Powder Board?

[Ride Delaware ?]

Fellas... I mostly do East Coast boarding with maybe the odd trip out west each year, but after boarding during the heavy wet snowstorm in late February in Vermont (dumped 84" in NY), I realized that my Raven and Custom just weren't going to cut it... I ride a 159 Raven and 158 Custom... Neither board is wide and I have no toe drag with a size 12 Burton boot... I am 5' 11" and currently weigh around 170 (lost 27 lbs since college). I am looking for suggestions on a board that I will probably pick up on ebay for some scarce (5 days) powder days... Durability would be key since I would use it so rarely that I would like it to last for a good couple seasons... Does anybody have any suggestions? Go with a wider board? Longer? Brand? I'm looking for all suggestions... Thanks...

Edited May 4, 2010 by Ride Delaware ?

[Nidecker]

all depends on what kind of money you want to spend... nidecker hold a place in my heart its a supurb company from sweden there boards are kinda pricey but thats what you get for a real good constructed and imported product. powder longer is better. better stability, harder to turn but in powder length is your friend. width shouldnt be a real problem in powder but since you have a 12 boot i would suggest getting a wide board if your feet hang over more than an inch and a half front or rear or even both get a wide board. not sure if nidecker makes wide boards but other companies do too but getting a wide board may cut own your selection down a bit. good luck!

 

I think nidecker holds one up on most companies because of the materials they use.... spend 300 bucks on a average board or spend up to 900 bucks for a nidecker.

 

here is a link for a good powder board, browse the whole line of boards they offer.

http://www.nidecker....Ultralight.html

 

Edit: oh i re read it and saw you said you have NO toe drag then disregard what i said about a wide board.

Edited May 4, 2010 by Nidecker25

[rgrwilco]

get a reverse camber board. things just float through pow, even wet stuff.

 

this past season i rode a capita indoor survival 158 in pow, and it was wonderful. also, when my area got dumped on, i took out my 152 horrorscope, which is definitely not made for pow, but it still worked much better than traditional cambered decks i owned previously which were much longer.

 

if you like your custom, i would look into getting the custom v-rocker, or any reverse camber deck. but i cant say enough good things about my indoor survival.

[Timeless]

This is just a personal opinion, but as I've been lucky enough to be in some form of fresh snow in 80-90% of my riding days this year I have some thoughts on this matter.

 

I have found that unless the powder is dry, deep "blower" type snow then the traditional "powder" board (long & tapered) doesn't always work out best. If the snow is the heavy wet (but deep) kind you referred to then the long floaty board can be very hard to turn (or more often to get out of the turn).

 

I currently have 2 boards that I take to the mountains (Tahoe in my case), a Lib-tech 158 Dark series, mounted at centre, ducked and not a rockered version, and a Ride Timeless 164, mounted way back, not ducked. Now granted the timeless is not a powder board as such, but by conventional wisdom it should be better in powder than the Lib. In deep light snow, there is no question this holds true and on such occasions a true powder board seems very appealing. However, in most other conditions, especially once the snow is somewhat chewed up by previous runs, I find the shorter, lighter board is preferable and it just needs more speed and little rearward bias in your riding style to compensate.

 

For the east coast (unless you are lucky enough to live in Northern Vermont)I can see no justification for owning a powder specific board.

 

I'll be picking up a rockered board in the off season and I think the suggestion above for a V-rocker is the best plan for you.

[Dan-]

I've got a Rome Notch 1985 from 2 seasons ago that i will give you for CHEAP. I rode it for 5 days then it took a sidewall blow, and cracked the edge. I had it all repaired and the board will ride fine, especially if your only using it for pow days. I loved the thing, was so fun to ride in pow. I just have a big gyrator now, so i don't really need it anymore. Let me know if your interested.

[Ride Delaware ?]

Should I go longer with the board for Pow? The 158/159 seems to be fine, or do you think I should up it to a 162 for powder use?

[Ride Delaware ?]

Have any of you boarders out there tried the new Burton ICS? I've been kind of skeptical about it and wanted to know if there was any firsthand experience...

[Dan-]

yep, rode it a bit last year. Could not feel any difference over traditional mounting.

[burton71]

Have any of you boarders out there tried the new Burton ICS? I've been kind of skeptical about it and wanted to know if there was any firsthand experience...

Been riding it for 3+ years now. It is a pretty noticable difference from regular plate mounted bindings. More padding underfoot, more consistant flex pattern on the board, better overall feel, and many more stance options..

[Ride Delaware ?]

And no problems with the bindings popping out of the channel? I think I am going to get a Malolo if I can find one on sale or a decent used one... I'll probably go with a 158 since they say it isn't necessary to go longer... Doesn't make sense to me, but alot of guys are saying to go the same length as your regular board or shorter... Any comments there?

[burton71]

And no problems with the bindings popping out of the channel? I think I am going to get a Malolo if I can find one on sale or a decent used one... I'll probably go with a 158 since they say it isn't necessary to go longer... Doesn't make sense to me, but alot of guys are saying to go the same length as your regular board or shorter... Any comments there?

I have had no issues with the bindings popping out or even moving. Just like regular bindings make sure your bolts are tight every now and then and you'll be fine.

 

The Malolo is an S-Rocker so you can size down 2cm or so and it will ride the same as your normal board length. A lot of rocker boards have a longer effective edge on the smaller sizes so they ride like bigger boards. The Malolo is supposed to be a great board for ripping powder. I rode a Fish last season at Big Sky on a powder down and it blew my mind...the Malolo is a very similar board.