Hi Everyone,
2 month lurker/first time poster looking for a little guidance on buying a board. Sorry for all the info but thought it would be helpful for background and also to make sure I am spending my money the right way.
I am old-42 and am 6'2 about 185 or 190 lbs size 10 boots. I snowboarded a fair amount back in the late 90s for two years (could handle all NE groomed surfaces without issues and very comfortable cruising and carving hard at speed and doing some basic jumps and tricks) with my then girlfriend now wife. I have a lot of board experience-long time surfer and as a long time skier who did some recreational racing back in the mid eighties.
After a bad fall ( put in a sled down the hill after hitting my head on NE ice), work and twins fast forward to 2012. 6 year old twin boys went snowboarding for the first time loved it and my wife wants to do nothing but go snowboarding now. I spent two days getting reacquainted with my 1999 Burton Canyon 168 and then rode a Custom X in a 160 and a Flying V Custom in 158 from the Burton Store at Stratton. Both boards felt good to me-when I got going custom x felt really good but at slower speeds it did not feel as loose as the flying V. I have some concerns about edge hold with the flying V as it is sometimes less than perfect in Vermont.
Given that it looks like I will be spending a substantial amount of time snowboarding I figured it might be a good time to look at upgrading my gear. Unlike my wife who took off like a bat out of hell our first time back, my memory of my fall is keeping me back a bit and really am looking to get my confidence back on some more user friendly gear. I was having a ball and know that we have a lot of great times in front of us so it is just going to be a day or two more before I started pushing again.
Given that much of the next few years will be a few hours of free time to ride and a few hours with the kids where I will be with them each day, most likely going fairly slowly, I was thinking that some form of a twin or directional twin with rocker or a hybrid system would be easier to ride both as I re-develop but also when I am hanging and helping the kids along. Of the boards I have researched and from the store close by where I live further south in New England, they have been recommending the flying V custom, Joystick, Never Summer Proto, Never Summer Evo and the Arbor Element RX. I can get a really good deal on some of the leftover 2012s or even some lightly used 2013 stuff but want to get what is right vs what is available.
I would appreciate any input and guidance on what your recommendations might be and thanks in advance for the help.
2 month lurker/first time poster looking for a little guidance on buying a board. Sorry for all the info but thought it would be helpful for background and also to make sure I am spending my money the right way.
I am old-42 and am 6'2 about 185 or 190 lbs size 10 boots. I snowboarded a fair amount back in the late 90s for two years (could handle all NE groomed surfaces without issues and very comfortable cruising and carving hard at speed and doing some basic jumps and tricks) with my then girlfriend now wife. I have a lot of board experience-long time surfer and as a long time skier who did some recreational racing back in the mid eighties.
After a bad fall ( put in a sled down the hill after hitting my head on NE ice), work and twins fast forward to 2012. 6 year old twin boys went snowboarding for the first time loved it and my wife wants to do nothing but go snowboarding now. I spent two days getting reacquainted with my 1999 Burton Canyon 168 and then rode a Custom X in a 160 and a Flying V Custom in 158 from the Burton Store at Stratton. Both boards felt good to me-when I got going custom x felt really good but at slower speeds it did not feel as loose as the flying V. I have some concerns about edge hold with the flying V as it is sometimes less than perfect in Vermont.
Given that it looks like I will be spending a substantial amount of time snowboarding I figured it might be a good time to look at upgrading my gear. Unlike my wife who took off like a bat out of hell our first time back, my memory of my fall is keeping me back a bit and really am looking to get my confidence back on some more user friendly gear. I was having a ball and know that we have a lot of great times in front of us so it is just going to be a day or two more before I started pushing again.
Given that much of the next few years will be a few hours of free time to ride and a few hours with the kids where I will be with them each day, most likely going fairly slowly, I was thinking that some form of a twin or directional twin with rocker or a hybrid system would be easier to ride both as I re-develop but also when I am hanging and helping the kids along. Of the boards I have researched and from the store close by where I live further south in New England, they have been recommending the flying V custom, Joystick, Never Summer Proto, Never Summer Evo and the Arbor Element RX. I can get a really good deal on some of the leftover 2012s or even some lightly used 2013 stuff but want to get what is right vs what is available.
I would appreciate any input and guidance on what your recommendations might be and thanks in advance for the help.