If you ask the friendly staff at Dogfunk.com they'll be sure to help you choose a board. They have a live chat which is pretty useful.

NONSTOP Snowboard
http://NONSTOPsnowboard.com

You do not need EST bindings to ride the Joystick - you can get discs that go into any Burton bindings that will make it possible to ride the Channel mounting system. Lib's are crap, don't waste your money on marketing hype.

watch this video and understand why you DON"T want a LIBTECH

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tut7p9rIWGw

Hey, Herman. I've read all of the responses up until this point, as well as what you're looking for in a board.

The responses about Mervin's (Lib Tech and GNU) hype and marketing are just that...hype and marketing. However, don't be led astray. Mervin doesn't make a crappy board. I've ridden them on and off for the past 20 years, and to this day, have never broken one. They do have a distinct feel compared to most other boards out there, since one factory makes Lib Tech and GNU, while a handful of factories in China and Austria make 90-percent of the world's boards. All small factories make boards that feel different than the "norm". Consider them "special".

I'll try to set the record straight with the three main boards we're talking about here: the Destroyer Chilidog, Joystick and Skate Banana.

-Joystick. This is the "loosest" feeling board of the three. It has a soft-ish core, continuous rocker that runs from tip to tail and a dished tip and tail. The core profile of the Joystick leaves each tip raised slightly off of the snow, while standing flat-based. This gives it a shorter feel while flat-based. It's a great board for anywhere in the park, but can get a bit squirrely at very high speeds. As for the ICS (Infinite Channel System), you can use any Burton binding, regardless of it being EST or classic 3D baseplate.

-Forum Destroyer. The Destroyer is the meatiest of the three, and also features a full-running reverse camber. You won't find it as nimble buttering and jibbing, but it will feel more playful than your cambered board. The one thing you'll notice between the Destroyer and your Recon is that the Destroyer probably won't feel quite as poppy (depending on how many miles are on your Recon), which may not be a bad thing, depending on your riding preferences...again, more reason to demo.

-Skate Banana. Mervin's reverse camber method will feel the most at home to riders switching from positive camber for the first time. Mervin just released their C2 Power Banana (reverse camber between the feet, and cambered towards the tips), which blends the playful reverse camber feel with aggressive camber snap. The Skate Banana, however, has reverse camber between the feet, and runs flat out toward the tips. When you stand on it flat-based, the contact points of the tips (just like with your cambered board) make contact with the snow, so your effective base is the same length as your effective edge. This makes (in my opinion) Mervin's Banana camber the best all-around reverse camber. As for the "hype" of Magne-Traction, a board's sidecut has nothing to do with its camber. However, Boards with Banana and Magne-Traction (BTX) can feel a bit edgy, and may take some getting used to. When a board doesn't have to fight its camber to flex into a turn, things can happen quickly, and grippy sidecuts can be too much for some people.

My opinion for any board is to first demo it before you buy it, especially when changing brands, lengths, and cambers. Reverse camber isn't for everyone, and it's best to figure out what you're into before dropping $500 on a new board, and discovering you don't like it because you bought the wrong camber. Snowboarding is supposed to be fun, so pick what you like best, not based on hype and marketing. Go feel it out.

Let us know what board you end up with, and if you want more info, check out Platinum Pick Board Test in our Buyer's Guide. All three of these boards were in that test, and each were ridden extensively. Hope that helps.

-Mike