Just got back from my first full week on boards. Of course, being Europe, the boards I rented were not great, but I enjoyed it enough that I now want to buy my own before the next holiday.
In total I used three different pairs of boards and had a varying experience with them. I wondered if you guys could tell me how to avoid the bad parts by helping me choose the correct board for me. Note: I'm 18, about 5'11" and about 10.5 stone.
The first boards I had were Salomon Buzz 90s - the red zebra effect ones. The turning radius on them is awesome (coming from skis) and I had a great time for the first couple of days. But I started to go a bit faster on the reds and I wanted something a bit more stable at speed.
So I went back to the rental shop, but they didn't have any longer Salomons. (Hey, at least with Salomons I know what I'm getting!) So I rather reluctantly took some "Gaspo Snowskate 99s" that I'd never heard of before. They were 99cm, 103-86-95 and made in Austria. They had crappy plastic bindings and apparently a wood core - and felt much, MUCH lighter than the Buzz 90s, despite the extra length. Certainly easier to carry around.
I got back onto a blue and immediately found that something was wrong. This is what I'd like you to help with, because I've no idea "what" was wrong.
The turning was horrendous. Now I'm sure it wasn't the length that was the problem - I come from skiing and I could turn those fine, and skis are way longer than 99. I also used 99cm Salomons last year on the last day, with great success. Besides, this was a very easy groomed slope. But every time I tried to turn - even though there was enough snow and it wasn't very steep - the edges seemed to give up. The boards caught and released with a jerk, several times a second for about 10 or 15 catches per turn.
It was disconcerting, and knackering for my legs, and after struggling down the blue I felt completely worn out. I went up the blue again to give them one more go - but the same thing happened again.
So I reluctantly went down the mountain on the lifts and traded in my Gaspos for another pair of Buzz 90s. This was a different pair but it was still much better: back up the mountain I could tear down the reds again, never mind blues. They were heavier, to be sure, and I guess they had the standard foam cores, but they felt infinitely better. Turning was no problem, even on steep slopes and on hard snow which was bordering on ice.
Despite being 9cm shorter than the Gaspos they felt much more stable, both going straight and in the turn.
Obviously when I buy my own boards from SBOL I want to make sure I don't repeat the experience. So what do you think it was about the Gaspos? Knackered edges? Too light? Too stiff, or flexible? Too narrow? Or maybe it was my fault - rider error? Maybe my style was wrong for those boards?
Any help much appreciated!
Cheers,
Ben
In total I used three different pairs of boards and had a varying experience with them. I wondered if you guys could tell me how to avoid the bad parts by helping me choose the correct board for me. Note: I'm 18, about 5'11" and about 10.5 stone.
The first boards I had were Salomon Buzz 90s - the red zebra effect ones. The turning radius on them is awesome (coming from skis) and I had a great time for the first couple of days. But I started to go a bit faster on the reds and I wanted something a bit more stable at speed.
So I went back to the rental shop, but they didn't have any longer Salomons. (Hey, at least with Salomons I know what I'm getting!) So I rather reluctantly took some "Gaspo Snowskate 99s" that I'd never heard of before. They were 99cm, 103-86-95 and made in Austria. They had crappy plastic bindings and apparently a wood core - and felt much, MUCH lighter than the Buzz 90s, despite the extra length. Certainly easier to carry around.
I got back onto a blue and immediately found that something was wrong. This is what I'd like you to help with, because I've no idea "what" was wrong.
The turning was horrendous. Now I'm sure it wasn't the length that was the problem - I come from skiing and I could turn those fine, and skis are way longer than 99. I also used 99cm Salomons last year on the last day, with great success. Besides, this was a very easy groomed slope. But every time I tried to turn - even though there was enough snow and it wasn't very steep - the edges seemed to give up. The boards caught and released with a jerk, several times a second for about 10 or 15 catches per turn.
It was disconcerting, and knackering for my legs, and after struggling down the blue I felt completely worn out. I went up the blue again to give them one more go - but the same thing happened again.
So I reluctantly went down the mountain on the lifts and traded in my Gaspos for another pair of Buzz 90s. This was a different pair but it was still much better: back up the mountain I could tear down the reds again, never mind blues. They were heavier, to be sure, and I guess they had the standard foam cores, but they felt infinitely better. Turning was no problem, even on steep slopes and on hard snow which was bordering on ice.
Despite being 9cm shorter than the Gaspos they felt much more stable, both going straight and in the turn.
Obviously when I buy my own boards from SBOL I want to make sure I don't repeat the experience. So what do you think it was about the Gaspos? Knackered edges? Too light? Too stiff, or flexible? Too narrow? Or maybe it was my fault - rider error? Maybe my style was wrong for those boards?
Any help much appreciated!
Cheers,
Ben
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