Hey Fellow Rippers,
I'm looking for some help selecting a new snowboard. This winter I am headed for a week of riding in Utah! So exciting, I have heard mythical things about their POW.
So what snowboard(s) is ideal for this adventure? My tentative plan is to bring two or three boards, and softboots only. Here are my most appropriate resources:
A 157ish custom Donek Baker board (super-long eff. edge, competition nose & tail). This is a killer all-mountain board, and I'm very comfortable using it for jumps, rails, pipe, etc.
A 169 Atomic Radon. This is a massive powder board. Swallow tail, stiffer than a Kessler SBX board. It is most often deployed for my local mountain's annual pond skimming event.
I have recently noticed many snowboard young-bloods riding short & stubby powder boards; reminds me of a Snurfer... What's the consensus on these modern powder boards? Are these for slashy park rat kiddos who are yet to lay a trench? Or is this the new standard, and only a dinosaur would keep fighting their way through trees on a 169?
Please respond with recommendations for a new board! Let's say under $1k and less than a month ETA...
FYI, I'm 35 years old, 5'10" x 160lbs, been snowboarding since the 80's. I ride sz 10 Burton Boots, and have Burton Diode or X-Base bindings on all my softboot boards.