dhamann

heads up to the community: these inserts are a seasonal item and will be going off sale some time in May. for this season only, these have been offered at a discount here for ASB members. they will become available again some time late 2024. thanks for all the purchases and support this year. as a portion of each sale going to help support the USSRT, they appreciate it too! have a great off season.

heads up to the community: these inserts are a seasonal item and will be going off sale some time in May. for this season only, these have been offered at a discount here for ASB members. they will become available again some time late 2024. thanks for all the purchases and support this year. as a portion of each sale going to help support the USSRT, they appreciate it too! have a great off season.

carnie's are in town. i would not be riding today. lock your gear and keep it in sight.

4-5" overnight wednesday night. pretty gusty throughout the night. great snowman snow. temps in low 30's during most snowfall and mid to high 30's throughout the day. dusting of flurries all Thursday morning. +2" maybe. picked up in afternoon for a few hours. another positive 2". stagnant thursday evening and expect some random flurry activity throughout the night. "storm"? no, but a welcome refresher to the groom. any hopes of powder will be crushed unless you want to slash a couple of beat up drifts. mostly east winds blew with authority. do the math. friday morning and saturday morning should be ok. sunday looks ok too. ragged is claiming 12", loon 10".

*must have strong core

there are many kooks out there and this hero example is one of those types to look out for ('HIGH' alert). just trying to show that they too are a good skier/boarder. BUT ARE THEY? others are the clamshell boarders that approach the mountain like a skier, flocks of college aged weekend warriors, those decked out in high end matching outfits, etc. Colorado folks are just screwed. this probably describes most of the skier traffic. speaking of statistics. always look. heck, if i ever make it to MCC i'll be looking there too, out of habit. riding with Mr. Redman (+others) is on the bucket list.

eh. fusions. good to learn about @Ladia and thanks for sharing. upon ankle surgery last February for a lateral process fracture of the talus ("snowboarders ankle"), my ortho mentioned that at some point in my life i will likely have to resort to a fused ankle. i don't know what that really means, but your experience with a toe fusion certainly sheds some light on the situation. now ain't that some s..t? i am almost only 46 yrs old for the record. a spur under left front foot large toe nail had to be fully removed too due to "how i was walking" with a broken ankle for a year. yes, it took a year to get into surgery. i now have to treat with a nail softener almost daily and keep that dam thing cut extra short. next step is to have it removed and chemical the thing so nail never grows back. then also morton's neuroma. i guess we all have some stuff and thankfully downsizing, upsizing, liner options, ortho footbeds all help to find what works for the individual. so many factors. the things we all do to keep snowboarding. treating feet with respect is the worlds most understatement.

same exact thing @barryj almost to a T. i don't know where the size chart for deeluxe is, but this is the one i refer to for UPZ and most things mondo related.

a few mm from measured mondo is probably max for most folks in an alpine boot to size down. i measure 28.7 and 28.9 feet in a 28-28.5 UPZ 312bsl shell, low volume plug wrap liner twice molded with double toe caps on larger foot. no shell punch needed. call it luck, but it works. shell test is 1.25-1.5 fingers. sticking as close to measured mondo foot size with softies is probably best and size up, not down. alpine boots have buckles that really hold the foot down and back into heel pocket a lot better than what can be achieved with laces/boa/etc. on a softboot. maybe up to a few mm larger is ok with softy. if sized up and a performance fit is desired, maybe a high volume liner like those yellow powerwraps would work. of course there are extremes of racer fit and scrunched toes, etc. replacing liner with a low volume liner to accommodate a slightly smaller size boot shell and also having alpine boot shells punched out. why do i feel like i'm saying things you already know? heck, you helped me go from a 30 mondo deeluxe into a 28upz.

@Odd Job i wanna try to help and like i've shared in private messages, i am not a boot fitter but here's my 2 cents of rambling: downsizing in softboots can be done. obviously. use with caution and understand the tradeoffs. but why and how? the why is obvious for less heel drag and/or lower binding angles. could also be the preference of fit to performance. i'll assume the stock liner is probably pretty snug when new, but you prefer a performance fit of sorts. molding with toe caps, etc. can help with the fit. maybe you do this to make them work? meanwhile the rest of the liner also packs out while riding. support is lost. some folks may call this "broken in" while it is in fact just "broken". excessive riding and use will turn most boots into uggs as you've mentioned before. more physical effort is required and additional forces are transferred to the body. tradeoff. pretty straightforward. when downsizing like this, an aftermarket liner such as intuition should probably be a low profile liner to get into a shell as the numbers show above. it's been said before to abide to intuitions sizing recommendations and i will have to agree. read up and understand the differences of the liner options available; another rabbit hole. also, mold the liner for the boot shell you intend to use it in. transferring liners boot to boot doesn't always work that way. since we're getting so technical with this, that's worth mentioning. however, the limits will be pushed by nerds like ourselves. sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. trial and error with such technical requirements that each of us have as individual riders and our individual needs is so dam specific, nothing is a one size fits all. this may be why such specialty equipment is not offered to the masses; it's not for everyone. we may need to adjust along the way. i am well aware you are not new, but it does not take a year to 'figure it out', it takes many. for instance, i have a low profile mondo 29 liner in a UPZ 28-28.5 boot shell. yes this is an alpine boot and the buckles really hold my foot down and back into the heel pocket that allows this to work for me. this liner does not work for me in my 29m softboot. it's not exactly the same with softboots because of the tightening with laces/boa/etc. can't be achieved as with the buckles of a ski boot or alpine snowboard boot. plus, the molding thing i mention above. therefore, maybe a double toe cap while molding a low profile liner that actually fits your foot may allow a "proper" fit into a downsized shell. its risky business and this is of course understanding the tradeoffs, as with anything. using any kind of plastic insert ontop of a liner that is extremely packed out as most stock liners can get and riding almost every day can have it's affects as you've pointed out. could be underlying issues and/or maybe the artery thing mentioned above? as we age, things change. i hate to admit it, but it's the truth. just changing the liner can make a difference as you mention the importance of above. adding anything into a boot is yet another adjustment/tweak. i can ride about three days on alpine before i start to get some blistering on my rear heel due to a bone spur. great heel hold, binding lifts and know i'm in the correct size boot, but the extreme forces while carving can take their toll. i can ride three days on softy before my knee's tell me to f off. my back screams. i just adjust accordingly. we all need to find our own way and a lot of trial and error/experimenting may be the only way. keyboarding about it helps, but we don't know until we test to find our own limits/comforts. i've had a few boot fitters say, try this and come back if adjustments are needed. around and around we go. i'm not going to say, stay within your limits because i never have. adjusting to that mantra is sometimes needed, but a tough pill to swallow no doubt. (a 25.5m or even 26m boot/medium volume liner combo for softy may be worth trying. and a stiffer boot shell than a 6/7 flex. remember wrap liners are typically stiffer and hold better than tongue if those are the rider preferences; i now prefer a very stiff tongue liner in softy and play with the inserts to desired flavors.)

insightful feedback @Odd Job and @ShortcutToMoncton i rode six days straight with a couple of 3hr sessions on alpine and didn't feel anything pinpointing what you describe above. my feet measure 28.7 and 28.9 and i run a 29 mondo boot with a lower volume lower and medium volume upper (fx race tongue). however, i like to really snug my liner (wish i could get more, but laces max out with my skinny shins), boot and crank the hell out of my binding straps for the ride down. at times, i do feel my feet almost falling asleep on longer runs, but that also happened without the inserts too. there can be compromises and trade offs. pick your poison, i suppose. i don't ride without these inserts any more and seem to just keep wanting more and more stiffness. double edged sword, pun intended. i've tested some pretty drastic combinations and no it's still not like a hardboot. much more effort is used when riding softboot than hardboot. IMO, the techniques for each are unique in their own ways and can not be duplicated. a carryover of style/habits can be imminent. i ponder this: are the liners and boots the correct size? when you play a hockey tournament over a weekend with probably at least 3-4 games, the cup may cause some chafing. is the compromise of not running a piece of equipment worth it? decisions decisions... glad you guys are liking them overall.

Awesome. You’re an animal. Just couldn’t do today. Literally can barely walk. Keep it up. Solid showing end of season. Already looking forward to seeing you and Erik tearing shi up next year.

@Spiny Norman most have given up after reggae. by most i mean the whole town, restaurants, services, etc.. ie. likely some of food "specials" if you can find something open. can be 50/50 for any kind of service. BUT they'll likely be spinning through April. bring everything you think you may need like if you're camping or backcountry with lift access. its a tall order this year, but making it to May is the standard goal. "king of spring" don't expect much grooming, etc. it's a scene and always fun to ride in the spring there. going to try and make another short trip up myself, but 50/50 at this point. *don't tell anyone. "Killington is where it's at."

ya. the video quality is pretty bad, but what an amazing last six days it has been! we got some phone clips so just put together a little thing here to share. we finally got a few days of mid winter conditions and good grief am i beat. definitely missed some folks this time around, but maybe next year. for those that made it, you know this hack job of a video doesn't do it justice. a tip of the hat to all!

One for tha books for sure. I’ve had a few of those this season but… come on. We ride. We rarely film but stoked to grab a couple clips and be a part of the day. Until tomorrow. No sun but guns will be out.