Carving on regular snowboards

[rbaldwin]

Steepwaters are a real gem.  The 164 Steep, to me, is the gold standard for a soft boot board.  I used it to do the PureBoarding clinics in Aspen last year, rode it in early season thin cover, during an 18" powder dump in Mammoth, and also as an easy carver/cruiser board when riding with less experienced friends.  I swap between hard boots and soft boots on this board.  The base is nearly indestructible, it laughs at rocks and stumps hiding under the powder.  The 171 is a true dream to ride even at 150lbs, if you have good technique, ride aggressive and the traffic is light, it just keeps holding a line.  It's awesome to see people's reaction when they see how hard you can drive it with soft boots.

 

Post it up on the WTB forum and I'm sure that one of us will respond.  They are still pretty easy to acquire in the Mammoth area, robbing sales from the newer Arbor made versions.  The sad thing is eventually NOS inventory will end.

Agreed! I picked up a 171 Steep earlier this year, and have ridden it in pretty much all conditions since. I'm riding it with Burton plates or Nidecker Free Carve bindings at 45/32 degrees. Love it! Bomb, slash, surf, float, air, and carve. Quiver killer for my style and mountains. I'm thinking about getting another Steep, or the Kite for backup/posterity.

[SunSurfer]

Until this finally delaminated it was a treat to carve (video credit OhD @ SES 2015). 1995 Avalanche Saunders signature model 167cm, 10.5m SCR, 65F 60R.

 

Don't necessarily need to spend a lot to have fun, just find a board with a little more stiffness than the average noodle. I recently snapped a Salomon Fastback 174, fitted with F2 Race Intecs, just in front of the front binding, so slightly beefier construction, or base plates to spread the load may be a good idea if you're not using softboots.

I had replaced the Avalanche with a Rad Air Pinkerman Extreme 169 which has heavier construction again and has withstood my efforts in hard bindings so far, and carves well even with the forward binding angles I use. The InterNet has the specs for many of these older boards hidden away, you just have to take the time to look and keep an eye on the eBay, Craiglist & TradeMe's of the world.

 

[H2O]

I've recently bought a F2 Diablo 166 at a really cheap price.

Very good allround board although not to the level of a Coiler metal or similar. 

[BlueB]

Yes ElDiablo is good board. It needed just a bit of new school nose or just slightly softer nose to be relly great.

Pinkerton is very good in pow. For carving, there is something wonky in sidecut or sidecut vs flex. Doesn't quite compare with Tankers that came after it.

Sent from my SM-G900W8 using Tapatalk

[www.oldsnowboards.com]

Sims "Daytona" comes to mind.   Beefier core that the typical freestyle boards.    I have a 162 and 172cm if I recall correctly I may sell.   I still have few 171P and 171S Steepwaters for sale.   

[Rob Stevens]

Bryan... Whats the nose and tail widths of that 72 Daytona you have?

[www.oldsnowboards.com]

Hi Rob, I will probably need to hand measure it, then again I think the 162 has a label on it describing all the boards in the series. .  Bryan 

 

[SunSurfer]

Anyone had experience on Glissade's Big Gun series?

[Waboarder]

I have owned a ridden all of the Glissade " Big Gun" boards from the 168 to the 195. To this day, they remain among my favorites and I still

ride the 175 often. They destroy powder and the 168 and 175 make great soft book carving boards. The bigger ones work really well when its

deep but are a bit much otherwise, at lest for me. The boards are vey durable as well, my son has a 168 with over 500 days on it and it still

has camber and plenty of pop left despite being beaten to crap. At one time I owned 27 of them but sold all but a couple of 175s off when I discovered

Donek. I recently bought back a rare 182 from a buddy I sold it to years ago. It is a different shape than the Big Gun series and is an absolute rocket on the

groomers. It loves to carve huge turns but needs a bit of real estate. I have never ridden them with hardboots but I imagine they would work fine. They were very

popular here in the Northwest and most of the team riders were based out of my home mountain of Stevens Pass Wa. along with Mt. Baker. I still search for them

on a regular basis but they are getting harder and harder to come by. If you  can find one I'd recommend getting it!

[McKarver]

For what it's worth I ride a Arbor A-frame regular board w/ Catek world cups and Deelux 225's.  I'm not a great carver but I go all over the mountain in all conditions with this set up. My home mountain is Mammoth and i am comfortable on the double blacks, powder, moguls, groomers and I even jump a little.  I am lighter (135 lbs and 5'9") but the A-frame is stiff enough to handle the torque and still be very versatile. I've been riding this set up for close to 8 years.

Sent Yesterday, 10:58 PM

. I have a chance to get an A frame. I haven't demo'd one, so I don't know how it handles. I have a pair of 225s, but I'm going with a soft boot setup first. You must like the setup if you've had it for 8 years. I read one review that said the A frame is for experts only.....?I weigh about the same as you. What size board do you have?

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