Powder Board Recommendation 18/19

[Bling]

Hey Fellow Rippers,

I'm looking for some help selecting a new snowboard.  This winter I am headed for a week of riding in Utah!  So exciting, I have heard mythical things about their POW.

So what snowboard(s) is ideal for this adventure?  My tentative plan is to bring two or three boards, and softboots only.  Here are my most appropriate resources:

1. A 157ish custom Donek Baker board (super-long eff. edge, competition nose & tail).  This is a killer all-mountain board, and I'm very comfortable using it for jumps, rails, pipe, etc.
2. A 169 Atomic Radon.  This is a massive powder board.  Swallow tail, stiffer than a Kessler SBX board.  It is most often deployed for my local mountain's annual pond skimming event.

I have recently noticed many snowboard young-bloods riding short & stubby powder boards; reminds me of a Snurfer...  What's the consensus on these modern powder boards?  Are these for slashy park rat kiddos who are yet to lay a trench?  Or is this the new standard, and only a dinosaur would keep fighting their way through trees on a 169?

Please respond with recommendations for a new board!  Let's say under $1k and less than a month ETA...

FYI, I'm 35 years old, 5'10" x 160lbs, been snowboarding since the 80's.  I ride sz 10 Burton Boots, and have Burton Diode or X-Base bindings on all my softboot boards.

[daveo]

This

[Corey]

Under $1k and a tight timeframe?  https://www.donek.com/  I think there was  mention of a new powder board in development.  Just call and talk over options. 

If you don't want something premium, there are many commercial boards available too.  I'm a powder newbie and had a blast with an old O-Sin 3800 in previous years, and just got a used Dupraz D1 for this season.  

[pokkis]

https://www.phenix-snowboards.com/phenix-snowboards-splitboards/swallow-phenix/swnowboard-mustang-178-phenix

http://www.swellpanik.com/shop/

[Eboot]

A forum member builds these

https://www.soulwaterman.com/collections/soulstick

[Mig]

And another forum member (me) does these ones, designed and made in Canada.

https://fullbag.com/collections/snowsurfs

 

[Lurch]

Smokin deal

[neanderthal]

Headed to Utah you say - on a tight timeline

This is worth a look (or in my case drool)

http://www.saltypeaks.com/swallowtail-snowboards

Each year they do a swallowtail collaboration.

Really tempted by some of these

Edited November 24, 2018 by neanderthal

[snowwjob1]

It's hard to say. Depending on which resort you are at. I like my Donek Hazelwoods at Snowbird when it is deep and wide open. 

[Neil Gendzwill]

Just waiting for Phil to chime in: he’s ridden a lot of deep conditions in hard boots and recommends the modern shapes. 

[Jack M]

1 hour ago, Neil Gendzwill said:

Just waiting for Phil to chime in: he’s ridden a lot of deep conditions in hard boots and recommends the modern shapes. 

Pretty sure the OP is on softboots. Personally I’m not a fan of the seriously stub tail modern powder boards like the Burton Fish, etc. I would not say the Donek Nomad is one of these, seems to be a good balance. I demo’d a Malolo in Jackson Hole and felt like I was about to fall over backwards at any moment. At the time the Malolo had a very short tail. Exchanged it for a Supermodel 168 and felt right at home. Guess I’m old. 

Winterstick is worth checking out. Sexy real wood tops. 

[Buell]

There are so many options these days with all the wide boards being produced.

The board you want depends on the terrain you are riding. In trees you want something shorter and more maneuverable with good float. On the open runs you can ride something longer and stiffer for high speed stability. If you go everywhere really fast, float isn't as much of an issue.

Resort powder, with rare exceptions, is only good for a run or two. You are going to want a board that is good at tracked powder if you want to ride for very long.

I have been riding (in softboots) the Amplid Pillowtalk (156 x 267, not produced anymore, super agile) and the Amplid Surfari (157 x 260, more aggressive, fun board that is also a blast to carve!). I recently saw the new Amplid Aloha Vibe which looks and feels like a great board for someone bigger than me (154 x 280 waist). Maybe one day they will make a 148 x 270 for my 25m feet and 145 pounds.

I have not seen or ridden one, but from past experience, if you are not in tight trees and like a little more length, I expect the new 171 Tanker is pretty awesome.

[barryj]

Under a Grand and want it now!  ....... This Is All You Need!!!                                                                Backcountry will have at you door in two days, standard shipping!

https://www.backcountry.com/moss-snowstick

A true Renaissance board shape and surfy ride.......Moss Snowsticks love deep pow and the groomers...all on the Same Run! 

The Moss U5 is the ride for under a grand - can do it all and can carve...

For a little over a grand the Moss PQ60 will do it all and wants to carve....

 

 

Edited November 24, 2018 by barryj

[Corran]

On 11/23/2018 at 11:10 AM, Bling said:

Hey Fellow Rippers,

I'm looking for some help selecting a new snowboard.  This winter I am headed for a week of riding in Utah!  So exciting, I have heard mythical things about their POW.

So what snowboard(s) is ideal for this adventure?  My tentative plan is to bring two or three boards, and softboots only.  Here are my most appropriate resources:

1. A 157ish custom Donek Baker board (super-long eff. edge, competition nose & tail).  This is a killer all-mountain board, and I'm very comfortable using it for jumps, rails, pipe, etc.
2. A 169 Atomic Radon.  This is a massive powder board.  Swallow tail, stiffer than a Kessler SBX board.  It is most often deployed for my local mountain's annual pond skimming event.

I have recently noticed many snowboard young-bloods riding short & stubby powder boards; reminds me of a Snurfer...  What's the consensus on these modern powder boards?  Are these for slashy park rat kiddos who are yet to lay a trench?  Or is this the new standard, and only a dinosaur would keep fighting their way through trees on a 169?

Please respond with recommendations for a new board!  Let's say under $1k and less than a month ETA...

FYI, I'm 35 years old, 5'10" x 160lbs, been snowboarding since the 80's.  I ride sz 10 Burton Boots, and have Burton Diode or X-Base bindings on all my softboot boards.

The new surf style boards are a lot of fun no doubt. You don’t have to go short - there are different ways of skinning the same cat. You could just as well be on a 150 as a 160 and make it work for you - it comes down to how you want to ride really. 

But it I can’t auggest more strongly to look at the snow surfing style. It’s truly a sensation revolution. 

I make bowrds so im biased   we have two that might interest you. Our pitch wing 161cm which make long drawn out powder turns when putting minimal pressure into the turn, but because of the long split tail, you can shorten that turn into something resembling a 152-155 just by compressing and bending the tail. 

https://www.soulwaterman.com/collections/snowboards/products/pitchwing

Alternately we have a 150cm called the Scrambler  It’s less responsive to tail compression than the pitch wing, but it’s a slightly more normal feeling board while still remaining firmly in the “snow surfing style”  

One is not better than the other  just slightly different ways of getting to the same place and same feelings on the snow 

if you have any questions shoot me an email

corran

 

1 hour ago, barryj said:

Under a Grand and want it now!  ....... This Is All You Need!!!                                                                Backcountry will have at you door in two days, standard shipping!

https://www.backcountry.com/moss-snowstick

A true Renaissance board shape and surfy ride.......Moss Snowsticks love deep pow and the groomers...all on the Same Run! 

The Moss U5 is the ride for under a grand - can do it all and can carve...

For a little over a grand the Moss PQ60 will do it all and wants to carve....

 

 

Here is a video of the pitch wing operating on groomer. I don’t have a powder video but it’s even better in powder than it is on groomer

 

Sorry I forgot the link to the Scrambler

https://www.soulwaterman.com/collections/snowboards/products/scrambler

 

 

[Bling]

Thanks Everyone,

This feedback has been just awesome!

I'm really leaning towards a Soulwaterman.  Killer graphics .  When it comes to softboot riding with friends, I think a 155 Pitch Wing may perfectly fill the gap between my Donek and Radon.

[Maxlanaudiere]

My votes goes to Fullbag. Check out the Hammerheads and Blunt Diamonds they are GREAT for powder ! I'm 6'4 190 and the Blunt Diamond was floating effortlessly in above knee powder.  Big nose, setback and taper rocks. You'll feel like you are cheating.

and they carve really well too, in fact these 2 boards are my favorite daily drivers.

And since you are using US dollards everything is like 34% for you. Might as well buy 2 if you want to get near your 1000$ budget  

Edited November 26, 2018 by Maxlanaudiere

[svr]

You could also checkout the Stranda Shorty if you want a shorter pow board. Or go bigger

https://www.strandasnowboards.com/product/shorty/

[Gossamer]

Grab the Tanker that just went up for sale here and pick up a Rossignol XV for when the Pow is chopped, that's the two boards that I've been riding for the past 5 years and I ride here at Powder Mountain. Come up if the snow is deep, fun mountain and good people.

[philw]

As above, I ride hard boots so my experience is probably not helpful, although I ride powder boards designed for soft booters of course... and there's not a lot of difference in my view.

If they advertise it with videos of people riding corduroy... then it may not be for me anyway - that's not what I call powder ;-) I like to ride powder boards before deciding on those I like - to me sizing is very important because I use the flex of the board a lot.

"New style" powder boards... there's a lot of marketing there, including companies which aren't Japanese who want you to think they are... well it worked in the rag trade - Superdry in the UK pulled that trick off. A lot of those shapes don't make it through two seasons, so I'd be slightly wary of getting too bleeding edge if you're buying. I've not ridden any 18/19 boards yet.. 

Overall, you'll see almost no one in a helicopter with a big board or an ST. It's been over a decade since I've seen either, and I spend a lot of time looking. As people have said, you may find them in Utah; the last few times I've been to Snowbird the snow hasn't really delivered the goods so I don't know. I like short boards as I don't ride stuff which needs the acceleration of a long board ;-)  and I do ride a lot of trees.

Piste boards all do pretty much the same thing, so I can buy a Kessler or whatever based purely on my weight and it's definitely going to work. In powder boards... there is significantly more variation in what people want to do, and the conditions they're doing it in. And the reviews are useless as they're mostly done by people who ride the boards for a short time on piste. Some people like the Lib Tech approach, others (like me) favour some (but not all) Burton powder boards... it's a matter of taste.

[Gossamer]

Wow, I thought that board was a 177w, 187 may be more than you are looking for, I spent 13 years on the Burton Supermodel and you can ride that one 15cm more and not notice, carves well.

[Poloturbo]

Another vote for Fullbag.  Pretty amazing boards for the price...

 

If you want I still have my Rossi 167XV for sale 225.00usd and it's yours. 

Edited November 26, 2018 by Poloturbo

[softbootsurfer]

6ft. 160 ride a 163 Burton Flight Attendant...works in the Pow...and rails the turns here in Colorado

Edited November 27, 2018 by softbootsurfer

[Emdee406]

On 11/23/2018 at 11:10 AM, Bling said:

Hey Fellow Rippers,

I'm looking for some help selecting a new snowboard.  This winter I am headed for a week of riding in Utah!  So exciting, I have heard mythical things about their POW.

So what snowboard(s) is ideal for this adventure?  My tentative plan is to bring two or three boards, and softboots only.  Here are my most appropriate resources:

1. A 157ish custom Donek Baker board (super-long eff. edge, competition nose & tail).  This is a killer all-mountain board, and I'm very comfortable using it for jumps, rails, pipe, etc.
2. A 169 Atomic Radon.  This is a massive powder board.  Swallow tail, stiffer than a Kessler SBX board.  It is most often deployed for my local mountain's annual pond skimming event.

I have recently noticed many snowboard young-bloods riding short & stubby powder boards; reminds me of a Snurfer...  What's the consensus on these modern powder boards?  Are these for slashy park rat kiddos who are yet to lay a trench?  Or is this the new standard, and only a dinosaur would keep fighting their way through trees on a 169?

Please respond with recommendations for a new board!  Let's say under $1k and less than a month ETA...

FYI, I'm 35 years old, 5'10" x 160lbs, been snowboarding since the 80's.  I ride sz 10 Burton Boots, and have Burton Diode or X-Base bindings on all my softboot boards.

Hey there! I actually live, Ride and teach in Utah, and have had 18 winters here. 

I’m currently riding a Yes Optimistic 154. It’s a volume shifted deck that you ride short. It’s a diamond tail that you can push the volume right back. I’m 5’ 7” and have been riding for 33yrs, and I’ve been an instructor/trainer for 30 of them. I have ridden scores of powder boards over the years, and big swallowtails are great if you’ve got the space, but if you love tight trees, you’ll need something more compact  

This board is fabulous in Utah. It’s pretty much unsinkable, super manoeverable, and with a sub-6m sudecut, carves like a scalpel. It’s wide and comes in three lengths. Can’t recommend it highly enough. 

Oh, and let me know if you want a tour of Park City’s secret stashes!

Edited November 27, 2018 by Emdee406
Adding photo.

[daveo]

On 11/25/2018 at 5:20 AM, barryj said:

Under a Grand and want it now!  ....... This Is All You Need!!!                                                                Backcountry will have at you door in two days, standard shipping!

https://www.backcountry.com/moss-snowstick

Baz has come through with the goods as usual. My vote goes with what Barry said- MOSS!

[Gossamer]

Thegoodride.com is a place to research