Groomer board - help me choose

[neni]

Umpf... how ironic... I finally managed to learn to ride fast enough to stick to the tails of the guys at blacks, now they start buying telemark skis and want to spend the non-pow days on blues and reds Good thing: I finally get the time to play around, ride switch, improve carving.

I love my Flagship 158 on blacks and pow, but it is not the right board for such slow groomer days. Riding a NS Raptor 164 for a day, I was surprised, how much softer it was on bumpy groomers and how easy to carve, even if it was far too big for me. So I'm thinking of getting a second option for those days, when there's no fresh snow and the pack changes to telemarks.

My prerequisites: pure groomer board, softer than the Flagship, but must be stable at higher speeds (50mph) and nice to carve as the Raptor. There'll be a test day with these brands


Would be great, if you could give me some hints, what boards I sould have a closer look at and why.

I'm 120lbs, app. 450 days boarding (http://www.snowboardingforum.com/boa...od-idea-1.html)

[NWBoarder]

Hmmm....I seem to recall that you like to ride the men's boards, and since I know practically nothing of women's boards, my suggestions shall be for men's. So, NS, check out the Heritage, maybe the Proto. Capita, scope the Totally F'ckin Awesome, or maybe the Black Snowboard of Death. Lib, I'd say maybe a TRS or Banana Magic, maybe a T.Rice. Gnu, try out one of they're crazy assym boards. I've heard they're fun. Ride, I'd say a Machette. Salomon, maybe the Man's Board (might be to stiff though), or the Salomonder. K2, the Happy Hour possibly. Nitro, the Team Gullwing. I don't know what else, that's all I got for you, and I'm sure someone will come through and tell me how wrong my suggestions are. Lol!

[neni]

Originally Posted by NWBoarder

Hmmm....I seem to recall that you like to ride the men's boards, and since I know practically nothing of women's boards, my suggestions shall be for men's.

Thanks for your list!

Yes... my last board, the Palmer Liberty Carbon, was my only woman's board so far I happened to buy the Flagship since it was the most stable ride at the Nidecker test day last year, when I was looking for a fast pow stick. But I'm not fixated on men's boards.

The NS Infinity and Rossignol Diva are woman's boards, that raised my interest, for example.

[Banjo]

Since you have a knack for large stiff mens boards, I would agree on trying the Black Snowboard of Death...it may be too stiff though. Another good hybrid is the Salomon Sabotage.

If its gonna be strictly a groomer board, a full camber might be fun for days of just carving....

Try the Rome Anthem, Burton Custom X, or Salomon Burner. They are all pretty aggressive full camber boards, but would be real fun to snap around on groomers.

Hopefully you can demo a few decent boards!!

[Banjo]

In looking a bit deeper, the burner and anthem are only available in fairly large sizes....

[hktrdr]

Originally Posted by NWBoarder

Hmmm....I seem to recall that you like to ride the men's boards, and since I know practically nothing of women's boards, my suggestions shall be for men's. So, NS, check out the Heritage, maybe the Proto. Capita, scope the Totally F'ckin Awesome, or maybe the Black Snowboard of Death. Lib, I'd say maybe a TRS or Banana Magic, maybe a T.Rice. Gnu, try out one of they're crazy assym boards. I've heard they're fun. Ride, I'd say a Machette. Salomon, maybe the Man's Board (might be to stiff though), or the Salomonder. K2, the Happy Hour possibly. Nitro, the Team Gullwing. I don't know what else, that's all I got for you, and I'm sure someone will come through and tell me how wrong my suggestions are. Lol!

Wow, a lot of suggestions there. Limiting my comments to the boards I have ridden/personally know, all the Lib-Tech suggestions are not paticularly good: Banana Magic is not a groomer board; T. Rice does well on groomers but as a mid-wide not ideal for smaller feet. TRS is an ok groomer board (and does come in smaller sizes) but more of a playful board than a high speed charger.
Better choices from Lib would be the Hot Knife (comes in 150 and 153 next year) or, if she wants something stiffer, the Dark(er) Series (155 and up).

[Banjo]

neni, how did you find the raptor in comparison to your flagship? ie: did you like/notice the rocker in the middle vs the camber in the middle? I think thats the biggest decision to make when getting a groomer board....

[rambob]

How bout the Nidecker Megalight or Platinum series. I've only read about them but they are supposed to be very fast and be good groomers

[behi]

Originally Posted by neni

I was surprised, how much softer it was on bumpy groomers

I don't know what bindings you are using, but the bindings also makes a huge difference in shock absorption/dampening. Might be something else to look at (and may skew your testing of different boards)...

[neni]

Originally Posted by behi

I don't know what bindings you are using, but the bindings also makes a huge difference in shock absorption/dampening. Might be something else to look at (and may skew your testing of different boards)...

Ride Fame (on both, the Flagship and Raptor).

Originally Posted by Banjo

neni, how did you find the raptor in comparison to your flagship? ie: did you like/notice the rocker in the middle vs the camber in the middle? I think thats the biggest decision to make when getting a groomer board....

Oh yes, there was a huge difference and it's pretty hard to decide, if I liked it or not
Carving with the Flagship needs a lot of work: if I don't use all my force in the legs, I wash out and there's almost no pop. It's great on perfect conditions, but if there are bumps, you'll lift off if not riding very low and if it's hardpack, I don't manage to make decent carves anymore. There's no detectable camber in the middle, it's just flat, so I wouldn't count it as a valid camber vs. rocker comparison candidate.

On the Raptor, carving was very easy, as soon as I got used to the amount of acceleration IN the carve "wow... wait for me!". I had no sore muscles in the legs (like with the Flagship) but in the back from stabilyzing the upper body Made the deepest carves ever and enjoyed this a lot! Pure fun! But while riding straight line, I didn't like the wiggly feeling of the rocker... made me feel insecure. To be fair, the Raptor with its 164 was far too long, might be a different story, if its a shorter one never ridden a shorter rocker so far.

Comparing both Flagship and Raptor to my former traditional camber Custom X (about 145): I remember nasty catapult falls when the Custom X got its nose dug in while carving. I guess, the lifted nose of the Flagship/Raptor prevents this problem, cause it never was an issue with this boards. But then, it's long time ago I've been on the Custom X and maybe it might not be an issue today anymore.

All in all, I'm looking for a board with this "acceleration in the carve" quality like the Raptor