What is a good Powder Board? I need some recommendations.?

I would like to get a powder board for those days when Mt. Hood is deep in powder. I have been riding a Nitro Mystique for the past 3 seasons and although I can ride in powder (leaning on the back of the board), there is always that feeling that you are going to be sucked down into it. I know there are boards out there that are made with the bindings set back and that are wider so more volume to keep you above the powder, but I've never tried one, and would love if you can give me some recommendations. I have a Nitro Black Widow waiting for me in Austria, so that will cover all the non-powder days, but I think I'd like to have a powder board too. Thanks, in advance, for the help.What is a good Powder Board? I need some recommendations.?
The previous Answerers gave you some great examples of good powder boards so I won't get specific with my suggestions but I'll give you a general idea of what to look for in the different powder boards.





The biggest thing to talk about in powder boards is taper. Taper is when the nose of the board is wider than the tail. This construction technique will give the nose of your board better float in deep snow while allowing the tail to sink more so you don't actually need to lean back as much. Depending on the amount of taper you may lose some stability on the groomed runs but most tapered boards offer the best of both worlds. 30 mm's or more of taper is very powder specific and sacrifices more groomer capability. 20-30 mm's of taper is a great balance point for an all mountain board that is good everywhere but great in the powder. 10-20 mm's of taper is a board that will excel in most conditions for the all mountain rider that can only have one board.





The next thing to look at is tail design. The two most powder specific designs are swallow tails and pin tails. A swallow tail is pretty distinctive in that it has a deep V cut into the tail. Again, this reduces the surface area of the tail and allows the board to be ridden in a good ';nose up'; position without the rider really needing to lean back. These boards offer very good stability at higher speeds but aren't as maneuverable. Pintails on the other hand reduce surface area by coming to a narrower point at the tip of the tail. These designs offer great maneuverability but less stability. What kind of riding do you do most? If you find yourself mainly in open bowls going as fast as possible, then a swallow tail could be the best fit. If you love shreding tight tree lines then you can't go wrong with a shorter, more tapered pin tail. Of course, there is everything in between as well.





No comes some of the more interesting ideas in powder boards. Rocker. Two companies (I think) are pioneering the use of rocker in their powder boards. Think of rocker as reverse camber. Instead of your board bowing up in between your bindings, your board will curve up from the lowest point between your feet to the highest point at the tip and tail. I'm looking forward to trying out some rocker'd boards this year. From what I'm hearing these boards are great and a good option to the powder rider who wants to ride switch or spend a lot of time hitting big backcountry kickers. However, I have heard these boards are tough to ride groomed runs on.





And I changed my mind, here is a list of pow boards I liked





Burton:


Fish-30 mm taper pin tail


Malolo-20 mm taper mid pin tail


Supermodel-10 mm taper, regular tail





Lib tech:


Banana Hammock-Crazy rocker, reverse sidecut powder twin





K2:


Gyrator-Rocker'd near twin





Neversummer:


Summit-20 mm taper pintail





Rossignol:


Halfgun-Mid sized Swallow Tail


Biggun-HUGE Swallow tail....not for the timid.





EDIT: Okay, for your size and weight, I'd suggest a 154 Burton Malolo. That board is the perfect balance of all mountain goodness and powder dominance. Really, the only thing you'll sacrifice with this board is the ability to ride switch well (and for the record, you can ride this board switch if you need to) and it's a beast in the pipe...and that's it. This board actually carves groomers as well (and some claim it's better) than the Burton Custom. And you'll be all smiles in the powder, crud, slush, chop and corn.





Have fun.What is a good Powder Board? I need some recommendations.?
...in addition to the above, Burton also makes some powder specific boards namely the Malolo and the Fish. Also I think Lib Tech has a powder specific - ';freestyle'; board called the banana hammock. It's primary feature is the use of rocker instead of camber which should make it easier for the board to ride above pow rather than dig into it.





Have fun at Hood!
I would check out the GNU Barrett pro model in a 152. Super old skool graphics and the deck is a magnatraction all mtn deck.





http://www.sourceboards.com/online_store鈥?/a>





Basically check out any Magna board. I really also like the 152 skate Banana by Lib Tech. Maga reverse camber makes the Banana a sick pow deck. C





http://www.snowboard-mag.com/node/17521
The Burton ';Feel Good';.
Just a quick follow up to the above answers: I've heard the above information from a number of other sources and the above seems to track pretty well.





The Q that hasn't been addressed yet that's in the original is: does anyone have a recommendation on length? (Compared to a normal inbounds/groomed board.)





One thing that hasn't been mentioned much are splitboards (like by voile-usa.com). Again, I'll let people with much more knowledge than I respond.





Thanks folks.
Well have fun at Hood. I had a pass at Meadows last year, but this year I'll be in Park City... prey for snow.





If you can get two different boards that is the way to go especially for Hood because the POW there can get pretty heavy as you may know.





So some good POW boards would be:


- Never Summer Summit Snowboard


- Nitro Powder Gun (this one is strictly for powder)


- Forum Roost





Keep in mind that when getting a powder board you'll want to go a little smaller than usual.





Have fun at Hood... Meadows or Timberline?