Tree Board advice

[wvrocks]

I'm looking for a new board for East Coast trees on soft days (powder and spring corn). Currently I have a Coiler AM 172

with TD2's and Head boots. Its great out in the open but too stiff for me in the trees. I plan to use plates, I just picked

up a set of SnowPro Race, and my Heads. I don't want to haul around an extra set of boots. I'm 6'3" 245 lbs with a size 29

boot. Sean has a demo 170 Nomad but its way wide for hardboots in my opinion. Burton Fish (3 hole probably wont work with

the SnowPro's), Dynastar 3800, Prior Spearhead, what other option are out there?

Here's an example of the terrain in our area, not me riding.

http://vimeo.com/81948587

[TLN]

My vote for a swallow. This is the best for plates, afaik. I've only tried mines with softies, because that's my 1st season on them and I'm really amazed!

You can order some custom Prior with smaller width. I've heard a really good feedback from an owner of such. 23cm waist powstick I believe.

[mackDan]

If you want to stick with an alpine board to get the advantages on the piste, get a slalom board. But there probably aren't too many options for you, your a pretty big guy. So then I would suggest you look at some of the boardercross boards, They will have some good characteristics for off and on piste. For a powder only or trees only board, pretty much anything on the wider side for the float. The longer the board the harder its going to be to turn in the tighter trees.

haven't been on the forum for a while. I'm 170# and ride 160-167 slalom boards for the most part. They aren't quite the super stiff super carve, but they are great all around boards, I can carve the perfect groom, the chopped up stuff, the end of day smush, the powder, the trees. Which is more of the kind of riding I do, since I typically hang out with soft booters. I have some older Hot 162s (my favorites), an older nitro 160, and an Oxygen race 164, which is stiff, but ok for packed snow in the trees. I always wanted to try out the newer Oxygen slalom boards, but never grabbed one.

[tpalka]

My suggestion would be the Prior Powstick, http://www.priorsnow.com/gear/boards/pow-stick. I'm about 6', and rode this board when I was in the 190-215lb range. It floats great, the setback combined with the swallowtail lets it turn on a dime, and my favorite riding is in tight aspens. I can't talk about all the other boards people mentioned, and my wife really loves her Prior Fissile, but for me the Powstick is the one. I rode it in hardboots, but now ride it in softies. The long effective edge makes it great for carving the groomers between the powder stashes too.

If you have the funds, talk to Chris Prior and have him build you a board for your weight. Hope this helps,

tom.

[BlueB]

I'd vote against a swallow (as much as I love them in pow) for the trees. Extra long pointy nose is kinda wasted estate and the tail doesn't work well for emergency switch. The 3800 169 would do just fine for the guy of your size. It is hard to beat price wise, too (that is, if you can find one in 169).

Spearhead is stiffer and has even floatier nose.

Snowpros should be soft enough for your weight. Add the shock cord on the rear heel bail, so it doesn't drive you nuts in pow (and on piste).

[philw]

I ride Head boots, although I've also ridden others and they work fine.

I use F2 Race bindings which have titanium plates, which fit the 3-holes out of the box if you just use them in a slightly creative way, or you can drill an extra hole if you want the angle readings to be correct. Not sure about SnowPros, but perhaps you can make them work. Note that newer Burton Fish use the Channel thing anyway. For that, search here and you'll see that they work ok with the F2 bindings also, although try to avoid the first year of the channel as that was harder to work with (the latest stuff takes standard bolts). With Fish, you need to watch out for which year it is - some of the ones with the wavy base rocker/camber stuff were supposed to be bad, so I'd ride whatever you're looking at if it's got a channel.

Board wise, any powder board will work fine with hard boots. The board doesn't seem to know you have better control.

You weigh about twice what I weigh so I can't help there. You'd want a 160 Fish or even a 164 Stellar. Other boards... my current favourite is a Burton Joy Stick - an unlikely board but it works really well in trees. Like a Fish only with more tail, so more slashy, like a Malolo. Lots of other boards also work, you have to try them really to see what you like. Personally I like modern design, short, tapered boards.

I've yet to see anyone ride those big swallow-tail boards two days in a row in Monashees trees. I rode the Stellar which is the closest I've personally been to those: https://vimeo.com/18776312 Powder Mountain Whistler mostly use Fish or Malolo type boards; Wiegele's is mostly Burton powder boards and Lib Tech, all of which work well. Pretty much you never see people on swallow-tails at either place.

[Keenan]

Sean built me a 170 Pheonix with an Incline core because I told him I would be riding hard boots. This is my go to board for powder, trees and carving on crowded days. I love it.

[Neil Gendzwill]

If you want to stick with an alpine board to get the advantages on the piste, get a slalom board.

Can't imagine why he'd want a slalom board when he finds an AM too stiff for the purpose.

I think getting out of the TD2s and into the SnowPros will make for a looser interface and help quite a bit. PhilW has a lot of experience with powder but as you're talking East coast and he's talking heli it's a bit apples and oranges.

Edited December 18, 2013 by Neil Gendzwill

[bigwavedave]

I think a board with a lot of taper is what you want for powder in trees. I've ridden both the Nomad and the 3800. I liked the Nomad better because it has a more modern flex pattern; a soft, decambered nose, and especially more taper and set-back to keep the nose up which makes the board more maneuverable and easier to ride, maybe similar to a Burton Fish or Landlord. Unlike the Fish, the Nomad also carves pretty good in soft snow when riding to and from powder stashes at a resort. I think this is because the tail is stiffer and you're essentially carving on the rear half of the board without engaging the soft nose.

The Nomad I have is a 164 with a 24cm waist. I recently compared the Nomad side by side with a Burton Landlord in a local shop, and they look remarkably similar in shape and flex, although the Landlord has a bit more camber under the feet. Have not ridden a split tail...

Edited May 17, 2014 by bigwavedave

[wvrocks]

Thanks all! I think I'm going to give the 3800 a shot. I found a new 169 O'sin 3800 for a little over $200. If I don't like it I'm not out much. I appreciate everyone's help!

[wvrocks]

Oh btw, I've had my F2 166 sl in the woods once. It wasn't by choice, I was patrolling on it that day and had to go. It wasn't fun. Our woods can be pretty junky so it's nice to have the tip riding up near the top of the snow to avoid strainers.

[BlueB]

Thanks all! I think I'm going to give the 3800 a shot. I found a new 169 O'sin 3800 for a little over $200. If I don't like it I'm not out much. I appreciate everyone's help!

Enjoy!

Front binding to the last pack of front inserts. Find your stance width from there. It rides the best that way, pow and groomed.

Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk 2

[2Curious]

I know you've already decided to go for the 3800, but I would throw in another vote for a Nomad. Sean made me one last year at 170 length with a 23 cm waist for hardboots and this thing RIPS in anything off piste. The only terrain I have trouble with really is refrozen crud and sastrugi, which honestly nothing can ride well. It has a generous nose with a lot of taper, pretty stiff tail to help you paddle it around in the really deep stuff, and a generous decamber in the nose to make it float like a dream. Awesome.

[wvrocks]

If the 3800 doesn't work out the Nomad is it the top of my list. Money is a bit tight so that played into the decision as well.

[breeseomatic]

+1 on the 3800. I've only had mine on the piste with soft boots and bomber power plates to test out it's carving ability. It's pretty capable of getting up on edge. I think the Nomad would be an awesome board, but I was in the same position as you, the 3800 was cheap and easy to justify.

[ChR1s]

I've got a Burton Malolo 162 for New England resort powder days. I'm 6', 200lb. The board floats me in pow, and pivots well without having to shift my weight. And when back on the groomers, it can still hold an edge without washing out. For a dedicated trees board, I'd always wanted to have a Fish in the quiver though. While the Malolo is very versatile, it's just a bit too slow turning for rapid descents through tight trees. Open trees, the Malolo is fine.

[philw]

Yeah the Malolo was a great powder board for trees. The Barracuda replaced it I think, so that's probably worth a look. With the malolo you may want to be careful which flex pattern you use - they mucked about with it so some years are better than others. I could never quite get the perfect size for me, so although I found the slash really good, I would sometimes feel the 158 was kicking my 62kgs out of the snow a fraction, but that's all about sizing. The fish doesn't have the tail so is quicker to brake and turn.

There do seem to be multiple parallel conversations in this thread though: the idea of using a slalom board, or a tree board being good on piste... well I think we may be using different definitions of "powder" and "trees".

[Donek]

The nomad has the retention strength in the insert pattern to handle hard boots. It's designed for tree riding and utilizes all the same technology you've come to expect in a modern alpine shape.

[Surf Quebec]

I'm no tree specialist. We had over 2 feet of very light powder in the eastern par of Québec last week, I've ride trees using my SG Cult.

See the pics at http://www.bomberonline.com/VBulletin/showthread.php?41166-Conditions-incroyables-dans-le-bas-du-fleuve!

It went very well, it's also the board I used when I'm with skiers, very versatile go anywhere board.

Last production production year is 2009 I think, I bought directly from SG at a very good price.

[Guest]

The nomad has the retention strength in the insert pattern to handle hard boots. It's designed for tree riding and utilizes all the same technology you've come to expect in a modern alpine shape.

Yeah, those old 3800's and 4807's are all well and dandy until you pull an insert out of them/crack them in half (I have done both). Go with a reputable manufacturer who knows how the stresses of plate bindings affect boards.

[Shred Gruumer]

Dont go into trees..look what happens..