Any reason not to go 200+? [Boardlength]

[Neuffy]

Basically, I'm trying to decide if my next board should be 200+.

I'm 6'1" (186cm), and weigh 180-190 lbs.

For history - the only alpine board I've ever had is my Coiler AM177. I don't find it long at all.

I'm just wondering what the benefits and cons of a longer board would be.

From what I can see, longer would mean more edge grip, and more stability, with less ability to "swish," more problems on crowded hills, and you wouldn't want to go in trees with too much length.

Any thoughts?

[pebu]

It'll absorb the chop more, but at the same time, according to london dispersion forces, something that's longer is easier to break..

[GeoffV]

I love my 195 Donek it is my favorite board in my quiver (even over my Madd), but it isn't a board I can pull out on weekends. It is super stable at higher speeds and there is nothing like hooking up a carve on a long board, what an awesome feeling. . I know Todd Brown's board of choice is his 195 Donek as well. On a 195 you can still crank tight turns on but once you step up over 195 that isn't the case. Jumping to 200+ is a whole different animal, its like riding a bus, you could have half your board on ice but who cares since you still have the other half on hardpack :D, just carve through it. I have been on Todds 205, it was fun but not even close to as versitle as a 195.

[chadx]

Wow, we've gone molecular! Of course, I think pebu was just joking since the london dispersion forces have no bearing here. And as for being more prone to breaking, I'd disagree. Possibly more prone to getting the top sheet dinged by people in the lift line, but not weaker in any way than a shorter board (construction methods account for length).

I've wanted to try out a long board, too, but haven't been on anything outside my various 180s. It would be interesting to compare a 180 to a 200+ with the same waist, SCR, and 'effective' flex to see where the effects of length show up.

[pebu]

Of course the longer board will be made stronger.. But still, it's easier to get caught on stuff. I think it's the london dispersion force that says the longer the chain the easier it is to break... I was just bein a little silly anyways.

[Mr.E]

Length is by no means the deciding factor (alone).

The longest boards I have ridden are a 200 Tanker, 200 Coiler AM, 195 Coiler SuperG, 190 Rossi WCR, and my daily driver (when there are less rocks) 186 Coiler Pure Race. Oddly enough, I jumped from 164 to 186 without ever owning something in the middle (at the time), and took the 195 and tanker for a spin a few weeks later. The 190 I had for sometime when my quiver has about 4-6 boards from 182-190 (sold most of em off for an engagement ring, totally worth it).

The tanker is easy to flip around. It is wide, fairly flexy, and reasonably damp. I think the old one had like an 11m sidecut? It did take some time to set up in turns as its fairly wide.

My big 200 Coiler is stiffer, narrower, and has a 13m sidecut. Way less forgiving with a smaller sweet spot. Fun on the right day, but not a daily no brainer like the Tanker. The longer front end takes more oomph to bring around, and all that real estate in the back can get caught up on moguls, bumps, etc.

195 Coiler was damp as hell, had a 17m sidecut, and loved to lay it over. It also liked to lay it over with a much more down hill perspective, and had loads of taper to help deal with the back end and the high turn radius.

190 Rossi rode like a 180, damp and soft. It took almost no effort to ride the thing well. Odd exception to the longer takes more work theory.

186 Coiler is similar, but more lively (despite being very, very quiet). I can crank this thing around reasonably easily, but it still has a trail narrowness limit (for comfort). Sure, I can deal with cat tracks, but for really narrow trails I want to carve across, its not necessarily ideal.

I'd say take a realistic look at where you ride and the conditions. Is it hero cord with wide trails? Ride anything you like. If you ride narrower trails that get choppy, then boards over 185 start to get noticeable quickly, generally based on a combo of lenght, sidecut, stiffness and dampness. It seems silly for a daily ride to go that big without real reasons and comparison. I don't think your size has a ton of influence here considering you can have any size flex made to match. For comparison, my quiver goes down to 141cm. If you are in a position to own multiple boards, go for a huge beast, they are a fricken blast, and given my druthers, I wouldn't ride anything else. Thats said, conditions crap out, powder happens, crowds happen, I get tired, and I ride trails that contain narrow patches, trees, moguls, etc. I think a solid freecarve in the 168-180 range with a decent flex and a modest (9-13m) sidecut makes way more sense if you only have one board. I can say with some confidence that every one here that owns a 200 also has shorter rides.

[Pow]

Itd be a little unwieldy in narrow runs and crowds... itd be a great "perfect carving conditions" tool though:cool:

[Sinecure]

No reason whatsoever. Go for it.

Go big or go home.

Chicks dig the big stick.

Size matters.

Seriously, big boards are a blast. Just don't go too wide or it will weigh a ton and take ages to get from edge to edge (my experience with a big Tanker on piste after being used to narrower boards). Donek has a ton of big sizes already custom built for people. Look at the options there. Prices aren't bad considering what you are getting. Donek's big boards are hard to break. I've tried. Heck, I've even let others try.

[Neuffy]

Yeah, I'm primarily looking at Donek, seeing as a Tinkler is somewhat out of my price range. I'd certainly give Coiler a look seeing as I love the Coiler I currently have.

And yeah, I'm not really looking for a narrow-slope/crowded-slope board.

Ideally, I think I'd want something in the 200-230 range, with a sidecut of 14-17m. The idea of a board with a 18-20m sidecut is somewhat scary.

But then, I've never tried a board with a sidecut of >10.5m, so..what do I know?

Actually, on that note, does anybody in Alberta have a 190+ that I could try?

[nekdut]

You might want to try the "typical GS: 185cm 15m sidecut" board as an intermediary step. They're quite easy to find used and you can haul some serious ass on most of them.

[Neuffy]

Yeah, I know I could do the intermediate thing...but then if I decide I should have gone the rest of the way

I think probably trying out a long GS board first would probably settle the issue within a couple runs.

[nekdut]

I only suggested it because GS boards are quite common.

SG 190+cm are a bit harder to find.

Heck, get both!

[Michelle]

I happen to know of a guy that rode a 200+ all last year, and is riding a 220 (? - might be a few cm off) for testing this weekend. Inside scoop, you may say.

[Neuffy]

Unfortunately, financially, snowboarding cannot currently be my priority :(

I have tuition to pay, books to buy, and a trip to Europe next summer.

[ShortcutToMoncton]

Yeah, I definitely thought about just going huge and getting a 190+

this winter...but I ended up chickening out and going with a Prior 185 WCR. Ahhhhh, it was $550, I couldn't pass that up!

My new TD2s just got here today, so I've been avoiding studying for finals and playing with cant and lift pretty much the entire time. With Banff and Jasper getting dumped on...it should be a great winter.

greg

[Neuffy]

I have determined that I require Big Kahuna (Tinkler, 252 cm). I will have it (or an equivalency) assuming that the maker does not stop making snowboards before I can afford it.

252 cm...now that's right!

[BlueB]

Ideally, I think I'd want something in the 200-230 range, with a sidecut of 14-17m. The idea of a board with a 18-20m sidecut is somewhat scary.

But then, I've never tried a board with a sidecut of >10.5m, so..what do I know?

Why you even bother thinking about super long board/scr?

From what you stated above even a 12-13m scr would be a completely new world. Even a 178-185 race board would have a lot more edge than your AM and be fairly stiffer. Put an 13-16 scr with that = completely different ride than your current board.

One step at the time...

But then why not ;)

[Neuffy]

My last step was soft softboots with a soft 163 freeride board to AM177/Suzukas/TD2s.

I think that was about as big a step as is possible. And ... I found it perfect from the first run. Oh yeah, my softboots were too big.

[bobdea]

is fine but not all lond sticks are created equal, there is allot to be said for scr and flex

good luck but I think you'd be better off trying a madd 180 first to see if you can deal with a wide turning board before you add a huge amount of length

[Neuffy]

Oh, no. I'll certainly be trying a 15+ scr first. I just need to find somewhere to do so.

[freecarver]

Oh, no. I'll certainly be trying a 15+ scr first.

To be honest my Tinkler 203 has 15m SCR. When I press it is unbelievable how tight it can turns for it size.

IMHO go bigger the feelling of a bigger board is something you won't regret.

I had the same fear when I ordered mine that maybe is going to be to big for me and my riding but finally became my favourite.

The only down side that I can find is that it isn't the perfect board for weekends, It needs little bit of an extra space.

[chadx]

Over 200cm? ...just make sure you can fit it inside your car/truck or in your vehicle's rack shell or rack bag!

Unless you use an open air rack, then length would not be an issue. But then, I personally dislike open air vehicle racks because, as you drive, your boards are exposed to the weather, low flying grouse:D , rocks, salt, and road grime kicked up by the vehicle in front of you. Ick.:(

[Jon Dahl]

i can get my 188 Nitro swallowtail in my Audi 4000, just fold BOTH front seats down, insert board, insert second board on top of it, and raise the drivers seat back into position. Makes taking anyone else along a bit of a bitch, but who goes with me anyways?

[Jack M]

To be honest my Tinkler 203 has 15m SCR. When I press it is unbelievable how tight it can turns for it size.

I would say that if you're going to get a >2m board, you should get a big radius on it. My Madd 180 has a 16m radius and it needs no more length than 180. So putting a 15ish m radius on a 200 means you're hauling around a lot of extra lumber for nothing. Unless you're a real big dude and need the extra edge.

I've spent a few hours on Todd Brown's Donek 205 with the 18.5m radius, and it's awesome. Talk about "taking it to the next level". I wouldn't want to take it out on crowded or choppy days though. You have to make an appointment to hockey-stop it.

[~tb]

To echo what Geoff sid above. . . 195 is the way to go. Most versatile board I own period! Im a long board guy . . . I have a 205 (or 2) ridden some 210's. I have doneks in 175, 185, 185, 195, 205 and 205. The 175 is too short, the 185 is great, but just doesnt handle the high speed as well. I can do everything on my 195 that I can do on my 185, but it handles high speed and chop even better. The 205, though an absolute blast, is just a little unruly for the east coast (narrow runs and crowds). If I lived out west with wider, more open runs, I think I would be pushing for larger than 205.

Couple things to keep in mind.

205 is the largest board that fits in most of the long board bags such as the dakine dualy (making traveling with anything longer difficult).

205 is the longest board that fits inside of a WRX without putting the board up on the dash. (175 is the longest that fits behind the driver seat).

210 is the longest board that fit in several car top boxes.

Long story short. . . get a 195. its a great long board size. Anything above I feel is too mission specific. If you have a huge amount of money for several mission specific boards, sure, add a 200+ board to the list, but if you are looking for one specific board to add to the quiver that is longer, get the Donek 195 that Geoff has. It is definately my favorite board of all time (and I no longer have one. . . ).

~tb