What size board? Help -

Hey'a

I'm new to snowboarding and I am still picking up the basics. My first trip snowboarding was this year and I got a crappy rental... it was a heavy and crappy board! ... I want to buy my own board so next time things will go smoother and I may pick up easier. I plan on learning with interest in park boarding on rails and stuff ... I don't want to go up high and steep, no interest in that! I am looking at the new Burton Twin. However .. I'm stick at what size board to get!

I'm 5'9 ... I weight 145lb's. -- The sizes available are:

148cm - 151cm - 154cm - 157cm - & 161cm.

... and is there that much of a diff. if in 3cm if I liked the color scheme of one over the other? Please help ... thanks!

- Age

Hi AgeM24, welcome to the forum, I hope you will enjoy it here.

For your lenght a board with the size between 152-155 would be best. I don't know if a few centimeters make all that much difference and probably there are also other factors that play a role, but this is the 'official' board size for your length.

what ecactly do you plan on doing in the park and will you be taking the board outside of the park and are you hell bent on a a burton twin for your first board, how big are your feet and do you have exsperience in anyother disciplines of board sports. i.e skateboarding wakeboarding, surfing, etc. And yes 3cm does make a difference and if your still learning a twin (the actually type of board not the one made by burton) can be kinda confusing and second that boards feel is sketch but find a place and demo it you might find out something you didnt already know about it. Oh a rough measurement is to put the board on its tail in front of you if it almost touches your chin you are in the right neighborhood. Dont let someone sell you a board you are not comfortable with and always wait a few days before you buy it to make sure it really is the one for you.

Norcallowlife,

I really don't know what I plan on doing. I figure I will like to hit small jumps and straight rails and stuff. Like I said, i've only snowboarded on one trip for 4 days before. It was hard with a crappy board to learn ... I wakeboard every now and then ... that is it for board sports. I am not hell bent on getting it but from what all i've seen that is what I like the most - however, I know NOTHING about boards besides what i've read. The problem with testing boards out is I LIVE IN MISSISSIPPI ... NOWHERE sells boards here. This is why i'm asking you guys ..... I want to be able to kind of jump around with the boad I have and I plan on staying on SMALL slopes... I dont want to go up high and steep. I just want to have safe fun ..... So what do u suggest?

BTW - I wear a size 10 shoe, I have pretty small feet for a guy.

read as much as you can about anything you dont know that you want to know about snowboarding. Sticking to one discipline of snowboarding will make you terribly one dimensional but ass humans we tend to stick with what we are comfortable doing. sad to say if you want to get better at freestyle you will have to go to the steeps eventually. i rode freeride for years before i went near a park, but any ways here is what i suggest, next season take some time off and just go to the snow as a trip, more than a weekend, and ride everyday all day, a resort open at night will help, demo boards and try alltypes of terrain and as soon as you feel you are comfortable ride to the park, BUT DONT NOT HIT ANY OF THE FEATURES AT ALL I DONT CARE WHAT ANYBODY SAYS UNLESS YOU ARE IN A RUSH TO END YOUR SEASON, instead watch the more exsperinced riders and how they hit the features in the park. Ask them questions you want to know and dont be afraid to ask them to break it down. only oyu will know if you are ready for the park but a good start for jumps are rollers and drop offs, these will give you your first taste of air without the painful side affects of droppng out of the air. Jumping is hard b/c people tend to lose their balance by trying to hard to jump. Remember the way you take off is the way you land so keep a flat base. Now jumping hmmm to me its like standing straight up but as soon as im straight up i suck me knees up to my chest ,but for now jus let your speed carry you over the jump. work on jumps with a lot of landing area so not to over shot and land in the flats. now the board yaaa about that ummm boards are about what you like really a person in your positions needs to demo a board until you have used enough boards to know what oyu like and how to test a board for what you like. i mean i have a friend who rides the burton twin and loves it but he competes in the gravity games etc. 4 ofmy frindes and i ride bataleon evil twins and goliaths. its up to you to find a board you like ask people who ride freestyle boards. your area is a problem but jsut make plansfor the winter or find a alternative route. ill start a thread where everyone lists the their favorite board and what they like about it it might work hell. oh and dont worry about your feet your good try the 151cm and a wide stance if you feel stable then its a good length remember its all about feel. if it doenst feel right make an adjustment

I've been told that before a person does freestyle/pipe they should be able to do any run at the resort fakie/switch/backwards. This helps in a number of ways. #1 they can't tell you stuck it differently than you wanted if you don't let them know what you wanted to do. #2 When you do lose control you have way more options to getting where you want to be. #3 You will realize riding fakie/switch is easier sometimes. #4 Way more options for tricks.

The twin tips are best for this. I prefer nondirectional flex pattern and nose/tail twin tips, with a duck stance, this does not seem to be very popular (probably because stiffer tails are preffered for carving and recovering from a backwards leaning landing at minimum). I find this to work the best for switch/fakie riding.

first off only a women would notice 3 cm
second, most snowboards have a silent salesmen on the back of them, for height and weight it gives you guidelines, depends on the type of rider you are...in your case what it says on the back would ideally work for you. its more of a comfort thing, get the board u want, the 2 of you will work out the kinks.........or youll break ur ass