Burton m6 asym+new rider

[Wildfrogman]

Hello, I'm going to be snowboarding for the first time this year because I picked up a burton m6 159~160ish cm board for the cost of shipping. I was wondering what your opinion is on the board, info on it is scarce online because its old I guess. I'll be using it on a small midwest ski area called timberridge ~240vert. I'm 5 11 and 145ish lbs aswell

[ealely]

As nobody has answered your 2 messages yet, then I'll be the first to welcome you ;) !
I have no idea about your Burton M6 asym board but isn't it (very) old? When I bought my first asym board (157 cm I think) I was something like 58kg (I think) and 170 cm (I'm sure) if it can help a bit... anyway if you don't like it, give a try to 'new generation' boards:D

[Wildfrogman]

I'm 66 kg or around 145lbs and 5 11~6ft and 181~182 cm, Yes the burton m6 is quite old http://www.oldsnowboards.com/pics/album159 I think when a board is on a site called oldsnowboards it almost has to be an antique. Anyways, I plan on using that for a while then pick up something more current as there's always ebay or places online that sell "new" boards that are a few years old for cheap..or the classifieds here even.

I guess I'm just wondering how much of an improvement the newer boards are over the older asym. boards like the burton m6?

[jnshapiro]

I have that very board (well, one just like it)! If it's still got its camber and stiffness, it's a fun ride. I quite enjoy mine.

Haven't ridden in several years though, so I have no comment on how the new boards perform vs. this one. I have a new Donek Axxess on order and plan to find out this season. Likely I'll take that Burton out at least once though. I recall it being a fun board to ride!

Joel

[Phil]

Welcome to Bomber Wildfrogman.:biggthump



(glad you could finally make it;) )

[ealely]

I have that very board (well, one just like it)! If it's still got its camber and stiffness, it's a fun ride. I quite enjoy mine.

Haven't ridden in several years though, so I have no comment on how the new boards perform vs. this one. I have a new Donek Axxess on order and plan to find out this season. Likely I'll take that Burton out at least once though. I recall it being a fun board to ride!

Joel
Got the Donek Axis last year :) Anyway, now I have 3 boards -2 new and 1 'new" very old asym- they are all different and I love the potential of those 3 boards in 3 very different ways..

Please don't forget to give us a feedback about new vs old!

[boarderboy]

Bought one new back in the Dark Ages and have ridden it throughout the southeast, in the Rockies and in the Sierras.

It was pretty soft to begin with, so I put Snow Stix (variable stiffening device) on it. Even without the Stix, it still has some camber. Its wide nose makes fresh powder a possibility , and it's a fine , forgiving ride for pklaying on groomed. It's suitable for use with soft or hard boots, though today's high-cuffed, very stiff hard boots would, I believe, be overkill.

Assuming your board still has camber, it should make a mellow, fun learning vehicle. Don't worry about the passions aroused by sym/asym arguments hereabouts.

It's an easy ride.

Happy carving.

[Jack Michaud]

Wildfrogman, welcome, glad to have you. But you got what you paid for.

http://www.bomberonline.com//articles/asymetric.cfm

Here's some other introductory info, if you're interested:
http://www.bomberonline.com/articles/welcome_center.cfm

Have fun.

[JJFluff]

Wildfrogman,

Glad to see you are going alpine. The board your using to start on will work out great for you. It flexy and forgiving. The size of the board will work great as well. Being a beginner, the difference of asymetrical to symetrical is a angled tail vs. a straight tail. So don't worry about the difference. I've been snowboarding for 14 years, started on asymetrical boards and have moved on to symetrical, the main reason? Because thats where the technology and demand moved towards, and thats what is now available. Honestly, switching between the two, feel no more ackward than switching from one symetrical board to another symetrical board. You just need to make a few adjustments. Especially at your level. Have fun, work on your riding by doing what feels right. I suggest getting lessons at first, so you don't pick up bad habits and go from there. Trust me, it's not rocket science. Unless you make it that way.

[Wildfrogman]

Ok, so I wont worry about the board...though those "snow stix inserts" sounds interesting..being able to make a board stiffer sounds interesting. Anyways, for soft boards like this ski boots wouldnt be too stiff would it? My ski boots are fairly soft and I can adjust them and make them somewhat softer flexing.

[dano]

But them's trolling words here. Are you?

BURTON...They deserted us. Slow death to them.

ASYM...Carvable but in a knuckle dragger old school way.

Carve with SKI boots? This is going backwards fast...is it 1988??

Man, Jack is either going to have to increase his Patron ration or start believing in backwards evolution.

[Raisputin]

I rode in ski boots until last year :P Then again, I have been mostly riding my ancient Asym board...hmmm....Now I have a (less) ancient Hot Blast and some Raichle boots. It is actually taking quite a bit of getting used to. I think I need another board....a GS board :)

[boarderboy]

Wild Frogman - at risk of rousing the 'wrath of the deserted', if you can wear US size 11's, you're welcome to my old Burton Freecarves. They're ancient, 3-buckle, low-cuffers designed for riding the whole mountain. In my opinion, a very functional concept not now available.

They do have the forward lean that makes carving easier. Think I have some extra toe and heel pieces, tho might take a while to find 'em.

I'd still be riding em but injury plus weight gain boosted me to size 12.5. (I'm reduced to riding biggie ski mountaineering boots now.)

If you can use, the Burtons are yours for the shipping.

Hope El Nino's kind to the midwest this year.

cheers

[Doug M]

The board is a turd by modern standards.9 out of 10 soft setups will out carve/perform it.Nose is super soft and it has too much sidecut for an alpine board.

[snowboardfast]

Don't waste your time with ski boots. Get snowboard boots. you will learn faster and have more fun. It will be harder to learn in ski boots because they don't flex properly for snow boarding. Bomber has some boots on sale right now if you can't find a used pair. Good luck and have fun!

[Wildfrogman]

No...I was not meaning to troll, though seeing some responses and reading a little more and seeing how burton's line went away from alpine boards I can see where thats coming from. That wasnt my intent, however what is a common price for used alpine boards and what are considered good yet inexpensive?

[Phil]

Wow, a skier gets a board for free and decides he wants to try it. He comes to Bomber to get advice and you guys all decide that he needs to go out and buy all new gear. Did you guys all start on great gear? I know that I started out on really primitive gear and I feel that I am a better rider for it.

How about some encouragement. He wants to be able to switch back to his skis if he likes.

You CAN ride an asym, even a BURTON, even in ski boots. Once you try it and like it, you can decide where to drop the cash later.

Asym - not optimal, but usable - there are a lot of guys out there that could smoke the rest of us on one.

Burton - get over it guys - a bunch of other companies have "abandoned" us too, but they are not as big as Burton so they don't have a target on their head.

Ski boots - not optimal, but there have been a lot of really good riders who have killed it in ski boots.

I don't see a problem. Try it and enjoy. Move on to something better if and when you feel like it.

[mnfusion]

Wildfrogman...you know what...take what some of these people here say with a grain of salt...don't worry about your equipment yet, just go out there and have fun. I learned how to carve on an old Burton asym PJ with soft bindings way back in 1991 and I railed on that thing. I could Euro-carve and lay 360's on the hill with it. I moved to hard boots and hated it and now ride soft boots again on a burton fusion and alp and I carve better than almost everyone on the hill. Enjoy what you have and you naturally want to progress to better equipment when the time is right. You will know when you have out grown your equipment. have fun.

[Wildfrogman]

Thats what I thought :) the burton m6 is somewhat wide and I shouldnt have trouble with boot out in turns. The ski area I'm going to only has 240ft~ vert and is in southwest michigan...timberridge ski area. So, its not quite the same as colorado or even out east with the larger mountains. I dont plan on bombing down blacks and blues my first season at GS speeds either, I dont think I actually could get going that fast around here but the thought is making lots of tight carving turns to make the most of smallish runs. Somthing I just thought of...with alpine plate bindings what do you do in the lift lines? Is it easy to take off one binding or..shudder..have a ski pole :freak3: lol I hope not

[Raisputin]

Not sure how old this article is but.....

Racing Gear

Racers need gear that will absorb the bumps and chatter that come from a rutted-up course:

Board: Racers often like to use wider boards that allow lower boot angles, to allow more leverage and maneuverability. Boards also must be very damp for better edge hold. In PGS, courses don't get reset between heats, so the slope can get really chopped up. Titanal has recently made a splash at the pro level, since it provides an extra level of dampness. A typical board size falls into the range:
For GS: 185cm length, 15M radius
For SL: 162cm length, 10M radius
Boards that appear to be popular at the world cup level seem to be Tomahawk, F2 Speedster, Prior WCR, Donek Race, Coiler PureRace.
Bindings: Step-in Bindings are often too stiff for racers (even though some racers use them, like Jasey-Jay). Most racers ride on a softer non-stepin binding. On the other hand, if Titanal boards become super-damp, it may be possible to use stepin bindings on them without getting bumped around. Jasey-Jay uses an über-damp Titanal Coiler, with Catek short plate step-ins. Bindings that appear to be popular at the world cup level seem to be Burton Race, F2 Race Titanium, Phiokka Highlander, Bomber, Catek.
Boots: With a softer binding to absorb vibrations before the get to the boots, a stiffer boot can come in handy for power control: DeeLuxe Indy, Burton Furnace, Burton Reactor, Burton Fire, UPZ. Anton Pogue and Ryan McDonald ride on modified ski boots. [http://www.alpinecarving.com/racing.html]

Ryan also rides at my home mountain and I am pretty sure that last year when I saw him carving it up there, he was on ski boots...

[Wildfrogman]

Thats a pretty cool section/article you found there :) one thing I've been wonderng aswell with ski boots~hard boots in general is how plate bindings are adjustable for different boot sizes? One of my friends will probably be using the board when I'm not on it so this info will come in handy. I've read~searched around but never found the info..evidently everyone knows except new people lol, thats why I'm asking.

[Jack Michaud]

Thats a pretty cool section/article you found there :) one thing I've been wonderng aswell with ski boots~hard boots in general is how plate bindings are adjustable for different boot sizes? One of my friends will probably be using the board when I'm not on it so this info will come in handy. I've read~searched around but never found the info..evidently everyone knows except new people lol, thats why I'm asking.

This is answered in the link I gave you for the welcome center.

Phil is right, but I would encourage you to only use this board to discover whether or not you like snowboarding at all and will want to pursue it further. Once the hook is set, then spring for some more modern gear. You can do *very* well in the classifieds.

Good luck.

[Jack Michaud]

Jack just wants you to sell that board in the classifieds here... so HE can buy it!

Yeah, I want to hang it on my wall right next to my Dave Morgan dartboard. :p

[bumpyride]

Hey, I've got one of those boards, a 162 in red. How did it ride? I've never had mine out, and the graphics are outstandingl. Didn't know if should use it or just hang it up.

[boarderboy]

Ride it, don't hide it!

[Dr D]

Ok, so I wont worry about the board...though those "snow stix inserts" sounds interesting..being able to make a board stiffer sounds interesting. Anyways, for soft boards like this ski boots wouldnt be too stiff would it? My ski boots are fairly soft and I can adjust them and make them somewhat softer flexing.

my first alpine board new in 1990 and I used my rear entry raichle skiboots. I had a blast and wish I still had the board. Its a great place to start. In a year or to you'll want to upgrade to more moodern gear but for now just enjoy. If it sucks you can blame it on the old gear or the wrong boots:biggthump

there is a lot of cheap gear out there newer than that when you are ready. If you have the blue and white model I would love to talk about it and maybe do some trading I would love to have an M6 for old time sake.

[Wildfrogman]

Well, sorry to say I dont plan on selling it. A friend will be inheriting it if I get new equipment aswell though its nice to see some people like the old asym boards. It'll be interesting though riding an old board...somebody will probably think its strange, perhaps they've never seen the old asym boards yet :freak3: ohwell, sometimes its cool being different :)

[Raisputin]

I just found out that my old Hooger Boger Booster 167 (Asym) will take the Burton 3 hole bindings :eplus2: Time to get some and take it out for its first ride ever....muhaahahahahahah

[Wildfrogman]

That sounds pretty cool, almost sounds like a trend to go oldschool atleast for a bit~fun etc. The people that hate asyms probably are like "die already asym die! :smashfrea..why wont it die?" and instead gaining new riders crossing over from skiing on old cheap~free asyms that can use skiboots lol.

[ealely]

... instead gaining new riders crossing over from skiing on old cheap~free asyms that can use skiboots lol.

Gear is IMHO quite important though! It has nothing to do with asym boards but when I did the cross over from skiing, I rented in a very small resort a board with hard bindings but this board was more suitable for softboots. Then, they gave me ski boots. It was a long time ago but I know that if I hadn't have rented better gear before that, I might have never rented alpine snowboard later on because this day was just a big pain.
Maybe with carving skis, ski boots have changed,,but if you have the chance to get alpine snowboots, better it is!