[day]

I've been doing my research around this forum and many other snowboard sites so I just thought I'd put everything together and get some second opinions.

-I am 5'7" and 150 lbs
-Boot size is 8.5
-I'm looking for an all-mountain board more associated to tricks
-Live on the west coast

As for me I narrowed it down to either the 155 K2 Darkstar, 155 Burton Elite and 155 Ride DH. Please all opinions are open so feel free to say whatever is needed. Thank you.

[Snowolf]

I do not have any personal experience with any of those boards, but several fellow instructors have or did have the Ride DH and gave it great props. For what you are looking to do with your board, I would recomend that you take a close look at the Atomic Hatchet before making a final decission. It is an amazing board that while technically listed as a park board, it handles the entire mountain very well.

[monkeyman44]

I have the Atomic Hatchet and it is a very good board for what your looking for. The only downside I can think of with it is that its not the most stable if you try to go very very fast. But, for everything else it's an excellent board.

[ecave84]

i dont have any experiance with these boaeds but the darkstar i believe was future snowboardings top bord under 400

Future Snowboarding » Blog Archive » Men’s Under $400

[day]

Ok, now is 155 a good length? or should I go shorter, longer?

[sedition]

Originally Posted by day

Ok, now is 155 a good length? or should I go shorter, longer?

SIZE:
Totally depends on the manufacture. Check out the various web sites to see what the weight ranges for a given deck are. That said, if your going more towards the freestyle side of things, go for a shorter board. There are prolly some decks in the 150 - 153 range that would fit your weight.

DECKS:
BURTON | ELITE: I own a 2007 Burton Elite 155. I have used it for all mountain riding last season, and the first part of this one. It is decent anywhere you take it. Pipe, park, groomers, and double-blacks. However, it excels no where. Such is the case with any all mountain board. However, I find the Elite to be a bit better on the speed end of things than on the park end of the specturm. It is a little narrower, and a little stiffer than a pure freestyle deck, so your margin of error on landings isn't as large as it could be. At speed, it holds an edge well, but will start to chatter a bit when you REALLY start goinfg fast. Overall, it is a great all-mountain deck. However, I am selling mine.

NEVER SUMMER | SYSTEM: Awhile ago I decided I wanted a pure freestyle deck. I got the 155 System. It wasn't quite what I was expecting. It's a bit stiffer than most pure freestyle decks, but softer than then Elite. This deck is less stable at speed than the Elite, but more solid with butters, jumps, etc. Becuase it is a bit softer than the Elite, the System is basically an all-mountain deck that leans a bit more toward the freestyle side of things. I have tendency to ride switch a lot, hit a lot jumps, etc. The System is more geared toward that than the Elite is. So, I've made the choice to sacrafice some stability at speed for a little more flexibility.

And there is also that Rome Graft review I posted yesterday, too. Check that out.

[jibbah686]

Originally Posted by sedition

SIZE:
Totally depends on the manufacture. Check out the various web sites to see what the weight ranges for a given deck are. That said, if your going more towards the freestyle side of things, go for a shorter board. There are prolly some decks in the 150 - 153 range that would fit your weight.

DECKS:
BURTON | ELITE: I own a 2007 Burton Elite 155. I have used it for all mountain riding last season, and the first part of this one. It is decent anywhere you take it. Pipe, park, groomers, and double-blacks. However, it excels no where. Such is the case with any all mountain board. However, I find the Elite to be a bit better on the speed end of things than on the park end of the specturm. It is a little narrower, and a little stiffer than a pure freestyle deck, so your margin of error on landings isn't as large as it could be. At speed, it holds an edge well, but will start to chatter a bit when you REALLY start goinfg fast. Overall, it is a great all-mountain deck. However, I am selling mine.

NEVER SUMMER | SYSTEM: Awhile ago I decided I wanted a pure freestyle deck. I got the 155 System. It wasn't quite what I was expecting. It's a bit stiffer than most pure freestyle decks, but softer than then Elite. This deck is less stable at speed than the Elite, but more solid with butters, jumps, etc. Becuase it is a bit softer than the Elite, the System is basically an all-mountain deck that leans a bit more toward the freestyle side of things. I have tendency to ride switch a lot, hit a lot jumps, etc. The System is more geared toward that than the Elite is. So, I've made the choice to sacrafice some stability at speed for a little more flexibility.

And there is also that Rome Graft review I posted yesterday, too. Check that out.

size does matter on the company id prolly go with a 152-154 because those will give you the flex you need for the park but a 154 will give you the flex and the stability in and out of the park. if your not set on a park board yet then an almost twin board would be good. look into forums, ride and k2 as you did. but look for an almost twin board. and also look at the weight limits for them too. your gonna want to go with something in the middle for mid flex for the freeriding...