Postby geopeck » Tue Nov 29, 2016 7:58 pm
Optimizing wax, wider board, wider stance are all good ideas but deep powder is just really a problem, more so in that we get so turned on by it because it's the best for downhill but really it is a mismatch with a snowboard. Think about how a snowboard works downhill, it's carve, flatten, carve. Speed gets built when flat and burned when carving. So then think about it with a kite - all "carve" or not really carving but on edge. No chance for the board to shed it's snowload, kind of an inefficient angle needing to be maintained in order to hold edge and upwind. For me the most frustrating bit is the angled nose stuff which is specific to kiting - if you are on edge the rail has the ability to cut down into the snow sideways in a way that is hard to correct and leaves you perched up in the air with your nose jammed down in the base.
Good times.
I've used different boards and stances, including reverse camber reverse sidecut, a 155 and 136 snowboard modified to work as a strapless snowskate and various standard shaped boards and none of them made deep powder better then medium powder over a firm base or any firmer surface. I almost think that when it comes to kiting in really deep powder someone should go back to the drawing board and consider things like unstuffable surfboard kind of rails or deep concaves or something, I don't know just tossing it out there. If it was actually a dedicated all deep powder board you could start by getting rid of the metal edges and make a pintail for better release.
The market for kite specific snowboards has been kind of marginal and the market for a deep powder specific board would never be touched by a sensible producer but it would be cool to see what a innovative designer like OR would come up with.
The fact that it's got to go backwards is a problem too - that's where that wider stance kind of works but kind of doesn't because it puts your back foot in a better position to float and drive the board but the thigh burn is intense. Again, think about how you would place your bindings if you were going to spend a whole day going downhill in deep powder - and you can't because you have to ride switch half the time. That's why I (and noone else on this forum) kind of think strapless directional would be the coolest. You'd have to come up with some kind of serious in-depth wax system for the deck though that sheds snow but gives grip.
Reverse camber gives a nicer sensation but I don't know if it reduces drag, I actually feel like I'm asking the board to go slightly uphill at low speeds. It's a little brutal to have to keep your speed up so much, way more work than water.
I don't know if the serrated edges are going to help, I think those are a crud cutting device.
I carry some liquid glide wax in my kite bag, not super expensive and works in a huge range of temps. Quick to put on, I do it before every session and sometimes during.
I also use a splitboard - it's pretty quick to swap out, like minutes and your hands can stay in your gloves. The skins can be kind of a problem as far as sometimes leaving goob on the board or being hard to seperate. Surely got my moneys worth out of it as I've had to ski out a few miles at times.
One other deal that wasn't mentioned is your purchase point. With all the drag your center of tow or resistance or whatever is getting moved down lower, to like upper thigh maybe. The lower the hook is the better to transfer kite energy to the board instead of soaking it up with the body.
One simple solution I'm going to try to make happen this winter - skis. I'm a shitty skier but when it's deep powder the ski guys in my spot are outfunning me for sure.