Which board - Short or long?

Hi Neil,

Hope you are good and your happy with the snow for the first guests. Although, you are in Les Deux Alps, for this week according to Tosh. Good?

I am at a loss about split-board length. I have the option of a trice 61.5 or 64.5. Who like to quibble over a couple of cm's, hey?

I like to jib in the pow, but will have a heavier pack for touring. My normal powder board is a trice 61 and great for everything but the deepest pow.

My weight is 74kg / 163pounds and the min weight for the boards is 130+ pounds and 140+ pounds (not that this is that relevant).

Would you have any wise thoughts about which to go for? Obviously, longer would be better for the hikes.

Many thanks.

I owe you one extra thick hot chocolate at Carlo's. Or a hot Grappa if you prefer.

Tim

Hi Tim,

Over In Tignes at the moment not L2Alpes (Tosh never was very good at directions/places etc).

You pretty much answered this yourself! ’Longer would be better for hikes’ but I’d also add ‘also better for Freeriding’!!!

A Splitboard will always ride slightly softer than a normal board due to it being cut in half! The softer flex makes them easier to flex into the turn and easier to bend for a shorter radius turn even with a slightly longer board length.

The extra weight added by a touring pack will also make a big difference, so I’d say go for the longer option.

There’s a bit of a Myth about long boards being harder to turn and play about on, today with rocker tip and tails and boards designed for specific things a longer freeride board (with Cam rock, such as the Flagship and the power banana/Libs) can offer you the same manouverability as a short board with the added edge stability of a long board.

Hope this helps!

Neil.