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help narrowing down my freeride board list

2K views 10 replies 6 participants last post by  ryan1985 
#1 ·
Hi all,

Hoping for some recommendations for a new board. I only ride a half a dozen times a year, and I'm on a pretty tight budget so I don't want/need the best of the best, but I'm tired of riding a piece of crap. I'm hoping to spend less than $225 for a board (I already have decent bindings/boots).

For my riding preference, I mainly stay out of the park and enjoy cruising the mountain. Occasionally I'll hit little kickers here and there, but I'm mostly in the powder or carving. I've technically been snowboarding for 10 years, but since I only go a few times a year, I am definitely not "advanced". Intermediate at best.

That being said, I've picked out a few boards based on the size I'm looking for (152 range) and my $225 budget. Based on my riding preference above, does anyone have any particular recommendations from the list below? I think a lot of these may be freestyle boards, but it's tough to tell because the website i'm using also lists them as "all mountain"... maybe a shameless selling point for people like me who don't know any better?

- Burton Twin
- Burton TWC Standard
- K2 Brigade
- K2 Playback
- Forum Manual
- Forum Scheme
- Ride Agenda

Suggestions from the list above? Thanks in advance.
 
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#2 ·
If you want to browse a large selection of boards and get decent reviews on them, I would go to thegoodride.com. I used this when buying my first major board. Tip for saving money: Find 2 or 3 boards you really like. Then run some searches for the 2010/2011 and 2011/2012 models. These models will usually be pretty near identical to the newest model. They will also be much, much cheaper. That website also tells you about any major recent changes in the board models in the reviews.

Happy Hunting
 
#4 · (Edited)
152 for freeride and powder? how big are you where do you ride. what have you rode before what did you like what did you not like. $225 budget you might look at used boards, get a little more bang for your buck, maybe here or geartrade.com. play it again in my area have good deals. craiglist seattle is full of deals
 
#5 ·
first off, thanks for replying. I'm 5' 7" and my weight fluctuates from 140-150... so I figure around a 152 board will be best?

I'm on the east coast, in Maine, so some pretty icy terrain at times.

I've previously used crappy rentals so I don't really have a good basis to compare what I liked/didn't like about previous boards - to be honest I couldn't even tell you if they were freestyle boards, or freeride, etc. This is the first year where I am going out of my way to make sure I have semi-decent gear... no rentals! That being said, I don't need top of the line stuff, just something decent, ya know?

And I think you're right about looking at used boards for my budget... I've looked around on the local Craigslist (at literally every listing, actually), but there isn't really a ton of choices... And thus far, everyone's been insanely unreliable from Craigslist... not returning phone calls/emails, or having no clue what they're selling (literally not knowing the model, or too lazy to check - must not want my $ too bad!). I'll keep on it though!
 
#8 ·
I just got a K2 Playback and I really like it. I've had 4 days on it so far this winter. It is completely flat, K2 calls it "Flatline Technology", which is a little unusually and you might find odd. I like it as its easy to initiate turns as you get a lot of edge. I'm an all mountain rider and it suits my style.
 
#11 · (Edited)
I'm learning toward the K2 playback or a Ride Dose (153). The dose is a bit more than I want to spend, but it seems like a pretty sick board:

http://www.the-house.com/9853rddo8zz-ride-snowboards.html

My only issue with the Dose is that I found another site saying that it's intended for "big footed riders".. The House website mentions nothing of that. I'm a size 9.5-10 boot, so I don't really need an extra wide board.

I also found a 2010 Burton Clash in great condition on Craigslist with Ride LX bindings (size large, perfect for me) for $125... tempting, however the board is a 158! Ahh.. don't Burton's run small? Might not be bad in powder, but carving, yikes...
 
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