# For all mountain freestyle, which is better? Stiff or flexy?



## Guest (Jan 18, 2009)

BoarderReborn said:


> Currently I'm an all mountain/free ride type rider. I'm moving more and more towards freestyle (i.e. jumps and kickers). I'm not into pipes and starting to get a little interested in jibs. However I would mainly (for now) be doing freeride and jumps. I was curius which would be best for a board on this type riding (soft, medium or hard stiffness). Say on a scale between 1-10 (where 5 is medium flex). I'd like to keep the stability there at high speeds.
> 
> Are flexy boards more for parks and jibs? And is softer flex more stable at higher speeds (I just read that somewhere). I thought it would be the opposite.
> 
> Thanks


longer, stiffer boards are more stable at high speeds. shorter, softer boards are better for jibbing.

find what size supports your weight and choose the size where your weight fits in right in the middle and maybe a bit shorter than that. you also want a mid-flex board. that would be an ideal all mountain freestyle stick imo.


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## EC99SS (Dec 6, 2007)

This is a good thread as I'm stuck in the same situation. (Not trying to hijack thread)

Snowolf -
I currently have an Atomic Axum that they say is a 6 flex. however in the So*Cal conditions I ride in (hard pack/ice) it chatters way too much at speed. Could this be due to the 2.5 degree park bevel? I'm looking into either a Lib Tech TRS BTX (which is also a 6 flex...granted could be different scales) but they say it handles and doesn't chatter in ice/hard pack due to Magne traction and banana. Or the Travis Rice BTX (which is a 7 flex).

Any opinions which of the two would be better for that all mountain freestyle? I'm in between an intermediate to advanced freerider and beginner freestyle (jumps etc). I'm looking to move a lot more into the freestyle realm this season (not pipes and limited jibs). I just want to make sure the board can still handle high speeds.

I'm 5'7", 165 lbs, and 9" boots

Thanks


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## Guest (Jan 18, 2009)

EC99SS said:


> This is a good thread as I'm stuck in the same situation. (Not trying to hijack thread)
> 
> Snowolf -
> I currently have an Atomic Axum that they say is a 6 flex. however in the So*Cal conditions I ride in (hard pack/ice) it chatters way too much at speed. Could this be due to the 2.5 degree park bevel? I'm looking into either a Lib Tech TRS BTX (which is also a 6 flex...granted could be different scales) but they say it handles and doesn't chatter in ice/hard pack due to Magne traction and banana. Or the Travis Rice BTX (which is a 7 flex).
> ...


Sounds like the lib tech would be your best bet. If your going to be riding on alot of hardpack/ice then to make it more enjoyable you're definitley going to want to have the magna traction. This is also a board that will also be good for jumps and small jibs etc. It's somewhat of a park board but it shouldn't give you any problems at all when cruising down the mountain.

Good luck!



At the bottom of this page you can also find some reviews:
Lib Tech Snowboard Lib Tech TRS BTX Snowboard


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## Guest (Jan 19, 2009)

You might also like the Never Summer SL-R if you're not set on Lib Tech. 

(Man, I must sound like a shill !)


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## Technine Icon (Jan 15, 2009)

Before I got into park, I bought a softer park board, but was still riding all mountain and I noticed that the softer the board and the faster you go, the harder it is to hold a good edge. Since your going to be jumping and freeriding, a stiffer board would defenitly help you keep an edge and ride out big impacts from jumps. On your scale I'd say either a 7 or 8. You should check out rossignols because they are pretty good all around boards.


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## Kapn.K (Jan 8, 2009)

I don't think those stiffness ratings are comparable across brands. I'm 2fiddy and rode a 159 TRS banana all last week. I rode a 156 skate banana the first day. The trs was really stiff(though not as much as a burton rental board). I'm going to big sky during spring break. I'm considering buying a 159 skate banana. I'm still learning but I liked the spongy feel of the skate. They didn't have a 159, that's why I ended up with the trs. That TRS was a hella fun stick, though. I demoed all week and never traded it out. Kind of a shame b/c I wouldn't have minded trying the gnu's or other libby's they had. I was having fun and didn't see the point of checking out another board that _might_ be funner. Trip down the gondola, swap bindings, make them do the edges and wax it, etc.


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## Guest (Feb 9, 2009)

I bought my board this season based on the same requirements. EC99 should find this info helpful too. I wanted an intermediate all mountain board that I could take into the park for some basic intro-to-freestyle jumps.

I settled on and bought a 159cm Gnu CHB MTX. I've found it quite stable at higher speeds and magne-traction was great on the ice/crud we have on the east coast (poconos). I had significantly less chatter than I'm used to and was able to run a decent line on my edge even though it was in the 40's all day and it was very icy from the previous melt/freeze. I passed on the banana type boards since I don't trust a reverse camber flexible board at high speed on ice and hard pack.

I haven't taken my board into the park yet but I'm optimistic that it will be flexible enough when I'm landing and light enough when I take off.


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## pencap75 (Dec 10, 2008)

I have a 2007 Axum and find it extremely stable in ice because of its rsr double edges. Compared to other park boards, the axum is pretty stiff. In fact, its so stiff, i use it mainly for freeride.


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