Buying snowboarding equipment for the first time

[Rimka]

Hi Everybody,
I'm actually buying this for my husband, his b-day is coming up. I don't really know anything about the equipment -I just take whatever the rental place is giving me, but he is getting serious and good enough for his own stuff I think.
If this is not the right place for this post, I apologize - please let me know if there's some special newbie discussion board.
He's been trying some freestyling so the board should not be too stiff (I think, from reading up on the subject ). Here's what I could find so far:
boards (should be 152-155cm):

Ride control - http://store.summitonline.com/53339.html
Ride cue - http://store.summitonline.com/45691.html
GNU CHB - http://store.summitonline.com/70099.html
K2 fuse - http://store.summitonline.com/53440.html

boots (9-9.5):

Lamar alias - http://www.the-house.com/la2al07zzlamar.html
Airwalk vulcan - http://www.the-house.com/aw2vu06bzzairwalk.html
Avalanche Variant - http://store.summitonline.com/70802.html
Fusion LT1 - http://www.the-house.com/fu2fb09zzfusionboots.html

bindings:

Ride LX - http://www.sierrasnowboard.com/browse.cfm/4,687.htm
Sims Icon - http://www.the-house.com/fu2fb09zzfusionboots.html
Morrow dimension - http://www.the-house.com/mo1di04bzzmorrowdimension.html

Does anyone have a recommendation as to which ones are the best? My husband is pretty athletic, can go downhill no problem and maneuver. He can do some basic freestyling tricks and is learning. Are any of the boards better or worse for this skillset? Also, can different bindings go on different boards, or do I have to get specific ones?
One last question - what is the best place to buy this? Online (cheaper) vs. Store (maybe quality).
Thanks a lot of any insight!

[MARK]

I need his specs for determining size, flexes, etc. Please provide his weight, shoe size, and where he rides(what state/area). As for the rest, I'll help you with that then also.

[Rimka]

thanks for replying! here are the specs:
5.10 height
155 weight
shoe size - 9.5
he rides in california, lake tahoe area

[MARK]

Shoot me an email at marktoms@mindspring.com and I'll dig around for some deals, etc. By the way, is the band Paloalto actually from Palo Alto? Ever heard of them? They sing a great song called "Sonny" from a few years ago.

[clint999]

Shoot me an email at marktoms@mindspring.com and I'll dig around for some deals, etc. By the way, is the band Paloalto actually from Palo Alto? Ever heard of them? They sing a great song called "Sonny" from a few years ago.