I got a lot of shit from Fb marketplace. You'll find some almost absurd deals if you look hard enough on there and throw out some lowballs. I bought new helmet and boots, everything else I previously owned.

Airblaster, 686, Volcom. Even Burton's non-AK line is fine. As long as you get jackets/pants/bibs that have 15-20k rating for waterproofing you should largely be fine.

I have Yes AirMaster’s and they are hella sick. I love the fact I can switch up my bushings and get a totally different feel without switching bindings. Coming from my 390 Bosses I have a lot more power and stability. I wear 32 Lashed boots with a stiffer liner. I would get the TM32’s and call it a day. Those are my next boot. Sick board by way homie 🤙🏾

The ‘19 OSL was also my first ever board. It’s a fun learners board, not good at hitting ice or choppy spring snows but it’ll do everything else great. How often are you planning on going this upcoming season? I ask because it’s a board you can outgrow pretty quickly.

Hey you ended up getting it, sweet! Don't go cheap on bindings, you got a great board. grab some forces and ride them forever. I prefer the normal forces but they also make classics that are a little stiffer and with less shock absorption.

The best boot is the one that fits your feet and fits your needs. Don't buy one that doesn't fit properly and either go to a shop or spend a fuck load of time figuring out how to boot fit yourself.

This is from experience where I had wrong boots which fucked my progression until I decided to get better ones later that season.

Slap some union forces or stratas on that thing and enjoy. There are a lot of great bindings out there right now. The forces and stratas are a great place to start. They will either teach you what more you want from a binding, or you will ride them forever. You can also find them at more affordable prices still.

last years union force still on sale

last years union strata still on sale

You should go to a board shop, try on a few different boots and get ones that fit your feet good. They should be extra tight and you gotta break them in. Any well informed good board shop employee should be able to explain to you. If the board shop employee is a kid more interested in being on their phone, you should probably go to a different shop. I wear boots that are half a size smaller than my sneaker shoe size. When i get new boots i throw on 2 pairs of snowboard socks and jam my feet into the boots and wear them around the house for a few hours. It sucks but its a great hack to break in the boots quickly so they aren’t uncomfortable on the hill.

Oh and congrats on the new deck!

Hopefully you’ll see this but for the price of those flow bindings you can get union force bindings and they’ll last you a lifetime. The issue with step in bindings it that they’ll come undone while your going down the mountain or they will freeze up and you can’t get it to lock in. My brother loved his step in bindings but half the time they would come undone. The Yes board that you have selected is a pretty solid board but gnu is also have a sale of there 23/24 collection that are cheaper and better quality than the yes board. Gnu boards from my experience will last 6+ years of absolutely thrashing the board through terrain park and going through trees ( board is still rides great, just wanted to switch brands), also if it’s ever in icy conditions the edges on the gnu will just cut right through the ice. Here’s a link to the union bindings https://unionbindingcompany.com/products/union-force-classic-mens-snowboard-binding/?variant=43762148606207 and the gnu headspace which is an amazing board https://www.gnu.com/head-space-23-24

Have a list, rent them at the mountain, but then if you like them.

No on step in bindings. Just get some regular bindings and learn how to strap in standing up. It’s easy. You won’t regret it. I would also skip the Pyzel but Yes makes some great boards. Maybe look at the Yes Basic instead. For boots, make sure you don’t have any heel lift and your toes touch the end with no pressure points. You should still be able to move your toes around. If your boots don’t fit right, your feet will be killing you within an hour and it will ruin your day.

If there’s a chance you might get back on the slopes before next year, calculate that into your costs - renting might cost you $100 for a weekend or $250 for a week so waiting for a sale might not make sense. Also, the more stuff goes on sale the more it sells out so you might miss out on some of your preferred gear if you’re picky.

I’m no gear expert but I’m about the same size as you (ok maybe 0.5” shorter lol) and I don’t think you need a wide board. Also I’m probably the same skill level and I went Burton Custom 156 and I love it. 163 seems long, but I guess it’s only a few inches so maybe it doesn’t matter.

My only other recommendation is to get gloves not mittens. Especially since you’re going with a two strap binding you will probably want to have a little more dexterity. I have some Scott gloves (maybe similar to GTX?) and I love them - I was the only one in my family who had warm hands in 10f weather last week - everyone else needed hand warmers.

Finally I will say that though you don’t really seem price sensitive, SidelineSwap has some pretty good deals. There’s a 2024 Assassin 163w on there for less than $350 shipped.

I personally got used stuff off marketplace and place to buy double boa boots and union force bindings. You can get boards for cheaper in April, but also gilson is having a closeout sale and curated.com is shutting down and has good deals.

I hear the flites are cheap

I’m going with a mid flex camber or camber hybrid twin board

I totally understand the impulse to buy gear, but why so late in the season? Why not just wait until next season?

Idk where you live but here in the Midwest, it seems like cold days are pretty much already over.

Vans boots are super comfortable but tend to not last long. Almost everyone I know ends up warrantying them

Wait until laborMEMORIAL day to buy. All the 2026 gear will be fully stocked and 30-50% off. Next year's gear is just being released now, and flowing into vendor stocks. The best sales are from now until about 4th of July.

For now, research and find exactly what you want. Add it all to your cart in Evo.com. I highly suggest buying at Evo. You rack up points you can use to buy other gear with. I have over $600 in points right now. They also only carry quality gear, and have an insane return policy of 1 year on unused gear.

There are some companies like Volcom that are going bankrupt, and you can get some sweet deals on stuff at 60% off right now. Curated is another, but they're going out of business so no returns/rma/warranty. But sizing is limited as you're late to that party, but might be worth checking out.

For jacket + bibs, get SHELLS. Meaning, no insulation. Temperature on the slopes is variable, and shells allow you to layer to the weather underneath. Buy 1 size larger than your normal size to accommodate. Look for 2L or 3L goretex with good waterproofing. 686/Volcom are the steezy brands. Arc'teryx and Burton and Patagucci are rad dad styling.

Go to a boot fitter, and get sized correctly and find the brand that fits your feet. Don't get anything less than medium for stiffness. Same with bindings and board, medium stiffness. Just match the stiffness of those items together if you go a different route. Dont buy soft though, you're just throwing money away.

Used gear can be good if you know what you're looking for/at. But most noobs get ripped off.

Get a helmet from Smith, one with MIPs and Koryod. I like the Vantage, it can be had pretty cheap on sale. It runs small so size 1 up on it.

I'd also get goggles from Smith. The 4d mag in sun fire red and storm yellow. These will mate to the helmet to extract hot air that would normally fog googles. Those 2 lenses are what you need for stormy whiteout conditions, and bluebird days.

Get mittens, not gloves. Not trigger mittens. Regular mittens. 686 makes ones that are cheap and warm. Keeping fingers together prevents injury, and keeps them warmer than gloves. You don't need use of your fingers.

Socks - smartwool. Thinnest socks, no cushion. These will keep you the warmest believe it or not. Don't buy thick socks or double socks.

Thermals - get some. More than one set. You'll stink out a pair in a day. This is a crucial part of your layering. I try to run as cold as possible, bc snowboarding is exercise and once you get moving you will sweat. Sweat is the enemy. It will make you way colder and miserable if you start sweating profusely.

Backpack - don't.

Balaclava - just get a B.S. one. Keep in a pocket in your jacket

Crash pants - something you can take all the pads out of. You only need a tailbone protector.

You sound like a perfect candidate for a Jones Mountain Twin. Might take a gander at the Korua Shapes Otto too.

Id look at the aviator 2.0. Hard charging all mountain twin with alot of pop. Rossignol The One is also very cool, or the juggernaut.

I grabbed a Jones 2024 stratos and fuck me is it a weapon of a board. I honestly love it. It holds through ice really well, it handles bumps like a menace and you can still pop nice air and Ollie’s if you load up. Set back stance for powder, and it’s fast as fuck boi. I honestly don’t think I’ll ride much else. Apart from my jones storm chaser for when it’s a real deeeeeeeeeeeep powder day.

I also run cartel x on the stratos and it’s a perfect fit. I highly rate it king.

Amplid Singular sounds like what you’re looking for if you have no budget. I’ve only heard great things, but it doesn’t get mentioned on here all that much since they’re a little tough to get in the US.

Yes The Greats or a Capita Super DOA.

I spent a full 3 seasons Mitt hunting. I shelled out about $320 on a pair of full waterproof mitts, that would make your hands drip sweat after one run, in anything above -10C. I spent $100 on a pair of Burton Gloves with glove inserts, and found they were sponges for moisture. Enter the new Champion.

https://salmonarms.com/

I went in on these...

https://salmonarms.com/products/fish-pawz

I've been in -25C in them, and +10C. They don't repel moisture, and your hands stay dry as can be. They're absolutely legit. And some of those designs? Cmon. I wish could make fellow boarders in search of gloves have a 'Test Drive' with them. They're so good. Next up is their Headware.

Telling you, don't sleep on Salmon Arms.

A size XL HOWL X PUBLIC pants might work but I’d look for snowboard brands that offer long inseams options on their outerwear

bought an airblaster jacket last year and it is really nice.

Airblaster is a really cool brand! It’s one of the only 100% privately owned snowboard brands run by actual snowboarders Travis Parker, Jesse Grandkoski, and Paul Miller. They made funny stuff like leg bags and snowboard leashes back in the day when I was a kid. Their stuff used to be extremely coveted by me and my friends as it was so hard to get. I wouldn’t say they don’t get enough love these days as it’s almost impossible to not see someone riding around with their gear here on the west coast.

HOWL Supply is rider owned (Darrell Mathes) and have been doing gloves, mittens, and accessories for the past 10+ seasons and this year they've made outerwear. Hyped to see how the brand has grown over the years with the small crew they have behind the scenes making stuff I'm stoked on each year

I dunno why this would get downvoted but Grab Grab is rad! They are rider owned (Preston Strout is OG if you know) and they make solid mitts and their stomp pads are pretty much the only ones you should use. I was a camper at HCSC the year Crab Grab started and it was fun to ask Preston questions about the brand.

For a 10 day trip, assuming access to a laundry, 3 pair socks, 2 pair long underwear, 1 set insulation, 1 set outerwear, 1 helmet, 2 goggles, 2 pair gloves.

At least buy boots. If your riding as much as you say board and binding make sense if the budget allows but don't skimp on boots.

If youre getting 20 days riding in this year it will generally be cheaper just to buy the boots/board/bindings (although there is an argument for the convinence of renting boards overseas, I've gone with the more cost effective option of flying with my board).

One jacket and bib/pants is enough. Even if you get really wet they dry out overnight. (You'll need a 2nd warm jacket for wearing out to dinner etc, but it doesn't need to be a snowboarding one).

3 prs of base layers and 6 prs of socks is my recommendation if you're regularly going on longer trips. I find I can wear each base layers twice (airing out in between).

Find a shop with experienced bootfitters and buy a good pair of boots before a board or bindings.

Take a cheap boot drier. And buy a board. It’ll always be the board you took to Austria 

2nd jacket and 2nd pants is probably the last thing I would ever buy. I’ve only ever had 1 of each at a time that I actually use, of course not including my old, kind of beat up stuff that I keep around as spares.

Everything thag touches your skin would be the best to have multiples of if possible. Socks for sure the biggest one. Other base layers you can get by wearing more than one day if need be unless you are abnormally stinky person. Socks you won’t ever want to wear twice without washing.

Wool will do a much better job of fighting stink. You can kind of push the limits on cleaning them. It’s not ideal but sometimes on a trip you just gotta rough it a bit. I’ve done 3 days on wool base layers and they don’t smell at all.

You’re going to look so handsome in that new gear. Have fun out there with your friends.

Love,

Mom

I love me some smith helmets. Really enjoy the design and comfort. Not top of the line but have definitely protected me from grabbing an unwanted concussion on several occasions.

Such a handsome young man, I bet the girls your age love you! -Grandma

Algorythem - it is the best quiver of 1 board that I have been on. Take from the parks to steeps and it will kill.

Board of the year goes to yes pyl uninc without a doubt. Kazu had it last year but I didn’t like this years as much. Mega merc is amazing but I’d put the mega death above it for all mountain board tbh. Lot of good freestyle all mtn focused boards in your list. My favorite freestyle all mtn is a party platter. 

These are all very different - do you prefer directional with some pow float, or twin? Rocker or camber? Leans more freestyle or freeride?

Haven’t ridden all of these, but picked up a Gnu Gremlin this season and love it.

The Capita Mega Mercury is a great all-round board.

For something a little more directional the Hovercraft is a special kind of snowboard.