Splitboard.com Forums

Hi all, I found this site while doing some research on various boards and it's been a great resource so thanks! I have a few questions about two boards that I hope someone can help me with.

About me: boarding on and off for 15 years, at this point I only freeride, and I'm sort of a middle of the road boarder- not super aggressive but not super mellow either. I'm 6' and weight about 160ish (I'm a woman) and have size 12 feet (Womens- which is about 11 in mens, maybe 11.5).

I live in AK and ride a mix of hike in and resort. This would be my first splitboard.

Bachelor #1: I was planning on getting a Jones Hovercraft because we are having an epic year and it looks like a super fun board. I've ordered it twice and the order has been cancelled twice and now I'm on a wait list which is getting old. In the meantime I've been told that "in theory", skinning on such a short ski is going to suck, albeit by people who don't actually own this board. I often ski in deep powder in narrower 170skis and it's fine so I think the Hovercraft would be OK but would like to get some feedback from people who've tried it. I will be mostly doing daytrips. (I have zero skinning experience but I do xc ski (NNN-BC set up) 5-6 days/week so I can do kickturns and all that stuff).

Bachelor #2: While waiting on the Jones I picked up a Lib Tech TRS 162 solid which is my first rockered board and I love it. I love the surfy feel, the nimble turning, the light weight and that it's not catchy. So I'm considering picking up a Lib Tech split instead of the Jones with the same camber/rocker profile as the TRS.

The Gnu is too narrow probably so I'm looking at the TRice but two things are making me hesitate: 1) the TRS is not so fun for me in deep (18"+) heavy snow, it's a lot of work, especially if it's tracked out & 2) I can barely get off the lift without falling on my ass. I thought this was me but have been told it's a common problem with rockered boards until you get used to them. So I'm wondering how well a C2BTX board will skin with all your weight over the rocker in tour mode? Does rider weight affect the skinning? Particularly on traverses and down hills? I also find the TRS not quite stiff enough (is the Trice firmer?) and a touch squirrelly at speed (this could be operator error or just not being used to the rocker yet).

If you've been using either of these boards I'd appreciate any input on the skinning or if you think they make sense for the kind of riding I do. I'm definitely open to other boards but I really like the way the Lib Tech rides, it feels very natural to me and I'd like to stick to a shorter rockered board that rides similar. I have ridden longer, heavier powder (and race) boards in the past so I do have basis for comparison.

Sorry for the long post! Look forward to getting some first hand info on these boards.

I went from a 172 non-rockered board (Prior) down to a 164 rockered board (Jones) and the feel of my current rig in both ride and tour modes is absolutely stellar in quality. The shortness of the split in tour mode makes kickturns infinitely easier as well as creating a far more maneuverable length for getting around trees, rocks, roots, and up and over little icy hills in the trail.

Hi!

I have a solid TRS and like it.
But I tried the solid T.rice last week and totally loved it.
It is quite a bit stiffer than the TRS. I went pretty fast on choppy snow at the resort and it was really good for that.
I talked to the Lib Tech guys and they said the split rides exactly the same.
If money were no concern, I would buy the T.rice split.
I also tried the dark series which is a tad bit stiffer than the T.rice and I liked it even more for charging fast.

I have a Voile Mojo (cambered, with an early rise nose). Rides and skins great. I also have a Prior Khyber (camber between the bindings, rockered nose and tail). It rides great and skins fine. I recently spent a few days on a Jones Solution (flat between the bindings and rockered nose and tail). It rides great but the skinning seems to suffer a little bit. It just seems to put less skin on the snow so you lose a little traction, and the directional stability is diminished.

Does a fully rockered board climb well? Not just in soft snow, but also on firm tracks?

Hi Sadie,
I had that same question regarding a short rockered board for my wife also here in Alaska. She is new to backcountry riding. The new cambered and stiffer solid board that I got for her (Solomon Ivy 152) was just a bit much for riding easily in powder, coming from a rockered board. So, when it came time to split a board for her I went with what she was comfortable on, a K2 VaVaVoom 143! Bear in mind she is only 5'2 125 lbs, but it is still quite a short board with full rocker. I took her up TinCan a couple days ago and she could follow the firm skin track really well considering she is new to splittin too. This was on G3 Alpinist skins too, which some have said dont grip quite as well as Voile/B.D. What I've found is that as is if you use gear that you are comfortable with you can make it work for you. Cheers.

Thanks all, this is reassuring. I was a bit worried I was making a mistake with two experienced friends telling me I should buy a 178 board or longer. I'm going to stick with the kind of board I prefer and deal with the skinning issues as they arise. (and get the G3 skins, those tail clips look awesome).

philip.ak- I wonder that too, especially with the Lib boards where all the rocker is in the middle so it's under your foot in tour mode. It seem like the more weight you put over your foot skinning the more the board will flex downwards under your foot and lift the nose and tail up? that could get interesting.

ETA: I got an email and the Jones is available again. Now all I have to do is decide which board to order.....

Im sorta in the same boat but the difference is I own both boards (161.5 trice and 156 hovercraft) in a solid and im thinking about splitting one of them. Even though the Jones is tapered they both ride very similar (mild magnatraction with camber/rocker). The one aspect I truly love about both is the volume. I like the shorter decks that have 26+ waist, it gives a more surf/skate feel for me. Perfect combo of soft when you need it, and aggressive straight lining through crud with amazing control edge to edge...

I highly endorse both boards as a split as far as riding. But skinning is another story. I'll probly go with the Trice for more versatility and I also think Mervin is the way to go for the investment. Not to say the jones is poorly made, its just the company is still is its infancy...

I'm not jocking but the Lib Trice is just a freakin monster when I think about riding. I would metaphorically call it a wood chipper but with snow...

Do you notice a difference between the boards in deep/ wet powder? That's probably the only thing I don't love about my TRS, it gets a bit bogged down in the turns and it's hard on the back leg after a while.

Although that might just be rider error. The last true twin I owned was a Burton Iguchi in... 1999? I'm used to riding boards with a noticeably stiffer tail.

I have the T.rice 161.5 split. When skinning i find that if i apply more pressure by leaning back my foot is less likely to slip on steeper packed skin tracks. T completely aliviate the slipping i ordered a set of crampons for my bindings.
I think this is the nature of skinning with a rockered board. I am new to skinning though so someone with more experince might have better input

i was worried about the Hovy Split 156 too, but grabbed it anyways and have now had 6 pretty long days out on it.
It is a little smaller and feels that way when skinning, but honestly i haven't had any problems. The Hovy has more of a traditional camber between contact points, so this helps.
The only thing i ran into is when trying to do kick turns in deep snow... if a lot of snow accumulates on the front of the ski, it gets harder to pop-up the front of the ski when kick-turning (ummmm... if that makes any sense) because of the small length of the ski behind your touring pin.... there isn't much weight in the back to help balance out the front.

Not a big deal though, it just requires a little extra pop.
AND IT'S SOOOOO FUN TO RIDE!!

I cant help but post this again. The T.Rice i have "drifts" real bad in tour mode because of the rocker underfoot. Not a big deal if you dont need to "ski" out of a logging road or anything like that. I have no problem staying in a skin track going up, but if there is need to edge the ski to control it, good luck.

Otherwise the T.Rice is a very nice set up!