Help with board sizing/bindings

Ladies and gents,

I'm 5'11, 200 pounds and have started to feel pretty confident with my riding. Recently been hitting the park but still love free riding. Can someone shed some light on what type of board/size I should be looking at and based on that would rear entry bindings be sweet with the board or should I steer clear? Any thoughts would be appreciate.

Cheers

Jades

Thanks dude, appreciate your help.

Thanks man, all the input I can get helps. I'll definitely look in that direction though.

Why is that? The stabity factor with the bindings?

Originally posted by coolz Originally posted by jades10 Why is that? The stabity factor with the bindings? from my own experience, its mainly the response of the binding thats lacking. Then again l did buy an extry level one, but when compared to the burton mission, they were like nothing.

Thanks for the info, I am a bit worried about the responsiveness of the rear entry bindings wihtout a toe strap, I thought Flow made binding with a toe strap though?

on most model its not a real "toe strap" it does the connector thing, hard to explain but you dont have rachet either way. cehcking their site, only their m9-se has a real toe strap

I'm not trying to contradict other people here, but it seems like everyone is recommending really small boards. You said that you love free riding, but have started entering the park. I really don't think a 156 will hold up to any sort of speed free riding if you weigh 200 pounds. I weigh about 215, and I couldn't imagine owning a board that small.  I rode a 156 for one run and thought it was totally wimpy and awful.

I would recommend something like a 160-162. Generally speaking, if you go with any board that has a rockered tip/ tail it will be as easy to turn as a cambered 156, but when you get it on edge, there will be a lot more board to support you. I'm thinking something like a Ride Machete or a Bataleon Goliath.

Keep in mind that the type of board matters too. You could probably go with a softer flex on a bigger board, and you'd probably want a stiffer flex on a smaller board. 

Ultimately, one size does not fit all. But I'd be wary of going too small/ too soft. If you get a park-specific board in a 156, I don't think it'll be much fun at high (or even moderate) speed.

as far as board sizing goes id go with a 156 with a mild rocker or a true camber profile.

Just to update, I've tried a few different boards. The 156 mild rocker I used was great down the park, manoeuvrable and felt easy to jib with, not as good down when trying to shred. As to be expected the 162 I used didn't fair as well in the park but I felt like I was floating down the mountain. Thanks again for all your help. Greatly appreciated. Jades10