Board Characteristics & Specs

[V*L*A*D]

... close-

old and very effective ski racing training trick, which is even more functional for alpine board training, as we boarders don't enjoy the ripcord luxury of variable stance throughout a turn.

it's great to teach one's self how to keep the pressure, consistently, even across the length of one's foot.......

[lonerider]

another interesting conclusion: women's specific boards arent necessarily better for women. The Push got raved about by magazines, yet from your post it seems the push might be the one board you could do without. You have a board you prefer in the park, the mystic, and a board that you seem to prefer for charging the mountain, the crossbow. the Push has fallen through the cracks! Next time I take my girlfriend snowboard shopping, I think I'll have to keep your post in mind.

About the Women's Specific board Pow - women specific boards created for people with certain physical traits - i.e. smaller feet and lower bmis and muscle mass. Bamboo Girl is taller and heavier (and probably stronger) than you or me (5'10 170 lbs) so it's not surprising that she is overpowering her 156 women's board with a short sidecut, especially since she is right on the high end of the recommended weight range. Personally, I don't think any board with a sidecut of less than 8m (Push 156 is 7.6) carves very well at speed.

I don't know much about the Arbor Push, but I think Bamboo Girl's experiences that board model will not be useful for your gf unless she is the same height/weight; so I think you are a bit hasty in your judgment of the Push

[Guest Bamboo_Girl]

Hmmm, how to put it? Yeah, that's what I'm thinking of but let me try anyway.

I'm certainly all in favor of the idea of women's boards. There is no question that some of us have smaller feet and may be shorter in stature. What I don't like though, is that the boards out there are soft and shorter comparitively to what the guys have available.

It's as if, the target demographic for most board makers is one or more of these: a) teenagers, b) small/petite, c) dedicated freestylers, particularly those into rails/boxes/tabletops.

I rode with several of my friends yesterday and none of us fit that hypothetical demographic. There I was, riding the Mystic, a guy's freestyle deck, and it was easily stiffer than any of my friend's boards. I tried my friend's Gnu Rider's Choice and that was like a pogo stick, although I could wheelie it higher/longer than anything I've ridden before! Yet ironically, I was the only one of all of us, who was playing in the park. Worthy of note, is that the Mystic is wide enough for me to comfortably ride in a duck stance with no overhang. It also handled 14" of fresh powder better than the Push did, this despite a centered stance.

When I was on the Crossbow it just wasn't funny, not a single one of my friends could even keep me in sight for any length of time.

Having talked to the better women instructors and riders I've seen, the conclusion seems to be that most of us are riding men's boards. Yes I know Victoria Jealouse, Anne-Flore Marxer, Torah Bright etc seem to be riding mainstream (Burton, etc) boards, but then they are obviously elite, (light year beyond the skill level I'll ever attain) and possibly the boards they ride are different than what you get at the store. Anne is something like 5'7 130", and Torah is all of 5'3" maybe, 115 lbs - so where those dimensions sound realistic for say, women in high school, I'm not so sure it works in the real world for those of us say, over 18, etc!

What I'd like to see are women's versions of something like the Crossbow or A-Frame, with a range of sizes to accomodate not just, smaller or younger or less aggressive riders or diehard park monekys. 156 is basically the longest size I've seen in women's board. So ask yourself, how small you'd have to be for a 156 to be the ideal length say for, riding powder? Now think about waist width, the widest I've seen is 24.2 - how large could your feet be before you have overhang on that width with low binding angles?

My technique? Oh I'm sure it could be better, no question. With 3 months of riding behind me, I could improve drastically on just about all aspects of snowboarding!

Anyway, maybe a bunch of nonsense on my part. I'd just like to see more seriousness and variety in women's boards to address a realistic range of sizes, dimenions, and riding styles.

[D-Sub]

BG, when you start looking at boards, look at steepwater. I dont know the specs on their lady board, but I'll bet you could ride the 164 and have a blast. The "steep" 164 is only around 24cm wide, too.

[zoom]

BG, I think you're on to something with men's boards. The women's board market is aimed at smaller/tiny, entry level riders. They're great for girls who are new to the sport, but they aren't up to the demands of a more aggressive rider.

My first board (I'm 5'4", 135 lbs, itty bitty feet) was a pretty, friendly noodle. It suited me well for my first several days. My friend at the local board shop warned me that I wouldn't be happy with another women's deck. I ignored him and paid almost retail for a Nitro Black Widow (for "aggressive women" - rarrrr) which I only rode until I stepped on my boyfriend's Rossi Premier 159. The Rossi was way more fun, and it was actually easier to ride at speed, on steeps, etc. I've been on "men's" boards ever since.

Basically, the board has no idea that you're a chick. ;)

[lonerider]

What I'd like to see are women's versions of something like the Crossbow or A-Frame, with a range of sizes to accomodate not just, smaller or younger or less aggressive riders or diehard park monekys. 156 is basically the longest size I've seen in women's board. So ask yourself, how small you'd have to be for a 156 to be the ideal length say for, riding powder? Now think about waist width, the widest I've seen is 24.2 - how large could your feet be before you have overhang on that width with low binding angles?

Yes, you are right... women's boards top out for a woman who is say 5'8" 150 lbs at most, after that I guess the assumption is that you can ride men's boards as in reality women's boards are generally men's boards adapted for women's dimensions (narrower waist for smaller feet and softer flex for less muscle mass).

You should look at Venture Snowboards - I've heard good things from them and all of their boards come in narrow/medium/wide widths. Here is a blurb from their PHILOSOPHY Page.

We don't make "women's-specific" boards for good reason: there's no such thing. Sex is of no consequence when choosing a snowboard. The factors that matter are height, weight, boot size, and riding style. The rest is just marketing hype.

As women take to the snow in greater numbers, we need solid equipment that's up for every challenge. We need less hype and more performance. We need boards that ride as hard as we do.

Venture delivers all of this, and offers three different widths in every model. This means ladies can get narrower, more responsive boards, and maximum power for carving turns, stomping landings, and ruling anything we choose to ride.