Boards and other gear
Boards
At the moment I have 3 different snowboards. Two Rossignols from early 2000, and one from Salomon from winter 2010/2011 (though I bought it cheap the next season).
Salomon Lark
My newest board is Salomon Lark 144 2010/2011. It is an all mountain Directional Twin board of medium flex, with wingtips camber profile. Until this I've been riding pure freestyle boards, and was after more all mountain feel with greater stability in high speeds. The specs for the Lark sounded pretty much exactly what I was looking for. :)
After several of days of riding, Lark does seem to fulfill my expectations: it feels more stable at high speeds than my other boards, but still handles nicely. It is also very light weight to carry.
Birds! <3
I have to say I love the graphics. I got a thing for birds and the multiple colors with a bit of a 3D effect in the "steps" look great. Don't really care for the glitter, but since it can't be seen in any of the pictures, I doubt it is too noticeable in the slopes either. The Lark also matches my Flow Prima-SE bindings quite nicely. x)
Rossignol Sublime
My second board is a Rossignol Sublime 141. And I do mean second also in the sense that this was the second board I ever got. I am not exactly sure of the year, but I think I bought it in 2002 or 2003 and I know it was then the previous year's model and sold cheap. Sublime is a women's freestyle board, light and snappy to ride, and has served me quite well for many years.
Rossignol Vintage
Third board I have is a Rossignol Vintage 143 from 2001. The year is almost certainly 2001, at least I found boards with same graphics with that year on Google. The Vintage was originally my younger sister's board, but since she hadn't used it for several years, I confiscated it for my own use. It is an unisex freestyle board, a little bit wider and slightly stiffer than the Sublime.
Rossignol collection: Sublime 141 (2001) and Vintage 143 (2001) + HC1000 bindings
Bindings
I bought Flow bindings for season 2010-2011. Couple of friends who bough their first boards lately, got Flow bindings and they really looked handy compared to the regular strap bindings I had. Especially here in Finland with the short runs, it gets really annoying having to play with the straps after and before every run (if I bother taking my back leg off at all, I am quite comfortable riding the lift with both feet secured to the board).
Mine are Prima-SE 2010/2011 in white/blue, women's all mountain/freestyle bindings. They got into action in the Italian/Swiss Alps in Cervinia and Zermatt and proved very nice. It takes some tries to get the settings just right, but after that there is no need to touch them, and getting in and out of the bindings feels faster than with traditional straps. I also like how the 3D-strap makes the pressure more even along the foot, instead of constricting my toes and ankles, seems to fit my feet much better.
Boots
First thing I actually changed in my original snowboarding set were the boots. During second year at high school (2000), there was a school trip to Levi that also awarded a course in P.E. There the tongue in both of the boots started to slip from where they were supposed to stay and chafed my ankles. I temporarily fixed them with duct tape for the rest of the week. x)
Next boots were some Rossignols that were on sale. The color was somewhat ugly olive green and light yellow, but they were a huge improvement over the first ones. I used them until 2009 or 2010. By that time the boots had gotten wet so many times that they weren't exactly warm anymore, and my toes were always frozen. So I got new ones: black Vans Mantras. The criteria was basically that they not be white and that they fit, these did. Since the Mantras were pretty cheap their lacing system is also pretty basic: speed lacing cord for the ankle in the inner shoe, traditional lacing for the outer shoe. They are also really flexible, as one site put it: "noodle".
I've been snowboarding for over 15 years now and wanted a bit more "pro" boots. Less flex and more response for all mountain riding. Drooled at them for the first half of the winter and when I saw them on sale, I bought a pair of Burton Emeralds (2012 model) in teal color. The pretty blue-green color was not the main thing, though of course it is a big plus. The main reasons were the much easier adjustability and them being on the stiffer side. Emeralds have separate speed lacing cords for the toes and the ankle. The stiffness compared to Mantras is especially noticeable in toe side turns, it feels a lot more responsive. The down side is that Emeralds feel less comfortable, but that should get better over time as I get better at getting the cords tightened to just right and the boots conform to my feet.
Me in Cervinia, Italy in March 2011. The one waving in the background is strilla. My Rossignol Vintage board with the Flow Prima-SE bindings can be seen on the ground in front of me. My friends tell me I look like a little boy with blue helmet, but I guess that can't be helped. Nothing I can do to increase my height that much. :P
And to make this a perfect account of my gear, I am wearing a Halti jacket and pants, a Giro Nine.9 helmet and Dragon DXS goggles. The backpack is a Burton Women's Day Hiker 12L.
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