Small or Large Radius in the powder?

[cjhoffmn]

I've been riding a Burton Canyon since '98. Being on the East Coast USA, I've only done a little riding in the powder. I'm considering changing my whole setup to a real carving setup - moving to hard boots and all. Since my Canyon is reasonably long (168) and a wide board (270mm waist width) it seems it would be a great board for the powder, but it has a short sidecut radius (8.97). Does that matter in the pow? This will help me decide on what carving board to buy and if I sell my Canyon. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks

[nils]

well your board seems pretty good for pow (very wide!)
and the lenght could be better but i guess should be more than enough!

You need a pow board for those non carving days.. the total versatile board has yet to be invented!

[rcrobar]

Hi cjhoffmn

Since my Canyon is reasonably long (168) and a wide board (270mm waist width) it seems it would be a great board for the powder

My home mountain is Powder King, the name speaks for itself. I was able to demo the Canyon a couple of years ago, the conditions were shin to knee deep powder. I thought the board worked great in the powder.

but it has a short side cut radius (8.97). Does that matter in the pow?

It depends on the hill you ride and the way you like to ride.

If the hill you ride at is heavily treed, with tight openings in between the trees, you will like the tight side cut. The small side cut gives you the ability to dart in and out of the trees, without fighting the board. If you are able to access large open bowls, you will like a bigger side cut that will allow you to scream down the hill doing big GS style turns. I spend a lot of time in the trees so I liked the small, turny side cut radius of the Canyon.

If you are on a budget, I’d keep your board for the powder. If you are not on a budget, check out www.swallowtails.org and check out Nils’ new 196 Amok (http://www.swallowtails.org/) This is what the big dogs ride!:D

Either way, get a pair of hard boots and a WIDE carving board. Oh yeah, I rode the Canyon with Raichle 225’s and plates. Maybe step one could be putting plates on the board you have until you decide what to do about a new board?

Hope this helps
Rob

[cjhoffmn]

Thanks for the great replies. In fact, I'm moving to plates and hardboots now. Since it sounds like the Canyon's good for the powder riding, and I already like it as a freeride board so.. I'm gonna keep it. I'm picking the Bomber Trench Diggers and I'm thinking of the Raichle 423s. (See my post in the Misc area - I'm curious if they are too soft...)

My budget concern starts with w and ends with e. That's "wife." Moving to the plates on the canyon is step one, which I'm going to do this season and soon. Really appreciate the detailed responses.