Which size freeride board should I get?

[Powercarver129]

I'm looking at the Burton T6 as my freeriding non-alpine setup for this year. They look really nice and responsive. I'm gonna get 2008 model to save some money.

I am 6'0, 148 lbs, expert- lots of experience snowboarding, and riding style is very agressive. 17 year old and eventually I might gain some more weight. Hardly ever in the terrain park but I might take it off jumps/cornices sometimes. Im basically trying to decide between the 159 and 162. One consideration is that the waist of the 159 is 246mm and waist for the 162 is 248mm. I don't know if this might be an issue for my size 9.5 boots.

If anyone also happens to know where I could find this for a killer :AR15firinprice, that would be a plus!:biggthump And any suggestions for bindings for this? Obviously its a softboot setup. I'd like to go high end but maybe a previous year to save some money and catch a sale. Thanks!

[Powercarver129]

anybody have advice please?

[b0ardski]

2mm difference in waist width will be un-noticeable for your foot size if you ride with forward angles, if you ride it duck or 0 degrees you'll get some toe or heel drag up on edge.
At 6' tall you'll grow out of a 159 pretty easily, even though you only wiegh a buck & a half now. If you ride the whole mt at an expert level I'd suggest a 165, I'm your size + 30# and 165 are my short boards. As you gain wieght the 162 T6 will feel like a toy, maybe good for the park but not fresh snow off a cornice.

[bobdea]

what size are your feet?

I'm guessing at least mens 11

look at boards between 26 and 27 cm wide

[Jim Callen]

For a freeride board that wont see the park, you should go way longer than 162. High 160's or low 170's will treat you well, and seeing as you're an aggressive rider, you should be all set.

[sfleck]

I've got a 165 Atomic Firestarter that's in really good condition I might be willing to get rid of. This was Atomic's top of the line BX board from a couple years back. Fun ride, unfortunately I just don't really get out on it very much anymore. I've got some photos I can send you if you're interested, just let me know.

[Bullwings]

Ever consider any of the Rad-Air snowboards?

exoticboards.com (http://www.exoticboards.com)

has the 05/06 Tanker 172 for $450.

They also have some other Rad-Air models for under $400. I'm pretty sure those should all make great freeride boards.

[Powercarver129]

softbootsailer-
would you recommend the burton triad?

[Mike T]

I second the Missions. Last season I used the same boot/binding setup as softbootsailer and they worked really well for both powder and carving.
What I like about the Missions is that they have a good ergonomic design, and also offer enough freedom for navigating tracked-out heavy fresh snow. I can rail pretty darn well with Missions on my Steepwater.

[BlueB]

Mike, how do you find Steepwater compared to other carve orientated softie boards? I know you tried Tanker, Incline, etc...

Others are welcome to weigh in, too.

[Mike T]

Mike, how do you find Steepwater compared to other carve orientated softie boards? I know you tried Tanker, Incline, etc...

Others are welcome to weigh in, too.

Other carvey or BX-ish softie boards I've ridden:

-Tanker 192 and 200
-Donek Incline 160 and 168, Wide 161 and 165
-Salomon FRS 165
-Salomon Fastback 163

I have the Steepwater Plow 171.

The Steepwater IMHO has all of them beat on grippiness on hardpack, both smooth and bumpy. (Especially on bumpy groom)

Versus the Tankers, the Steep is not as floaty nor as stable at speed. But it's a heckuva lot more maneuverable and better behaved on hardpack. It's certainly easier in trees, and also in heavy snow where the Tankers can be a bit much to course-correct.

Versus the Doneks... the Steep is damper, not as lively. The Steep floats better than all the aforementioned Doneks. Stability at speed - definitley the Steep hands down versus the smaller Doneks, it's probably close versus the big Doneks but I haven't had both at the same time. A better comparison might be Steep versus Donek Razor, a test I would love to perform some day.

Versus the Salomons: Steep all the way: Softer yet grippier and more stable at speed, better floating, easier to move around in trees.

It's a bit heavy and without a lot of rebound. But very well behaved. It's my favorite non-powder-specific softie ride to date. The biger Doneks are my 2nd favorites, then the Tanker 192.

[BlueB]

Super review, thanks Mike!

I just got an used Steepawter Steep (narrower version) and was curious of what it would be like...
On the hend flex, if one ignored the flex coming from soft showels, it's way stiffer then Tanker 192 and stiffer then many of my alpine boards.
Core looks very thick and it extends thick way into nose/tail. Quite interesting, it has substantial thickness taper through thes showels, where majority of the boards have just uniform thickness...

I'll be testing whole lot of freeride/bX/pow type of boards this year, soft and hard boot. It will be quite interesting...

[Flyin Hawaiian]

Anyone have an opinion on the Prior Freeride as an all moutain directional carver. Could you run softer plates on this like F2s?