should i buy a new board-

Why don't you demo some boards when possible. Try them out, find what you like them buy a board. boards are expensive. But i guess it doesn't matter if you got money to blow.

well, i took 2 hours of private lessons and only the first hour seemed to be worthy. The second and 3th one was almost useless.

After the first lesson, i took 2 days to train the basic (c turn). then i started to learn carving to get more speed (which was alright on green pist) but and on steeper slope i tend to put to much weight on my back foot which cause me to "drift" and slow down instead of having a nice curve.

so on the third day, i took a second hour lesson. i asked the instructor to teach me how to carve. And for the first run, he took me to the "bunny hill" (beginner), then seeing i was doing alright carving, he took me to another pist. The slope was pretty steep, and there were nobody on that slope, so there were a lot of snow (kind of tick layer of "fake snow"), which made it even harder to turn. all the guy did was going down half way then stop (he couldn't even me anymore), then it was my turn. Because the slope was so steep and the layer of snow so tick i couldn't even make any proper turn. It was only at the end of the session that i went to check on the "trailer map" and saw that he took me to a black pist. Would he have taken me to a blue pist, i would have understood, but a black pist??? come on. it didn't seem that i learned anything.

after that i trained by myself and i am doing ok on blue trail (still can't carve on the black diamond slope, it's going to fast and i keep "drifting or falling"). Usually when going down, i never really go "straight", i always try to carve (so i am always using the edge of the board), but in narrow path, or at the bottom of the hill, i kind of have my board straight (and it is not necessarly always at high speed), and in this straight position when i switch from hill edge to toe edge, sometime for a few seconds my board lays flat and it's at those moments that i feel the unstability. if i don't pay attention it will follow by my "ass" on the ground. Each time that i have to stay straight i feel anxious because of that.

So i thought that if i get a "flatter" board (without the banana shape), it will be more stable.

* forgot the "see"----> he couldn't even see me anymore.


for people who wonder , which i am sure "nobody" :P ,it seemed that i didn't learn anything on my first lesson because there again i asked the instructor to help me improve my carving, and all he did was saying: "you are doing alright, you are doing good". He didn't say anything that i already knew (either from the previous instructor or from beginner video on youtube). All i did was following him around for 1 hour on green and blue slope. He really didn't say much.

so i dont' think i will take any other lesson until i am ready to try to do some jumpings.

Originally posted by thisisjoebro Why don't you demo some boards when possible. Try them out, find what you like them buy a board. boards are expensive. But i guess it doesn't matter if you got money to blow.

I agree try some boards at demo days, go talk to people at your local shop and they will be able to help make sure you are on the right board.  Also the lack of stability will go away as you improve.

Yeah, go demo a few boards, I would try out a few boards from Burton...They are really nice and they are usually considered an "all mountain board" If you don't find one that you like just stick with your board and just keep practicing! The instability is probably just because you are a beginner so just keep at it!

it always nice a new board

i am wondering if reading will help me. it's like when i watch youtube video, what they say seems to make sense, and what they do seems to "easy" to do. However, in reality when you are on the slope you can't remember and think of all the advice and techniques they teach you.

Moreover, when reading it is difficult to visualize the real thing. they are talking about toe edge, heel edge, knee pushing and may use technical words, which makes it even more complicated. When I see a video, even if i don't understand all the technical words, i can see what the guy is doing which helps more.

But for sure it will not hurt to get more knowledge.

Originally posted by ediway Trying demo seems a good idea, but the thing is that the unstability doesn't happen all the time. most of the time only when i stay in a straight position like i mentioned (i also sometime catch the edge and lay flat on the ground but it's another story :P) and since i am a novice, i wonder if i would really be able to tell the difference if i ride it only for a few hours. If i ride it for a few days, i guess i will be able to tell, but just for one day, i wonder... It is like playing tennis. when i started playing tennis, i asked advices on which racquet i should get. people told me to try out some and decide which i like the most. For me, it didn't seems that they were any different because i didn't know anything. it just felt almost the same.

Ya, long story short, and like everyone has told you.

The size of the board is okay, you're still a beginner so that's why you feel it's unstable.  After you gain more experience, your worry will go away and you won't feel the instability as much.  

^ I'm wondering which college the OP attends, too, because it appears the English/Language Arts program isn't very strong.

If you still like the flex of rocker with stability, your best beat is to go with a hybrid board. there are lots of boards to look at. any of the Flying V's from Burton, FK's from Capita, Combo platter from Forum, and Never Summer's Evo's are also hybrids.

For people who asked which university i am going to, it is the university of minessota.

Wait until you get better before you get a new board.  At some point you'll figure out what type of riding you're going to do most and you'll want to focus on a board for that style.  Eventually though you might just be straight out so addicted you have various boards for various conditions and styles.