king.module Posted October 7, 2005 Report Posted October 7, 2005 so what's the 'size' rule of thumb when looking for a snowboard? i have a beat up old 156 that i've *ahem* borrowed for around 3 years - time for me to get one of my own (mainly because the ol' 156 doesn't have flow bindings:rolleyes: ) can't work out if a shorter board would be better (for snow kiting) than the comparable size for piste use (Discuss) opinions and onions welcome Quote
Lem Posted October 7, 2005 Report Posted October 7, 2005 As a long dangly kinda fella you're prob best off with something around 160 size - the extra area will help when riding powdery sections. Small boards are great for park jibbing, but can be a stuggle off piste. Most of the more symmetric designs are extreme shorter boards unfortuntely, with the larger 'all-mountain' decks tending to have a reasonably biased sidecut. However, I've not found too much problem with my 161 - either riding regular stance for downhill or centred and ducked out for snowkiting. Quote
foz.foz Posted October 7, 2005 Report Posted October 7, 2005 correct me if I'm wrong but I thought if the board stood to your chin, you were about at the right size. Quote
mike c Posted October 7, 2005 Report Posted October 7, 2005 Depends how lardy or otherwise you are. I am only 5 ft 8 and a bit, but for freeride I use a 165 cos of my stupendous belly. I have a 159 for park and messing about. Will be snow kiting in Geilo for first time and suspect both will get used depending upon depth of snow - 159 is symetrical and 165 has a bias. Quote
mkratty Posted October 7, 2005 Report Posted October 7, 2005 i was told the rule of thumb was between your chin and nose im 5'7 and my salomon shade feels ok to me .i went for the shorter option coz i prefered to freestyle than cruz .and it was cheap!!! Quote
cstowell Posted October 7, 2005 Report Posted October 7, 2005 Yup, board size is weight/height dependant - but your height and the board construction will make a difference. Tip width/shape and waist width affects float in powder, bigger is generally better if you spend most of you time knee deep. Whereas the side cut radius is important for snowkiting, a very "carvey" board isn't so good, but a nice big sidecut radius, say 8.5-9m (as found on some freestyle boards) helps improve control as the board won't want to keep turning back upwind all the time. Some boards are shorter than others but have the same effective edge (i.e. my 159 Ride Timeless and 151 K2 WWW have almost the same effective edge). So simple measurements like chin height are a simple rule of thumb but not anywhere close to being a good indicator of a good length. There are some dudes at Antigravity snowboards that have brought out the first snowkite board. It's REALLY short (132?), has no sidecut, and has big tips and a wide waist (for extra leverage to hold the edge). Apparently it's insane to ride. That breaks every rule in the book, but is potentially the best board out there. I'm 5' 11" and 86Kg, mainly freeride with a very aggressive "surfy" style on the downhill days. In my board bag I've: an old 161 Burton Cascade that's beautiful for powder/carving days but no good for snowkiting. a Ride Timeless 159 that's insane for general thrashing, nice for the snowkiting in deeper conditions, but not perfect a K2 WWW 152 that's going to be truly sick in firmer conditions with the kite and for messing around in the park, it's got shorter tips but the same effective edge as the Timeless. Weighs nothing, spins so easily, really cheap out here in the US. Nightmare in deep powder though.... 3 completely different boards and each is a real joy to ride. To be honest the Cascade doesn't see much action nowadays (usually riding the Timeless), and never with the kite. Although it holds an edge really well, is more composed at high speeds than the Timeless, and allows you generate huge pop it's a pain in the backside most of the time when used with the kite (too grippy an edge, too heavy). When snowkiting this season I'll expect to use the Timeless in deeper snow conditions, and the WWW for firmer conditions as the tips aren't big enough to float over any more than a couple of inches of the loose stuff. The WWW is also a true twin tip so it's super-easy to ride regular or switch. The short length really helps with rotations too. The tuning, stance width/angle/setback and highback angles all affect the board's handling too, but this is more fine tuning than something that you'd consider when buying. Complicated? Yup, but only if you're after a very specific kind of board, with a very specific feel. As a rule of thumb as long as you within the manufacturer's recommended weight ranges for the board, and the board is designed to do what you want to do, the edges are tuned nicely and you look after the base then you'll have a blast. An even better way is to decide on what you want from the board, go into a decent board shop and ask someone who knows the boards well for a recommendation. Better still, go somewhere with snow with your mates and try as many different boards.... no substitute for tyring before you buy. Quote
king.module Posted October 10, 2005 Author Report Posted October 10, 2005 cheers for all your input peeps - very handy indeed looking like i need something a bit bigger than what i've got - gonna try and enter the 100 km race - (http://imandra.monchegorsk.ru/?uc=info&ud=eng) so i'll be needing something for more 'off piste' use (even if it will be flat) right off to ebay to see what i can find (and not forget the flow bindings... essential for snow kiting....) As a long dangly kinda fella....... Oi !!!! - PMSL:rolleyes: Quote
KiteAddict Posted October 10, 2005 Report Posted October 10, 2005 As most of the other posts have suggested, board differences for regular snowboarding apply for snowkiting, e.g. if you want to go fast then a stiff and long board is cool, for freestyle opt for something shorter with a little less stiffness. Wider boards will help in the softer stuff etc etc. Main exceptions are that Twin tips are a big benefit for snowkiting, whereas most regular snowboards are asymmetrical, so if you are going to use a 'regular' snowboard for snowkiting, you not only need to change the stance angle, but you'll need to measure the boards effective edge and reposition the bindings about the effective edge centre to get a consistent ride feel both ways. Also another major component is the binding type and setup, personally I find the Flow bindings perfect for snowkiting as they offer the required support and are super easy to get in and out of, which is always a bonus :-) Regarding the board, my experience is that an all round board is best for most riders as the terrain we ride is bound to vary i.e. ice, poweder, flats, bumps and jumps. If you're just going to use the board just for snowkiting then a twin tip is cool, otherwise buy as you would for snowboarding, in terms of length, width, stiffness etc, but the important thing is to then setup the binding angle and position about effective edge centre. Hope this helps. Cheers Quote
hooly Posted October 31, 2005 Report Posted October 31, 2005 not forget the flow bindings... essential for snow kiting....) please explain mr module, ive been, er,.... away... Quote
hooly Posted October 31, 2005 Report Posted October 31, 2005 on it, innit http://snowboarding.about.com/cs/gearbindings/gr/FlowBindings02.htm Quote
king.module Posted November 1, 2005 Author Report Posted November 1, 2005 on it, innit Oh do try and keep up:rolleyes: Quote
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