Mysticfalcon

I am 5'10 200lbs. Ive only ridden a 154 Proto but my normal boards are 161 and 158 SL's I found the 154 Proto to ride like a teeny tiny bit smaller more playful version of my 158 SL. It floats a little less but the Never Summers all float so well it doesnt really matter that much.

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jugeen

I'm 185 lbs and ride a 158 ctx for all mountain freestyle.

Leo

Yea, I was mentioning the 157 because that's what I ride in the regular CT.

You should keep in mind that since the CTX is a wide board, it will be more stable than it's CT counterpart in the 154.

You'll be fine on the 155 in other words. It's a true twin so obviously something directional would suit you better in the powder. But the it is rockered so that's definitely going to help. You can also set your bindings back on powder days if necessary.

You certainly could do the 158 so don't get me wrong here. It will be noticeable more stable and damp than the 155. At the same time, it will be less playful and lively.

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TRBO2NR

Hmm, this is a hard decision. From the sounds of it, I should lean towards the 155, but I am just nervous doing that because obviously there is no going back... Would the 158 feel less responsive and take more work to ride but be more stable vs. the 155 which mainly just wouldn't float as nicely in the powder and would be less stable at speed?

Can someone that has tried both sizes chime in?

Leo

I've ridden a ton of boards ranging from regular widths to wide widths in the 147-165 range.

I currently have an Evo in a 157. Although I like it and it does very well for my purposes, I chose to go with a 154 next time around. This is because the more I rode other freestyle boards in the 154-156 neighborhood, the more I wished I went a size shorter.

I can do everything on a 156 that I can with a 158. It's just that I prefer the smaller size when it comes to all-mountain freestyle. In the end, the effort to compensate is minimal when sizing down. It's more effort to compensate when sizing up. I strongly dislike riding anything bigger than 158 unless all I am doing is bombing runs all day.

But at my weight, 158 is the normal range for me. 155 is the normal range for your weight. By going with the 158, you're actually sizing up.

And by every means, the blunted tips really do reduce the actual length of the board without reducing the effective edge. My 157 proto rides like a bigger board but handles like a normal 157ish board.

Edit: If I were 165lbs looking for a one quiver size, the 155 would be my choice. Especially if I already own a 158 size board.

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BiG NicK

If it means anything to you, I'm 5'10" ~180+ lbs and I have the 155 CTX. It's definitely not too soft by any means and decently stable from what I can tell. I actually expected it to be much softer than it is. I feel if you ride mostly groomed runs or steeper/quicker runs it might pay to get the 158, but it really doesn't bother me that much at all. I like the fact that with the smaller board, it can go on any area around the mountain with no concern. In all honesty, I think the difference will be small enough so that you will be happy with your decision regardless. My advice would be:
-Ride more park / trees: 155
-Ride fast / groomed / steep: 158
I had the same decision to make last year, but then the 158 went out of stock. lol made my decision a whole lot easier.

TRBO2NR

Thanks for all of the input thus far guys. I am leaning towards the 155 CTX now... My other option is last years Burton Custom Flying V since it is on sale, but I think in the end I might be happier with the CTX. I am nervous though, I have never had nor ridden a rocker-camber non-directional twin tip as mine is a camber Twin-Like if you want to use Burton's terms.

One last thing, those who have tried burton's Re-Flex bindings, how much of a difference is there? I currently have some Burton Cartels on my board that I could transfer over, but was thinking about upgrading to the Re-Flex version of either the Cartel, Malavita, or Genesis... Just not sure how stiff I want the bindings on this new board... Thoughts? Oh, and yes, I really do just want to limit myself to burton bindings.

TRBO2NR

Well, I ended up with the 158 only because the local shop didn't have it in the 155 like they thought. I went in there with the idea of buying the 155 per all of your recomendations, but in the end the difference probably won't be that noticeable. They said they could ship it out to Seattle for me for my trip if I wanted it, but that was a risk I didn't want to take. I paired it with some Burton Cartel Limited (limited edition hybrid of parts: Malavita bases, Cartel High backs, and Genesis straps) Re-Flex bindings. Oh man, I can't wait for that first run on Friday!!!

BiG NicK

Nice choice man... I have the 2012 Cartels with Re-Flex on mine. Liking it so far.

sangsters

Just took mine out yesterday, same set up (though black on black). Loving it so far.