Twin snowboards that carve

I basically only rode twins for 20 years, but haven’t bought one in a decade now.  Without the taper, the tail can stay fairly locked into a carve (in good conditions) and feel good.  But every board is a compromise.  Twins tend to be softer (particularly torsionally) so that they’re more maneuverable for tricks.  Consequently they don’t slice through variable terrain very well and you can get thrown off trajectory as well.

Having said all that, last year I did buy an Academy Masters, which is sort of a directional twin with more setback than you typically see today (Chris Roach is definitely old school).  It has a decent amount of effective edge, so I was hoping I could push it a little harder than my other all mountain boards, and ride a little more switch as well.  It is good switch, but man is it soft (despite a ‘7’ flex rating).  The micro camber probably doesn’t help.  It’s interesting how you can ankle steer throughout a carve to easily change your trajectory, but it’s easy to get thrown off course.  Over 60 kph feels pretty sketchy too.  It’s made by Never Summer and it’s a very smooth ride.  It’s good for messing around in suboptimal conditions, or just slowing yourself down on tired legs.

The Otto looks like a decent choice.  A Knapton Twin is an obvious answer too. I haven’t rode either.

Hey, im new to the forum and somewhat new to carving as this is my first season focussing on carving. I am currently riding a Capita DOA 157W which isn't the best of carving boards and I am 6'1, 158lbs. It has been working for me but on harder packed snow, on the apex of my carve, I start to get too much flex. I was wondering what some alternatives I could look for that are under $800 for a carving board.

What’s your boot size? And you want another twin?

Hi @prone  Welcome to the forum!

As @board-doctor suggests, boot size is important to know.  But given your height you will need a longer board for sure, to support your high center of mass.

What has been your experience on the Capita?  Is it too slow (chattering at speed)?  Are you dragging your toes and heels?

To answer your question more generally, Stranda and Amplid make decent carving boards in your price range.  NeverSummer too and they're wider if you have big feet.

@wild-cherry @board-doctor - Thanks for the replies! I have been having fun on it but it seems to chatter a bit at speed. I am riding the Ride Lasso boots at size 11.5 but surprisingly haven't found that I have been getting much boot out (granted im not getting super low carves)

The only video I have right now is on a less steep run and when im not fully paying attention to my technique I see snow reaching and unlevel shoulders, however even when im focusing on my heelside technique I still have trouble getting as deep of a pencil line carve, and low to the snow. (front binding: posi 30 back binding posi 15)

For more detail, I am riding in Tahoe for about 4 years, and about 14 days a season. Im trying to get up every other weekend this year though. Any feeback is appreciated.

I am curious as to why you want a twin. Are you riding fakie/switch a bunch?  Buttering/pressing?  If not, there are many freeride production boards that will do a much better job of carving, but at the expense of freestyle riding.

Last weekend I rode a friend's Vaughan Wild Card in a 160 https://vaughansnowboards.com/collections/boards/products/wild-card it's a gorgeous all-wood board that feels a lot like a smaller C4. It has a much smaller sidecut so it wants to make quicker, sharper turns, but the turn initiation feels very similar. It's slightly above your $800 price point, but not by much.

I think OES makes some pretty wide freecarve boards too, close to your price range @prome1207 

it takes me like 10 days to get to about 80% of where I was the season before, but it definitely looks like you’re progressing.  You’re getting your hips into it, and you’ve got a lot of leverage with your height.  That board is probably more flexy thru the middle for people that can’t do that.

A Stranda will certainly be more stable through the middle.  The Shorty is great in pow too… and it’s the board that made me fall in love with carving and manipulating turn shapes.

As you already have a twin to mess around on, I’d certainly expand the quiver with a directional, unless you’re aiming for Knapton-like freestyle carves.

If you want something purely for carving, you might check out:
https://kindredsnowstore.com/collections/snowboards/products/kindred-freecarve

if you’re in USD, the exchange rate puts that close (though the added titanal would be hard to resist).

Thanks for all the help! I’ll be sure to check those out