Snowboard Recommendations

[20_MuleTeam_Borax]

I'm looking into buying a Burton Canyon 162. Anybody ever ridden this board? This would be my 2nd Burton board, but Im open to other brands. Would you suggest an equivalent model by another manufacturer?

Comments, suggestions, advice por favor.

 

[toothfairy]

I own a solomon. They are pretty nice.

 

[rocmonster]

Canyon is great if you wear a size 10 boot or larger (it's really just a wider custom). Salomon and Ride offer really nice wider waist width high performance boards. Board selection depends on four things; what kind of riding do you like to do, where do you like to do it (east coast/west coast), your boot size, and how much you weight. I've ridden alot of boards, ride east coast, squeeze into a small boot, and wieght 170 lbs. I have tried boards by Ride (timeless), Airwalk (A-1), Forum (team 62), K2 (A star), but I always gravitate back to my Burton Supermodel 62. If you really want to try something wild, go to a mid-season board demo and try a race set up. Learning to ride a race set-up has helped my freeriding tremendously.

 

[FrontlineWarrior]

I have a Burton Custom 152 (2000 model with 007). It's sweeeeeeeeeet!

 

[KingHam]

IMO Burton boards are solid but, not great. My favorite boards are made by Famly and Avalanche. Check out those brands if you can.

KingHam

 

[20_MuleTeam_Borax]

I do a little of everything, ride east coast, wear size 11 or 12 boots, and weigh 160 lbs.

 

[FrontlineWarrior]

I wonder if they have the SHAFT designs this year. I always wanted that but it wasn't available so I just pick up the James Bond one.

 

[pmark]

I have a 2001 Burton Custom 148. The design this year is just some normal snowboard graphic, in other words no james bond or shaft.

 

[highme]

All right, snowboard talk.


Get the Canyon. I have a Ride wide all-mountain board that I bought at the beginning of last season, it sucks, badly. I only rode it twice, now I am hoping to sell it and the bindings I got with it for enough to cover the cost for one of last years Canyons (I just need to hit it up on Fleabay unless anybody here is interested in a board binding setup for $265). I have a Burton Floater 63 from the first year they made them and that board is super solid. Burton is making 4 wide lines this year . The Canyon which was previously stated as being a wide custom, a wide Balance, the Floater, and a price point board. I really want one of those 157 Canyon's as I don't get down in the pipe that much anymore (but when I do,) my 63 Floater rocks (and I am talking about the Berserker type of rock from Olaf) on deep days, and I would like something with a little less swing weight to play with in the park/all mountain type stuff.

Salomon makes solid boards from what I have seen, I just have a hard time with the ski company aspect (not that Salomon makes bad skis, I just prefer to keep my money invested in snowboarding specifically.) I am sure that Ride makes some decent boards, but I have yet to ride one. Lib Tech's Emma Peel was the shiz with corn when I rode it in '91 and I would bet that it hasn't gotten worse. I rode a K2 HC172 (on the wrong mountain) for a season, it was a decent board, just wayyyy to big for Snow Summit, I pushed a Fat Bob around a little but that was the first couple of years and they were really slow edge to edge, I don't really care for their boards anymore, but I haven't ridden them. Sims makes a decent board, but I haven't ridden one since the Fakie/Salasnek days. Now, if you can find and afford one, I highly recommend a Never Summer. One of my best friends picked up a 157 a couple years back, he let me take it Mt. Bachelor for a spring day (blessed with a little powder) and I didn't want to give it back. He didn't ride at all last winter so I told him if he doesn't get up to the mountain this year I am going to liberate it and give it to somebody who will treat it like it deserves to be treated (me of course.) Never Summer makes a directional wide board tha looks super solid. The company has been around for a while and I have not heard one bad word about them. I have also checked out the Winterstick, All Mountain Severe Terrain boards, but judging from the East Coast aspect of your riding profile, too much board.


My favorite boards are made by Famly and Avalanche I have never heard of Family, and Avalanche is still around? One of my best friends "back in the day" was given a 175 Kick (the Damian Sanders board) by Damian, complete with hardboots. The last boards of thiers I saw was that yellow twin tip atrocity. Of course, if they still have Tom Burt riding for them, I would imagine that thier "extreme" boards are still well worth the cost.


Board selection depends on four things; what kind of riding do you like to do, where do you like to do it (east coast/west coast), your boot size, and how much you weight
Couldn't have said it better myself. I am 190-200#s, size 12, left coaster, you can find me everywhere on the mountain from the gates, to the pipe (not so much anymore, and I refuse to hike it,) the park, the trees, out of bounds, and the bar of course (even though a $40 cover charge seems a little steep to me.)

My biggest irritation about looking for boards is unknowledgeable staff. Who when I ask if they have X board in about a 152-158 look at me (yes I got some girth here) and say (without asking any questions) "Oh, I think you would be much happier on a 165+ blah blah blah." Fortunately, there is a couple of great shops in Portland where this doesn't happen.

Anyways, the winter is near, Mt. Hood Meadows has snow on the ground, the air is chilly, and I am starting to get those annual shakes. Thankfully, this winter both of our cars will be operational, and my flake friends are getting thier shiz together also, so it should be a great winter. Hopefully, there will be more snowfall records broken. I have trips scheduled tentatively to BC, Tahoe, hopefully Mt. Baker, and at least a couple of weekends in Bend.

Well, back to work for me.

 

[duragezic]

Hmm...

I think K2 boards are great. Ride also makes some pretty nice ones. I'm currently riding a Type A snowboard because I don't have money to buy a better brand. I have no problems at all with it though the toe-side edge is kind of falling apart after two years. I'll buy a new one after this season. Personally, I would rather have good quality boots then a top-of-the-line snowboard though that may be because I don't go huge like pros and small differences between boards I would not notice Don't wanna kill myself! It's funny to see someone with a $450+ board, really cheap bindings, and Sarrell (sp?) boots!

 

[highme]

Sorels is the correct spelling.

When properly modified Sorels were the best thing going back then. But Burton started making boots with the Dale Neoprene liner and it was all over, now everybody makes a copy of that original boot, with modifications of course.

 

[20_MuleTeam_Borax]

Has anybody ridden any of Burton's step in bindings? I tried some K2 Clickers 3 seasons ago, and I thought they sucked. Maybe they weren't adjusted right, but I kept coming out. Also, if they had any snow in them, you couldn't click in. Will I have the same problems w/ Burton step ins (assuming my prior experience wasn't a fluke or some sort)?

 

[duragezic]

Had problems with K2 Clickers? I have heard of other people with problems from ice/snow jam-up and they would come out. My brother has the cheaper clickers, BLT I believe. He has had no problems though sometime when it is warm and the snow is packy, they get full of it and he can't click in but my strap bindings get full of snow too so I have to brush them off anyway.

I think you'll need to find a snowboarding forum or newsgroup for your answers as there isn't many here.

 

[20_MuleTeam_Borax]

Since when are geeks not avid snowboarders?

 

[highme]

Who you calling a geek?



About the step ins: Burton's look nice, I like the highback style of step ins. But I don't think that I would ever ride them.

 

[Eug]

First off, the best thing to do is go to your local mountain and do a demo day thing to try out a lot of boards.

Your feet are probably too big for some boards suggested on this thread. The Canyon seems OK, and it's supposedly just a fat Custom so it should suit you, but.... While it's a good board I've begun to hate my Custom 155. It's really a freestyle board - too unstable for the ice in the east at high speed, and lousy in the powder of the west, even with the bindings moved way back. I'm not a freestyler, but it seems like it would be OK in the pipe, but then you'd have to go pretty short. So just make sure you decide if you really want a freestylish all around board or if you want something for a specific purpose.

I'll probably get something like the old Burton Supermodel 170. I think the corresponding model is a Frontier at Burton, or I'll get some other brand. (I'm a Whistler, Big White powder junkie now, and dislike the Eastern mountains, even ones like Killington and Tremblant.)

P.S. I'm 5'7" and 150 lbs... and I want a 170 cm board. So those size recommendations on those websites and in stores should be taken with a grain of salt like highme said. I'll keep my Custom for the moguls, but I wish I had a 150 or something like that for them.

 

[highme]

I saw a 170ish Supermodel (last year's I think) with bindings for $300 or so at a local retailer.

 

[20_MuleTeam_Borax]

"So those size recommendations on those websites and in stores should be taken with a grain of salt"

One of the employees at my local dealer told me that Burton (possibly other companies also) will not warranty boards being ridden by someone outside of their suggested weight range. Is this true?