tanshos or bantams?

[Poots]

Hello to you all
I am brand new to this fine sport and have been reading on the forums to get a feel for it. I thank all of you for making this such a learning atmosphere where a newbie can get his question on without being flamed.

I am 5'10/155lbs. I have only been skiing once (12 years ago) and snowboarded maybe 3 times. I have never skiboarded/skibladed. I had no trouble with either skiing or snoboarding, but as a life-long hockey player and in-line skater, I found myself uneased by the fact that I didn't have independent control of my feet (on the board). The problem with skiing was that they were too long, which I didn't like. Anyway, the closer to winter it gets, the more I started to want to get back into some sort of snow sport. I thought, what would most suit my skillset?: skiboarding.
Now, my question for you guys is as follows: with someone with my previous skillset in both inline skating and hockey (in particular), and lacks a great deal of skiboarding/skiing/snowboarding experience, who is looking mainly to carve around, eventually doing some parkage (jumps/rails), which boards would suit me best?
I'm really trying not to experience the feel of skis again. I want complete control of my feet, where my ice skating/skating skills will propel me into the world of skiboarding with minimal transformation.


Any insight is much appreciated!

[tyberesk]

i have never ridden 90s...but i made the jump from 75 snowjams to 99.5 lokens and you retain much of the same mobility. Being 5 10....the 90s would probly be best for you and give you more surface area on jumps and rails. It might be worth thinking about even going 94 or 98.

[Phil]

Hi, Poots,

I switched for a similar reason and you'll love either set of boards :)

The Tanshos are great, they are really nimble and agile, allowing you to turn at will. Because of their width they provide good stability for a 90cm board.

I've not tried the Bantams but given their stats, 12.0/10.0/12.0 and 400 radius these will almost be thought-controlled with their maneuverability!! These will be the closest to in-line you'll get on snow.

The down-side to the Bantams is they will not be as fast as the longer boards and will feel less stable at speeds - the up-side is your balance will improve greatly as you rip past most people :)

Given your height and possible interest in park riding have a look at the BWP's as well, they are very close to the Tanshos in nimbleness as well as being killers in the park.

Out of the three a middle-ground would be to get the Tanshos for this year, and go either longer or shorter next season depending on how you progress. Bindings are a personal preference, releasables will give you more safety at the cost of weight and a small bit of feedback, non-relasables will give you the most feedback from the boards and be best for park tricks.

But whatever you go for G will look after you and Revel8 kit is top-notch!

-P

[Poots]

thanks for your replies guys.
I am now looking at the tanshos, allz 94, and loken apetorch
does anyone have experience/knowledge of these that could help me to narrow the decision?

[Manlenium]

I also have the hockey/inline background. I am 6'0 200lbs geared. I have the BWPS and Tanshos both are great all around boards. The BWPs will make a better transition to park with the little extra surface area.

Heres a post of mine with photo comparisons for an idea of size. The 8cm length is minumal.....and barely noticable.

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd226/Manlenium/IMG_0007.jpg

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd226/Manlenium/IMG_0009.jpg

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd226/Manlenium/IMG_0010.jpg

[Poots]

thanks for your advice guys,
I think im gunna go with the tanshos.
I did give some thought to the BWPs, but I don't like this years graphic. If 2007s were available I would so have gotten them, as I think they have the coolest graphics on any skiboard ive seen.

for bindings, im thinking bombers or snowjam.
from what ive read bomber is better but three times the price.
Has anyone used both?
what are the differences/advantages?
do they come ready to go or am I going to have to do some adjusting?

[Phil]

Originally posted by Poots
for bindings, im thinking bombers or snowjam.
from what ive read bomber is better but three times the price.
Has anyone used both?
what are the differences/advantages?
do they come ready to go or am I going to have to do some adjusting?

The Bombers will be the best but to start off with go with the Snowjams, they are a fine pair of bindings for general use.

Every binding needs adjusting to a riders boot size, but it's real easy to do and takes a few minutes.

I'd advise taking the allen key and possibly a screwdriver the first time you get on snow as when cold everything will contract slightly and will need a final torque-down.

[Manlenium]

I would recommend also un assembling the setup and cleaning the screws. This helps eliminate any grit or dirt they picked up in transit or it the shop. It makes the thread clean and reduces chance of it becoming lose during riding.

[CrazyBoy-1]

I think a Tansho/Xtreme II combo will do just fine for you. 90's are lots of fun and very easy to use. Definitely carry an allen key with you in case you need to adjust the bindings. If you're at all concerned about the screws to the boards coming loose, use some loctite or just set the boards and bindings out in the cold before tightening them.

[Manlenium]

Originally posted by Poots
thanks for your advice guys,
I think im gunna go with the tanshos.
I did give some thought to the BWPs, but I don't like this years graphic. If 2007s were available I would so have gotten them, as I think they have the coolest graphics on any skiboard ive seen.

for bindings, im thinking bombers or snowjam.
from what ive read bomber is better but three times the price.
Has anyone used both?
what are the differences/advantages?
do they come ready to go or am I going to have to do some adjusting?

I have used both and the Bombers win hands down. Besides being made of all metal and being basically indestructable/5 yr warranty, They handle great and can take a beating. The bombers allow the boards to do more work because of the plate and bumpers. The tranfer of power is effortless and feels great when you are zipping down hills.

The snowjams are great for entry level bindings, however they do have some plastic components which makes them 2nd rate to me. The adjustment groves must be nailed in tight or they tend to slip....especially with fair useage. You have to make sure to even the threads in order to make the foot plate stright. But Great all around for starters.

If you want long lasting heavy duty bindings, go with the bombers. If you are just starting up, the snowjams will do. Bombers are definately High end, the cost is what the product is worth. When they sell out every year.....that means something.:p

[Greco]

Originally posted by Manlenium

The snowjams are great for entry level bindings, however they do have some plastic components

they do? i don't think so.

g

[Phil]

Originally posted by Greco
they do? i don't think so.

g

Yup, they have.

http://howtoskiboard.com/images/sany0004a.jpg

The black bits are plastic.

[Greco]

in your picture there are two things that are black, the rubber sleeves on the bail arms and the painted black metal toe and heal bails themselves. there is no plastic there.

g

[Greco]

unless bluemoris have a different version.

g

[Phil]

I stand corrected. The bail pieces are indeed metal, not high-density plastic as I thought.

Nothing gets past you ;)

[Greco]

no worries, it's my job to know these things :)

g

[Manlenium]

Really.....??? hmm i guess they are metal....they looked and felt like plastic.....I assumed they were. :eek:

I guess i am judging by the bombers standard:p

[Poots]

if you purchase a set of boards and bindings, do the bindings get shipped mounted on the boards?

[nate]

Yea, mine came shipped with bindings

[Greco]

Originally posted by Poots
if you purchase a set of boards and bindings, do the bindings get shipped mounted on the boards?

yes, all bindings are mounted for free except boards with spruce bindings shipped within the usa. spruce ships to our usa customers direct and for international to us first and we ship everything together. but not to worry, one of the great things about 4x4 (http://sbol.ws/vbulletin/upload/showthread.php?s=&threadid=248) is how easy it is to install or move your bindings.

g

[nate]

Really? I got my boards with spruce and they came together...I think. Maybe not, I remeber having to mess with it some, setting the DIN and all, maybe I set mounted them myself too. :confused:

[tyberesk]

i think g takes the orders and then they send them right from spruce HQ...maybe i may be mistaken.

[Greco]

this is new for this season.

g

[nate]

ah, that explains it. Either way though, don't worry about it poots, it's super easy, all you need is a big phillips head screwdriver.

[Roussel]

Originally posted by Phil
I stand corrected. The bail pieces are indeed metal, not high-density plastic as I thought.

Nothing gets past you ;)

i thought the same thing at first but when you take off the bail plates and look undernearth you can tell they are metal.