What do you ride on Pow days?

[Duke]

So for days with say......5 plus inches/13 plus cm of pow that dumped the night before....do you guys ride a carve board?  A pow board with hardboots?  A pow board with soft boots set at soft boot angles??

 

I plan on riding my regular soft boot set up for these days....and I wish I could get such a day this year just to prove it....but am curious what you "hard core" carvers do for those days.

 

Duke

[lowrider]

Sorry Duke couldn't resist. I ride in southern Ontario what's a powder day ? 2 years ago powder day ( 6 inches of fresh ) first day on my Skwal.

[markbvt]

I haven't ridden significantly-deep powder in a long time, but if we did have a powder day, I'd probably use my Burton Triumph 73. Or if I knew the powder would be a foot or more deep, I'd probably drag out the old Burton Kelly Slopestyle (which has a big spoon nose and more abrupt tail, so it floats well in deep powder).

 

And yes, I'd stick with hardboots, though I'd use lower stance angles.

 

But this is all idle speculation. Pretty much the only way I'd get to ride powder around here is to hike the backcountry, and I'm too lazy to hike when there's a perfectly good ski lift to carry me. And frankly, riding the alpine setup on freshly groomed packed powder is up at the same level of fun for me as riding the freeride board in powder. May not be as uncommon a treat, but it's a lot more convenient...

 

--mark

[Guest]

We had a 30" powder day last year, does that count?

[slopestar]

I'm out here on the west coast. What is a powder day?

I have an oxygen shogun 698 (170) with nidecker c 900

[kieran]

our powder is quite heavy and usually falls as windslab, last week in over a metre of fresh i was on my silberpfeil.

no changes to setup except keeping all of my weight rearward and never ever ever letting the fore/aft balance go past 50% ... after the first 10 noseflips or so.

[b0ardski]

I ride plates and hard boots on powder. My angles are backed off just 5 degrees lower than in my carving stick.

I enjoy the stability of hard boots. Soft boots hurt my feet and I think riding hard boots in powder actually helps your carving too!

+1

there were no powder days this year in the northwest, so allow me to reminisce.

 

6" or less my nidecker escape, 22 waist all mt alpine, does great

blue one

 

for 6-12" on days like this, the go to is my 173 Identity

 

for a foot or more, my 24.5 waist 184 lib grocer(shalom) w/huge old skool powder tips,

floats in bottomless and eats 10:30am 2 foot deep tracked out chop for breakfast

 

haven't had him out for 5-6yrs when the snow was like this in feb.

this feb. our area closed for lack of snow

 

as you can see I use plastic, not necessarily hard, boots and plates on every board in every condition

Edited March 13, 2015 by b0ardski

[Guest]

It's all about the pow stick.  I have been riding a 178 Prior Fissile for the past few seasons that I sadly pulled the inserts out of a few weeks ago.  Took the wifey's aforementioned Nomad out for a couple days and it is super fun!  I also ride hard boots, because I like the stability it provides.

[b0ardski]

The Nomad sounds like a good choice for my next board, Matt's "Promad" hybrid will be my 1st custom. That is after the budget recovers from the Venture Odin split set-up I splurged on this season (lowest snowpack in 10yrs, Murphy must be stalking me)

[kieran]

It's all about the pow stick.  I have been riding a 178 Prior Fissile for the past few seasons that I sadly pulled the inserts out of a few weeks ago.  Took the wifey's aforementioned Nomad out for a couple days and it is super fun!  I also ride hard boots, because I like the stability it provides.

 

if memory serves you said you'd ordered reinforcement on the inserts for hardboot use. ?

[Duke]

Thanks for the input.  No one responding that they keep a traditional, soft boot set up for Pow?? Interesting data point.  Now to decide if I am going to sell the beloved K2 ultradream and try for a pow style carve board....or to try putting plates on the Ultradream. ??  I'll sleep on it this summer I guess.

[breeseomatic]

Depending on what is under the fresh snow and who I am riding with I have different setups:

 

Fresh over day old chop/crud with people who I can never convert to even consider hard boots, or we may do some side country hiking:

NS Summit 161, Burton Diodes, Burton softies, it's my lightest setup and most playful, little ability to carve and it doesn't matter.

 

Fresh over hard pack with people who are curious about carving and hard boots, and there is no hiking involved:

Dynastar 3800 163, Burton race plates @45/15, Track 700 (looking for lighter options).  I can carve inside the resort on the way to the next powder field, handles moguls and chop pretty good for a $200 snowboard.

 

When I know it's going to be over a foot and there are huge bowls or open space to plow through:

OSin 4807 169, Burton race plates @45/15, track 700 (looking for lighter options).  Need to clip in fast and just go go go.

 

Dust on Crust:

Carving board

[philw]

My favourite board this year (but I have not tried them all...) is the Burton Landlord. It's basically a Malolo, except the sizing works better for me than the Malolo did. I like the additional control I have with hard boots, and a forward stance through the trees. I ride the same boots/ bindings in powder or on piste. I use stock boards, standard F2 Intec bindings. That's for riding heli-accessed powder in BC, where very large traditional boards are almost unknown.

 

For resort use... I would not generally want to ride a dedicated powder board at a resort, where I'm probably more on piste than powder, and where the powder is usually on top of a skier pasted base which you can feel. Sometimes I'll just ride my Kessler SL - whilst that would be stupid from a heli, it's ok for a few scratched lines at a resort. If I hit it lucky at a resort I'd get out my Fish, or if I didn't have it I'd rent a powder board. Not a huge monster, but something with taper and a tail which is soft.

[pmorita]

Black Snow Half-Pipe 125

[b0ardski]

Thanks for the input.  No one responding that they keep a traditional, soft boot set up for Pow?? Interesting data point.  Now to decide if I am going to sell the beloved K2 ultradream and try for a pow style carve board....or to try putting plates on the Ultradream. ??  I'll sleep on it this summer I guess.

 If you like the K2 put some flexy plates like burton, F2carve, proflex RS, on the ultra dream, and get some flexy boots like old raichle 124 or 225, upz atb or other soft AT boot and go surf it up.

[Neil Gendzwill]

I ride a 200 cm Tanker with plates.

[pokkis]

Swellpanik Magistral with F2 HBX and F2 Hurricane steppins

[BlueB]

Powder, whaaat? We didn't even have snow wort mentioning this season :( 

 

Anyhow, on good years we have tons of chowder and sometimes dry stuff too. I always ride the same ski boots for all "disciplines", but I have flexier plates on my freeride/play, pow and teaching boards - F2 RS / Proflex / Blax are my favorite. Stances are about 40-45 front and 20-30 back, 1/4" to 1/2" wider then on carving setups. Often I have inward cant on the rear binding wich I don't use on carvers. Toe/heel lifts remain the same. 

 

On days with only up to 5-6" of fresh, I would be on one of my "toy" boards, Nidecker Proto 167, F2 ElDiablo 166, etc. Latest addition to this group is Prior ATV 171. They handle fresh just fine and are nimble enough for trees and moguls. 

 

On deeper days I'd take out the Dynastar 3800, especially if I'm expecting to go to the trees or to ride freshly forming moguls on the steeps in the PM. If I'm expecting to stay on more open slopes, or in a big place like Whistler, Tanker 192 or Dynastar 4807 178 swallie come out :) 

 

Honorary mention: If I was teaching absolute beginners on the given morning, I'd just carry on my Prior MFR 165 set in duck stance (still with the Dalbello boots). 

 

I must add that most of the modern carving boards with decambered nose handle a bit of fresh just fine. Of course, I normally have a better tool ready, in the car... 

Edited March 13, 2015 by BlueB

[Duke]

 If you like the K2 put some flexy plates like burton, F2carve, proflex RS, on the ultra dream, and get some flexy boots like old raichle 124 or 225, upz atb or other soft AT boot and go surf it up.

 

Thanks, I'm thinking I might do something like this.

[Duke]

+1

there were no powder days this year in the northwest, so allow me to reminisce.

 

6" or less my nidecker escape, 22 waist all mt alpine, does great

blue one

 

for 6-12" on days like this, the go to is my 173 Identity

 

for a foot or more, my 24.5 waist 184 lib grocer(shalom) w/huge old skool powder tips,

floats in bottomless and eats 10:30am 2 foot deep tracked out chop for breakfast

 

haven't had him out for 5-6yrs when the snow was like this in feb.

this feb. our area closed for lack of snow

 

as you can see I use plastic, not necessarily hard, boots and plates on every board in every condition

 

That board on the far left next to the Sims looks like its ready for some softies but yes....I'd say your pic shows a distinct bias for hard boots.  

[Corey]

Sadly, I'm with Lowrider. Haven't encountered deep powder in 10+ years. Even then, most of it was on a softboot board behind a snowmobile with a tow rope. Like wakeboarding but fewer bikinis. :( Take my experiences below with a big grain of salt.

My Coiler EC (175 x 22 waist) worked stunningly well in the 18" or so we had at SES last season, even in the late-afternoon chop. My AM VSR (167 x 21.5 waist) worked ok, but didn't float the same or climb to the top as smoothly when I submarined the nose.

[Dan]

I'm also a hardboots on a freeride board guy when it comes to powder. I have an Original Sin 3800 168 cm for medium days (2-6 inches or so), and a 4807 that comes out on big days (over 6 inches). I don't get enough powder to worry about it really (especially this year), but I'd be interested in trying a Donek Nomad (like a Burton Fish/Malolo shape is my understanding) if I rode significantly more powder than I do.

 

Having said that, I believe there are a lot of people here who prefer softboots on pow boards for deep days -- they just haven't chimed in yet. 

[Duke]

One thing that would seem to be a problem (for me) in pow with these boards being mentioned is camber.  I can't stand riding a cambered board in pow and burying the nose......so frustrating....though maybe its just my style that is the problem.  The Ultradream not only has rocker but also a fat nose....so it stays up for air.  Back in the Winterstick days I loved that fat, fat nose to keep afloat.  So....I don't see riding a carving board in pow though most of you seem to have success doing so.  For me it is/was more a question of plates on a pow specific board or just softies on the pow board....not "will the carver do well in pow".

 

Re: the lack of pow...I hear ya.  In fact, I played hookey from work Thurs trying to catch some promised snow at Targhee.  Mother nature didn't cooperate though and we got one single, hard earned inch.  I was quite bummed.  have been waiting all winter.  Targhee is legendary for epic pow....but we haven't had it this year (typed with a tear running down my cheek).  I think we will get it Sunday night but I blew my day off on Thurs

[bigwavedave]

I'd be interested in trying a Donek Nomad (like a Burton Fish/Malolo shape is my understanding) if I rode significantly more powder than I do.

 

Having said that, I believe there are a lot of people here who prefer softboots on pow boards for deep days -- they just haven't chimed in yet. 

Nomad is much closer to the Landlord, nearly identical at least in flex, shape (fat, decambered nose), stance set-back, etc, as far as I could tell, by comparing my Nomad side by side  with a Landlord in a shop. I have not ridden the Landlord. The plus side is the Nomad has 4 x 4 inserts reinforced for plate bindings instead of a slot.

 

I find my normal carving hardboots too stiff for the board in deep powder snow and prefer something like the super soft and flexy Raichle 123, 223, 323 or 413. I'm told they're similar in flex to a stiff soft boot.

 

In the heavy wet stuff, like Blueb's "chowder", or a half foot of fresh snow on top of soft groom, stiffer boots and cambered boards seem fine. I prefer my Incline with the bindings set back for that.

 

Caveat: I rarely get to ride true powder, so every time has been a learning experience. The last time was waist deep in Aspen last year, prior to SES.

Edited March 14, 2015 by bigwavedave

[Neil Gendzwill]

I just ride my trusty 224s everywhere, they are pretty soft and I like them that way.  My Tanker has an old pair of Raichle Intec RS that work fine.  Honestly I've never had it in the conditions it was meant for.