That's a good board for heli boarding.
So im looking at buying my first snowboard
I mainly snowboard in Japan, 10 weeks a year and 2-4 weeks in New Zealand
Im also planning to do some helicopter snowboarding if I can get my skills up enough which I think I'll be able to do with my own set-up instead of using rentals
I would consider myself a beginner/intermediate
Im 185cm and weigh 120kg, size 11.5 boots
I was thinking the Jones flagship but would love people's opinions and recommendations
That's a good board for heli boarding.
You already ride 10-14 weeks a year on rentals? I'm surprised you haven't already bought something. NZ and Japan can be significantly different riding. What do you actually want to do: off piste, groomers, park? Assume you'll be chasing powder on a heli trip, as you'd hopefully be riding in Japan. So JP means a bigger powder board if you're going off piste. NZ off piste is more variable, so maybe a rock board? ;) Go into a board store and talk to someone. Better still, hit a demo day at a resort and try a few.
Not exactly haha. I only started snowboarding in December and fell in love with it. I did 6 weeks in Japan that first season, but this coming season I'll be spending about 10 weeks there, so I'm definitely looking at buying my own setup instead of using rentals. I'll probably spend most of my time on groomers, but I definitely want to get into off-piste too. I have no interest in park riding. Definitely chasing powder haha. I'm not a huge fan of the snow here in New Zealand. I knew it wasn't going to be anywhere near Japan, but I honestly thought it would be better than what it is. Even the spring snow in Japan was better
I have spent time on the jones flagship in Alaska heli boarding and find it much too stiff and heavy for good conditions. After spending a lot of time backcountry riding I firmly believe in riding a shorter, softer and volume shifted board for powder than you might ride in a resort. I’d always go for something like the jones hovercraft, Gentemstick XY, bataleon surfer or similar
Cheers
i like volume shifted also, i think it depends on the pitch and how short you are going volume shifted. but ya, ive got a salomon dancehaul and it makes the mtn just fun. for bombing i break out something more appropriate
Check out Never Summer’s collection of boards.
I'm a local in NZ and I do a trip to Japan every year or two. Japan and NZ are vastly different snow conditions, I would not use the same board for both. In NZ you need something that prioritizes edge hold in firm conditions, we don't get the regular snowfall that Japan does so you're always riding on old icy terrain. I have a few custom flying v's that rip really well in Japan, but I can't ride them in NZ, they won't hold an edge here and all I can do is skidded turns unless it's a powder day which is very rare. In NZ i ride the Yes Standard, their mid bite edge profile works quite well here.
Yeah might just stick to having a board for Japan and just use rentals when I come to New Zealand, dont really want or even have space for 2 boards haha The snow here in New Zealand sucks 🤣
Hah, same here - wanted a single board that would handle both deep Japow and also shitty icy days on Tūroa. Researched the everloving hell out of it. Ended up with the Ride Superpig and very happy with it. Directional, volume shifted board - many pros, few cons, it's not prefect in the park but apart from that it rips everywhere else. There are similar boards in other brands e.g. the Libtech Orca (though that's perhaps more like the Superpig's more playful little brother, the Warpig). As a heavier rider you might appreciate the volume shift (shorter and wider than a normal board) coz they can be like 10cm shorter than your normal ride. I'm on the 154 and I was 105kgs at the time.
Cheers, I'll look into it, I have no interest in parking riding so thats no issue
Check out Offshore Snow Shapes. Built for Japanese powder. I have Snurfs up and Cabin Fever from Offshore. Amazing powder boards. I used both in Hokkaido and NZ Heli. Definitely do Heli in Methven with Methven Heli. Harrison Heli out of QT/Wanaka is OK but do Mt Cook package rather than Wanaka.
Weston Japow is perfect
if you have your eye on a jones flagship, that is a pretty damn good board. its a rockered profile, as boards with powder as a thought tend to be. someone said its too stiff, i dont know about that. its definitely not a noodle, and its probably not the most fun board to fuck around on the blue runs with, but its a reasonable all arounder, good powder board, good bomber. I do like the idea of a volume shifted board for most resort riding. but, its not like they are all made exactly the same either. i like the salomon dancehaul, its just FUN. ive also ridden the jones mind expander and the gnu gremlin. the gremlin was full camber and just more serious, the mind expander was fun and rad.....i jjust liked the dancehaul more. and, the dancehaul was a lot less expensive, like $450 new off the rack hope ya get something you like. sounds like you have an opportunity that is unique. take advantage of it.
Never Summer Swift 163. I’m 5’11” 170lbs and ride a 158cm.