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Need some help deciding on my next board

2K views 14 replies 3 participants last post by  Clownfish14 
#1 ·
Ok so to start it off let me tell you a little about me. I am 6'3" and about 250-260 pounds. I have a size 14 boot and I have been snowboarding for about 4 years. As of right now I have a Lamar kealm in a 164. I am constantly having my heals or toes hit the ground and making me skip out. Especially on the steeper stuff up at mammoth. So I have decided to lay down the cash for a new board. I know I want somthing longer and wider as I spend the majority of my time off the park runs (the bigger you are the harder you fall haha) so I started looking at freestyle all mountain boards and came across two that cought my attention. The first being the 2014 never summer raptor x in a 169 wide I really like the look of this one and after reading some reviews it's supposed to be great at speed and stability as well as traction. Some people called it the Cadillac of snowboards because of how smooth it was at hog speeds. The next board I found was the lib tech skunk ape in a 170 wide (or longer. They have them but I'm not sure how long I should go) this board seemes to be a bit more loose and playful which means a loss in stability. But it does come in a longer length wich might be better for me anyways. One think I don't like about it is the look haha. Not a huge fan of the lib tech artwork but hey if it's a good board and I like how it rides then who cares what it looks like. It's going to be in the snow anyways. So what do you guys think? I really can't decide. Raptor x or skunk ape. Let me know! And thanks for your help in advance!!!

Thanks,
Nick
 
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#2 ·
Meh, even at the sizes for your weight, your weight will wear down the construction quick. NS's decamber and Mervins with no carbon don't feel lively at my measly 150lbs.

If you were in my shop: Ride Berzerker 168 wide, Flow Maverick 169, Rossignol Krypto 168w, Nitro Pantera 169w, or a Burton Custom 169w camber or Flying V.
 
#3 ·
ok so i really like the flow maverick thanks for showing me those. my question is. will the maverick fit my boot size of 14 and is the 2013 model any good? would you guys recommend it? out of that list is there any other ones that you would recommend over the flow? i also like the nitro pantera but i have never heard of the nitro company which makes me a bit nervous.
 
#4 ·
I have big feet myself. So one bit of advice I can give you is to make sure you actually need size 14 boots. I wear a size 14 shoe, however I wear a size 12.5 snowboard boot in certain brands (Salomon currently). Without asking people for advice I blindly bought size 14 snowboard boots in the beginning. Once I finally got some proper boots that fit me right, it was night and day. It also helped with fitting into certain bindings and gave me a larger selection of boards.

I still typically use wide boards though. I don't have any experience with the boards you are asking about. I have experience with the NS Heritage X. I can say that width of board will have no problems with overhang with a size 14 boot. I tend to look for any board with a 262+ waist width. Also as a data point, I use a +15/-15 stance which will help with the overhang.
 
#5 ·
haha yeah i hear ya. i spent a while trying to find the right boots i ended up getting some ride orions in size 14. i currently wear a size 15 shoe though. the size 14 boot fits perfect though so yeah im sure i need a 14. i will look to see which of thoes boards have the widest length.
 
#7 ·
I fluctuate during the year as the summer is my lazy time. I'm usually around 225 or 230 by the time boarding season comes around.

I wouldn't just look for whatever is the widest. I would say you want it just wide enough so that you aren't dragging your toes or heel but not much wider than that. I believe the wider it is, the more sluggish the board is from edge to edge. The smallest width I've used is a 260 and I didn't seem to have any problems with that, but I didn't really push it that hard on that particular board. My typical range is probably 263-268 in width. I have not had any problems with size 14 boots in that width range.

I'm not sure I've really noticed any problems with my NS because of my weight, but then again I'm not expert. I will say that Ride boards are built like tanks, so if any board is going to stand up to weight, its probably going to be a Ride board.
 
#8 ·
Also I will say that it seems like some manufacturers measure their waist width at different points or maybe its just the profile of the sidecut that is different. My friend has a 12 T.Rice which I had looked at buying but did not because I wasn't sure that it would be wide enough for me. After he bought it and I compared it to my Heritage X, it seemed to be almost the same width. I could have definitely ridden it with size 14 boots. I'm guessing it had something to do with the different sidecuts of the boards.
 
#10 ·
Honestly I would say just get the board that you like. Now if you want something that is probably going to last for years and years, I would take Nivek's advice as he probably knows better as far as reliability and construction go.

If its something that you are going to replace in a few seasons, just get the one you like the best and that suits your style of riding.
 
#11 ·
well my hope was to make it last a while and after looking at the never summer raptor x again its really not all that wide the nitro pantera looks much better at 271mm. i understand what nivek is saying and if he thinks it will break down after 1 or 2 seasons i want to stay away from it. if im going to put in the money for a new board then i want it to last a while.
 
#12 ·
Honestly you probably don't need anything that wide. I have boards ranging from 260 to 268 and have no problem with any of them. To be safe I would say pick something in the 265-270 range, but I wouldn't worry about picking a board just because its wider than that.

The construction and things breaking down, i can't really comment on though.
 
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