Old Guy Board help

[HHH]

Recently relocated to Midwest and starting snowboarding again.
Man made snow and ice are the norm, looking for board that is stable, will not easily catch an edge and that handles icy conditions with ease.
No park riding, just cruising with kids on most days.
Any used board recommendations would be helpful. I can't seem to find a Palmer Timeless which was recommended by a friend.

[extra0]

tech that doesn't catch edge is usually not the best on ice. Standard camber is best on ice, but is more likely to catches edges. You can either pick your poison from those or try something with hybrid camber + magnatraction (lib, gnu, neversummer, smokin, etc)

edit: don't know anything about Palmer's FLF "catch-free" tech, but I do know they put it on more than just the timeless

[poutanen]

Originally Posted by HHH

Man made snow and ice are the norm, looking for board that is stable, will not easily catch an edge and that handles icy conditions with ease.

A wise man once said "A snowboard does not catch an edge, it is the rider that catches it"... And if I wise man didn't say that then I just did.

Ultimately, camber will be better on ice and hardpack. Catching an edge really shouldn't be an issue for people that have at least a year or two under their belt.

Some people like the various edge techs like mange-traction/frostbite edges, etc. I prefer to go back to basics: A good, fairly stiff, cambered deck with as much effective edge as possible. A rockered nose isn't a bad thing though...

[slyder]

I loved the magnatraction on my Skatebanana. I'm in se WI and my local hill gets tons of heavy traffic and very hard packed conditions at times. That board was great to me.
I went with a Arbor Westmark with Griptech, I love the overall feeling of this board. I do everything with it though, groomers, jumps and park. This year isn't as icy so it's not quite a fair comparison IMO up to this point because the riding conditions aren't as bad as last year. None-the-less still loving the Westmark.

[chomps1211]

Originally Posted by poutanen

A wise man once said "A snowboard does not catch an edge, it is the rider that catches it"... And if I wise man didn't say that then I just did.

O-o-o-o-h!! Very "Mr. Miyagi" of you!

Originally Posted by poutanen

Ultimately, camber will be better on ice and hardpack. Catching an edge really shouldn't be an issue for people that have at least a year or two under their belt.

Some people like the various edge techs like mange-traction/frostbite edges, etc. I prefer to go back to basics: A good, fairly stiff, cambered deck with as much effective edge as possible. A rockered nose isn't a bad thing though...

While I'm certain u would know much more about this than I,.. Is it not also true that with a stffer cambered board, more speed is essential if u hope to get the most from the boards performance capabilities?

Now that I've progressed some with my riding, I've noticed that my Arbor Roundhouse bites and holds a line much better, with more stability and control at speeds I just wasn't comfortable with last season.

Would my conclusion regarding that observation be on point?

[poutanen]

Originally Posted by chomps1211

While I'm certain u would know much more about this than I,.. Is it not also true that with a stiffer cambered board, more speed is essential if u hope to get the most from the boards performance capabilities?

I'm not 100% sure, but I think the physics of it apply at any speed. The difference is you'll probably notice the effects more at high speeds when you'd be long past the limits of a softer, shorter edge, and/or more rockered board.

As far as stiffness goes you're probably right, at slower speeds (i.e. just cruising at 30 km/h or less) a stiff board might actually be a hindrance. I still wouldn't want a wet noodle for "sight seeing" but a medium flex, medium length camber board would be just right methinks.

[TorpedoVegas]

Magnatraction for the win! Don't listen to Poutan-Camber he's a muppet and I don't think muppets snowboard.

[HHH]

Thanks for the replies. Does a list exist of boards with some kind of edge treatments, like magne traction , frostbite and so on?

[poutanen]

Originally Posted by TorpedoVegas

Magnatraction for the win! Don't listen to Poutan-Camber he's a muppet and I don't think muppets snowboard.

Not true! Not only do they have their own snowboard:



Animal, I mean I, am a member of the US team!!!



Not to start the whole bumpy edge vs. straight edge argument again, but answer me one question. How many people that compete in alpine, boardercross, or any other event where you need edgehold on hardpack, have bumpy edges? Almost none, if none.

OP, if you can demo similar boards one with and one without the fancy edges, maybe it'll help make your mind up!?!

[HHH]

Excellent point.