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Old     (Anaru)      Join Date: Jan 2012       02-11-2012, 1:50 AM Reply   
Ok so last year was my first time snowboarding. I hired gear and it was all rubbish even though they claimed it was 'pro gear' lol. Holes in boots, ratchets on bindings were worn and kept slipping. Horrible overall.
Anyways this year I've got more time to plan and save to get my own gear. August is snow season in NZ so I'm heading to my mother country for it.

My questions are, what size board would I need? I'm 5'10" and 200lbs. Do snow boards come with different rocker styles? I ride a 2012 Watson hybrid if this helps. As for bindings I'm pretty set that I'm going with flow bindings. And I'm looking for a wider foot boot so need help there.

Any suggestions or recommendations would be great. Thanks in advance!!
Old     (SS_Hooke102)      Join Date: Sep 2011       02-11-2012, 6:07 AM Reply   
There is are three types of snowboard base that are available, rocker, camber and hybrid. IMHO i've ridden both rocker and camber and would definitely say that original camber is the way to go (I ride a rockered board right now so I believe i have some amount of credibility). If you can get your hands on a hybrid (these tend to be a little more expensive, i think burton calls them the gullwing and i don't honestly know what other companies call their hybrid models), but as I was saying, i would suggest a hybrid if possible. Rocker has its purpose, but unless you will be riding pow every day you will have a little more trouble than it's worth on groomers and park terrain. As far as sizing it depends on the terrain that you ride, but as NZ is pretty exposed i'm going to imagine variable conditions so i would go with 157-160, if you ride primarily deep, I would go a little larger than that. There are a lot of great brands out there, so have fun choosing! If you need any other information feel free to PM me.
Old     (Anaru)      Join Date: Jan 2012       02-11-2012, 2:02 PM Reply   
Thanks for the great info!
I'll start some research on hybrid boards. Here in aus boards cost metric **** load more so a few hundred more isn't going to make much difference lol

Do u have any recommendations on the bindings? I like a connected feel to the board. Do u think I could achieve this with flow's range of bindings? I love the idea of getting and and out of them so quickly.
Old     (jfergus7)      Join Date: Jul 2011       02-12-2012, 6:05 PM Reply   
I hated the thought of rentals from the beginning. I went out a few weeks ago and purchased everything I needed then hit the slopes for the first time ever on a snowboard! Luckily for me I loved it but I figured the cost to rent it a few times versus the depreciation on the new gear would be about the same. Good luck with your purchase!
Old     (SS_Hooke102)      Join Date: Sep 2011       02-13-2012, 10:32 AM Reply   
in my experience i haven't had great experience with flow bindings. Professionals use them so they must be okay, but i like the feeling of being really responsive and close to the board. There are a ton of great companies out there, I haven't ridden them, but i have heard some great things about flux bindings. If you are like me though i would go with a traditional entry binding simply because of the performance aspects. My dad rides K2 cinches which are K2's version of flows and he has the hardest time getting those to work correctly. No thanks are necessary man, people helped me out and now i'm just paying it forward! happy shredding!
Old     (Anaru)      Join Date: Jan 2012       02-16-2012, 8:39 PM Reply   
Quote:
Originally Posted by jfergus7 View Post
I hated the thought of rentals from the beginning. I went out a few weeks ago and purchased everything I needed then hit the slopes for the first time ever on a snowboard! Luckily for me I loved it but I figured the cost to rent it a few times versus the depreciation on the new gear would be about the same. Good luck with your purchase!
Yeah I hate the thought of it too but at the time I was shy of money lol. I had planned 2 weeks in NZ then to aus for 2 days before going to Europe for 5 weeks then back to aus. Didn't want to buy gear and run out of money later in the holiday lol.
Old     (jfergus7)      Join Date: Jul 2011       02-16-2012, 11:29 PM Reply   
Totally understand that. I saved all summer just so I would have enough money to get my gear. Just sucks that I was only able to get out once. The weather has been in the 40's and 50's here so isn't looking good to get out anymore this season. So time to get the wakeboards out!
Old     (bruizza)      Join Date: May 2009       02-17-2012, 4:37 PM Reply   
Ask yourself do you want a looser board or a really responsive board. If you want looser go rocker. If you want response go camber. Since you are a beginner to snowboarding a rocker board will be easier to learn on. Hybrid is a good combo of both worlds. Burton calls their hybrid flying V not gulling. Lots of companies have hybrid boards these days and they have been out for a few years now. Might be worth trying to find a leftover 2011 to save some money. Also I've never had an issue with rocketed boards on groomers and they absolutely excel in the park. They aren't that great for half pipe though. Now if you end up with a super soft rocker board it could get chattery on you at higher speeds on groomers. Seeing as how you are new to the sport I don't think you will have that issue for a while.

As for Flow bindings they make great stuff. I've ridden them and they are pretty responsive. If you step up to some of their higher end stuff you won't be disappointed. However higher end means more responsive which means more likely to catch an edge. It also means more money.

If you go rocker you can size down some on a snowboard. It is due to the shape, contact points and effective edge. I am 6ft 215lbs and ride a 155 rocketed board at the moment. Just rode it in over a foot of powder last weekend and had no issues. A shorter board is also easier to learn on. This is because it doesn't take as much effort to get it to turn.

One thing you haven't mentioned are boots. IMHO boots are the absolute most important part of your set up. If your feet are uncomfortable it doesn't matter how awesome your board and bindings are you will have a bad day. Go try on boots before you buy. Get them heat molded. It will make your first few days wearing them so much better. Also you want your boots to be comfortable but tight. Heel lift is not a good thing.
Old     (Anaru)      Join Date: Jan 2012       07-05-2012, 2:48 AM Reply   
Thought I might update u all for helping me out.

I ended up getting Flow M11 bindings, DC judge boa boots, by far the most comfortable boots I tried on, and went with the 2012 Lib Tech dark series C2. Which is a hybrid rocker.

Never had so much fun in my life!!! Boots gave me no grief and were not sore at all! Board bites hard when I needed it too but was floaty at the same time. I don't think I could be any happier with what I bought!

Am trying to organize another another week of shredding as it's snow season here in aus
Old     (augie_09)      Join Date: Mar 2011       07-05-2012, 6:41 AM Reply   
Nice setup! The rocker camber 'RC' tech is great, aka libtechs power banana, burtons flying V, never summer's RC. It takes some getting used to, but on my NS sl-r I can bomb down a run as fast as a regular stiffness cambered board and float like a reverse cambered board in pow. It's also harder to catch an edge and does better on ice. Imagine the dark series is the same way.
Old     (Anaru)      Join Date: Jan 2012       07-06-2012, 6:36 PM Reply   
Quote:
Originally Posted by augie_09 View Post
Nice setup! The rocker camber 'RC' tech is great, aka libtechs power banana, burtons flying V, never summer's RC. It takes some getting used to, but on my NS sl-r I can bomb down a run as fast as a regular stiffness cambered board and float like a reverse cambered board in pow. It's also harder to catch an edge and does better on ice. Imagine the dark series is the same way.
Def true about harder to catch an edge! I rode my mates flying V that he was demo'ing and it floated fairly similar but I couldn't rely on it to 'bite' and dig in when I needed it (similar to how i like my wakeboard to be) The dark series does what u want it to when u want it. Carving on ice easy too. Like when u go from pow to hitting ice patches, I could still regain the control I needed. Maybe I'm biased now but I couldn't be anymore happier with my stick and over all setup!

Last yr with hire gear I had a horrible experience even though I hired 'pro' gear. I progressed so much this yr that I was able to keep up with mates who have been boarding 10yrs + and not hold them up. Even leading at times. I'd say it was having decent gear that gave me the confidence in my equipment to be able to push harder.

Not sure if I mentioned it earlier but I dislocated my shoulder on the first day haha, second day took it easy and gave myself the time to learn toeside 3 day went hard ( even tough still in pain) took a hard fall face planted hit my shoulder, and some how fixed it hahaha it isn't 100% better yet but did get rid if the constant pain that was there lol

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