# Is my wide board holding me back?



## areveruz (Jul 10, 2012)

I know this question sounds pretty dumb, but here's the background:

I started on a regular board.. basically a piece of plywood. After riding that for far too long I got hyped up about NS a couple years ago. All I wanted was a Proto, nothing else. They didn't have it at the time, so I thought I'd settle for the Evo.. they didn't have that either but they had the 155 Revolver so I said fuck it, I'll get the wide. 

Anyway.. i'm 6'3 190, size 10.5 boot so I don't really need the wide. I tried out my buddies 152 verve and it was like night and day. I'd say I'm an advanced-intermediate rider and thought I had plateaued until I switched boards. It blew my mind. Everything I was struggling to do came easily and naturally. I know it's more about the rider than the board, but would the extra width really impede on progress as much as I'm thinking now? :dunno:


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## ksup3erb (Jan 25, 2013)

What are you struggling with?


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## Jed (May 11, 2011)

It's slightly less than ideal, but no, the extra wide board shouldn't impede your progress much.

Once you have a decent setup, the gear rarely becomes the issue that holds back progress (assuming you don't do something silly like try to ride a noodle board off a 80 foot jump).

It's more likely that you've just hit the standard plateau where you have the basics mastered, but now to see progress and get that last 10% of techniques mastered, you have to do a lot of fine tuning and put more time into riding to see results.

Going from advanced rider to expert rider is a lot longer of a journey with slower visible progress vs. going from beginner to advanced because the improvements aren't as noticeable until they all stack together.


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## poutanen (Dec 22, 2011)

The main thing that stands out to me is both a 155 and 152 are a little short for a 190 pound guy. Try getting on something around 160 and see how that feels!


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## kevano (Jan 12, 2012)

poutanen said:


> The main thing that stands out to me is both a 155 and 152 are a little short for a 190 pound guy. Try getting on something around 160 and see how that feels!


Couldn't agree more. I am 185 lbs and haven't been below my 157 (currently ride a Blacklist) in over 10 years. It also wouldn't surprise me if the verve is also a bit softer than the revolver. 

This sounds like a case of just grabbing a board that is easier to play with. Might be fun for a run or 2. But unless you're just in the park, it will have some limitations.


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## poutanen (Dec 22, 2011)

kevano said:


> Couldn't agree more. I am 185 lbs and haven't been below my 157 (currently ride a Blacklist) in over 10 years. It also wouldn't surprise me if the verve is also a bit softer than the revolver.


Yeah, I've got a 160, 165 and 166 now (I'm 175 lb) and enjoy them all, although the 160 is the most versatile of the bunch.

Bought a 156 to use as a park board last year and while it is softer than the others (it's a Burton Custom camber), I think the length is also an issue for me. It washes out when the others would hold, and on a powder day it doesn't offer any real float vs the others.

There is such a thing as a board that's too long, but most of us aren't anywhere near that!


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## areveruz (Jul 10, 2012)

Jed said:


> It's slightly less than ideal, but no, the extra wide board shouldn't impede your progress much.
> 
> It's more likely that you've just hit the standard plateau where you have the basics mastered, but now to see progress and get that last 10% of techniques mastered, you have to do a lot of fine tuning and put more time into riding to see results.
> 
> Going from advanced rider to expert rider is a lot longer of a journey with slower visible progress vs. going from beginner to advanced because the improvements aren't as noticeable until they all stack together.


I figured that was the case. It really only affects my switch riding in all honesty. (I was one of those lazy people that ignored it in the beginning) Maybe it's just that minimal extra effort needed going edge to edge on the wide. 



poutanen said:


> The main thing that stands out to me is both a 155 and 152 are a little short for a 190 pound guy. Try getting on something around 160 and see how that feels!


My original board was a 160 actually, but my local mountain is small and more park oriented so I switched decks which is why I got the 155 (I was also only 170 at the time). 



kevano said:


> It also wouldn't surprise me if the verve is also a bit softer than the revolver.
> 
> This sounds like a case of just grabbing a board that is easier to play with. Might be fun for a run or 2. But unless you're just in the park, it will have some limitations.


The verve and revolver are pretty similar in regard to how soft they are actually, although the verve has more pop. And as I just mentioned, mostly park where I'm riding. I wish I had a big mountain with legitimate terrain that was close enough & affordable.


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## Krato (Apr 29, 2013)

Yeah dude in my experience with park riding, wide boards do hinder progress. Its not much but since you do have that wider deck, initiation takes a bit more effort and its just not a very personable experience in the park. It almost seems like you have to just huck everything and it really isnt fun to learn new tricks that way. So given your circumstances I would certainly say yes, your wide deck is holding you back.


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## tonicusa (Feb 27, 2008)

I fucking hate wide boards, or specifically boards that are too wide for my feet. I like a narrow, nimble, cambered park board. I find it way more responsive. Can I ride the wrong width board for myself and still rip, ya, but what's the point unless you're broke. 

Get a board that fits you and the way you ride. The wider the board is outside your "fit zone" the slower it's going to be to edge, the stiffer it will feel, and the less quick to adjust on run ins to kickers, less nimble in the pipe.

Eventually you might get to the point where you purposely choose to ride a wide so you can get a shorter board on booters without giving up stiffness, and to have some added stability on landings, but it doesn't sound like you're there. It's just stupid to ride a wide board when you don't need one.

And the guys are right a 152 is a child's board for a 6'3" 190 pound guy. Try a Rome Agent 158 with a 25.2 waist. Or any of those boards in that size range. I'm not sure what you consider "park riding" but you aren't progressing if you're riding a 152. You won't be hitting jumps or riding the pipe, much less developing any sound carving techniques. It's physically impossible on a 152, you're just fucking around at that point, go get a Nug.


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## Crankthat (Feb 9, 2014)

A wide board can make a huge difference.
The length of your board will make a huge difference.
For a person of your weight/height a wider and or longer board would be more suited for natural snow with some good depth to it as you will sink less.
On hard packed or icy snow the wider board would need a bit more skill to dig you edges in, the longer board in these conditions would give you better speed or stopping as you have more edge to dig into the already scraped surface.
But the longer will tire you quicker in real choppy situations.

I am 5"8 155 pounds and currently ride a 146 old school Purged sled company deck and a Rossie 155.
The purged is a very straight board without much side cup that is ideal for the icy conditions and the park. (not much flex though)
The Rossignol has a lot of side cut and is better suited to real snow and carving. 

I have had some great fun borrowing kids 136 boards from the rental shop and riding.
Takes forever to stop but without the extra weight or length is great to spin and pop of smaller hits.
Would not want to ride everyday as my toes dig in to the snow while leaning
and they tend to break often.

It is difficult to recommend a specific board for you as conditions and riding style play a huge role and there are so many choices and companies to choose from.

If you spend most of your day in the park, a shorter board without much side curve and good flex would be fine.
If you spend most of your day trying to find bumps and sidecuts to trick off over the entire mountain a longer board with good sidecuts would be recommended.
If you have lots of natural, deep snow and need to float on top of it, the wider boards and greater length would suit that purpose well.

Though as stated in the other posts the riders skill has much to do with it, you found out that when you have much practice with unsuited equipment and you find something better suited to your needs it just comes easier.
When it comes easier you have more confidence in what you are doing.
Confidence means less work and greater ease.
= smoother!


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## areveruz (Jul 10, 2012)

tonicusa said:


> And the guys are right a 152 is a child's board for a 6'3" 190 pound guy. Try a Rome Agent 158 with a 25.2 waist. Or any of those boards in that size range. I'm not sure what you consider "park riding" but you aren't progressing if you're riding a 152. You won't be hitting jumps or riding the pipe, much less developing any sound carving techniques. It's physically impossible on a 152, you're just fucking around at that point, go get a Nug.


The 152 isn't my board, it's my buddy's that I rode for a run. So I'm not 
trying to progress on it. Like I said before, I ride a 155 which was fine when I bought it being only 170lbs... and my old board is a 160. I am broke, so a new board is out of the question for a while anyway. But again, this thread is about the width not length of the board.



Krato said:


> Yeah dude in my experience with park riding, wide boards do hinder progress. Its not much but since you do have that wider deck, initiation takes a bit more effort and its just not a very personable experience in the park. It almost seems like you have to just huck everything and it really isnt fun to learn new tricks that way. So given your circumstances I would certainly say yes, your wide deck is holding you back.


Sweet, glad to see I'm on the same page with someone.


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## shredjesse (Jan 29, 2014)

I'd be less quick to focus on the width of the boad, more into looking at what the board is built for. The Evo is NS's park board as I recall, with some all mountain thought put into it. The board actually has a pretty mild sidecut, making it a bit dull of a ride (7.2mm), while the Flow Verve has a 8.5m sidecut. It will turn quicker than your board. It's also an ultra soft board, so at low speeds you can execute all of that edge and sidecut pretty quick.

Take those two boards into medium to large size jumps though and watch the Flow board flounder and the NeverSummer hold edges.


It will really depend on your skill level, the pace you ride at, and the speed with which you ride. Even the most advanced rider will find ultra stiff boards to be dull and unresponsive at low speeds as there just isn't enough force going into the board to get anything back. It's why you see so many pro street rats on cheap boards like the Rome Artifact and equivalent cheap boards. They're all you need for the speeds involved in riding street.


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## pauly-d357 (Feb 11, 2014)

Hey guys. im not new to the forum ive been reading it for years but having my own personal questions I just decided to join today and this is my first post. :yahoo: in my experience I started out on a wide board and it was perfectly fine for me.... because that's all I knew. since then ive ridden nothing but regular boards and my progress skyrocketed. i cant speak for the revolver but i can relate because i "commandeered" my buddies EVO which is literally the same exact board in a regular width. its a great board (even being a 2011) and the tech in it boosts progression. a small note though the revolver isn't a full fledged wide board. its a MID-wide so its only slightly wider than the EVO. a longer board WOULD suit you better but seeing as you said you have no money and that's not what this thread is about that remains unrelated. so in short yes a wide board will squander your progression but the revolver wouldn't make a whole lot of a difference. go into the classifieds and see if someone would want to trade for your board for a regular width and even a longer one if you can find one just to at least put your mind at ease about riding a wide/mid-wide


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