+ range the Kessler, Oxess, Virus, and the Donek (w/carbon contruction) may offer something extra. Carbon fibre, kevlar, race base materials, etc. etc. Now that I've tried a BX shaped board I'm kind of sad I didn't earlier. The squared off tips do look weird, but the effective edge of the boards is WAY longer than a traditional board. If carving is what you really want to do with soft boots, I suggest a BX shaped board.

Here's the difference between my Burton T7 159 and Virus Avalanche FLP AFT 160. Should show the shape difference pretty clearly.

12-26-2012, 12:54 PM	#1 (permalink)
Cburdick1 Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2012 Posts: 2	Freeride board recommendations Hello all, I'm in the market for a new board and am looking for suggestions. I've been snowboarding since 1988 and have found that I prefer longer stiff boards. For the past few years I have been riding an Arbor Woodie Wide 169, which I believe was a precursor to the Roundhouse Wide. The Woodie carves like a demon, but it's length and weight make flipping it around in the steeps a pain in the ass. So, I'm looking for a stiff camber board that carves well, available in a wide versions for my size 13 feet, around 165 cm in length. This past weekend I rode 6 different Burton boards over two days at mount Hood. Conditions were perfect and I was able to get a good sense of what e boards felt like. At the end if it all I liked the Custom x Wide 164 the most. So, if anyone can offer recommendations as to what other boards I might consider (along with the custom x and arbor roundhouse) please let me know. Thanks!

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12-26-2012, 04:08 PM	#2 (permalink)
poutanen Resident Creep-o-saurus Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Calgary, AB Posts: 3,479	I've been riding the Custom Xs stiffer brother the T7 for about 70 days, in a 159 (I'm only about 165 lb) and loved it. Just moved up to a Virus Avalanche FLP AFT and I see the light now. It's got a more boardercross oriented shape, meaning a 160 cm board has a 140 cm+ effective edge, instead of in the 120s. I was out carving on it today and it's about as good as it can get for carving with softboots methinks. Had it out in a couple feet of powder a week and a half ago and it felt at least as good if not better than my T7 159 in the powder. They're custom made, NOT cheap, but they can make them to any width you want for an extra fee. If you're really REALLY serious about freeriding in all conditions, I've been thrilled with mine so far. It's taking my riding to a new level.

12-26-2012, 06:30 PM	#3 (permalink)
SJ10 Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 64	I'm in a similar boat (size 11/12), similar riding experience (20+ years) and board performance wants. The CX 164w has been my daily for that last few seasons and I've been impressed with the overall ride and carving ability. It carves as well or better than my other freeride boards (NS Titan, Raptor, Ride Highlife, Nitro Pantera, Salomon Burner, Option Supercharger). I don't have too many other recommendations other than the CX, or T6. The T7 will be too narrow. I'd like to try an Arbor A-frame but think that will be too narrow as well. There may be a few options from Nidecker, and then there's the more custom market as mentioned. I'd look in to Prior and Kessler in addition to Virus.

12-26-2012, 10:51 PM	#5 (permalink)
Cburdick1 Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2012 Posts: 2	Thanks for all of the recommendations. I've also come across the Donek Incline Incline Which appears to be a solid board, geared to what I'm looking for. Anyone have the dirt on it?