Rad-Air Reto Lamm 156 question

[Guest needanswer]

hi,

anybody got specs on the Rad-Air Reto Lamm LSD Vessel 156?

saw it on exoticboards.

I want it as part of my soft setup.

would the Reto be a good match for me?

• 140lbs 5'6"
  
• size 9 burton rulers boot 33*/30*
  
• burton mission bindings
  
• need it as all around board
  
• no off-piste
  
• must be able to do skidded turns for weekend crowded days
  
• main purpose: steady carves at moderate speed / surfy
  

I saw many rave reviews on tanker or ATV or MFR, but they seems too big and stiff for my size and requirements. I appreciate other suggestions too.

thanks.

[Neil Gendzwill]

If you go to freecarve.com and search for rad-air there, you'll find some advice from PSR on the various boards. IIRC the Retos are very stiff freeride boards, more or less BX boards. At your weight I'm sure you could easily handle the shorter Tankers but I'm not sure how the 156 would stack up against them. Searching here for advice will also be useful. I think the word "rocket" is used more than once to describe them.

[Buell]

I do not have the specs, but for what you want it for, it looks like a great match. Lots of camber, somewhere around an 8.5 sidecut, rather stiff, poor in powder, carves really well. It is designed as a rocket with air intakes and jet engines at the tail.

If you use the search function, you can find some opinions on the 164 and 156 Reto from previous discussions.

[lonerider]

hi,

anybody got specs on the Rad-Air Reto Lamm LSD Vessel 156?

saw it on exoticboards.

I want it as part of my soft setup.

would the Reto be a good match for me?

• 140lbs 5'6"
  
• size 9 burton rulers boot 33*/30*
  
• burton mission bindings
  
• need it as all around board
  
• no off-piste
  
• must be able to do skidded turns for weekend crowded days
  
• main purpose: steady carves at moderate speed / surfy
  

I saw many rave reviews on tanker or ATV or MFR, but they seems too big and stiff for my size and requirements. I appreciate other suggestions too.

thanks.

Hi Needanswer, I'm 5'8" 145 lbs and I've owned both the Rad Air Reto Lamm LSD 156 and the 04/05 Rad Air Tanker 172. I believe board have about a 9m sidecut radius, good for big wide S-carves down blue/black runs. Both are easy to skid when the slopes are crowded.

The Reto is like a BX board and likes to be ridden hard and fast. It will unflinchingly carve you through crud, frozen hardpack, ice, etc - with a lot of speed. Is is sonmewhat damp, but still lets you feel the snow a bit. The Tanker is softer and much more plush a ride (like a Cadillac) - letting you cruise through down the slopes at the speed you want with mellow carves. Don't let the 172 length of the Tanker scare you, it is very light (lighter than more 155cm boards) and easier to handle.

How many years snowboarding experience do you have? I get the impression that you are relatively new to carving. That would make me lead you away from the the Reto. The mellower Tanker might be better. Although you said "steady carves" and "surfy" - what do you mean by that? I personally like to do full S-turns down a blue/blue slope where I'm cutting across the fall-line after each carve. What about you?

Other boards I would recommend at the Madd TT158 with regular SS construction (www.madd1.com) or Madd FR155 SS. Those boards have a very smooth mellow flex that is easy to handle, and yet still has incredible edgehold on frozen hardpack and ice that usually requires a much more stiff flex to get. They are damp so don't feel any chatter at speed, but have a lively pop to them which less you get snap from edge to edge.

To review stiffness wise I would saw Madd FR155 < Madd TT158 < Tanker 172 < Reto 156.

I have also ridden the Prior MFR 158, AMF 155, Khyber 156, Khyber 160, Khyber 160 split, and WCR-M 178. In the Donek line-up I have ridden the Incline 155 (ultra-stiff carving machine), and Phoenix 155 (tight turning all-around board).

[Bobby Buggs]

I have a LSD 156 I dont need

[Bobby Buggs]

[Guest needanswer]

Tanker is softer and much more plush a ride (like a Cadillac) - letting you cruise through down the slopes at the speed you want with mellow carves. Don't let the 172 length of the Tanker scare you, it is very light (lighter than more 155cm boards) and easier to handle.

Thanks for all the info! from your description . I think Tanker is more appropriate.

I'm definitely not looking for a rocket. what's the smallest Tanker they make? would it fit my size 9 at 33*/30*?

How many years snowboarding experience do you have? I get the impression that you are relatively new to carving. That would make me lead you away from the the Reto. The mellower Tanker might be better. Although you said "steady carves" and "surfy" - what do you mean by that? I personally like to do full S-turns down a blue/blue slope where I'm cutting across the fall-line after each carve. What about you?

yes, I perfer full S-turns , but for narrow shutes or crowded areas, I need a board that can do quick small push-pull (surfy) turns.

Other boards I would recommend at the Madd TT158 with regular SS construction (www.madd1.com) or Madd FR155 SS. Those boards have a very smooth mellow flex that is easy to handle, and yet still has incredible edgehold on frozen hardpack and ice that usually requires a much more stiff flex to get. They are damp so don't feel any chatter at speed, but have a lively pop to them which less you get snap from edge to edge.

To review stiffness wise I would saw Madd FR155 < Madd TT158 < Tanker 172 < Reto 156.

I check out the site , they have a FR/FS borad , is that what you're referring to?

I have also ridden the Prior MFR 158, AMF 155, Khyber 156, Khyber 160, Khyber 160 split, and WCR-M 178. In the Donek line-up I have ridden the Incline 155 (ultra-stiff carving machine), and Phoenix 155 (tight turning all-around board).

how do the PRIOR MFR, PRIOR ATV , Donek Phoenix compare to Madd FR155, Madd TT158 , Tanker 172 ?

thanks.

[lonerider]

Thanks for all the info! from your description . I think Tanker is more appropriate. I'm definitely not looking for a rocket. what's the smallest Tanker they make? would it fit my size 9 at 33*/30*?

Currently the smallest they make is a 167W or a 172 regular width. The Wide is 27.5 which I think will be too wide for you. The waist on the 06/07 is 25.8cm, but the waist on my 04/05 is 25.0cm. I think with such high angles you should be fine. I have size 7 feet, but I ride 15*, 0* angles on it.

yes, I prefer full S-turns , but for narrow shutes or crowded areas, I need a board that can do quick small push-pull (surfy) turns.

I check out the site , they have a FR/FS board , is that what you're referring to?

Right, the Madd FR/FS155 SS. The Tanker is also good for mellow S-turns (not for gut in your shoes high G-turns) and can easily do some quick cross-under turns in crowded/narrower runs.

how do the PRIOR MFR, PRIOR ATV , Donek Phoenix compare to Madd FR155, Madd TT158 , Tanker 172 ?

thanks.

The Prior MFR158 and 4WD174 (I haven't ridden the ATV, but I'm pretty sure it rides like a hybrid of the two) are also very damp boards that are designed to handle the variable snow conditions that occur at Whistler (where the boards are made). That's slushy, chunky snow at the bottom of the mountain, frozen crud at mid mountain, and then tasty soft powder at the top. They are almost as smooth as the Tanker, but have more life and pop out of the tail. They have less edgehold in firm conditions than the Madds (which are made in Boston, where there is a lot of ice and firm hardpark) and don't quite have as much pop to them (Madds are like trampolines). As you can tell, I like the Madds boards better than Priors overall. The Prior do roll over wet, sloppy conditions with less bounch, but the Madd are still very good at that, plus the Madd have no chatter on firm stuff.

The Donek Phoenix comes from a totally different direction than the Priors and Madds. It focuses primarily on liveliness and fast response. It has a lot of snow feel and a very quick edge to edge feel due to its torsional rigidity (not as much as the Incline though). Taken off-piste is it very easy to handle in powder, trees, bumps, anything (which the longitudinally and torsionally stiff Incline is not). Again, this is my opinion, but I feel like it carves the best in well-groomed slopes that exist in Colorado where it was made. When the grooming is not so good, I found the liveliness to be a bit tiring as it would hop and bite into any ruts or bumps in the run. I also found it to be a little tight turning because of the shorter sidecut of the Phoenix (I had a 155 - which was so light and quick turning, it felt like a 150, would go up to 160 if I had the chance).

[Yard Sale]

I've got the 164 LSD.

need it as all around board

no off-piste

must be able to do skidded turns for weekend crowded days

main purpose: steady carves at moderate speed / surfy

No problem with all of the above.

likes to be ridden hard and fast. It will unflinchingly carve you through crud, frozen hardpack, ice, etc - with a lot of speed. Is is sonmewhat damp, but still lets you feel the snow a bit.

I concur, and I will add that it does this in soft boots or hard boots. It is very eager to carve, but you can still keep it off the edges and kick the tail around and skid.

The only problem is I use it as an "in-between" board; I have a powder board, I have groom boards, and this is for the in-between days. Consequently, it doesn't see much use.

[BlueB]

My Tanker 192 rides quite similar to 4WD 174, but it's slower edge to edge due to width. It likes to be surfed, but you still can carve a full C shaped G turn. It is very turny for a bord of that size. I guess 172 wont have quite the edge hold of big Tankers and its wider than 192 (narrowest of Tanker line up, 24.2cm). I guess still great choice for rider of your size.

Dave's stiffened ATV just blown me away by versatility and funn factor. For your lighter weight the stock version would be good. Keep in mind that it's narrower (23.5) than Tankers/Retos and it's mostly a hard boot board.