"Barry Dinglehopper" wrote in message
...
Im looking into buying a snowboard in the next few days. Ive been riding
on and
off for a few years now and I would say I'm pretty decent. I want to get
more
into park riding, but I would still like a board that can perfrom well on
downhill, in powder, etc... Right now im looking at burton's because i've
always known them to be some of the better boards. Anyone have any other
ideas?
Im definitely getting strap-in bindings as clickins are a joke for
freestyle
riding. Right now as far as
bindings go, im leaning toward the Burton "mission"'s. As for a deck and
boots, i'm not quite sure. What variables should I look for in a deck,
bindings, and boots? I've heard some talk about "flex", and I understand
that
how much a board flexes has a bunch to do with its freestyle capabilities.
All
in all, I am an intermediate rider looking to gain knowledge on riding
before i
simmer down and buy a board soon. Do you guys know of any good deals on
good
products lately?

I appreciate your help,

tal

As the others have said, choose your boots first and spend whatever it takes
to get a pair that fit. If you have any cash left over you can buy bindings
and a board :-)

FWIW, I used to use Salomon Dialogues but I was getting really cold feet (I
think due to pressure points from the lining on the top of my foot) so I've
just switched to 32s. They've got a single piece mouldable liner and seem
much kinder to my feet. Not quite such a good hold as the dialogues but not
bad and at least I can last a whole day.

For bindings and board, from what you say it sounds like you want mission
bindings and a custom board. The custom is pretty good in powder, ok-ish on
downhill, good for jumps, acceptable for the pipe. For bindings, it really
seems to be a matter of taste. I've had so much contradictory advice, I've
given up asking but the missions are middle-of-the-road so should be ok.
Don't expect to get good deals on either of these though, Burton is a brand
you pay extra for.

Actually your best bet is to find a dealer you can trust and discuss it with
them. There's no sense in trying to save a few $ and ending up with the
wrong kit.

The other option is to go for a freestyle-only setup and then get something
else for downhill. All the park rats at my local resort have really flexy
boards and all the racers have hard boots and directional boards

Rob.