GileslikestoCarve Posted May 1, 2020 Report Share Posted May 1, 2020 I have been riding alpine for about 20 years on the same board an Airwalk 167 Force. I originally had softboots on it, but about 12 years ago I switched over to some Raichle hardboots and Deelux bindings and loved it! The board is getting really old now and i'm wanting to trade up. I have found a used F2 175 Speedster, but I am wondering how much of a difference will the 7cm make to my ride. I generally ski on local groomed hills that can be icy, lumpy, bit of everything, but fun. I occasionally get up to Mont Tremblant too. Is the F2 board the type I need? As my current board is such ancient technology is the trend to go shorter? So should I be looking for something else? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dredman Posted May 1, 2020 Report Share Posted May 1, 2020 Length is only one variable in the board decision matrix. Sidecut, Sidecut profile, flex and width are more critical factors. What angles do you like to ride at? What speeds and turn size do you like? The modern carving boards are unreal. They make riding fun in the widest range of conditions. If you want the perfect board, call one of the North American board builders and they will build you a dream board. Getting a custom build is a spectacular experience and will guarantee you years of great joy. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GileslikestoCarve Posted May 1, 2020 Author Report Share Posted May 1, 2020 Thanks I will look into it. I like going fast and I am getting into deeper longer carves, but with all local hills the conditions can be icy, wet, perfect groomed trails, but as the day wears on they get lumpy with moguls, or soft slush in the later season. Really I need an all round board, something that allows me to go fast and enjoy great craves, but I need it easy enough to manage lumps, moguls and ice. I would love to say I am in powder, but that is not really a reality in northern NY. My current board is a 167 with a 26 nose and tail and a 21cm waist Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wulf Posted May 1, 2020 Report Share Posted May 1, 2020 Suggest to contact Mr. Coiler for a custom-built https://coiler.com/. The "Contra" is his latest development. Think that could be a good fit for you. Stick with similar length around 165ish. And take a look at that board. A wider more funcarve oriented shape that can handle various conditions https://fullbag.com/pages/diamond-blade. Good w Hardboots too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GileslikestoCarve Posted May 1, 2020 Author Report Share Posted May 1, 2020 Thanks so much for this. I really appreciate your knowledge and opinion. Both websites look great. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimW Posted May 1, 2020 Report Share Posted May 1, 2020 (edited) The f2 will be quite a different ride with much bigger sidecut radius, but if you want longer deeper carves it might be just the board for you. The best thing would be to try a few boards to find out what you like. However, if a board is very different you may need dome time to understand &appreciate it since you only know one board. E.g the f2 will definitely demand more active riding than the Airwalk (and reward it) If the F2 is a good deal it may be a good idea just to buy it. You can always sell it again at a small loss if you don't like it. It is good for your riding to have multiple boards. But be aware, quivers tend to expand.... Edited May 1, 2020 by TimW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueB Posted May 1, 2020 Report Share Posted May 1, 2020 (edited) Huge difference. The Force is a foam cored (I'm surprised you didn't brake it, over all these years!), soft flexing, cap board, wide waist and tight radial sidecut, no taper. It has tail kick and rides switch ok. It's pretty good as an all-mountain board. Speedster is much longer, stiffer, long progressive tapered sidecut, narrow waist and modern titanal construction. It's square tailed and takes lots of cajones to ride it switch. I liked one of the suggestions above, for an all-moutainish Contra by Coiler... Otherwise, if you wanted something used, truly similar to what you've got, but more solid construction, look for shorter Coiler or Donek AM, Prior 4WD or ATV, F2 ElDiablo or SpeedX, one of Pure Boarding offerings, Nidecker Proto, etc. The Contra is still going to be better... Edited May 2, 2020 by BlueB 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wulf Posted May 2, 2020 Report Share Posted May 2, 2020 (edited) I addition to BlueB's tipps .. I'd step away from modern race shapes (SL/GS). Unless you have tested one and liked it. Compared to your current board they are from planet SPEED. Which is a challenge to control on narrow, steep or crowed runs. Think a F2 Silberfpeil Vantage 162 would be a "close" fit to the Airwalk Force 167. Similar width (266/212/266), no taper, smallish radius (9,5m) plus all the new features like fast base, tad of nose/tail rocker, torsional stiffness. That makes it an easy to ride freecarver that carves like crazy on hardpack. Annother F2 could the Axxis GTS - a bit wider and more all-mountain oriented. And a great carver since its torsional quite stiff. Both like mid to small turn radius. http://beta.carver.si/snowboards/f2_snowboards/f2_silberpfeil_vantage http://beta.carver.si/snowboards/f2_snowboards/f2_axxis I am 185cm and 85kg plus. Was very happy with the Vantage 162 and I am very happy now with the Axxis GTS 164 in EU Alps using a race-based style with NO hand to the snow. However living in Canada i'd go with Canadian manufacturers. Coiler or Fullbag. Edited May 2, 2020 by wulf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GileslikestoCarve Posted May 2, 2020 Author Report Share Posted May 2, 2020 Great advice, thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueB Posted May 2, 2020 Report Share Posted May 2, 2020 (edited) Keep in mind that Fullbag is very wide (basically a soft boot board) compared to what you've got. For the best performance, you'd have to ride it with much lower binding angles then what you (assumingly) do now. Edited May 2, 2020 by BlueB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rst Posted November 2, 2020 Report Share Posted November 2, 2020 demo whatever you can more boards you try more you know what you really want from a board Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philw Posted December 2, 2020 Report Share Posted December 2, 2020 On 11/2/2020 at 11:25 PM, rst said: demo whatever you can... This. Which is why also I disagree that "custom" is appropriate - you can't test-ride a custom board, and you don't really know what you like, so that's a lottery. Trying different things is the best approach, in my view. Length is nominal - it depends how long the board's designed to be ridden. The important thing is if you can flex the board appropriately at your weight/ skill level. If you're buying second hand that's more tricky and you may need to trade a few before you find what you want. I would be exceptionally careful to study the weight range for whatever you buy, and the board's intended use. Personally, whenever I've bought new boards which are a significant change, I've always immediately known that the new board was the right way to go, pretty much first turn on it. So if it was me, I'd try stuff out, and only buy something which is so obviously "the one" that you don't want to give it back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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