Help Me Buy a Snowboard!

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  Mr BoMBAStiG on 10/12/2016 - 20:38

  Go into a snow store during a quiet period and chat to a sales person.
  If they don't have anyone to serve and are just milling around they would love to give you no strings advice.
  Best time to buy is Black Friday sales in US and have it shipped to Aus via forwarder of needed; evo or backcountry .com

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  captobvious on 10/12/2016 - 23:31

  Buy it in tokyo
  http://forums.ski.com.au/xf/threads/buying-ski-snowboard-gea…

  Otherwise in brisbane snowbiz will be your best option

  • 

    altomic on 11/12/2016 - 10:18

    Unless you have size 10 or larger feet. I lived in Japan for 4 years. I wear size au11 shoes. In oz that's fairly normal. In Japan it is freakishly large. I had great trouble finding snowboard boots. Ended up renting but even the board was too narrow.

    • 

      captobvious on 11/12/2016 - 11:35

      I found size 11 boots and matching bindings without a problem. The problem was the right length board because of height but after a bit of shopping around I found what i needed. I really liked the variety which we dont get in Oz

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  pei on 11/12/2016 - 09:18

  You've mentioned its your first snowboard - does this mean you have never snowboarded before or does it mean you have always rented before? If you have never snowboarded before I would not recommend purchasing a high-end setup. High-end boards aimed at advanced/expert riders are generally not EASY boards to ride. High end boards are generally more unforgiving. They are a lot better, but only better for those who know how to ride.

  If you have ridden for a few years but always rented and looking to purchase now, hopefully in your rental years you have tried some different boards and know exactly what you like.

  If you are 75-78kg and looking at a 154 for japan think will probably be too small for you if you want to ride backcountry. If you are just planning on groomed runs go for it, but off-piste a 154 will just sink for you. I am 66kg and rode a 154 reverse camber (which gives additional float) in japan and it was only just keeping me up in pow.

  Also, from description of things you want to do - all mountain would be the go, but dont get a normal camber board. reverse camber / v rocker will not be as good at high speed but will be much better in the park and more float in powder. A flying v design will give you an inbetween best of both worlds.

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  adzyau on 11/12/2016 - 14:33

  Firstly thank you everyone for this great advice already. Did not expect such helpful tips!

  This will be my third trip! First two times I have gone to New Zealand, so obviously very different snow.

  I have read up on 2016/2017 Transworld Good Wood Snowboard Awards and have definitely short-listed some boards that I would like from there.

  I have got like two options I think so far:

  1) Go to Hakuba and rent a premium board, where I can try a few over a couple of days and decide which board to buy. Apparently Rhythm Store will credit 3 days of hiring towards a new board purchase. Cons would be the prices and the exchange.

  2) See if any good Boxing Day sales come up and buy online.

  FYI I have size 10 US feet.

  • 

    JMERC on 13/12/2016 - 11:16

    Just keep in mind that you will be buying at a premium price if you purchase from Rhythm in Hakuba - so probably best if you can make up your mind before you leave.

    I was in your exact same position before I went to Japan at the start of this year. I figured if I was going to spend heaps of $$ for 10+ days renting, may as well buy my own setup.

    I did a ton of research (alas, a lot of the information I've forgotten by now), but I was also after an all-mountain board for Japan. I landed on the GNU's Riders Choice - I also saw people renting this board out at Rhythm so I knew it was good for the conditions. I think I was also considering Jones Mountain Twin as well. For top end bindings, Burton Cartels are insanely popular, but I ended up getting Union Forces.

    Purchasing tips, make sure you try and get the right size based on your weight (refer to: http://www.evo.com/guides/how-to-choose-a-snowboard-and-size…). Sintered base over extruded. And proper width with a bit of toe overhang.

    I did way too much research and way too much stressing about the perfect setup. When you're up on the mountain, the shit doens't matter anyway. With limited experience you're not really going to notice the difference and you're not going to really know what you want. Just buy the setup and have fun

    • 

      BuyoTheCat on 29/12/2016 - 09:39

      +1

      I was looking for burton cartels and ended up with union contact pros. Noone had cartels in stock. Ive been rocking the contact pros for 4 years now.

      154 is probably the correct size for you. Japan usually deep dry soft snow. You would want a board with rocker tip to help give you float.

      I dont favour rocker boards so I still use my cambered one.

      I cannot agree more that with limited experiance, you are not going to notice the difference. You are not going to miss what you do not know about.

      One thing about snowboard, you do not need to buy the most expensive board in the shop. In fact you should not. High end board are designed to give a certain performance which might affect your learning.

      One thing I would recommend is a board with mid flex (softness) you do not want a board too stiff, or too soft.

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  adzyau on 29/12/2016 - 20:26

  +1

  FYI guys I ended up purchasing a 2016 Ride Berzerker 156 2016 model locally from SnowCentral in Kerperra, Brisbane.

  Its a 5/10 stiffness, all mountain board. Looking at Union Contacts for bindings, not sure what to get for boots just yet, but will probably buy in-store to get fitted correctly!

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  supaderp on 13/01/2017 - 09:58

  I bought camber board, boots, binders and bag for $245 total. Brand: Salomon.
  Found it from a shop in Ueno street market.