How many boards is "excessive?"

[Dan]

Well, I couldn't resist the lure of those bargain-basement eBay prices on the Original Sin 4807s - i should be getting mine next week. This is board #5 for me, leading to snide comments from my non-riding/non-carving friends like "how many can you use at one time?"

I'm defending myself like this: (purchases in chronological order)

Board 1: Arbor Munoz 162 - a freeride/tree-riding board. Also used to be my powder board (but no longer now that I'm getting a beautiful swallowtail powder monster).

Board 2: Original Sin Sinner 167 - the board I learned to ride alpine on, now I'm holding onto it as a loaner/rock board. It's on loan right now, as a matter of fact, to a softbooting friend that wanted to sample the dark side. Gotta love spreading the gospel through a little alpine evangelism.

Board 3: Oxygen Proton 172 - my primary alpine board, 'nuff said.

Board 4: Nidecker Next Step 152 - bought for $50 on eBay 'cause I thought it would be fun to have a short board. Maybe it would be, just not this short board. Looking to unload this one, which would bring me back down to 3.

Board 5: the afore mentioned Original Sin 4807 in a 178 length, this is going to be my new dedicated powder board.

I could see adding two more boards: a better slalom board than the nidecker turned out to be, and an Axis/4x4 style free carve board in the high 160s.

Is six or seven boards too many? When does a board acquisition habit cross the line from "gearhead" to "packrat?"

-Dan

[NateW]

Stuff I have:

• CustomCraft 170x23, 10m
  
• Coiler 174x21,13m
  

On the way:

• Coiler 174x17, 11.5m
  

Stuff I need:

• TBD 180ish, ?, 12ish
  
• TBD 185ish, ?, 15-16
  

Specs for the next boards depend on how I feel about the one that's on the way. Width is totally up in the air. But when I have all of these things, my life will be complete, and I'll be able to die happy.

Every time I feel the urge to chide my girlfriend about her coats and shoes, I have to remember my snowboard fetish.

[slopetool]

Its only excessive if you still owe money on "the quiver".

If they are all paid off and you still have empty space to fill and see something that looks like fun, just buy it.

My days of having just one great all-around board are over. Some boards just need to be retired and replaced. Then its hard to sell them or hand them down to a friendly beginner who could inflict damage on the poor things. Its best to find excuses now to explain to friends and family so when the topic comes up you can avoid any problems. Or hand them an asyemetrical, and go "here, you ride it then" gotta have them toys, especially if you can't pass up a great deal. Ignore the wife and girlfriend - or buy them a few boards too so they will feel special.

I've found it best to have about 5 boards, ready and waxed at all times, then take at least 3 with me to the mountain and chose once I get up there. Go back to the truck and switch out between safety breaks. Gotta be safe, fellas!

[420calvin]

My quiver:

RadAir Tanker 182 - carving

Burton Supermodel 173 - open powder

Burton S-Series splitboard 170 - off-piste

Arbor Mickey Munoz 170 - all arounder

O-Sin 4807 168 - treed pow

K2 Instinct 165 - all around rally racer

Rossignol Levitation 161 - Cascades spring corn machine

And I still want to buy a Prior MFR 168, which will replace my Arbor and make it the rock board. That will put me at 8 boards. And I could still use a super long swallowtail for wide open pow. Yes, I'm a dumbass. Yes, each one gets ridden lots and lots.

Now don't get me started about binders...

My fiancee definitely thinks I have a problem. She can't understand it, probably for the same reason she can't understand why I need 3 or 4 bikes - singlespeed, full boinger, commuter, fixed... I keep telling her, it's all about the right tool for the job!

[Guest Mark Jeangerard]

Lesee....

161 Donek Wide - My only soft setup and I love it.

164 Burton Ultra Prime - Thought I was gonna race slalom, but didn't. Now a lender to students.

167 Burton Factory Prime - Maybe the single best cut ever. Handles like a peach.

168 Burton Supermodel - Soft, fun, rock board.

172 Burton Factory Prime - Holds no matter what.

181 Burton Super Model - Steep, deep powdery trees w/plates and boots in 'walk' mode... hummina hummina. :-) :-) :-)

185 Prior WCR - Holds no matter what, and then some.

56" Dregs Supertanker - Ran/Kryp

46" Sector Nine Bomber - Ran/Kryp

44" Landyachtz RIV - Ran/Ab11

44" Fibreflex Pintail - Ran/Kryp

38.75" Alva Blue Cadillac(?) - Ran/Kryp

36" Alva Black Cadillac - GK/Powl

31" Pooltool Mark I - GK/Powl

30" Pooltool Mark II - GK/Powl

39" Pooltool Slalom - Thun/AB11

Absolute next buys:

195 Donek SG - Rode Todd's Heeeee....

182 Donek FC Custom - A longer, narrow(175), board with a smaller side cut, maybe in the 12.5m range.

000-16GT Martin 6 string - I know, it's a guitar but it blows my D-28 off the slopes. Might come before the custom Donek.

3 whole pairs of TDIIs. Non step-in.

....so, I guess that comes out to be about 30....

30 is too many.

No... 40.

[gdboytyler]

Currently own:

Donek Incline 160

Burton Balance 152

Burton Supermodel 161

Burton Alp 157

On the way:

Oxygen Proton GS 164 - just bought it on EBay and hopefully, I'll be riding it this weekend.

For the past two seasons, I was only riding the Donek(hard boots) for all mountain and the Balance (softboots) for the pipe/park. The Alp was just gathering dust and the Supermodel was my loaner/powder/rock board.

I bought the Proton for its 13m sidecut radius for doing Eurocarves.

For a guy that only averages 12 days per season, 5 boards is definately excessive. If I can sell my Alp and trim the quiver down to 4, that will be just the right size.

[Guest dragonfly jones]

Bola only has that many cause he works in a shop! Lucky man!

let me think,

Nidecker gs 183,

Custom 186, Custom 180, Custom 162, Custom 171

Rossi slalom 156, Hot Blast 168, Hot Logical 163

Burton PJ 5, Wild Duck - 171

Rad Air Tanker 192, Rad Air Tanker 162, Rad Air Hornet 163

Smelly Tuna 163

I know I am missing a loaned out board or two.

I like snowboards.

[Gecko]

Originally posted by Mark Jeangerard

Lesee....

56" Dregs Supertanker - Ran/Kryp

46" Sector Nine Bomber - Ran/Kryp

44" Landyachtz RIV - Ran/Ab11

44" Fibreflex Pintail - Ran/Kryp

38.75" Alva Blue Cadillac(?) - Ran/Kryp

36" Alva Black Cadillac - GK/Powl

31" Pooltool Mark I - GK/Powl

30" Pooltool Mark II - GK/Powl

39" Pooltool Slalom - Thun/AB11

Vision HotRod 44"Pin, Ran/RR

Homemade 56"Pin, Indy215/AB11

Roskop 32" Indy169/Spit94

Natural Koncepts 33" JAGK/Spit 101 (pools)

Natural Koncepts 33" JAGK/Spit 95 (ramp)

Element Natas 32" Indy169/Spit 99 (street)

DeathBox TMag JAGK/Spit 95

Only one Snowboard at present my quiver of 3 was stolen

Flite 163

[ssteff]

hello,

1)Mboo alpine 1989

2)MBOO race 171

3)HOT BLAST 160

4)HOT BLAST 176

5)Generics 160 freerider.

BUT: actually i really need a freecarver COILER 176 or a DONEK freecarve 176, and an AXIS 4x4, and i don't wanna change the bindings each time.., and if i have stiff boots, i really like softer and more comfortable ones, and if i have softer boots, i mis the stiffnes of harder ones...

AND:I want to try a swoard!

But for the moment i'm happy with the BLAST 176 and BLAST 160

;)

[Guest pcogan]

i am delighted to see so many folks with so many boards. naturally, my wife thinks i'm over the top, but based on what i see posted, i'm doing just fine.

4 primary carve boards

174 nidecker

178 volkl

183 nidecker

188 sims burner

assorted all mountain boards (6)

i tell folks i'm on a 12 step program and leave it at that

[Mike T]

My wife teases me about my passion for collecting equipment, which is ironic , because right now, she has five boards to my four! However one of hers is retired, so I guess technically we are even. And I sold three boards this year.

Mine:

Coiler PR 184

Donek Axis 172

Donek Incline 168 (rock board)

Donek Wide 161 (softies)

Hers:

Coiler FC 165

(2) Donek Incline 150 (one is her rock board)

Burton Feelgood 155

Burton Freedom 153 (decommissioned)

Now, if only her collarbone would finish healing so she could try out her new Coiler!

[Neil Gendzwill]

Originally posted by bola

You have to have a Seismic trucks on one of these babies; ABEC 11 is also a must before they disappear.

Whoah! Is Chris folding up Abec11 or something? I confess I haven't been to any of the slalom or longboarding sites for a while, too much snow/cold here to think of skating.

[420calvin]

okay now we've all convinced ourselves and each other that we are NOT excessive in board buying. :) how about storage?

i built a home storage system out of 2x4's and large dowels. the 2x4's are vertical on the wall about 50cm apart w/ the dowels inserted end-first into the 2x4's every 12 inches or so. the boards are stacked on the dowels horizontally.

problem i have is that i need to stack boards on top of each other, and i worry that it's not good for them. especially when they've got bindings mounted and they're upside down -- you can actually see the board bowing in the center when it's on the shelf. i'm not sure if this can do any harm or not...?

[Mike Tokar]

Can you have too many paintings in an art gallery? For those of us that aren't blessed with the lifestyle that lets us ride every day, the spousal justification process for multiple boards becomes more difficult. I used the "art collector" approach, and also the "jewelry analogy". Why do you need more than one necklace if all you have is one neck? (Mr. T could ruin that argument)

Each of my boards has a story, a history, and a purpose. Some I sold and then bought back years later.

Since we're listing:

Snurfer

Skifer (Nash knockoff of the Snurfer)

Burton Backhill

Burton Elite 150

Burton Safari 175

Burton Kelly Slopestyle 171

Burton Alp 169

Agression (Volant) 173

Burton Factory Prime 185

Coiler All Mtn 177

Coiler Pure Race 196

Burton Supermodel 181

I mostly ride the Coiler All Mtn - it truly does it all. If I had to have just one board, that would be it.

I need more time and more bindings!!!

MT

[boostertwo]

<B>Q:</B> How many boards does a rider need before he finally has enough?

<B>A:</B> Just one more.

[Guest Mark Jeangerard]

I also use the dowel system and hang all the boards upside down for camber purposes. When I stack them the binding come off the top one. I also blow through a brick of rental wax in the spring hotscraping and summer coating. So far... so good.

I was present at a conversation that Chris Chapput and a group of skaters were having in Sept. 2003 at the Sandia Downhill. We asked why he didn't bring any Flywheels. He explained that he had stopped making them (at that time, already) but the new Flywheel was on the way. So the older style that are out there but not coming from Abec11, they're in the shops. Buy 'em if you need 'em.

I can't remebmer exactly because I wasn't listening carefully, but it may have been a horror story like: The company that was pooring the thane legally owned the mold and stole the shape from Chris. Anyone know the story?

[Mike T]

Originally posted by Mark Jeangerard

I also use the dowel system and hang all the boards upside down for camber purposes. When I stack them the binding come off the top one. I also blow through a brick of rental wax in the spring hotscraping and summer coating. So far... so good.

Likewise here... the "family quiver" is proudly displayed in the family room. I generally take bindings off after riding, wax, and then scrape and remout the night before I go riding again. I've had a few boards in that rack for three years now, and noticed no problems with the cores at all.