let er rip

[Polarbear4134]

wow a skiboard forum, what a find!
i have heard about skiboards and snowblades and the such, but never really thought about them that much. but then it dawned on me that being an aggressive inline skater, it might be alot easier for me to cath on to compared to normal downhill skiing with skiis the length of a land rover.
im not all to sure where to begin here, all i really need to get going is a pair of ski boards. but it seems difficult to make a decision.
im definitely an improving skiier, and want to adventure into the more difficult runs, and of course hit the pow and bathe in the white fluffy goodness. so should i stick wiwth a longer type of board?, like a 120 variant? or can you do the pow with a 100 pair?.
i find it funner and more interesting to be able to do gnarly descents, compared to jumps, rails, and boxes. i prefer to leave those for my normal skates anyways.
so to make it shorter here, im wanting advice on a first pair that will take me into the pow and beyond. im about 5'11'' and around 140 lbs. what are in my range of opportunities?

Polarbear

[Manlenium]

Whatever you preference level.......

The KTPs sound like a good choice for you. Mad width for the powder and short enough to wonder into the park....:D

[Polarbear4134]

so is this going to be easier to pick up since im really good on my skates? or does that not assist in the learning curve?
for normal skiis im a blue runner, and had 174 cm skis. they just seem so large and clunky.
what about the spruce 120s? they seem to be popular around here? i saw the carving review, but how do they do in the pow?

[tyberesk]

they are carving/powder machines. They have a very wide surface area...but i have never ridden them. You would be best suited with any board from 98cm to 120 cm although anything about 110cm requires release bindings. The 101, 105, 110, 120 will float best on powder with the real POWDER boards being the 110cm Condors and the 101 cm Kirk Thompson Pros (KTPs) The Spruce boards are not as wide, but are 10 cms longer but will be heavier because of the release bindings...although they have a new feature that has a powder plate for moving bindings back from center mount.

Spruce also has a 130 super wide powder ski called the Sherpa that has not been manufactured yet.

[CrazyBoy-1]

With your inline background, I would definitely suggest looking at the KTP's. They have the width and biding options for powder riding, but their length will give you plenty of maneuverability.

[nate]

I'd have to agree with these other guys, being fairly light but into powder and with the inline background...KTP's may well be golden for ya :D

And yea, inline background will help. Just don't try to ski the boards, trust your edges! ;)

[kirk]

Yep, if you skate, it will take a bout 1 run to feel at home on a pair of skiboards. Years ago, when all of my friends and I first discovered skiboarding, we all switched over and it felt extremely natural.

Skating is a little different, and will take a slight bit of change, but you'll get it down fast.

[Polarbear4134]

i am going to try to find a place here in northern colorado that rents them, so i can give em a whirl for a day. before i go and buy a 300 or 400 dollar investment.
with that length of board would you suggest a releaseable or non releaseable binding? are there performance issues with either?

[nate]

If you find anything for rent, it'll probably be salomon snowblades, or something similar, which while are a little like skiboards, have many many differences. They're skinny, and have a ski-like shape, so even though they'll be maneuverable since they're short, they'll still ride a lot like skis. Real, wide, twinbody, snowboard-shaped skiboards will provide a more fluid carving motion. But if you feel it'll help in your decision go ahead and try them, just remember true skiboards will be a tad different.

Hmm, I don't know what the official number are for release/non-release, and you'll want to keep those in mind for the longest you can go with non-release, but anything longer than the Revolt's I'd probably recommend non-release, since you're fairly light, even then if you're at all concerned about injuries you might feel better with releasables.

The spruce risers provide a very good connection with the board, and will serve you well if you want to go that route (I'm riding revolts with the risers). But if you want the best control and connection to the board you'll want to go with non-release. Also, the releasables are considerably heavier.

[tyberesk]

Originally posted by Polarbear4134
i am going to try to find a place here in northern colorado that rents them, so i can give em a whirl for a day. before i go and buy a 300 or 400 dollar investment.
with that length of board would you suggest a releaseable or non releaseable binding? are there performance issues with either?

polar did you get my private message? check ur inbox

[Manlenium]

Originally posted by Polarbear4134
so is this going to be easier to pick up since im really good on my skates? or does that not assist in the learning curve?
for normal skiis im a blue runner, and had 174 cm skis. they just seem so large and clunky.
what about the spruce 120s? they seem to be popular around here? i saw the carving review, but how do they do in the pow?

The learning curve for complete amateurs is a day. I know cause ive taught some.

Any experience on snow...or similiar sports, you should have no problems.

The longer boards past 105 are the powder monsters.

If you want something closer to an inline feel go a bit lower with sub 100s.