MUD Posted March 2, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 2, 2008 From the Burton elite to the fish-malaloto numerous supermodels 64-68-73 never had a powder day without the big grin.. Tight trees,straight downpitches actually never had a board that did not work in powder but then I have bought only 1 board per year to use for all conditions... I know what you mean. Hopefully buying boards will be in the past soon. I don't think I will ever get totally away from buying them, but close.:D I have had a few that have been really bad in pow, but then again, I ride in Minnesota 99.99999% of the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr D Posted March 2, 2008 Report Share Posted March 2, 2008 The 4807 168 is my light powder and chunky slushy dream board. The 178 is heavier and harder to throw around in the trees it is however great in deeper powder. the short stiff tail on these boards is the key to their carvability. they still sink in the pow but will hold up on the groom. when carving the nose is forgotten they become a much shorter board. If you are having trouble carving them you likely have the bindings to far forward. mine are all the way back and I am 6'4" 275 lbs. it holds and rails quite well for me. I actually prefer the 168 version on soft groomer days where it gets pushed up into piles. extremely versatile board. That said, you asked for a powder board that would only be on the groom briefly . I would have to point you toward the nitro swallowtails or to the winterstick. the difference between the two is nitro's long straight sidecuts vs the winterstick's taper. wintersticks are miserable to ride on the groom and nitro's are doable. the nitro is very flexy and soft and wouldn't work well with hardboots longevitywise but you can flex the big 196 into a very tight corner just by squeezing the knees. they ride as small as you squeeze them. on a wide open untouched powder field from a helicopter I would take a winterstick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P06781 Posted March 3, 2008 Report Share Posted March 3, 2008 IMHO Radair Tanker 2k.... Rode with osin 178's and other boards and still can out float them with the Tanker 2k. They also carve pretty good... Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Dahl Posted March 3, 2008 Report Share Posted March 3, 2008 Dave*'s answer is still the best because he asks all the right questions. I have developed a lot of respect for my 192 Tanker, it is a good carver, floats my 160ish pounds nicely, and has been my go to for most of the season. That said, a narrowed Prior Spearhead has possibilities. Was just flexing them @ the Prior factory Wednesday, nice sticks. For me, at this juncture, I would build a Spearhead with the waist/tail of the ATV, in a 166/171. It would pack better on my back than the 192, and be quicker edge to edge. A true all-rounder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Old Bastard Posted March 3, 2008 Report Share Posted March 3, 2008 Pure terrifying speed in deep powder :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MUD Posted March 3, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2008 I think try to duplicate a Tanker is not in the cards yet. I am looking for low tech. I know I didn't state that originally. I don't mind technical fibers, I just need to get alot more experience with dampening before I look at making something like a tanker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nils Posted March 3, 2008 Report Share Posted March 3, 2008 http://swallowtails.free.fr/ here is the 07/08 season models with all specs... sorry its in french... translation: longueur: length long carres: edge length Spatule: nose length Rayon: Radius to be noticed the average board data: length: 185cm width 25.4cm pintail: 1.6cm and 40cm nose. ( 2001-2002 data: average length: 181cm) Hope this helps! Nils Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MUD Posted March 3, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2008 http://swallowtails.free.fr/here is the 07/08 season models with all specs... sorry its in french... translation: longueur: length long carres: edge length Spatule: nose length Rayon: Radius to be noticed the average board data: length: 185cm width 25.4cm pintail: 1.6cm and 40cm nose. ( 2001-2002 data: average length: 181cm) Hope this helps! Nils Thanks Nils!!!!! I was going to ask you about "the" swallowtail site. That's ok, I can read a little French. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philw Posted March 5, 2008 Report Share Posted March 5, 2008 Hey all,Simple question: In your opinion, what is the best powder board? Only on the groom to get to the pow. Please state whether using hard or soft boots. I want to hear both. I am going to build a powder board and am looking at what designs to study. Thanks, The word "powder" is a bit like the "freestyle" word: it's supposed to be good, but it means different things to different people. In my opinion, the best board is rider-dependent, and varies with what you want to do with it. For bottomless powder in typical mixed BC terrain I like the tapered boards - the Fish or Malolo. They're not the fastest to accelerate on a glacier I suppose, but I generally start last and finish first anyway. Nose & tail stiffness you probably know about, but obviously the overall flex and the balance is key to what works. On hardpack you can muscle your way through on boards designed for fat people, but in powder you have to get the board precisely correct. Well you do for the best effect anyway. I ride the same binding set-up I ride on piste with slightly mellower angles. Hard boots of course: the turn action is basically the same for me on ice or bottomless, and it doesn't come from the ankles in either case. I don't buy arguments for steering slop in powder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nils Posted March 5, 2008 Report Share Posted March 5, 2008 its true that powder means different things and different ways of riding it: on that pic from phil, i'd do maybe one turn on a 196cm swallowtail....Its common to do 80-100m radii turns on big ST at full speed, when people on fish or smaller boards would prefer surfing kind turns slower but more curvy...the debate has been ragin in the late 80's in surfing ( power surfing ( carroll, "kong" ) etc vs damien hardman hot dogging...) i guess it all depends on your style, on what u like, on what mountains you ride etc... On smaller faces i'd want to ride smaller turns too instead of waisting the face with two big turns....on Chamonix faces u want to feel the size of the mountains :)... Choose a powder board according to what u are going to do, and where, and how often would be my advice ! Nils Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dshack Posted March 5, 2008 Report Share Posted March 5, 2008 I wish there was a small guy's/women's powder board built with hardboots in mind. I'm thinking 165cm, 22cm waist with 2cm of taper, or a similarly waisted swallow- or notch-tail. Big sidecut to keep it from being useless in the groomers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr D Posted March 5, 2008 Report Share Posted March 5, 2008 I wish there was a small guy's/women's powder board built with hardboots in mind. I'm thinking 165cm, 22cm waist with 2cm of taper, or a similarly waisted swallow- or notch-tail. Big sidecut to keep it from being useless in the groomers. 4807 168 osin a little wide but just what you are looking for! very carvy on the groom if you are set up on the sweet spot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MUD Posted March 5, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2008 The word "powder" is a bit like the "freestyle" word: it's supposed to be good, but it means different things to different people. For a person who rides powder one week a year or less. There is a perfect board. And I am leaning toward the Winterstick as being that board or maybe a 4807 if I can find specs. If I lived even NEAR mountains it would be totally different. This board is just to get some techniques worked out before I put them on a board that I will be using ALOT. I see what you mean though..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dshack Posted March 5, 2008 Report Share Posted March 5, 2008 If I see one on the 'bay I'll grab it, but from my understanding it's a couple inches wider than I need/want. With a 24 boot, I can ride 19cm-waisters with pretty mild angles; major underhang is a problem on anything approaching a softboot shape. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kjl Posted March 6, 2008 Report Share Posted March 6, 2008 Your ratio of speed to skill level is tiny, that's for sure :) But think of it this way - you probably spend 300% more time per day riding as opposed to sitting on the chairlift, compared to anybody else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MUD Posted March 6, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2008 Well, thanks for the suggestions but I like my set up...Actually I like to surf and skate my way down the hill I think I could be the worlds slowest snowboarder... The G's in the Turn have driven me quite Mad... Cool picture! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dredman Posted March 6, 2008 Report Share Posted March 6, 2008 I wish there was a small guy's/women's powder board built with hardboots in mind. I'm thinking 165cm, 22cm waist with 2cm of taper, or a similarly waisted swallow- or notch-tail. Big sidecut to keep it from being useless in the groomers. Prior would make you one. I have a 23 cm waisted Prior Pow-Stick. Very nice:biggthump I am going to have a custom one made for my wife who is pretty light. IMHO Side cut does not seem to make much of a difference in the pow with a bunch of taper. They are still very stable at speed. So a smaller radius (10m-) getting to and from the powder on a soft flexing board is very friendly and seems to work great for me. Thats my 2 cents... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotts.Scheinman Posted March 6, 2008 Report Share Posted March 6, 2008 I would think the Dupraz would be great in powder. I demoed a 5'5" D1 and rode it with plates. Worked real well in the trees. Ran it through some steeper sections with chopped up semi soft snow and it would just float through everything with no effort. You just keep a centered stance. It carved pretty well on groom too. Would like to try the 6' in pow. I think it would be great for open bowls with plates and softies for trees and tighter stuff. I have the Dupraz 6'. Yeah it was a lot of $ but so worth it just for the incredible float it gives you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MUD Posted March 6, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2008 I have the Dupraz 6'. Yeah it was a lot of $ but so worth it just for the incredible float it gives you. Yeah, I would love to build a Dupraz replica, I have heard noting but good things about them. No specs around though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mibrady2 Posted March 6, 2008 Report Share Posted March 6, 2008 Next year's burton fish is getting a significant upgrade. it will still have the 30mm of taper, but it will have a minor swallowtail shape and the front of the board will have rocker (the back has normal camber). Not as much rocker as say a K2 gyrator tough. I'm getting one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philw Posted March 8, 2008 Report Share Posted March 8, 2008 Interesting - I've not seen one yet, I will go look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terekhov Posted March 17, 2008 Report Share Posted March 17, 2008 it is :) pogo secret spot 183 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dredman Posted March 25, 2008 Report Share Posted March 25, 2008 Here is a short of the Pow Stick at work. It is a 23cm waisted version built for hard boots. Nice Very Nice:biggthumpI have ridden it quite a bit this winter. It is a surfy as a Fish but has better stability at speed. It also carves pretty well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Stevens Posted March 26, 2008 Report Share Posted March 26, 2008 Softbootsailer: If you don't run a Noboard for those turns, you're missing out. Surf and skate your way down the hill? This rig is made for you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Stevens Posted March 26, 2008 Report Share Posted March 26, 2008 I prefer my bindings because they allow me to do backside floatersand that will not happen without attachment... Volcom will give you $10,000 if you can pull a kickflip on a surfboard... No binders there. Leave it to the kids... They'll find a way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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