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WTB AM/4x4/Axis/Madd BX


dshack

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  • 2 weeks later...
Hey, i am not sure if you have seen this one or not......its NOT mine btw.....

http://cgi.ebay.com/Prior-4x4-4WD-169-cm-Alpine-Snowboard_W0QQitemZ300172639682QQihZ020QQcategoryZ21250QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Hope it helps!

DShack, that is too wide for you, 23.5 cm, that's a good softboot width for you with your size 23.5 boots.

Your light weight and small feet make your life difficult when it comes to locating used alpine decks. Most of what's out there is going to be slalom decks, or older AM/FC decks with a slalom-ish sidecut. Chris's Prior 159 is an example of such a thing. If you want a moderate FC sidecut 10-11 m or worse yet a GS sidecut 13+ m there is little out there in a length and stiffness that's right for your size.

It is my personal opinion, and some may beg to differ, that the UP 162 that you already have may be a better choice than most of what you're going to find that fits your budget. The high end stuff ain't gonna help you if it's designed for someone 50 pounds heavier. The exception would be, if you are a prodigy of sorts, or once you have a ton of riding under your belt - for example Steve Prokopiw rides that Coiler he bought from me incredibly well, despite the fact that he's a number of pounds lighter than me. *But Steve has been riding for 20+ years, and not just a few trips a season*.

Just my $0.02. Unless the UP is just not working for you off of the gentle groomers in which case I'd give Chris Houghton's Prior 159 a serious look.

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The UP is pretty hard to handle off the groomers, in powder (19cm waist), and in choppy conditions. I basically figured that one of the 21.5-waisted AM's in the mid 160's would be way damper than the UP, a little floatier, and a little easier to push into small-radius turns at slow speeds. I was basically holding out to see whether someone might have a low-160's axis, a 165 or 169 stock-waist 4x4, or something along those lines. It's a bit of a long-shot, getting so specific, but those seem like pretty common lengths of pretty common models, so I figure someone's probably got one hanging around somewhere.

Chris's board seems like a great buy, but I'm used to carving on the 11m radius of the UP, and unless I'm mistaken, 8.5m seems small enough to preclude anything but very, very, tight, small turns.

It might be that I'm fixating too much on the all-mountain aspect, and that I would be better off just looking for a damp freecarve-ish board.

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Ah yes, this is why many of us has quivers ;)

Would an AM board be damper than your UP? If it's a Prior, Coiler, or Madd then probably. If it's a Donek then probably not.

Would it be floater? Yes, a 21.5 waist would be floater.

Would it be easier to push into a small-radius turn at low speeds? Yes, if it's softer, or if the sidecut radius were smaller, or both. (Would this help you off piste? Keep in mind that you're probably not carving off piste. There have been many, many discussions about the effects of sidecut radius off the groomed in the past. To summarize, the softer the snow, the less sidecut radius has to do with how easy the deck is to turn, and the more things like flex, length, node/tail shape come into play)

Anyhow... if you think that a deck with a smaller SCR is going to make you unhappy while carving I would think very carefully before selling your UP. And IMHO 11 is a *great* radius for a first carving deck.

The Axxess 162 is a relatively new size, I have yet to see one come up for sale used, anwteher.

The 4x4 in a 169 is going to be a lot of lumber to move around through MHM "powder" especially on the steeps such as Heather Canyon and in the trees such as those off of Jacob's Ladder until you get some mileage on you. The 164 will float better than your UP bu don't be suprised if it is still hard to handle at first. Again the 164 is a new size in that model so you may not see many of them used yet.

Can you keep your UP for carving and buy Chris's board for off-piste? I really think that's the way to go. Otherwise, it is almost certain that you will have to give up your 11m sidecut on your UP to find something that will work for yo off the groomed.

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