Quote Originally Posted by ratboy
Hi,
I picked up a used board (5150 Pacer wide) at a great price but haven't had a chance to try it out yet. The board is a 156, which is fine for my height (I'm 5'10") but I weigh about 205 lbs. According to charts I should go with a longer board for my weight but I am a relative beginner so I don't want to go any longer than I have to, plus wide boards are not the easiest to maneuver.
I was wondering how many people out there have tried riding boards shorter than recommended for your size and what the results were.
Thanks
First thing to remember is that your board size has nothing to do with your height, which is why no company will ever mention it on their boards, in their catalogs, etc. Only people that talk about height are those that are new or inexperienced with selling equipment or just don't want to bother with explaining things to you. Excluding personal preference, weight, boot size, riding style, and type of snow being ridden will determine board size. Personal preference can be a key as well. I know 140lb riders that use a 168s on hardpack, and I know 240lb riders that use 168s in pow. Generally, as a rider gets more experienced they tend to go a little longer with their board preference, possibly due to them going a little short when first starting out. For you a lot of it will simply depend on the snow type that you generally ride. If half-decent pow, then a 156 is defintely on the short end as you won't get a lot of float. If you ride pow then keep the bindings back a bit or you'll be endoing over your board's nose quite a bit. The best area that a wide specific 156 for you would do in would be the park. In the future you can go with a more narrow board and use risers under your bindings. They will provide better edge pressure by essentially lengthening your binding baseplates as well as get your toes/heels up higher to eliminate boot drag.