anke Posted January 30, 2008 Report Share Posted January 30, 2008 Hi Everyone, I snowboard for 11 years, lately I am riding the F2 Eliminator ltd. This season I asked myself for the first time "Why I am riding a freestyle board if I am not going in the park", and I noticed how much fun I have when I can speed down the hill (well, not always "speed"), make big turns, as horizontal as possible. For the first time I felt I reached the limits of my board, and I decided for what I want: speed, good grip on icy, black slopes, beautiful wide turns on flat and groomed slopes, I will need another board. In short, I think I need a good freecarve board, maybe even a raceboard. This is where I need your guys' opinions. My stats: Height: 178cm (5.9") Weight: 72 kg (+-163 lbs.) Shoe size, if that matters: 42 (or US 8, men) My riding style: As I said, I will be a beginner alpine boarder, but I like to go fast and I think I am more the aggressive kind of rider. I am tall and not leight-weight, so I think I can put quite some pressure on the board. It is also important that I can ride the board in non-optimum conditions, meaning many people on the slopes, ungroomed (sometimes). I ride in Tahoe, CA. I don't do backcountry, and powder days are kind of rare for me too. I have made a pre-choice, and would love to get some feedback to those specific boards and based on my riding style (beginner carver but with the opportunity to not reach the limits of the board after a couple of days). I'd rather learn to master a more advanced board then having to buy a new one after a while. On the same time I don't want to be scared away from the alpine board experience because it's just too advanced... I know, many requirements, so here my list of boards I think I would choose from: My choices: - F2 Silberpfeil 168 - Madd Alpine 170-f2 - Donek Freecarve 171 I or II (or 167??) - Prior 4WD (169 or 174??) - Prior WCR (169 or 173??) - Coiler RaceCarve (168 or 175??) As you can see, I am a little confused with the LENGTH and what would suit my style. The differences are just a couple of centimeters, so I cannot really say if I personally would even feel the difference. It seems it really depends on the board, and cannot be generalized as "the longer, the racier". Not on my list, I think the Swoard is probably not what I am looking for... (??) I am thankful for anything you can add. I am a little poor and have to think about this investment thoroughly. Thank you :) Anke Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trikerdad Posted January 30, 2008 Report Share Posted January 30, 2008 All good choices but, if you're going to be riding mostly groomers and with your small feet, I'd forget the FCII and the 4WD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anke Posted January 30, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2008 small feet? :-) thanks, you are the first person ever saying that. i guess it would be small if i would be a guy. it is actually size 9 US, i just double checked. not sure though why the size matters so much that i should forget about the 4WD and FCII. i know my request is very long to read, but i still would love to hear more details regarding the boards, or board length in general... thanks you too!!! anke Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullwings Posted January 30, 2008 Report Share Posted January 30, 2008 Well, foot size makes a much bigger difference when you're using hardboots, because you want to set your angles so that you have little to no overhang. When you boot out for the first time, it's quite a scary feeling. Smaller feet = lower more relaxed angles larger feet = higher angles as a beginner you can ride with some overhang since you won't be putting the board up on edge as much, and you can adjust your angles as you get better. As for a first carving board, an all mountain board is usually recommended, and since you want to be able to ride it in sub-optimal conditions (crud, chop, crowds, ungroomed, etc.) it would probably be better if you did get an all mountain carver. The other thing is that the transition from soft to hard boots is generally easier on all mountain boards. I've ridden two of the boards you've listed Donek FCI 171 - awesome carving board, rails like nothing else i've ridden, and does pretty well on early morning west coast hard pack. hooks in and almost doesn't want to let you go - it's pretty tough to make the tail skid when you need to. 18cm waist and stiffness made it pretty unfriendly later in the day when things got chopped up. Not a board i would ride anywhere except for groomers - and not in crowds either (well not with my skills at least). Prior 4wd (164) - my favorite board to date. unfortunately i broke it after 3 days... awesome edge hold. friendly for making it carve tighter radii - even for noobs. very managable in crowds. good in chop and crud later in the day. supposed to be decent in light to medium powder from what I hear - mine didn't last long enough for me to find out. this is a nice hardboot all mountain board Other all mountain recommendations Prior ATV (161) - good transition board. you can use both soft and hardboots with this one (i did with size 12 softies and MP28.5 hardboots). a little bit soft for my liking once i got better on hardboots. good edge hold, but the other two above rail better imo. still, it was friendly to me as a beginner, and I'm glad it was my first carving board. Other all mountain boards to consider that the BOL community likes (i have yet to try them) Coiler all-mountain - probably the favorite out of all the boards I've mentioned Dupraz D1 Donek Axxess Rad-Air Tanker - more of a softboot board but great with plates too (i'll find out soon, i just ordered one) Length of the board is relative to weight and ease of decambering the board (making it flex so you can carve tighter radius turns). This will vary from board to board. As far as money - I'd avoid all the Canadians (Prior and Coiler) since everything got more expensive with our craptacular economy. I'd also keep my eyes open in the classifieds. I've seen some 4wds and Axxess pop up here and there. I'd also just consider picking up something cheap so you can just get a feel for it. Well, that was long. Good luck shopping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
groovastic Posted January 30, 2008 Report Share Posted January 30, 2008 As Trikerdad said, AM boards like 4WD are not for you if you're not gonna spend time off piste. I'd go for something like FreeCarve or Race/Carve board. I must say I somehow prefere European boards, so I'd say Silberpfeil or some SG or Nidecker or Goltes would be a good choice. I think European boards are a bit easier to ride and stay cambered for longer period of time. Especially boards like Pogo or Virus, but they are really expensive! Welcome to the carving world Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trikerdad Posted January 30, 2008 Report Share Posted January 30, 2008 The 4WD and FCII are the widest boards on your list and, for pure carving, I think you'd have trouble getting them up on edge unless you went with pretty shallow angles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anke Posted January 30, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2008 i am actually browsing ebay right now and saw a couple of boards, some newer, some older... the renntiger looks good, and there is another one with 168 in length, i guess this would be the size i'd get. thanks for the tip... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anke Posted January 30, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2008 hmmm, i think i am going to bid for either one, but i am left undecided regarding SL or GS. i assume your is 163 too? and even if you make wide turns on wide slopes it serves you fine? as a beginner hardbooter, would i even notice any difference between those two? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anke Posted January 30, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2008 what is a DH speed/turn? i have no season ticket, so i am pretty much at a different resort every time i go up to tahoe. i will be back in march (going to germany in feburary), and hope to get the carving experience going by then. one thought of course is to wait until the end of the season and hope that there will be new boards on sale. since alpine stuff is not sold in any stores here, i doubt that there will be an end of season sale on any online store that sales prior, donek, madd etc. any experience with that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anke Posted January 30, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2008 i live quite far from prague, so i am not sure if i'd fly over there just to get a board, even though flights are available at 90 bucks or so. do they have a website or a list of their current inventory? regarding your cousin, thanks a lot for the offer. sure, if he knows about boards being sold, that would be cool. i let you know if i got the renntiger. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anke Posted January 30, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2008 great to know :-) i live in the south, in stuttgart, and definitely will do a day trip or two. not sure where to though. btw, i just bid on the renntiger GS, despite your words and the scratches. i just have a feeling about it... again, does the shop in prague have a website or inventory list? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newcarver Posted January 30, 2008 Report Share Posted January 30, 2008 Anke, I have the same dimensions as you and have just started carving. Make sure you do not get something too long and stiff as it will make learning not much fun. Also make sure you match up your other components like boots and bindings to accent the board so all work together. I ended up going with an older SL style board at 156cm. Found it very fun and easy to ride on groomers. Not much fun when it gets choppy. The 156 still has an effective edge quite a bit longer than my 163 freeride board so the short size is kind of misleading. It will still ride like its a 167-169cm freeride board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anke Posted January 30, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2008 william, thanks! i totally forgot i am in the bomberonline forum ;-) as i am a novice, bomber is not a name i immediately link to a shop. alpineparadise, so how can i find out what boards are available? there's gotta be something...??? and how come you know what swaebisch is? i actually have trouble understanding switzer-deutsch! since i already bid on the 168, i don't want to bid on the 163 as well, even though you guys kind of make me regret my bid for the 168 now... btw, even though it goes for half the price, i doubt it will actually be sold for that cheap. i am sure it goes up once it's getting closer to the end date. i hope it does!!! if not, i kick myself in the butt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anke Posted January 30, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2008 william, can we chat somewhere right now? it's getting private and i don't want to bore other with our privat back and forth... i have a gmail acount where chatting is possible, skype and ichat (aim) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cafercr35 Posted January 31, 2008 Report Share Posted January 31, 2008 Anke - welcome to the BOL world. I just put an awesome Prior 168 WCR up for sale. Take a peek: http://www.bomberonline.com/VBulletin/showthread.php?t=19420 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kjl Posted January 31, 2008 Report Share Posted January 31, 2008 Hey hey, Berkeley - I'm like 5 miles from you, up in Richmond. First things first: try posting on tahoecarvers.com - there's a guy there (Randy) who has a ton of demo equipment and loves to lend it out for people to try hardbooting. If you are lucky, he may have boots in your size as well. I actually have a 171 Donek Freecarve you can borrow if you like if you can find yourself some boots. As to your board choices, imo they are all fine. If you want to make sure the board is good in less-than-optimal conditions like crowds, you probably want something with a shorter sidecut. Out of the ones you listed, I really liked that silberpfeil. I demoed the 168 at one of the recent SESes on a sort of cruddy day and it was just great. I don't think I'd take it into a foot of powder, but on top of 2 inches it was nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kjl Posted January 31, 2008 Report Share Posted January 31, 2008 Oh, never mind - I see you already got in touch with Randy on tahoecarvers. You are still welcome to try my FreeCarve1 171 if you like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anke Posted January 31, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2008 ken, that's *awesome*, thank you so much!!! i am bidding on the renntiger gs 168 on ebay, so i hope i get that. will probably suit me well as a beginner carver. i still would love to try out your freecarve, since this was on the top of my list and of course, the more i have to compare, the better i know about what i am going to buy next. good to know there is another carver so close, so maybe we can get in touch again in early march, as i will be gone to germany until feb 24. talk to you soon, anke Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
groovastic Posted January 31, 2008 Report Share Posted January 31, 2008 I don't think you should go for SL or GS specific boards. I think Silberpfeil would do just fine. maybe it would be good to test 2 or 3 different lengths to decide wich one to get. just my 2 cents but i think renntiger gs 168 would work fine too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
groovastic Posted January 31, 2008 Report Share Posted January 31, 2008 It's Dobar dan ;) I don't ride in croatia since there's only one hill close to my town and it's only 1000 m high... i usually go to Slovenia for weekend rides better stick to croatian coast. not the hills ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anke Posted January 31, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2008 hey guys, yeah, lots of messages, but i really appreciate that, and i need that. when i buy new stuff, i always do a lot of research and ask around. especially when it's a couple of hundred bucks and i am new to the scene. regarding the female/male thing, i always get male stuff, simply because my body built is very strong too. i am strong :-) not kidding actually. i believe i can "fight" a GS renntiger the same way a guy can. i wanted to get a silberpfeil here on the board, but apparently being the first one to claim it is not enough... if i don't get the renntiger, i will thankfully borrow a board from some guys who offered me to test some of their quiver (hey i already know the insider language ;-) i will get boots/bindings on my trip to germany. william, i send you a private email yesterday, not sure if you received it. thanks everyone for your input!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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