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  • #578941
    sholston
    Participant

    I have been riding for 15 years and am tired of the lifts. All my friends have abandoned me for backcountry skiing but I refuse to give up boarding! I am having troubles finding a small enough board that is not outrageously expensive. I am looking at the Voile Artisan. Reviews? Suggestions for finding small boards?

    #670114
    philip.ak
    Participant

    @sholston wrote:

    Suggestions for finding small boards?

    What do you consider “small?” My wife rode a Palmer Circles 148 and a Burton Feelgood 150, and totally loves her Burton Antisocial 150 split and even her Voile Mojo RX 154 split. Folks tend to ride slightly different terrain in the BC than inbounds.

    #670115
    tiltedworld
    Participant

    And if you’re interested in the Mojo Rx 154, I have an unused one for sale with LT brackets and climbing bars. My wife went shorter with the Anti-social 150 as well before she had the opportunity to use it.

    #670116
    sholston
    Participant

    I am 5’4 and usually ride a 151. I rode a 156 last year on a backcountry cat trip last year and liked the size.

    #670117
    philip.ak
    Participant

    The Antisocial is a great all around board. My wife really loves hers and she’s going faster and down more difficult terrain on it than before. It’s quite light and climbs well too. She was happy with her Voile Mojo too. She tried a Prior Brandywine but did not like that one much at all. The narrow nose tended to dive, turn initiation was difficult, and the ride was overall unpredictable after that.

    #670118
    tiltedworld
    Participant

    Sholston – I’ll reply to your PM with some additional thoughts. If you liked a 156, I suspect you’d prefer the Mojo over the Anti-social. My wife, who is shorter than you, would never be able to handle a 156 in the BC. We can discuss over PM.

    #670119
    Kadydid
    Participant

    What is your inbounds board?
    and what were the conditions on the day you rode the 156?

    My experience in the backcountry as been in varied conditions, very varied. I would say that a from a 151 to a 156 is a lot to jump up in size if you think you will go out on more then then just the best powder days. Trees, crud, long flat sections to get back out of the back country- you want your board to be able to handle a lot of different stuff unless you think that you will only go out on great powder days. I jumped up just two cm plus its beefier board but its too much. My inbounds board is a 152 bpro, and my split is a venture zephyr 154. The zephyr is a great board when I have a huge space to make turns in, it opens up really well, but making smaller controlled turns is more work then I like to do. I want that part to be easy.
    So..
    I am also wondering what to get again- thinking that my approach this time will be to get a split that is most like my resort board. I am hoping to find a bpro split, but if that doesnt happen I am going to be looking for a splitboard with a similar shape because I know it works in lots of different conditions and I am very happy with it. Unless your inbounds board is park specific deck I would use it as a starting point for your split and don’t stray to far from what you know you love. Get something like it.

    #670120
    sholston
    Participant

    Thank you everyone for all of your fabulous suggestions. The kaydid_k my inbound board was a K2 151 not sure on the make, I have always had handmedown boards from my sisters and pretty much ride whats available. The splitboard I will be purchasing this fall will be the only board I have actively purchased, so I am pretty stoked! As for the cat trip I rode the 156 the conditions were stellar, fresh powder and steep but open country.

    #670121
    tiltedworld
    Participant

    @kadydid_k@yahoo.com wrote:

    What is your inbounds board?
    and what were the conditions on the day you rode the 156?

    My experience in the backcountry as been in varied conditions, very varied. I would say that a from a 151 to a 156 is a lot to jump up in size if you think you will go out on more then then just the best powder days. Trees, crud, long flat sections to get back out of the back country- you want your board to be able to handle a lot of different stuff unless you think that you will only go out on great powder days. I jumped up just two cm plus its beefier board but its too much. My inbounds board is a 152 bpro, and my split is a venture zephyr 154. The zephyr is a great board when I have a huge space to make turns in, it opens up really well, but making smaller controlled turns is more work then I like to do. I want that part to be easy.
    So..
    I am also wondering what to get again- thinking that my approach this time will be to get a split that is most like my resort board. I am hoping to find a bpro split, but if that doesnt happen I am going to be looking for a splitboard with a similar shape because I know it works in lots of different conditions and I am very happy with it. Unless your inbounds board is park specific deck I would use it as a starting point for your split and don’t stray to far from what you know you love. Get something like it.

    Kadydid, I don’t disagree that a 6cm is a decent sized jump in size, but less so on your 2cm difference. Do you think that the differences are more of a flex/camber difference rather than length? Your Bpro is a Mervin center-rockered board with camber under foot for edge hold, whereas the Zepher is a flat camber with rocker at the nose/tail. To me, those are two completely different riding boards, irregardless of length. The Mervins are a very “turny” board that almost feels like it pivots on that center rocker, whereas the Venture would ride more like a traditional cambered board (even with a flat camber) which is loose on the ends where the rocker is.

    Also, in my experience, the Ventures in general are stiffer flexing that the Mervin’s which should mean you might not be flexing it the same (assuming your same weight). The effective edge difference btwn the two is 4cm, vs. a 2cm increase in size, which means the zepher should ride larger than the size increase alone.

    In your search for a new deck, I’d certainly keep those variables in mind as much as the length of your deck, GL :thumpsup:

    #670122
    Kadydid
    Participant

    I agree tiltedworld that it is as much about the shape and style as the size that i have felt a big change in my boards. (I think i alluded to that) but i think it is worth noting that if you make a drastic change in either while learning the ins and outs of touring you will be more frustrated then necessary. That being said tiltedworld do you know of a splitboard in a smaller size that rides more like the bpro? Options feel limited at the smaller sizes. Also have you skinned on a rockered board that is similar to the bpro? I dont want to sacrifice uphill ability for downhill playfullness.
    Sholstonas tiltedworld pointed out, its not all about size. But from experrience going up in size, aggressivness, and stiffness has been an extra challenge. There is a lot of learning associated with splitboarding- uphill travel, backcountry, avi etc. And it would be nice to feel like the downhill is comfortable so i would try to find out what model k2 you have and get a similar splitboard. Im looking for advice right and left two years after my first splitboard. But most of my touring partners are skiiers. Good luck!

    #670123
    Powder_Rider
    Participant

    Have you consider calling Venture Snowboards???? Lisa Branner is the co-owner of Venture snowboard’s. She is easy to talk to. I love my Venture Storm Split.

    http://venturesnowboards.com/womens-snowboards/
    http://venturesnowboards.com/storm-splitboard/storm-splitboard-sizing/
    http://venturesnowboards.com/storm-splitboard/storm-splitboard-specs/

    #670124
    Powder_Rider
    Participant

    Will women benefit from a powder specific splitboard such as a swallowtail or Prior Fissile for really deep pow-days?

    I dont want to sacrifice uphill ability for downhill playfullness.

    Hence a longer board (greater surface and more board weight). Will a longer (160 cm) powder specific splitboard offset the benefits for riding powder vs. extra weight in touring and riding a heavier board for a woman (5’3″ @ 130 pounds)?

    My wife rides a 154 cm all mountain splitboard and resort is a 149 cm Malolo.

    #670125
    tiltedworld
    Participant

    @kadydid_k@yahoo.com wrote:

    I agree tiltedworld that it is as much about the shape and style as the size that i have felt a big change in my boards. (I think i alluded to that) but i think it is worth noting that if you make a drastic change in either while learning the ins and outs of touring you will be more frustrated then necessary. That being said tiltedworld do you know of a splitboard in a smaller size that rides more like the bpro? Options feel limited at the smaller sizes. Also have you skinned on a rockered board that is similar to the bpro? I dont want to sacrifice uphill ability for downhill playfullness.
    Sholstonas tiltedworld pointed out, its not all about size. But from experrience going up in size, aggressivness, and stiffness has been an extra challenge. There is a lot of learning associated with splitboarding- uphill travel, backcountry, avi etc. And it would be nice to feel like the downhill is comfortable so i would try to find out what model k2 you have and get a similar splitboard. Im looking for advice right and left two years after my first splitboard. But most of my touring partners are skiiers. Good luck!

    I’m sorry, we didn’t consider those center reverse-cambered (RC) boards due to not really preferring how they rode in bounds. We both could see why some riders liked them, I myself learned more about my own switch riding than I had in years on a RC board, but ultimately did not match our riding styles. My wife is on a Burton Antisocial this year, which is S-rocker (rocker from under front foot to nose only, and camber elsewhere. There have been numerous threads here talking about the efficiency of RC skinning being less, some have gotten used to it, others not. I haven’t tried skinning with an RC board, so I don’t want to point you in any one direction there. The Artisan looks like it is in between the Bpro and Zepher in camber – no center RC, flat camber instead, but with the somecamber under the bindings and a longer, drawn out rocker from the ends of the flat sections. The specs on the 152/153 are almost identical, but the effective edge is shorter on the Artisan.

    #670126
    Chair2BoardSports
    Participant

    We get this in the shop all the time, and cannot stress enough the importance of test riding before buying a factory splitboard!

    There are shops that have demos, splitfests everywhere and locals who will loan out boards for a try out. No matter where you are there is opportunites to try boards before you buy. There are so many new and great board designs that there is no way one can make an accurate recommendation.

    To add to that, there are some great womens boards out there for this season! Voile, Jones, Venture, Gnu, Prior and others have ladies specific splits now, every one of them worth a look.

    If you have always ridden hand-me-downs, I will assume you havnt ridden any of the new rocker shapes or hybrids? If this is the case, I again highly recommend attending a demo day, even if the only offering is solid boards. This will give you a much better idea what type of camber/rocker/combo you prefer and will aid greatly in narrowing down a split.

    A factory split is a huge investment for a first timer which is why we build so many DIY boards. Don’t take the decision lightly, ride as many boards as you can get your feet on and make the right choice for you! The delay in getting out om your own will be made up for ten fold when you get your new board that is perfect for you.

    Good luck on the search!!

    #670127
    kingston484
    Participant

    for what it’s worth, i am a 5’8.5″ ~150# female, inbounds boards are a 155 gnu bpro and an old 156 custom x (i’m not a park/rails rider), my split is a 158 solution and i love it. floats great. rode it for a week inbounds once on a trip too (since was limited in amount of gear i could take with me) and it has become my new favorite board overall.

    some of us unfortunately cannot not practically test ride all splitboard options before buying because of where we live. i had only test rode a few Priors before purchasing the solution. all i knew was i don’t like the bpro enough for the conditions it needs to handle in the BC and i really didn’t like the priors i test rode, so i based the purchase off of reviews. i guess i got lucky. the decision was between a 156 womens solution and a 158 mens solution. i wanted the stiffer flex of the mens, but whether i would be happy with the women’s board and have saved a bit of weight, i’m not sure.

    i talked to lisa at venture a lot too. they have a very nice range of boards that is female-friendly, however i found that their boards seemed heavier overall, and as a chick who rides w/ male skiers mostly, i’ve tried to cut as much weight on my gear as possible so as not to be the tired chick straggler at the end of the day!

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