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Advice/Feedback on snowboard choice and length for female rider

8K views 19 replies 11 participants last post by  RockyMTNsteeze 
#1 ·
Hello all, I need some advice picking out a new board. I bought my first snowboard seven years ago when I was a beginner and had mastered linking turns. I've ridden the same stick all these years and after buying my boyfriend his first set of gear, I decided I'd like to finally upgrade mine as well. I'm an intermediate female rider and I mostly like to freeride. I do enjoy venturing into the park once in a while, but I'm a beginner when it comes to hitting jumps and jibbing (50/50s on boxes, ollie-ing off of jumps) and I don't really care too much for freestyle riding to progress much further. I'm looking for an all-mountain board and after a lot of research, I think the Never Summer Infinity would be a great match for me. From what I've read, it seems to be a solid board and has a great dampening system. I also like that it has the Vario grip edges and a 3 year warranty. I put my stats into a few snowboard length calculators but they've all spit out different results, so I'd like some advice on which length to get. Although I kind of have my heart set on this board, other suggestions for boards or feedback on my board choice would be appreciated.

Stats
Age: 21, female
Weight: cycles between 105-115 lbs, currently 110.
Height; 5'
Boot size: 5.5
Riding Ability: Intermediate. Aggressive and very comfortable on blues, not quite bombing down blacks yet but getting there.
Location: Southern California. I ride mostly hard-packed groomers, blues and blacks. Would like to venture into trees, sidecountry, and pow (basically progress everywhere this season)

I'm not sure which size board to get, the 142, 145, or 147. I'm also concerned that with my small feet, I won't be able to turn and control the longer boards as easily. I currently ride a 2005 K2 Skyla (143 cm) with 2005 Burton Mission bindings and Nitro boots. I bought all of the equipment at a sporting goods store when I was 14 with no research and no idea if the equipment was a good fit for me or not. I'd like to upgrade my gear this season so suggestions for bindings and boots would be appreciated as well.
 
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#2 ·
what are the conditions where you ride? if it was icy at all, i would highly recommend checking out a magnetraction board! i would recommend a board size of 139-144 for you, the shorter board will be easier to turn, and the longer board you will feel more confident going faster. when it comes to "dampening", bindings and boots will be doing more work than the board. the length of your board and your foot size aren't relative, you need to find a board with a narrow waist that is closest to your foot size. bindings should be picked out after the board, you need to find a binding with the same or similar stiffness as the board. and as for the boots, make sure they are comfy and fit snug on your feet! boots also have a stiffness and should be relative to the board.
 
#3 ·
I'd actually recommend Vario Grip over Magnatraction. I've ridden them both and my never summer revolver holds an edge really well on ice as well as the rest of the mountain while still being a great park board. I've washed out on ice a couple times with the magna traction on my turbo dream.
 
#4 ·
As far as size goes, for your weight, ability and riding style a 141-143 seems about right. For carving though a longer board will have more edgehold, and be able to handle speed over the chop.

It actually seems like you've had the right sized board this whole time!

Your feet are small though so waist width should be something in a 22.7-23.0 cm range. There are boards that narrow out there in a 142 or so, or you can have one custom made.
 
#5 ·
Thanks everyone for the feedback. I'll make sure to choose a slightly stiffer binding and boot to maximize control. The Infinity 142 has a waist width of 23.2 which is slightly wider than what you guys recommended.. and the 145 is 23.4 cm wide Will that noticeably affect my ability to control the board? In regards to custom boards, will NS custom make one that is narrower to fit my needs or should I check out companies that specialize in custom boards? I would prefer to buy a ready made board just because I want to ride it ASAP but can anyone recommend custom board websites that I can look into?
 
#7 · (Edited)
IIRC, lilfoot (where is she anyway?) has stats similar to yours, and wears a size 4 boot? Check the forum archives--she's ridden a number of quality boards, none of them custom, I believe.

I'm taller and heavier than you (5'6", 140 lbs, 7.5 boot), ride an Arbor Cadence 147. I switched to a stiffer boot last season, and it made a huge difference in my riding.
 
#13 ·
I'm present!

My shoe size is 7, so I'm not really qualified to say what the ride will be like with a 5.5 boot. For me at least, the 145 Infinity is perfect for a size 7 boot.

I guess since your foot is rather small, you can lean towards a smaller 142 board. It's probably the ideal size for your weight anyways. If you have no issues riding your board now, the Infinity might actually be easier, because it tends to be on the narrower side IIRC. So, I wouldn't worry too much about waist width if your current board isn't bugging you. Really, 0.2-0.4cm extra width isn't that much of a difference.

I suppose torsional flex might be a bigger concern, as other people said here. The Infinity is soft/medium flex between the bindings, so you'll probably be fine.

The Infinity is a great board, so you'll do fine, but if you want to look into others:

Endeavor Boyfriend or Diamond
Rossignol Frenemy
Arbor Cadence (Twin, but works well all mountain)
Smokin Vixen (but somebody on this forum said it was squirrely)

But really, the Infinity might be the best choice out of all of those with all the concerns you mentioned.
 
#15 · (Edited)
You actually did quite alright with your first setup considering. Given your weight/height, I'd definitely recommend something in a 142-144 range for you. As you mentioned, you don't want anything too wide for your sz 5.5 feet and a longer board will also take more exaggerated effort to initiate turns, not to mention potentially heavier while riding the lift, carrying the board, etc... I'd also suggest something with on the softer side of medium flex to be more fun and forgiving since you're just not gonna flex the board the same as a chick that weighs 20-30lbs. more.
 
#17 ·
I have an Infinity and a Roxy envi board with magna traction. Both have good flex between the bindings. Roxy doesn't make the envi this year but I'd recommend any of their C2 BTX boards. A link to a page on their boards with some reviews. Even stiffer boards with good flex between the bindings are easy to turn. Also the Roxy boards feel very light. When I'm on powder with the Roxy I just pick up my front foot and don't even think about leaning back. And if you ride ice, the magna-traction is great. This week was kind of icy and I didn't skid at all. (Can't really compare the Never Summer vario and the magna traction-- both seem good for ice to me although my husband (the engineer) insists that magna traction is better even though he rides a NS.) Can you demo anything?
 
#18 ·
Hmm.. I think I better demo these boards myself. I was so eager to buy a new board but it sounds like the only way I'll be able to tell for sure if I will like them is if i ride them. NS is having a demo day next month at my mountain.. so I'll just have to be patient :( Thanks for the other suggestions, I'll make sure to try those out as well.

Also, Wrathfuldeity, what are risers? Are they similar to canted footbeds?
 
#19 ·
Four years ago I was riding a burton board when I tried the Infinity at a demo. I really hated my board after that and ended up getting the NS a few months later. Try different sizes if you can. I got a 149 cause they didn't have the 147 I planned to get and it worked out find. I've ridden the NS Lotus a lot (a stiffer board) and because of the flex I've found the size made a big difference. My other board is a 147 but seems about the same size. Here some snowboard shops have demos too.
 
#20 ·
At 100-115 you should be around a 143.

I am about your size but a little heavier with a size 5 boot. Roxy boards go down small and are softer. I would recommend those for smaller women since I roll in that boat. I rode an older Ollie Pop and a Roxy Eminence. Snowboards all come with weight specs. Buy your new board based on the weight specs of models you are interested in. My Ollie pop was a 141 being a jib board and myself being much lighter when I bought it.

I am not sure what Roxy board would be good for your riding style. Both of mine are freestyle boards. The Eminence is good all around IMO, but more of a park/freestyle board. My Eminence is bigger at 146, fast, stable and has mad pop. At first I thought it was not poppy, but now that I have gotten use to it, I pop higher than ever before.

I think reverse camber takes some getting use to if you have been riding traditional camber boards. I don't think if I demoed it, I would of liked it as much as I do now.
 
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