Tahoe area board advice

[Furi]

Hey guys!

Long time lurker here since I found this site, its been a great source of information. I was wondering if I could get some advice on a new board for this season. Any insight/thoughts are appreciated!

weight: 165 (no gear)

height: 5.9

boot: 32 forecast size 9

binder: nidecker carbon 900

board: ride timeless 161, unity pride 159

I mostly ride lake tahoe area with a few trips each year to CO, Utah, BC. I would really like to get a new board since my timeless is on its last legs.

I don't ride the pipe or the park, I mostly ride groomers since we try to stay together with a varied ability group. Some days a few of us split off and do some backcountry (nothing extreme, just tame short hikes), trees runs (on-piste), and powder. I stay away from moguls as well. I do some jumps, but mostly natural kickers and will maybe spin if im feeling adventurous :) I really like to carve smooth turns and like controlled speed runs. Hope that sums up my riding style well enough.

Based on my research from reading posts here I have this short list. I'm trying to stay around 500ish and need something that is generally available now since I have several CO trips planned for early Jan.

Donek Phoenix 160

05/06 Tanker 172

I also considered the donek incline wide but with the softer and always changing tahoe snow this might not be a good fit. Plus I'm a bit worried about its ability in the trees and pow.

Any advice on which board would be better suited for the tahoe conditions? I've never ridden a 172, but it seems like you guys says it rides smaller so I shouldnt worry about it?

thanks again for your time and looking forward to your comments!

[RDY_2_Carve]

So it sounds like you want a freestyle (twin-tip) board and not an alpine board?

Looks like you got the softboot setups already...why not invest in a HB setup?

[lonerider]

Hey guys!

Long time lurker here since I found this site, its been a great source of information. I was wondering if I could get some advice on a new board for this season. Any insight/thoughts are appreciated!

weight: 165 (no gear)

height: 5.9

boot: 32 forecast size 9

binder: nidecker carbon 900

board: ride timeless 161, unity pride 159

I mostly ride lake tahoe area with a few trips each year to CO, Utah, BC. I would really like to get a new board since my timeless is on its last legs.

I don't ride the pipe or the park, I mostly ride groomers since we try to stay together with a varied ability group. Some days a few of us split off and do some backcountry (nothing extreme, just tame short hikes), trees runs (on-piste), and powder. I stay away from moguls as well. I do some jumps, but mostly natural kickers and will maybe spin if im feeling adventurous :) I really like to carve smooth turns and like controlled speed runs. Hope that sums up my riding style well enough.

Based on my research from reading posts here I have this short list. I'm trying to stay around 500ish and need something that is generally available now since I have several CO trips planned for early Jan.

Donek Phoenix 160

05/06 Tanker 172

I also considered the donek incline wide but with the softer and always changing tahoe snow this might not be a good fit. Plus I'm a bit worried about its ability in the trees and pow.

Any advice on which board would be better suited for the tahoe conditions? I've never ridden a 172, but it seems like you guys says it rides smaller so I shouldnt worry about it?

thanks again for your time and looking forward to your comments!

Hey... RDY_2_Carve... I thought we weren't suppose to blatantly tell anyone who wanted general advice to buy a hardboot setup... wait... did the memo say "regardless of question... suggest alpine setup!!!" damn i keep mixing that up!

Back to topic... nice setup... I have a very similar setup I'm 5'9" 145 lbs, I ride 32 Forecast size 8 and Nidecker 800 Pros. I have ridden a Timeless 152 and owned the Donek Phoenix 155 and Incline 155 and 05/06 Tanker 172 and ride at Tahoe... so I think I'm about as best qualified to answer your questions as you can be.

First to confirm your doubt about the Donek Wide. Yes, I found the Incline to be tough in soft snow and difficult to flex and snake between trees, I suspect the Wide is similar. The Incline also had very little floatation, even in the heavy Sierra powder (I hear the Wide is better).

So between the Phoenix and the Tanker it depends a lot on your preference.

The Phoenix is a very fun board, great on groomers, great on jumps, great in powder. It is very light and feels very short (my 155 felt like a 150 in weight... I might have been happier with the 160). It is a very lively board with good snap out of the tail.

The Tanker is also a fun board, even better on groomers (mainly because of the extra length) and much more damp... you can blast though virtually any type of snow... or various conditions from wet/soft to frozen/firm with out a problem. The bigger length makes straights air very easy to land... (spins are not hard either once you adjust to the higher swing weight of a 172cm board) but jump turns get a *little* more difficult although the Tankers are VERY light for their weight and only in the tight trees and narrow chutes do you feel a little unwieldy. What I didn't like about the Tankers is the relatively dead tail... there is very little pop out of it and that's half the fun of riding for me. Trampolining dynamically from carve to carve (with that weightless feeling in the middle)... ollieing over stuff... etc. However... if you are more of a lasering down the slope type of guy, the Tanker is an excellent board for you.

Another two boards to consider are the Madd TT158 or FR/FS 162 and the Rad Air Reto Lam LSD 156 or 164 (there are a few used ones that go around this forum as Rad Air doesn't make them any more). Both the Madd and Reto and CARVE up the groomers in all conditions. Both are damp and can handle soft or firm snow. Both have a LOT of pop. Both will float as well in powder as your current boards... but perhaps not quite as well as the Tanker. The Madd are slightly easier to run in the trees than the Reto Lamm or the Tanker. For you... if you stay on piste more... maybe the Reto 164 although I think the Madds are very very good (if they only made a 152 TT I would love to ride that in the park). They have a 30-day return policy if you ride the board and you immediately realize it is not for you (obvious it has to be in near mint condition... no trashing it for a week and then saying you didn't like it). I've owned two Madd TT158's and a Madd 170 f2 alpine board.

Let me know if you have any questions and realize that my preferences might not be your preferences.

[Cindy Kleh]

welcome To The Bomber Community!

[Furi]

So it sounds like you want a freestyle (twin-tip) board and not an alpine board?

Looks like you got the softboot setups already...why not invest in a HB setup?

Rdy_2_carve - I would like to get into a hardboot setup, hopefully start getting some equipment at the end of the 08 season. But for this season I really need to stick with softboots. Hopefully I'll be able to get a HB carving setup going next year and sell off the softie boards and just keep the SB for the pow days.

Cindy - thanks :) glad to be here!

Lonerider - glad you responded :) I was hoping you would since from reading most of your posts you had alot of experience with tahoe and the boards :) In fact most of my short list was based off threads you were on heh.

Sounds like I'm right in between those boards. The tanker really interests me because it's damp and has the larger sidecut for carving. I wonder how is the stiffness compared to the phoenix?

I guess it comes down to either lively board with good tail snap, or a more damp ride with a dead tail. Hmm, so a question for you - does the tanker suffer from a slower edge to edge trans then the phoenix? Does it make the tanker feel like it needs make larger sweeping turns? Or is it fairly responsive and quick?

[DiveBomber]

Furi, Just curious but what would you define as versatility?

[Furi]

hmm good question.

I guess thats tough to give a cookie cutter definition the more I think about it.

Tahoe snow is pretty consistent in the early season. Well expect for 2 years ago when we had huge powder dumps all the way to april. But during a normal season the snow is usually nice and firm up until Feb or so. After that you get harder snow in the mornings and really wet and mushy snow in the afternoons. Plus the conditions in the afternoon get even more washed out if its a busy weekend. Then you get the random huge dump days (last season was pretty dry though).

I like to think of a versatile board as something I can ride the whole season in those snow conditions. I realize you'll never get a board that is perfect for the whole season and one of these years I should probably buy a few boards to handle the changing days better.

For terran thats a bit easier for me at least, I don't ride the park or the pipe, no moguls, no crazy narrow chutes - so I'm mainly concerned with a board that can perform well on the fresh groomed runs, but also handle the powder stashes in the trees and light backcountry duty. Our little group will hang out on blues until the better riders get bored and then we break off and find the steeper runs, the powder stashes, and the trees. So my day might start off with wanting to bomb or carve trenches on the blues or easier blacks, then later on move towards trees or spend the rest of the day hiking and hunting for powder.

descriptive enough? I tend to be long winded :)

[DiveBomber]

Well you can do all that in hard boots, and more comefortably I might add, The ONLY reason I still have soft boots is for park/pipe practice/SBX(when needed) But I'm taking my hard boots into the park too(well I already do, but more so)

Frankly when i get back into my soft boots,(malamutes/Co2) it just feels weird

[bobdea]

\

For terran thats a bit easier for me at least, I don't ride the park or the pipe, no moguls, no crazy narrow chutes - so I'm mainly concerned with a board that can perform well on the fresh groomed runs, but also handle the powder stashes in the trees and light backcountry duty. Our little group will hang out on blues until the better riders get bored and then we break off and find the steeper runs, the powder stashes, and the trees. So my day might start off with wanting to bomb or carve trenches on the blues or easier blacks, then later on move towards trees or spend the rest of the day hiking and hunting for powder.

descriptive enough? I tend to be long winded :)

man, sounds like you want a Tanker to me.

[Jrobb]

Furi, are you set on either a Phoenix or a Tanker?

If so go with the tanker.

J

[D.T.]

Anyone know the SCR on the 05/06 172cm Tanker? I am guessing it will be larger than the 8.5 m radius on the Phoenix.

Furi - not knowing your riding style, abilities or knowledge, be aware that comparing the SCR's, generally speaking, the Tanker will want to make larger turns down the fall line, typically with more speed. It may spook you the first time or two on the hill. With good technique, the Tanker will rip anywhere. You will find lots of Tanker lovers here. Several friends and I use our Tankers (smallest is a 187w) for everything (trees, bumps, hiking the steeps...).

I presume you are looking at the Tanker on exoticboards.com. RJ is a great person to deal with!!!!

No, my intent is not to bash Donek in any way, just express my love for the Tankers. :D Personally, I would choose the Tanker.

Since you are in the Tahoe area, you may also consider local builder Steepwater. I loved my 171cm Plow, but it was not long enough to float my 210lbs, resulting in several "over-the-bars" situations. :(

[BlueB]

It's a power demon that still rails like crazy on groomed. Didn't try it on frozen, though.

It rides trees and pow like Fish and rails like smaller 4807 or smaller Tankers.

9m scr on 163, 9.5m on 169. It's a bit livlier then Tanker.

[carvedog]

man, sounds like you want a Tanker to me.

I was kind of thinking the same thing. as everyone I talk to about finding another Frontier for very similar type of riding says don't be a wanker, try a Tanker.

[Furi]

All -

Thanks very much for all the responses and advice. You guys certainly gave me a warm welcome and the responses on this thread are more then I ever expected :) I think i'll be going with the Tanker! This will be the longest snowboard i've ever had but really excited about riding it this season!

D.T. -

Anyone know the SCR on the 05/06 172cm Tanker? I am guessing it will be larger than the 8.5 m radius on the Phoenix.

from looking at the specs on the 06/07 line the 172cm should have a 10.75m sidecut.

yah, i'm looking at the board from RJ :) I sent some an enquiry email last night.

hmm skill level - well I would probably rate myself as "advanced". I'm not sure how that compares to others but I have been snowboarding since the early 90's. Started out at Okemo, VT when I lived on the east coast. I've riden all across the world - Switzerland (hence the screen name), Chile, pretty much every resort in CO, Utah, BC, VT, etc...

I'm comfortable with any slope and grade on resort trails, done some heli-skiing, cat-skiing, and light backcountry. I can ride switch down most blues, stay on edge all the time, and still ski a few times a season :) Although now as I'm getting older and my injuries from snow and other sports have added up I'm getting more conservative in my riding style. I tend to take less risks nowadays and enjoy safe controlled challenges...my days of looking at drops and saying "oh cool, let me huck off that" are done and now its more like "hmm how badly is this going to hurt"

From reading the "feel the carve" articles I would say I know how to carve and stay on edge all the time. I doubt I have the style and skill the experienced hardbooters here have for carving but I like to think I do a good job on my softies and I certainly enjoying carving out trenches more then anything else these days.

DiveBomber -

I would really like to get into hardbooting. I think at the end of this season I'll start hunting for deals and get into it. For this year I'm still holding onto softies more out of familiarity then anything else. I've always envied the hardbooters when I ride in Europe, i'm just not quite ready to plunge into it this year. I know I can find some reasonable setups cost wise but since I'm trying to buy a house this year and i've already planned/paid for 4 remote snowboarding trips this year my budget is pretty much set and a board is about all I can get away. If my timeless wasn't on its last legs I would probably still be riding it this season. I'm following alot of threads and making notes so I'm sure i'll be asking for advice soon on my first hardboot setup :)

[D.T.]

D.T. -

from looking at the specs on the 06/07 line the 172cm should have a 10.75m sidecut.

Yes, for the '06/'07, but the '04/'05's are are 9.25m SCR. Rad-Air was making a bunch of changes in that time frame, so I personally do not know what the '05/'06 is for sure. Actually, if you are really interested, ask RJ. He will know.

No matter the SCR, Tankers are great boards!

[lonerider]

I like to think of a versatile board as something I can ride the whole season in those snow conditions. I realize you'll never get a board that is perfect for the whole season and one of these years I should probably buy a few boards to handle the changing days better.

For terran thats a bit easier for me at least, I don't ride the park or the pipe, no moguls, no crazy narrow chutes - so I'm mainly concerned with a board that can perform well on the fresh groomed runs, but also handle the powder stashes in the trees and light backcountry duty. Our little group will hang out on blues until the better riders get bored and then we break off and find the steeper runs, the powder stashes, and the trees. So my day might start off with wanting to bomb or carve trenches on the blues or easier blacks, then later on move towards trees or spend the rest of the day hiking and hunting for powder.

I would say the Tanker then. The specs changed quite a bit between the 04/05 and the 06/07... I think the 04/05 was around 9-9.5m.

Here's what I said in my first post to this thread.

The Tanker is also a fun board, even better on groomers (mainly because of the extra length) and much more damp... you can blast though virtually any type of snow... or various conditions from wet/soft to frozen/firm with out a problem.

.... snip ...

However... if you are more of a lasering down the slopes type of guy, the Tanker is an excellent board for you.