Jump to content
Note to New Members ×

boards for sofites


uku

Recommended Posts

Hi!

I have been doing some softboot carving for 2 years by now with my old Rossignol Leviathan (4 seasons old) and would like to take my riding to a new level. That board just doesn't carve on higher speeds + is morally old :)

My new board should be with bigger sidecut radius and stiffer(?) but still for softies as I wouldn't want to specify purely on riding on the slope.

As I live in a country called Estonia, it is pretty hard to get a decent board here as there is no demand for such products. The only options that I have found on sale are:

Nitro Suprateam series

Salomon Fastback

+ I probably could get a Neversummer T5 aswell.

Has anyone had any experience with those boards? I know that their sidecut radius isn't that big (around 10 meters) but how much does it matter?

If anyone has another board to recommend then just shoot. Though ordering from US is pretty expensive due taxes and postal costs unless I find some good discounts.

Thanks,

Uku

Link to comment
Share on other sites

thanks for all the answers.

after spending half a day surfing around bomberonline.com,extremecarving.com and numerous other sites my head is getting really dizzy because of the opportunitites out there. at the moment i'm not sure anymore if i want to stay with softies. progress, eh? :p

anyway i figured out that first of all i should set down the dimensions.

i'm 187 cm (6.1 feet) tall and weigh around 80 kg (176 lbs)

can anyone recommend me an approximate length or refer a site i could find it out by myself.

Alpinecarving.com says, "However, it is important not to buy a board based on your height - the slackers at the board shop seem to have the misconception that height corresponds to length." Does it mean that I should pick the biggest board possible as in most places 150+ lbs seems to be the largest number.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

General tip from shops (board length from chin to nose) is too short for carving and intended probably for freeride/freestyle person with average body build.

In carving board length depends generally from riding style (shorter for short turns with smaller sidecut boards, longer for long high-speed turns, in Whistler PGS average board length seemed to be equal to rider's height, in PSL somewhere around the neck) and from weight; in smaller degree from person's height.

Here in Bomber is article about board choosing but it does not give any numbers. But I think that something around 170 should be good starting point for carving and powder.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Originally posted by philw

I've ridden the fastback, which is a powder board. Probably not what you really want, depending on where you actually ride. As a powder board they're reasonably popular, but I felt that it was a bit too stiff for my weight.

philw, aren't you pretty light?

I demoed a Fastback 163 a few years ago. At 195 pounds, I found it quite versatile and thought it performed quite well as a soft boot carver.

I've always felt the Salomon boards felt too "synthetic" and never liked the way any of the models I rode felt in powder (450, 550, Fastback, FRS) but thats probably just me. I have no idea how much the model has changed since I last demoed one... so nothing I say here may be relevant today.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have ridden a few of their boards in the past

all of them were good boards for railing on

sims makes a good deck too cant remember what is was but it had green sidewalls and raised lines in the topsheet, that board was intense

donek sasquatch and wide both rip and feel great at speed

burton johan is one of my old favorites

the Ride yukon and timeless are great boards but do not hold a edge nearly as well as the other boards I have mentioned but ride so easily everywhere and just feel good, they are note worthy

never summer T5 and legacy are sick too and probably are the dampest of the bunch that I have been on, those boards have great edge hold and remind me of a coiler being such quiet but powerful rides

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

After measuring my board and using that sidecut radius calculator I found out that the sidecut radius is 10,3 m and it is pretty hard to find another board like that. Also I haven't had time to find myself a good hardboot setup so I continue with my old board and focus on the tehnique instead :).

Just wanted to say thanks to everybody for their input.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

uku:

blue-tomato also carries the F2 Eliminator which is a BX board for softboots (it's my softie board now) and they have the Nitro Dark Horse and Shogun. I demo'ed the Nitros and thought the Dark Horse was better than the F2 on hardpack, but was much more Euros too.

Good luck in your search and hope you have fun carving!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have been carving in soft boots for 13 years, just bought my first hard set up this year. Anyway I have owned several different boards, most recently a Burton Supermodel 168 and a K2 Recon Riser 165, but nothing compares to the Arbor A-Frame 170 that I got this season. It is a great all around board and carves very well, and IMO it is the nicest looking board made with it's real wood top sheet.

My girlfriend also rides a 162 A-Frame and feels the same way about the board. I bought mine, after her, because of the research she did on the board and we both love them.

Check them out at.

www.arborsports.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yet to confirm , however I love the Identity brand and John states that his "Garage 173" freestyle type board will out carve many alpine boards. Sounds like a tall order but John has been "Dead On" on everything he has promised so far. If I get some soft snow conditions on this upcoming road trip I am going to find out for myself. Yep , Burton "Torque" 3 strap bindings set pretty steep and see what she will do!!

Check it out here

I got the "Screwdriver" graphic , the board is pretty stiff with more than the typical amount of camber. Looks really good, can't wait to ride it. You guys that know ID, this photos for you!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I know you are out of the US, so I don't know if this is too expensive, but Donek makes great boards and they have European pricing (including everything) listed on their site.

www.donek.com

Just a happy customer. Before my Donek I was on an OSin Team board, pretty stiff and carvable, but the Donek was definitely the next level from that.

If you go with one of their boards (say the Incline), you can ride plates on it too, if you want something that will do double duty.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I ride Limited All-Around 163.

Size: 30/25.5/30cm, SCR ~9m. On the stiff side for a "softy".

Nice all wood core.

Use to carve it on soft bindings, but now with plates. Les pain on the feet. With plates I sometimes overpower the nose on the heel side turn. I am 181cm / 82kg.

Boris

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.



  • Recently Browsing

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...