refried

I don't think an Undertaker is anything like a Winterstick, they look and ride completely different. If you ever tried to ride a Winterstick on a groomer you will see a difference

My best board for for the conditions list is very similar to BlueB's list. A big swallowtail for powder, The Undertaker gets the most use in deep powder and untracked snow but I'll use others as conditions change. Trees and groomed mix I'll go for the 3800, I'll ride either size depending on my mood. the 4807 is a great board, I'll break mine out in the afternoon after most of the powder is gone. it's great for getting thru the crud to get to untracked snow then it lets you carve on the groomed trails back to the lift. it's also one of my favorite boards in the trees. The Tanker is a great all around board that's not as much fun in powder as a swallowtail but does everything well. I should ride mine more. I haven't picked up any new boards for a while, I've been thinking of a new Snakehead though.

Here's my Summer ride and my Winter ride

Sounds like you have some fun toys . I love over powered small boats. I had a small I/O Glastron that I put a 351 in when I was a kid that was well in the 60s. G3s were fun boats, a friend had one with a 235 on it, too much weight and would only only do 60 because it chine walked so bad. A 15' Hydrostream with a Mod VP (v6 Merc) was also a scary combination, There used to be one on the bay that would do 105 (very fast for the '70s and '80s) it was appropriately named "Oh ****". I had a 10' tunnel hull with a Yamato 102 for a while, 60 mph on your knees and handled like a Porsche, it would hook and do instant 360s if you got off the throttle in a turn. I play with whitewater boats now, I have Creek boats, Playboats (kayaks), single and tandem inflatable kayaks, and a 14' self bailing raft now so they take up most of my free time. I've been thinking of getting a Sea Kayak since I live on an island (and there's no rivers on it) but I have too many boats now. I try to ride at least one day a month during the summer too, I love the looks from tourists when they see you with a snowboard when temps are in the 80s.

O-Sin 3800, nice do everything board and they're cheap if you can still find one. I think I spent more time on these than any other board this year. Arbor Crossbow, not as stiff as a 3800, but it's another good all mountain board. the A-Frame is also nice but it's as stiff as a T6. The 172 Tanker is also a great board but I haven't spent that much time on one.

http://cgi.ebay.com/SIMS-BURNER-197CM-ALPINE-SNOWBOARD-SPLIT-TAIL-BAD-SS_W0QQitemZ200216852859QQihZ010QQcategoryZ21250QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Here's some of what I have, Nothing exotic or carve oriented mostly powder boards. That APO is pretty nice, Maybe I should get on the list too.

I have two Tankers a '06 200 and a '03 177 HelliSnowcat and the 177 will float better than the 200 in light powder. I ride both with Catek Freerides and never had a problem with the board feeling too wide, I only use it on powder days so it has a different use than the 200 (it gets more use on groomers). It's not as good as a swallowtail in powder but it still gets lots of use.

Thanks for the info. I picked up a new set last week of splitboard.com, they are in the mail.

I saw this a few months ago, real nice board. I have a bunch of Arbors and haven't gotten a new one in a year or two but I'll have to pick up one because they are so nice (for a production board). Arbor did make a 174 in the S-Series in '02 I think? It dosen't feel as stiff as the 170s, but it's a fun board. I need a some new quiver pics maybe I'll take some later.

My Malamutes are well packed out and the liners have been cooked several times so they are not as stiff or tight as I liked them to be at times. I added a small camstrap around the top last year and that helped but they still flexed too much. A few months ago I bolted an extra ankle strap to the top instead of the camstrap, what a differance, I can crank it down to make them super stiff, or leave it loose and have the original stiffness of the boot. The ratchet is on the inside next to the hiback, and it's bolted to the boot on the outside. the wide strap also stops the lace loosening problem I had. I've tried several ratchets and this one is the hardest to release (most others release too easily) It's a little big, so I'll cut it down to make it a little smaller.

I've recently had to retire after closing the service station I was running. The place was sold to a real estate developer from Portland a few years ago and the new owner wants to sell because it doesnt make him the money he hoped it would (he only wanted the property, not the station). It's a shame because I was one of three mechanics on the island and the only place you could get air, It's also been a full service station since 1928 and many of the old ladies around here have no idea how to pump their own gas. So I spent the last weekend putting all the tools from a 4 bay shop into a 1 car garage (they don't fit). Now I get to decide what I want to do next, Open another shop? Fix boats again? or work from home and do lots of riding, kayaking/rafting whenever I want? I'm tired of working 60 hr. weeks so I'm going to try to take some time off before I decide.

I'll ride at Baker until they close on 4-27. They stopped running the lifts midweek even though they have a 200 in. base, the crowds drop off and it costs too much to keep everyyhing going. 18 in. of fresh snow yesterday and more this week. The splitboards get lots of use this time of year.

I have over 20 boards that I can count right now, Most are powder boards. I know I'll forget some Swallowtails Winterstick 185 Undertaker 185 Rossi Judge 168 Prior Pow Stick 176 (retired) Nitro Pow 188 O-Sin 4807 168 WAsatch Mojo 185 Tapered boards Prior Khyber 165 Stepchild Ranquet 159 O-Sin 3800 162 +169 Smokin Snowboards 172 Tanker 200 Arbor S-Series / A-FRame 158 - 174 I have every size they made, several of some sizes Crossbow 162 Basich edition Splitboards Voile' freeride 178 homebuilt split Voile' Mountain Gun 172 Gnu B. Christie pro 156 loaner There's more but I cant think of them now

Thanks Jon but I didn't know till the last minute that I wouldn't make it, I end up putting everyone elses work before mine and my cars never get looked at. Sorry I missed riding today, It looks like it will be a pretty nice day. Have fun

Looks like I'm not going to make it tomorrow, I'm having transportation issues:( but theres a chance I still may be there after 10. My Subaru blew a headgasket last Tuesday morning and I haven't had a chance to pick up a new engine yet. It only has 300,000 miles on it too. Tabs expired on the Toyota pick up 5? years ago and never renewed them after rebiulding the engine. The truck never leaves the Island So I don't worry about them (they are the correct color again though. Work truck has Farm tabs (no plates) and I'm only supposed to go from farm to farm with it with in a 15 mile radius. I don't know of any farms on 542 after Maple falls so I don't think that will work either. Planned on picking up engine and getting tabs with friends truck today but looked at his tabs this morning and they are expired too (3 months). Haven't driven the '67 GMC for a while and the points are burnt (I hope)and I didn't have another set at the shop or at home. Girlfriend has to work tomorrow but I may use her car. I should go car shopping and get something with out so many miles but I'm too cheap, those 4dr Tacomas are real nice and Subaru has 1.9 financing though.

My Malamutes were a real pain to get on and off when they were new but they did finaly loosen up. no pressure points for me, but I did have to do some work on the right boot to stop heel lift. I tried a set of Flows and had the same problems and gave up on them after a few days. I have the Tanker 200, Catek FR2, Maaimute combo and it works real well I'd recomend it in a minute.

The Judge is real similar to the 3800, It's narrower with a slighty smaller scr and it's a little stiffer in the nose but they ride pretty much the same. It's one of the boards that I don't ride enough but really like it when I do bring it out. The 4807 is a must have board, I should start looking for a replacement for mine because I will miss having it if (when) it breaks. I don't know how the later Khybers are but the original model has quite a taper and feels a little funny on groomed trails but floats like a swallowtail in powder.

I should be there for the Baker day, I'm taking some time off before that but I could always take a day to go riding.

I think I've ridden my 3800s more than any other boards this year, the 163 is a little small for deep powder, but it's a blast in trees (one of the best cheapboards I have) . the 169 is a better all around board for me (210 lbs.) I've ridden this board all day without wishing I was on something else (a better powder, Ice, groomer or tree board). I still see them on ebay, can't beat them for the price.

I told myself that I wouldn't buy any new boards this season (I have well over 20) and I even let the Pogo Longboard that was on gear swap go without making an offer (I'm still kicking myself for not picking that up) I've wanted that board for years), but I just picked up two O-Sin 3800's (163 + 169) off Ebay for a good deal. I have a 4700 and really like it, and wanted to try the 3800, but never found one cheap enough (I thought about picking one up from BlueB last year but never did), I couldn't decide on the 163 or the 169 (I like long boards), so I bought both. Looks like I need a 178 4700 now to complete my O-Sin collection.

It's all gone, Baker lost over 20 " of snow, everything is flooding, warm temps and sun for the weekend:(

Canada has it's share of illegals and sweatshops too, Ever been to Vancouver? Do you think everyone working in the shops there is legal? I have a friend who hires mostly illegals and he tells me Canada is the easiest country to get into. Once into Canada, they take a whalewatching cruise, stop in Fiday Harbor to go siteseeing, then dissapear showing up in Seattle a day later.Then he hires them using someone elses ID. He feels that many of the people he hires this way have a better work ethic than what he can find localy.

I'm a little disapointed. I'm sure the new Tankers are just as good as the older ones, but I have found anything made in China usually is not as well made or use the same quality materials.I don't see any differance in the quality of my '03 and '07 exept that the topsheet of the '07 is kind of lumpy showing where each piece of wood is joined. Maybe I should check it for lead content

It looks like an '08 Rad Air Tanker to me.