Freestyle twin for a big guy
 

I just started snowboarding this season. I currently use Rossignol Circuit Amptek 165. I went out several times and I am fairly comfortable connecting turns although I occasionally revert to either toe side or hill side slide when I hit a tricky spot. For the most part, I feel like I am progressing quickly and more importantly I am having the time of my life. I am regularly footed and I have been experimenting with various stance setting making adjustments after each day on the slopes. I started with a narrow directional stance and I finally evolved into symmetrical stance (+15/-15) 21 inch which is coincidentally the reference stance for my board. As I am learning, I am more and more interested in riding switch which is possible on my current board (directional twin with 10cm setback) although it would be easier on a true twin. As I've been learning on the slopes and on youtube:D, I am really tempted to get into a little bit of freestyle, nothing crazy, some butters and a jump here and there. I guess this style is called "mountain freestyle" or something like that.
I have been thinking of getting another board to start using next season that would let me ride switch/freestyle more easily. I am a big guy (5'10" and 270lb) so I am going to need a big board. Shoe size is 10 so wide and mid-wide would not work. I am considering either GNU Carbon Credit 162 OR Never Summer Premier F1 170. What do you guys think would be a better choice for me? GNU is shorter and Never Summer is longer than my current board and both seem to be well-built. Anything else I should consider? Another questions related to my heavy weight is, would I be able to flex one of those boards (tail press?) without snapping them? How sturdy are they? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Those two boards couldn't be further apart and still both be not what you need. The CC is Gnu's intermediate priced, no frills all-mountain board. It's not going to be enough board for you. The Premiere F1 is a big mountain board.

At 270 I probably wouldn't go shorter than that 162, although that's still on the long side for freestyle riding. As for NS, look at the Heritage or Heritage X (if you have big feet, like size 12+). I think that is available in a 162. From Gnu, check out possibly the Rider's Choice although that might be on the soft side given your weight. Or the Dirty Pillow which I think is a mid-wide and also available in 162.

Then again, at your size you may *need* a board designed more for big-mountain riding.

Sabatoa is a bit taller than you but pushing 260 this year, he was riding a NS Legacy, which is the wide version of their popular SL, in a 163 length. Seemed to work out just fine for him. With that in mind I'd lean towards that or the Heritage which will be a little burlier.

The Heritage would be a solid choice. I was bouncing between 235 -250 lbs last season with size 9.5 feet and rode a 160 Heritageas a freestyle/do it all board. A 160-162 would be sturdy enough for your size but still playful.

+1 for the Heritage, but I'd also throw the Proto into the mix. The Proto was built for freestyle first, all mountain second, and the Heritage is all mountain first, freestyle second. Both are fun to ride though and you really can't go wrong with either one.

62 Flow Quantum, 160 K2 Fastplant, 162 Mans Board, 161 Machete GT, same size range in the Bataleon Jam or Rome Mod Rocker.

I think I'll go for Heritage. Is it a true twin though? I've read somewhere that that there is a set back. NS website does not state anything which seems weird. Isn't this an important piece of information?:icon_scratch:

It is a directional twin with 0.5"/0.75" setback - not that it really matters.

It mkatters if he wants a true twin and if the sidecut is centered on the setback or if the flex is directional...

If you liked the Rossi and its camrock profile be mindful that NS has the opposite with rocker between the bindings...might not be a big deal for you to switch but some people find rocker between the bindings less stable, more skittish etc. Maybe check out the Rossi one magtek?

Oh, absolutely. But the OP "just started snowboarding this season" and is just "fairly comfortable connecting turns" and "occasionally revert[ing] to [...] side slid[ing]". Yes, he wants to ride switch more, but compared to his current stick there is not going to be much of a difference between a true twin and a directional one like an SL or Heritage - and the directional would probably mash better with the rest of his riding.