# Please help me pick a good pow/tree slasher to add to my quiver



## whitePowder (Dec 3, 2016)

Hey Guys, new to the forum and looking for some help picking a new board (since theres so much on the market and I'm really indecisive). 

My style/riding conditions: I typically ride in Jackson hole and Grand Targhee, with the occasional trip to CO here and there. I love pow (who doesn't?) and typically like hunt for the stashes in trees- on fresh pow days, I enjoy surfing through the open bowls, but as everyone knows, those areas get washed out pretty quickly (then it's to the trees for me!). 

Currently, I own a Trice pro 161.5 and a Bridman 165 for the real deep. I'm looking for something less aggressive than the trice (I find it very tough to maneuver in the trees and not good for pow at all unless bombing a steep bowl), and a bit more of an all around rider than the birdman that can handle pow stashes in tight trees. Basically a nimble, playful pow slasher that is also good getting through the chop and groomers on the way to the tree stashes. No park, so don't care about that all. 

I am somewhat interested in the Solomon derby, the NS swift and Jones explorer but am very open to suggestions. 

My specs: 6 ft, 195lbs, size 11.5 K2 T1 boots. 

Also, if anyone can recommend a good binging to go with the set up as well, that would be icing on the cake!

Thanks for any and all feedback!! Happy slashing!!


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## Chielsen (Oct 27, 2016)

I probably wouldn't go for the explorer as a surfy pow deck. If I was in the market for a surfy pow deck I'd be more interested in the hovercraft. Other boards that come to mind would be the burton skeleton key or the branch manager.

Here's another thread with a similar topic.

http://www.snowboardingforum.com/boards/218609-powder-tree-board.html


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## whitePowder (Dec 3, 2016)

Thanks for the reply. 

I'll check out the Hovercraft as well, although not sure it will be the best in tight trees?


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## whitePowder (Dec 3, 2016)

Also I should mention, I'm looking to round out my quiver. Sort of fill in the gap between the trice and birdman, given my riding style/conditions. 

The rice is great for days when I wanna bomb the mtn, and the birdman is great for deeeep, open pow runs, but not so much in the trees bc of the length. 

I guess I'm kinda looking for something in-between that can rip tight turns and fun all around and I worry the hovercraft is a bit too similar to the birdman.


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## linvillegorge (Jul 6, 2009)

Sounds like you want one of the short fats.


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## Chielsen (Oct 27, 2016)

The hovercraft seems to get pretty good reviews when it comes to maneuverability, it rides longer than its actual size which is nice in the trees. It does however have some overlap with the birdman. If you're looking for short fat sticks maybe start looking more towards boards like the, K2 cool beans, Jones Mountain Chaser, Burton Skipjack, Lib Tech coho etc.


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## whitePowder (Dec 3, 2016)

Thanks for that feedback guys and I guess I am leaning toward a short wide board. I'll check out those suggestions Chielsen. 

Curious if anyone here has ridden the Salmon derby and what their thoughts are? Can't find too much unbiased info (every review I see for almost every board these days goes something like "5 stars, great board in all conditions, blah blah blah", but I know they're paid to say that ) I'm interested in the board, but the price point almost seems too good to be true.


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## Powhunter (May 10, 2015)

Hey man, I have a Derby 151 and while I absolutely love it, I wouldn't recommend it for your weight. The 151 is the biggest size. I weigh ~160lbs without gear and feel like with any additional weight it wouldn't have the float you're looking for in a true pow board. It's incredibly fun, don't get me wrong.. Especially in the trees. Just not enough board for 190lbs I don't think. I did a lot of research before buying it and a board that came up a lot is the Arbor Shreddy Krueger. May want to check that out. The Lib Coho may be cool too if you're looking for a short fat board. I think if you look in my profile you should be able to find my thread about when I was looking into this. Hopefully this helps.


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## phillyphan (Sep 22, 2016)

Yes optimistic, Marhar lumberjack, Jones hovercraft, Ride Warpig. Those were the ones I narrowed my list down to when I was looking for a short, wide board for pow and trees. I ended up going with the optimistic.

I like that the optimistic was a little stiffer as I am your exact size. Went w/ the 157. Haven't got it out yet, but will next weekend.


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## whitePowder (Dec 3, 2016)

Powhunter said:


> Hey man, I have a Derby 151 and while I absolutely love it, I wouldn't recommend it for your weight. The 151 is the biggest size. I weigh ~160lbs without gear and feel like with any additional weight it wouldn't have the float you're looking for in a true pow board. It's incredibly fun, don't get me wrong.. Especially in the trees. Just not enough board for 190lbs I don't think. I did a lot of research before buying it and a board that came up a lot is the Arbor Shreddy Krueger. May want to check that out. The Lib Coho may be cool too if you're looking for a short fat board. I think if you look in my profile you should be able to find my thread about when I was looking into this. Hopefully this helps.



Thanks for that advice! I definitely have my concerns with a 151 weighing close to 200lbs, but the specs said it could handle my weight... I should mention, this board won't necessarily be for the real deep days after a heavy storm (can't replace the birdman for that), but more fooling around in a couple feet pow looking for the stash in the trees. 

I checked out the Shreddy, and have definitely added that to my list, which seems to be growing, rather than narrowing down haha. One thing I will say, the shreddy definitely would be a longer board if I went that road, so I worry it might not be as fast/fun carving in the tight areas. Thoughts?


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## whitePowder (Dec 3, 2016)

Also I should mention, even if I got the 162 shreddy (their largest and recommended for my weight), I worry the width would be to small given my size 11.5 boot. So it seems maybe the derby is to short and the shreddy is too narrow. fml...


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## AmberLamps (Feb 8, 2015)

Marhar Lumberjack.


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## Powhunter (May 10, 2015)

Check out the Amplid Pillow Talk maybe? Short and fat like the derby but bigger (156). I remember wanting it but it was a little too big for what I was looking for. I have heard good things.


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