jokew

Thanks for the input! I completely agree with everything in theory, i just need more time on the board to put it all into practice. I remember feeling like my heelside turns are more like regular snowboard turns compared to my frontside turns. God I really can't wait until next season... currently trying to find the best skiresort in the end of april... Also this last ski trip wasn't optimal. Ponte di legno together with a bunch of coworkers who wanted to ski reds and blacks on the glacier might not have been the best arena for my carving improvements. I want to travel alone somewhere over the weekend.

Hello! I completely missed the move to the new url... Anyway I was in Italy this weekend and I felt some improvement happening. I forgot to get a lot of footage of me riding.. so at the absolutely last ride down to the village the last day I remembered that I wanted to have some footage of me riding. So this is me during the last run on a really flat transport slope back to the hotel. The weather wasn't great, it was 15 degrees at 2000 meters and the snow is complete slush at this point. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sUSBdRWIqpZAzr_TTLE2ROM2zHuk2t2k/view I know it isn't the most exciting or impressive clip but it's all I have. I tried to get some practice in during the trip and do what you guys suggested that I try. I have a long long way to go but at least I felt more in control and that some practice will get me carving down the slopes in time Unfortunately it feels like the season is over at this point... The radius is elliptical, so I can't really say. I don't have a soft board. Back in the days (15 years ago) when I tried a snowboard I didn't buy one But I think I'll stick to my virus board and just practice practice practice. And I moved a riser under the toe, did wonders for my left leg quad fatigue. Maybe its the boots? (UPZ) But I dont have much overhang, at least I never boot out. And I'm not really extreme carving down the slopes so I think it's fine Frank suggested that I go for these angles. I have 27,5 mondo feet. I know my clip above doesn't look like much but I'm actually a good skier and I know how to carve (on skis). So I know what I'm looking for, it's just that I don't have nearly enough experience on a snowboard.... yet

Yeah I bought it from Frank. I told him that I didn't have much experience but wanted a narrow board and a virus one at that :). I wanted something really different from a regular snowboard (and here we are hehe). I think I initially inquired about the interceptor but he suggested the tantalus if I was only going to have 1 board with my requirements/wishes in mind. I have inserts/risers in my bindings (really small ones). On my front binding I have two (one under the toes and one under the heel so basically just a lift). On my rear binding I have three (one under the toes and two under the heel so a little bit of heel lift). Where do I buy more if I want to test around? I tried to find it but couldn't. Was going to email Frank about it but haven't gotten around to it yet. Thanks for the exposition! Yeah it's going to be lots of hours in the greens until I feel stable & more in control and until I get the technique somewhat going. Unfortunately there harbooting isn't that popular in Sweden but I'll definitely have a look. I think I'm going to ask some to film a 30 sec sequence of me riding so I can post it here or something. Yeah, I think I got the basics of snowboarding down already on a regular board (I know it sounds like I don't know what I'm talking about since I have so few hours on a board but at least I feel safe and the board always goes where I want it to go and I can 'ride switch' ('ride switch' as in look like an idiot but still turning and not falling) etc), so I'll just have to practice those basic skills on the virus board as well so I eventually end up feeling just as stable I guess. I live in Stockholm so I usually go to Romme. Couldn't get much vacation in this spring unfortunately :/ so I have only tested the board in Romme and Orsa. Going to Italy in 3 weeks over a long weekend but If I don't improve fast I'll have to ski instead of snowboarding while I'm there.

Thanks again for all the replies! Sounds like consensus lies around me learning the basics in the green slopes properly. And I think my mistake might have been trying to go down the same kind of slopes I'm used to with skis, pushing for results too fast. I'm definitely going to put some hours into the green slopes with this board until I learn the basics and feel more comfortable. In hindsight I would probably ride a lot better as this point if I would have started out that way from the beginning. As for the speed, yeah I agree. I just put it out there so you would get a feel for how I ride since I wasn't able to provide a video. I know it isn't all about the speed and that I have been going about this all wrong. Regarding another easier board I totally think you guys suggesting it are right... I probably shouldn't have started out with this board.. but now I got it and I'm going to give it an honest shot with proper training before switching (I am going to try my bindings on another board though, just to evaluate my options more). And thanks for all the links and concrete technique tips guys! Going to read it all during this week and then hit the green slopes next weekend!

Thanks for all the replies so far! I agree with you guys that I probably chose a tad bit aggressive board to begin with but I thought since I do alright on boards in general (wake, kite, longboard etc) and the fact that I'm an avid and experienced skier, that I'd be able to power through it and learn eventually. What put me down a bit is that I didn't realize that my skill differed so much on my board and on a freestyle board. I'm going to stick with my board and try to hammer it out in the green slopes but I'll rent a (more normal) board next weekend as well and put my bindings on it just to try it out and play around with the angles a bit. It'll be a 50/50 weekend :) @Mord The virus tantalus is elliptical so I'm not sure. And my friends binding angle wasn't duck stance but looked a bit like this: (and thanks, I'm reading through the beginner and technique section of the carvers almanac atm) @SunSurfer Alright, that sounds promising. I think I'm going to scour the internet for carving instructions/beginner help and then go for an all day in the green slopes next weekend (alone). Thinking back on yesterday it makes sense that I'm going about it all wrong.

Hello everyone! I've been reading the forum for a while but only created an account just now (coinciding with my recent harboot premiere). In short I am having troubles learning how to ride my new hardboot setup (total beginner). I'd like some input on what to do here. It would be awesome if someone who went from softboots to hardboots and struggled could shine some light on to how they got over the initial 'hurdles'. The long version Me: I snowboarded for two seasons back when I was 14 (so not a lot). I've been skiing for all my life and now when I am 29 I bought a hardboot setup after seeing some [really cool] youtube videos. I'm 187cm tall and weigh in on 75ish kg. My new setup: A Virus tantalus 176cm with a 17cm waist. UPZ RC 11 boots. Powerlock III bindings (57 degrees on the rear and 63 on the front), 1 really small riser pad on the rear heal. I bought this setup late december but due to work I've only been able to ride it on 4 separate occasions (yet ). Three 1-day trips and one 3-day trip. Yesterday I got back from riding my board over the day with a friend who is on a classic freestyle snowboard with softboots. Since I have very little snowboard experience I thought it was going to be an uphill battle and it has. I can ride fast (well, at least I get down as fast as my friends) and I'm fairly stable at high speeds, probably thanks to the board. But man I am a long way from nice clean carves... And I feel really unstable in some situations and like I am about to crash and die at times. Basically I don't feel like I have total control over the situation and I try to stay far away from other people in the slopes so that I don't crash into someone. And that's maybe fine since I am new to it? But.... I tried my friend's freestyle board and I killed it. I don't ever remembered being able to carve when I was 14 but sure enough I could get some carves with in with 0 skid (not many but they occurred every once in a while). I felt really stable and riding was super easy and fun. I had total control and was never afraid of crashing, even at high speeds. Sure the board didn't hold an edge like my tantalus, which feels like a knife compared to the freeride spoon, but it looked like I had been riding for years when I was on the freeride board while on the tantalus I look and feel like a crash about to happen. So, is there someone here who can give me some pointers on what I am doing wrong (from your own experience perhaps?). I was up last night thinking I've made a bit of a mistake in buying my whole hardboot setup after watching a bunch of youtube videos... maybe I should have bought a wider board allowing for lower angles? And maybe a shorter board? I don't know... I just feel like I enjoyed the freestyle board so much more yesterday (even though I'd like to have something made a bit more for carving). Really thankful for any input from you guys!