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| Rental Board! Dec 2010 |
There isn't a lot of input from ladies on boards/bindings, which as a lady rider makes me sad. Thegoodride.com is pretty awesome for comparing gear and getting a bit of input and backcountry.com usually has excellent user reviews but still, there's not a lot from the ladies' side. While I'm no pro, I figured I'd share my experiences... I grew up in FL wakeboarding and snowboarded maybe 5 times (once per year on a family trip or something) so I wasn't a complete newb but I was still baby-girling it when I moved to NM in 2010. 2010 was my first real season of snow <3. Rented from Outdoor Recreation on the Air Force base for most of this season...they had really sweet NS boards! Boots sucked though...I digress.
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| Ride set up Dec 2011 popping baby ollies |
In 2011 I bought my first board at a ski swap. My first board and bindings were both Ride. It was an inexpensive demo board (and pretty tiny at 139cm) and the bindings (RX4?) were decent. I think board and bindings was $280? It should also be noted that I'm 5' tall and 130lbs so the tiny board wasn't really a big deal. I also bought some fl0w BOA boots that I still wear to this day...they've been through the ringer but are so comfy and sturdy. Haven't found a comparable new boot that I'm ready to buy >_<. Anywho, I outgrew this board in under a season out on the snow.
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| Never Summer Lotus and fl0w Primas - Wolf Creek, CO |
So towards the end of the season 2011 I found an awesome deal on a Never Summer Lotus at the ski shop in Taos, NM. It literally had never been ridden because most people ski rather than board at Taos. It was a 151 which is kinda ginormous for me but I knew I could handle it and the board has some really sweet tech. Epic edge hold and control. This board took me through powder, park, ice, slush, bombing runs etc and never let me down. The only draw back was as I progressed as a rider I wanted to goof off more in the park and do butters and ollies. I had some Fl0w Prima bindings on this...and this was when the step-in bindings were still newish and I'd never seen anyone wear them. I freaking love these bindings. If you can touch your toes np...I was always the first one ready to go off the lift and no frozen crusty bum from sitting on the snow to strap in! Warning though, it is trickier to strap in/out in super deep powder with these bindings so be prepared if you've never ridden pow. This board is now my powder board <3. Wicked fast old girl!
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| Snowboard kung fu should be a thing... |
Flash forward to Feb 2014. I made some extra cash doing odd sewing projects for friends and family and I decided I needed the Gnu Ladies Choice board. Needed. SO I found it at a great price and snagged a 145.5 before an awesome trip to Utah with friends. I initially rode it with my fl0w bindings. It was a bit of a learning experience switching from a traditional directional board to an assym/sym board.
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| Durango Mountain, CO March 2014 |
What this means is: my NS board was meant to point one way down the mountain, sure you can ride it switch but its not going to go as fast because the board is bigger at the nose/front than in the tail/back. The Gnu is asymmetrical but equally asymmetrical on both sides so it can be ridden normal/switch with no big deal. The asymmetry refers to the different diameters on the front and back edges that work to make switching to toe-side to heel-side easier with respect to the female anatomy. Toe-side diameter is slightly larger than heel side diameter so it isn't perfectly round at the tops. Once you realize you don't have to work as hard riding as on trad boards this board is like butter. It's pretty forgiving on landings and bumps too while still holding a great edge when you need it to. This board is super poppy and fun and easy to butter whereas the NS is stiffer (faster!) and you had to fight her to get her to butter. This board is the tits. Great for freestyle riding and baller in the park. Not great for deep pow or backcountry!
So in March 2014 I bought some Burton Cartels in blood orange (because they matched the board so perfectly I couldn't resist!). My husband uses these bindings and so do like 90% of my dude friends so they came highly recommended. They didn't let me down. They are so responsive but cushy for landings! They are super adjustable, which is why I think I like them so much. It took a fair amount of adjusting them to be comfy and fit my stance but they do and I love em.
Soooo that's basically my ramblings on my gear. Let me know if you have comments or questions down below. Hopefully this can help out some ladies who are newer to the sport or looking to get into riding :). HAPPY RIDING!!! <3
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| Wolf Creek, CO Dec 2014 |
