Deep powder board - Burton Fish vs. Never Summer Summit

[Meltz]

Normally, I ride a Never Summer Premier T5 168 for powder days & a Premier 161 for other days. I ride Lake Tahoe (Sugar Bowl, mostly) off trails/trees mostly. I'm 6'0, fluctuate between 190 & 200 lbs. Size 12 boot.

I just saw a Burton Fish and was surprised to see that it's a powder specific board that comes in only 2 sizes (156 & 160 cm). The Never Summer Summit board comes in 161, 167 & 172 sizes...a much longer selection for the same conditions. The main reason I was so excited by the Burton Fish was because it seemed that I could actually ride a short (better turning, since the Premier seems much more nimble to me) board made for powder conditions. I figured the technology finally came so far to allow a shorty board for bigger guys.

Is anyone familiar with the Burton Fish and how it compares/contrasts to the Summit? I figure I'd be a 160 on the Fish, and the guy at NS says I should ride a 172 on the Summit. :confused:

Thanks for any help!

[NoKnees]

It's not new technology, but an acceptance of the idea of "The right tool for the right job". More people are buying multiple boards for the different conditions they may ride in. That's why you are seeing more of these extreme pintail and some more swallowtail type Powder boards coming out.

The deal is, what you gain in powder riding ability with a fish type board you loose in hardpack/mixed terrain riding ability. You can ride a fish on hardpack or crud, and it'll do okay, but the Summit will ride better in those conditions. However, the Summit will take a bit more work in powder, specifically in tighter trees and areas other than wide open bowls. So, if you are looking at a "quiver" of boards, instead of a do-it-all board, the fish or similar board is a nice addition. The summit would be a better "do-it-all" board if you need it to work in more than just deep powder.

Since you have a regular board, and this would be more of a powder specific board, personally, I'd consider the fish or a similar board...

Other boards like this are: Prior Khyber, Spearhead or Powstick(swallowtail), Burton Malalo(sp?), Libtech Banana hammock.... NS is supposed to have a new rocker nosed version of the Summit next year that is more powder specific... Keeping your eyes open for older swallowtails isn't a bad idea either.... OSIN (Dynastar) 4708, Wintersticks...


I primarily ride Tahoe as well, mostly Kirkwood, but generally anywhere. I generally go between three different boards, pending on the conditions.. 164 Ride No. 4 for hardpack. Flow Solitude WX 169 for mixed conditions (powder up to 6", or any amount of couple day old snow). And a 178 OSIN 4709 swallowtail for > 1' of fresh, assuming it's not too wet.... Oh, and I'm 5'10 about 185lbs... Riding for 13 years or so...

For me, in an average Tahoe year, with mostly weekend riding, around 24-30 days, I get the following distribution:

25% - Short board
65% - Long board
10% - Powder board

Just my 2 cents....

[Meltz]

Great info, NoKnees! Thanks so much!

[sbg]

Tapered boards like the Malolo and the Fish make for a pretty amazing powder ride, and I think the selling point for them, is that they don't make riding away from the powder impossible. I have a Winterstick 176 swallowtail that is an amazing powder board, but I get maybe one or two days on it in a season, and those certainly aren't at resorts; it's nearly impossible to ride if there isn't more than a couple feet of snow.

The Malolo and Fish however, are great for resort powder days, as they turn just fine on hardpack. Probably not going to be your first choice for a groomer day, but they do handle pretty well on cat-tracks and other runs you have to take to get to and from the good stuff.