# Aggressive freeride board



## neni (Dec 24, 2012)

Looking for an aggressive tapered CamRock freeride board for the husband that carves as hell and is stable like a freight train no matter what speed, in the appropriate size to also handle deep pow at home AND the AK stuff for a 6ft, 190lbs, boot size 9, expert level rider. 

Did some research on options with narrow waist width. These are the ones I found.

- Nidecker Legend (from 2012) in 168/25.6 or 174/25.4
- Rossignol Experience/XV 167/25.5
- Jones Flagship 168W/26.3.. (hmmm... wide... the wooden or carbon one?)

We know the wooden Flagship and the Custom X. Any hints how these boards compare to each other are highly appreciated.


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## TLN (Sep 7, 2010)

I got Donek Incline and I definately can recommend it. You can do whatever specs you want, and this will suit you best. Typically Doneks are on a stiffer side, but this won't be a problem for expert rider. 
I've also have alpine boards, and can say that Icline carves pretty well. For a freeride better have a bit longer nose, bc you want to stay in middle of sc, to cave it well.


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## bseracka (Nov 14, 2011)

Don't bother with the carbon flag. It's lighter, but is so much harsher of a ride then the std flag. It feels like there is zero dampening. Then there's the increased price of it.


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## neni (Dec 24, 2012)

bseracka said:


> Don't bother with the carbon flag. It's lighter, but is so much harsher of a ride then the std flag. It feels like there is zero dampening. Then there's the increased price of it.


So you've riden both of them? I'm surprised to hear that cause was told that the carbon one is a bit more mellow than the wooden one :icon_scratch: that's why we considered it.


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## poutanen (Dec 22, 2011)

Neni!!! I'm telling ya you gotta try the Virus Avalanche! If you make it to Alberta/BC this winter we can swap boards for a day.

The thing CARVES LIKE HELL, and floats well in powder. I think it's safe to say I'm an aggressive freerider and I love this board. Not super stiff either. Really rewarding to ride...


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## Amplid::: (Jul 10, 2013)

neni said:


> So you've riden both of them? I'm surprised to hear that cause was told that the carbon one is a bit more mellow than the wooden one :icon_scratch: that's why we considered it.


There's hardly any elasticity in Carbon so it's terrible at absorbing bumps. It's good for splitboards because it's lightweight, strong and torsionally very stiff which is what you want for ride mode when the board is split in two but for freeriding in anything other than pow, pure carbon is a nightmare.


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## neni (Dec 24, 2012)

Amplid::: said:


> There's hardly any elasticity in Carbon so it's terrible at absorbing bumps. It's good for splitboards because it's lightweight, strong and torsionally very stiff which is what you want for ride mode when the board is split in two but for freeriding in anything other than pow, pure carbon is a nightmare.


Sounds logical. Thanks for explaining! Ok then, maybe not the carbon. The wooden Flag is harsh enough on crud :blink:



poutanen said:


> Neni!!! I'm telling ya you gotta try the Virus Avalanche! If you make it to Alberta/BC this winter we can swap boards for a day.
> 
> The thing CARVES LIKE HELL, and floats well in powder. I think it's safe to say I'm an aggressive freerider and I love this board. Not super stiff either. Really rewarding to ride...


Pout, you missed my Alaska thread..? Plans have changed  It's set, going farther up north to the Chugach mountains in April :yahoo: since I couldn't take days off earlier. I'll safe BC for a year I can come earlier. 
Oh yes, to SWAP boards (I'm getting very careful now with the word "switch" :blink::laugh would have been great. I'm sure, you would like the Flagship as well.


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## bseracka (Nov 14, 2011)

Personally I think you'll be better off with 2 boards rather than trying to find a board that excells at both floating bottomless pow and high speed carving and stability. It's really a matter of compromise, as 1 board can't excell at both. 2 boards one pair of bindings isn't any more difficult to travel with than 1 board and set of bindings. Since you were considering the carbon flag, the cost of 2 decks shouldn't really be to much of an issue either.

Also depending on where you are looking at in AK you'll likely get a wet heavy pow costal , opposed to the light fluffy pow inland. Wet and heavy pow will magnify any compromise in floatability.


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## Nivek (Jan 24, 2008)

XV pretty much nails it. Get after it.


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## poutanen (Dec 22, 2011)

neni said:


> Pout, you missed my Alaska thread..? Plans have changed  It's set, going farther up north to the Chugach mountains in April :yahoo: since I couldn't take days off earlier. I'll safe BC for a year I can come earlier.
> Oh yes, to SWAP boards (I'm getting very careful now with the word "switch" :blink::laugh would have been great. I'm sure, you would like the Flagship as well.


Hmmm I thought you were still coming here first... Best time for AB/BC is Feb-March. April can be good but it can be getting warmer too.

I still think the Avalanche is the board for you, and may get a larger discount living beside the country it's built in!

The profile is like a boardercross board, so as far as carving goes the thing HOOKS. For off-piste riding it's got a lot of taper, set back, and the big shovel of a nose really helps it float.

I think it's the closest you can come to a carving/powder board... 

It's happy on this stuff:









And equally happy on this...


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## neni (Dec 24, 2012)

bseracka said:


> Also depending on where you are looking at in AK you'll likely get a wet heavy pow costal , opposed to the light fluffy pow inland. Wet and heavy pow will magnify any compromise in floatability.


Cordova. Suppose it's rather heavy (whatever that means ). Would upsizing help? e.g. like the 174 Legend or 167 XV?


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## neni (Dec 24, 2012)

poutanen said:


> Hmmm I thought you were still coming here first... Best time for AB/BC is Feb-March. April can be good but it can be getting warmer too.
> 
> I still think the Avalanche is the board for you, and may get a larger discount living beside the country it's built in!


Na... too clumsy to rob a bank and had too many statistics lessons to play the lottery  one after the other. BC is next on the list (and then Kasachstan raised my interest )

The Avalanche could be a board the husband would like. Which one of the three versions (FR, FLP, AFT) do you have? Is it the AFT? Did you ride the other ones? What size? Weight? In how deep was it still comfortable to ride?


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## JVee (Sep 8, 2009)

Hey Neni, 

Check Venture's Zephyr in a 168. Thats their do it all board but marketed as having solid carving ability. A few of the guides in Haines AK are riding them, and riding them for good reason


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## bseracka (Nov 14, 2011)

neni said:


> Na... too clumsy to rob a bank and had too many statistics lessons to play the lottery  one after the other. BC is next on the list (and then Kasachstan raised my interest )
> 
> The Avalanche could be a board the husband would like. Which one of the three versions (FR, FLP, AFT) do you have? Is it the AFT? Did you ride the other ones? What size? Weight? In how deep was it still comfortable to ride?


Since it's swiss I'd add the Kessler ride, similar but different from the virus. Unbelievable on the groomers in a carve, but it submarines in heavy pow with its blunted nose.


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## Lamps (Sep 3, 2011)

bseracka said:


> Personally I think you'll be better off with 2 boards rather than trying to find a board that excells at both floating bottomless pow and high speed carving and stability. It's really a matter of compromise, as 1 board can't excell at both. 2 boards one pair of bindings isn't any more difficult to travel with than 1 board and set of bindings. Since you were considering the carbon flag, the cost of 2 decks shouldn't really be to much of an issue either.
> 
> Also depending on where you are looking at in AK you'll likely get a wet heavy pow costal , opposed to the light fluffy pow inland. Wet and heavy pow will magnify any compromise in floatability.


Quoted for truth. 

Deep pow and hard charging carving lead to very different shapes.


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## poutanen (Dec 22, 2011)

neni said:


> The Avalanche could be a board the husband would like. Which one of the three versions (FR, FLP, AFT) do you have? Is it the AFT? Did you ride the other ones? What size? Weight? In how deep was it still comfortable to ride?


I've got the FLP-AFT in 160 cm. I'm 175 lb or so (75 kg?) and 5'7" and it works really well for me.

I haven't tried the others, but had my hands on the FLP and it looked decent, but more of a traditional board shape. The AFT is a really weird combo of a blunted nose BX style board with an upturned nose and not much camber, and a medium flex compared to what I'm used to. Makes for a fun board for my riding style that's for sure! :yahoo:

Have fun in AK!


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## binarypie (Nov 29, 2009)

bseracka said:


> Don't bother with the carbon flag. It's lighter, but is so much harsher of a ride then the std flag. It feels like there is zero dampening. Then there's the increased price of it.





neni said:


> So you've riden both of them? I'm surprised to hear that cause was told that the carbon one is a bit more mellow than the wooden one :icon_scratch: that's why we considered it.





Amplid::: said:


> There's hardly any elasticity in Carbon so it's terrible at absorbing bumps. It's good for splitboards because it's lightweight, strong and torsionally very stiff which is what you want for ride mode when the board is split in two but for freeriding in anything other than pow, pure carbon is a nightmare.


I actually own a carbon 161 and I love the board. If you are looking for an ultra aggressive board then it is perfect. If you are looking for something more mellow that you can relax on. Not the board.


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## ShredLife (Feb 6, 2010)

i'd probably go NS Raptor or Smokin KT22.


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## neni (Dec 24, 2012)

*List adjusted, thanks for the ideas - heavy pow comprehention question*

Thanks for all the answers! Reading about all these boards helps to bridge the summer... I really can't wait for winter the to come :yahoo:



ShredLife said:


> i'd probably go NS Raptor or Smokin KT22.


He owns a '13 Raptor... It's a cool all mountain board (forgiving enough that even I can ride a 164 with ease) but he wants a board some notches more aggressive, camrock oriented.




binarypie said:


> I actually own a carbon 161 and I love the board. If you are looking for an ultra aggressive board then it is perfect. If you are looking for something more mellow that you can relax on. Not the board.


Ultra aggressive :thumbsup:. The purpose of this board will only be pow and charging/carving on morning groomers (spring afternoon crud will be the job of the Raptor). 




Lamps said:


> Deep pow and hard charging carving lead to very different shapes.


Yes, I’m aware of if you’re looking for a super specialized board on each of this purposes, you’ll end up with two different boards. But… I know that e.g. the Flagship is a good compromise that can do both very well. And if there’s one, there might be others. Only thing that makes him reluctant to get a Flagship as well is that the 164 is the biggest with a normal waist width; the 168 is wide, what wouldn’t be a problem in pow, but not best option for carving for someone with boot size 9. Thus looking here for other options.




JVee said:


> Hey Neni,
> Check Venture's Zephyr in a 168. Thats their do it all board but marketed as having solid carving ability. A few of the guides in Haines AK are riding them, and riding them for good reason


I've looked at the Zephyr but Venture boards (the same is true for Donek) are extremely hard to get here, not to speak of demoing (the only retailer in CH only sells the split).




bseracka said:


> Since it's swiss I'd add the Kessler ride, similar but different from the virus. Unbelievable on the groomers in a carve, but it submarines in heavy pow with its blunted nose.


Thanks for the hint on Kessler. Shame on me, I forgot about them :blush: very nice guys, immediately offered to send a demo.
-> Kessler The Ride 168/25.8 is added to the list.
-> The Virus Avalanche in 168/25.3 will join the list as well.


Not sure, if I get your comment right: submarines in heavy pow=it won't float well in heavy pow? = look for something different for heavy pow? :icon_scratch:
We have "normal" pow here, not super fluffy, not super heavy, not super deep. Can get heavy in spring time though. I always had the impression, that the heavy wet spring stuff is less of a float problem than the "normal" stuff in the cold Jan/Feb. season...?


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## bseracka (Nov 14, 2011)

neni said:


> Not sure, if I get your comment right: submarines in heavy pow=it won't float well in heavy pow? = look for something different for heavy pow? :icon_scratch:
> We have "normal" pow here, not super fluffy, not super heavy, not super deep. Can get heavy in spring time though. I always had the impression, that the heavy wet spring stuff is less of a float problem than the "normal" stuff in the cold Jan/Feb. season...?


You got it, submarine= the nose dives under the surface of wet heavy pow. It did fine in a few inches of pow, but it's not the board I would want for deep days. The only deep day I got to try it last year was heavy (wet) deep pow and it was not good. I did have a few days with a couple inches of pow both wet and dry and it did fine. It would probably be manageable in deep dry (light and fluffy) pow, but I don't think it will excel in those conditions. I picked up a pow deck rather than compromise.


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## buggravy (Feb 19, 2008)

Burton Landlord?


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## binarypie (Nov 29, 2009)

bseracka said:


> You got it, submarine= the nose dives under the surface of wet heavy pow. It did fine in a few inches of pow, but it's not the board I would want for deep days. The only deep day I got to try it last year was heavy (wet) deep pow and it was not good. I did have a few days with a couple inches of pow both wet and dry and it did fine. It would probably be manageable in deep dry (light and fluffy) pow, but I don't think it will excel in those conditions. I picked up a pow deck rather than compromise.


Tahoe pow is often compared to cement and the flagship carbon does just fine


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## bseracka (Nov 14, 2011)

binarypie said:


> Tahoe pow is often compared to cement and the flagship carbon does just fine


Yep, the flagship is not the same type of board as a Kessler Ride, I would expect it to do better in heavy wet pow. My Dark rode better than the Ride that day too.


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## binarypie (Nov 29, 2009)

bseracka said:


> Yep, the flagship is not the same type of board as a Kessler Ride, I would expect it to do better in heavy wet pow. My Dark rode better than the Ride that day too.


Didn't realize we changed board subjects. Sorry  My fail.


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## neni (Dec 24, 2012)

bseracka said:


> You got it, submarine= the nose dives under the surface of wet heavy pow. It did fine in a few inches of pow, but it's not the board I would want for deep days. The only deep day I got to try it last year was heavy (wet) deep pow and it was not good. I did have a few days with a couple inches of pow both wet and dry and it did fine. It would probably be manageable in deep dry (light and fluffy) pow, but I don't think it will excel in those conditions. I picked up a pow deck rather than compromise.


Thanks. Sounds a bit like the Custom X... I'll keep it in mind for later but powability is a must for the one I search right now.

Am I wrong if I think that the ones I had on my initial list - like the XV, Flagship, Legend - are pow decks? 


These brands (add NS, Jones and Capita) will be around at a big 3 month demo station on a glacier here. 









I'll have a look at the Burton Landlord :thumbsup:


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## TLN (Sep 7, 2010)

neni said:


> I've looked at the Zephyr but Venture boards (the same is true for Donek) are extremely hard to get here, not to speak of demoing (the only retailer in CH only sells the split).


Uhm...
How about Prior snowboards? Strange, that noone mentioned, or i missed it? 
You can get a custom from them. They're in Canada, but guess you can find dealers. 
Check out NS Heritage vs. something thread nearby. I posted some info about freightforwarders. They can help you, but you gotta dig info about taxes. 
How about some hardcore like Oxess? They're from Swiss and got a sale going right now.  Marcel is great to communicate, and you can demo some boards from sale now. That's not a freeride boards, they're for BX, but ask if they have any freeride oxess, they might got one.


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## neni (Dec 24, 2012)

Nivek said:


> XV pretty much nails it. Get after it.


Hope, I can organize a demo. From what I read, I get that the Experience and the Flagship were very similar. You seem to know both boards (the XV and Flagship). How do the compare?
Did you recommend the XV cause it's available in 167 with a narrow waist or cause its similar but different?


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## neni (Dec 24, 2012)

*Jones Flagship vs. Rossignol XV*

Hmmm... from angrysnowboarders reviews on these two boards I take, that they are more different than I thought :icon_scratch:
- Rossi XV (2014): "stiffer in the nose, a little softer in between the feet, and tapering to the softest part of the board being the tail"
- Flagship (2010): "softer nose, mid flex between the feet, stiffer tail" 

I’m sure, both boards are built for hard charging, straight lining, carving, handle heavy pow and deep pow. But I’ve no idea how this different flex affects the ride. What’s the advantage/disadvantage of a soft vs. stiff tail/nose ? I’d assume that a soft nose would provide a better float, but that’s guessing… So the question to the tech specialists here, (even if you haven't ridden them): how would you expect them to compare with these rather different flex patterns? 

Yes… I know, I can find out myself “soon”, but we’ll most probably won’t have pow on the demo days and only be able to compare them on groomers. AND it’s still summer, it’s still three months till then and I’m curious :laugh:


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## KIRKRIDER (Mar 18, 2008)

A-Frame (Arbor) IS the carving machine. It does ok on powder too if you set it way back. An alternative could be the Hovercraft, that excels in powder and can carve decently (if you ride centered)


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## ShredLife (Feb 6, 2010)

- Rossi XV (2014): "stiffer in the nose, a little softer in between the feet, and tapering to the softest part of the board being the tail" *stiff nose for smashing thru crud or chunks, soft tail for smearing turns, throwing hard slashes thru turns, and riding out thru chunks with your nose up.* 

- Flagship (2010): "softer nose, mid flex between the feet, stiffer tail"* soft nose is floatier in pow but i'm sure the nose of this board isn't *soft*, just relative to the rest of the board. stiffer tail will rail out of turns and not smear much if at all. it will slash hard but the slash will be its own action more than part of the actual turn if that makes any sense... stiffer tail = more pop, more precise turns with less movement. in chunks of chunder the xv should ride better imo, maybe in pow too - the flagship probably feels a little more aggressive (i've not rode either) *


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## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

I had the VX split for most of March and April. Some really deep days too. Pretty good powder performance. It is a bit of a nose diver in low angle deep snow terrain. Once you get started it planes up pretty quickly, but can be a bit of a bitch there. Handles chunky terrain just fine. It was also on the light side for the splitboard. Which was a huge bonus for skinning. Shred's description of the profile is dead on.

Overall it was a hard charger and I think you are going to see people rocking this board.


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## poutanen (Dec 22, 2011)

Sal78sierra said:


> I snagged one of these STATUS uno's on closeout last season and it was super impressive. fast, stable, great in all conditions. Looks like they have a few left for $99!!!! ***edit: another link to some unknown board company***


Wow you don't even try to hide the spam do you?!? :dunno:


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## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

Yeah, this is pretty close to spam. I'll give a pass on this one since you have actual posts that try to help and don't spam. If I see another link status pop up in the near future, then I will treat you as a spammer.


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## Tackle (Nov 18, 2012)

Go exotic!!!! Go European snowboards!!!
Swellpanik, Phenix, sandyshapes, boheme, pogo ecc ecc


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## hktrdr (Apr 3, 2012)

poutanen said:


> Wow you don't even try to hide the spam do you?!? :dunno:


May be edit out the link in the quoted post, otherwise he will succeed despite the deletion...


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## poutanen (Dec 22, 2011)

hktrdr said:


> May be edit out the link in the quoted post, otherwise he will succeed despite the deletion...


Thanks man, my bad!


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## DCsnow (Aug 26, 2013)

*I don't know if your still looking for a board...*

I don't know if your still looking for a board, but here are some of my recommendations:

DC Devun Pro: Hard Charging Powder Killer (Devun's select ride) 
XV Magtek or Experience Magtek: In my opinion, same ride, both great boards
Burton Cloudsplitter: Demoed it, very fast and powder driven.
Burton Landlord: GET THIS, its amazing.


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## neni (Dec 24, 2012)

Thanks Shred and Killc! From this I assume he'd tend more to the Flagship (though I'm not sure if I want him to get the same board as me :huh:)



DCsnow said:


> I don't know if your still looking for a board, but here are some of my recommendations:
> 
> DC Devun Pro: Hard Charging Powder Killer (Devun's select ride)
> XV Magtek or Experience Magtek: In my opinion, same ride, both great boards
> ...


Yes, still collecting candidates; the demo will be two month yahoo. Burton is around and I've the Landlord is on the list.


The A-Frame is such a beauty... But the board should really be good for the AK trip  wouldn't the A-Frame be pretty close to a Custom X?


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## neni (Dec 24, 2012)

*Season has begun*

Today I hate stormy winds! Testweekend at a glacier at 3600m, only managed to do 3 runs, then the lifts were shut down  But it was great to be back on snow :yahoo: interesting glacier they have here, pretty steep compared to other glacier resorts. Was wonderful to do some turns. 
Stoked for tomorrow. Hubby just grabbed the Rossi XV for tomorrow, the magtec looks insane. Hope, we'll find some icy spots.
:yahoo:


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## poutanen (Dec 22, 2011)

neni said:


> Stoked for tomorrow. Hubby just grabbed the Rossi XV for tomorrow, the magtec looks insane. Hope, we'll find some icy spots.
> :yahoo:


:yahoo::yahoo::yahoo:


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## LuckyRVA (Jan 18, 2011)

neni said:


> Today I hate stormy winds! Testweekend at a glacier at 3600m, only managed to do 3 runs, then the lifts were shut down  But it was great to be back on snow :yahoo: interesting glacier they have here, pretty steep compared to other glacier resorts. Was wonderful to do some turns.
> Stoked for tomorrow. Hubby just grabbed the Rossi XV for tomorrow, the magtec looks insane. *Hope, we'll find some icy spots.*
> :yahoo:


You should ride on the east coast of the US. You'll find plenty of it here...in a few weeks when they turn the ice machines on.


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## neni (Dec 24, 2012)

The pro of strong winds: bluebird












LuckyRVA said:


> You should ride on the east coast of the US. You'll find plenty of it here...in a few weeks when they turn the ice machines on.


Awww... man made snow... guess you guys really learn how to handle ice properly. I still get intimidated on such bare ice patches :blink:


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## tonicusa (Feb 27, 2008)

LOl! The only good thing about ice is it's predictable. Once they turn the Zambonis on you can ride pipe and hit the jump line all day. Then when it snows you just have to wait for them to clear all that fluff out of the way


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## neni (Dec 24, 2012)

tonicusa said:


> LOl! The only good thing about ice is it's predictable. Once they turn the Zambonis on you can ride pipe and hit the jump line all day. Then when it snows you just have to wait for them to *clear all that fluff out of the way*


Hahaha, that's among the weirdest things I could imagine :blink:
(I'm a pipe and whatnot dummy, just love fluff )


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## neni (Dec 24, 2012)

Early rise to get the first gondola since it was snowing over night, 12in, me thinking "yea", received the odd message while eating muesli that made me laugh and freeze: the lifts won't open till 9am cos they "need the time to clear the fresh away" aaaaaaah! Clear.Fresh.Away.! :blink::dizzy: 
damn ski race team training place!


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## neni (Dec 24, 2012)

Ha! Still found some fresh runs save enough to ride on the glacier... had a blast! Wonderful day! :yahoo:

Did demo the Diode and XV bindings. The XV are very nice duevto the canting and easy adjustability, solid binding, but the highback is too high for me, felt the pressure in the calves. The Diodes were bit big (they only had a L) but nontheless very nice, no problem with highback/calf. 

Hope, I'll be able to ride tomorrow, there's no muscle that doesn't ache


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## cc898 (Dec 16, 2011)

Go exotic!! Like the man said go Euro......

Check out Windlip!! They make a few really badass boards, lots of carbon, and they will customize them a bit for you. Get just the flex and feel you want!!

I would own a pile of them but I have too many kids to feed!!:blink:


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