bruincounselor

BTS - Hands down. Metal bindings second - I broke several plastic ones in the early days and can't get myself to trust anything that isn't metal.

Too many people making good money with the status quo. Change is hard when your pockets are being filled.

Laser cut? Interesting

Wow. The variation is responses is staggering. If I was the OP I'd be curled up in a ball on the floor waiting for the apocalypse. There are so many variables in set up that there is no one right answer; I think it's great that folks are willing to provide what is working for them. My set-up (note the number of variables underlined): I'm an old school, knees together rider (and I'm not going to change). I'm 6'4" with ~36' inseam - my femurs are long so my lower leg (tib/fib) is proportionally short. I'm riding size 10 Track 700's with BTS - forward lean on the rear boot, more upright in the front. I don't recall the spring colors but know that the top and bottom springs are not the same color; boots are not here so I can't go look at them. I generally use step-ins so they do have fin-techs, but I have standard bindings as well. All my bindings are TD3's. I'm goofy footed if that matters. The set-up for each board is similar, but not the same I have a half-dozen boards, but run my Donek Metal Ax the most, followed by an older Donek GS with a Donek Plate when I want to go faster. Most of my riding is in the Midwest so runs are short with lift time for recovery - I can push every run all day without breaks. Set up on the Metal Ax 177: I recall it being 21cm in width. I run 3 degree cant in the front and 6 degree in the rear, cants oriented with the low end to the mid-point in board running length (i.e. - long axis). Front binding at 55 degrees and rear at 50. They are sidewinder step-in. Binding width is 18.5 inches. A quick count gets me over 25 variables in set up. Whew! What does this all mean? 1. Bring a wrench to the hill. 2. Change one thing at a time. 3. Have a knowledgeable person take a look at your riding (even a knowledgeable skier can be helpful in my experience - my race "coach" was a skier). 4. If you can't find someone local have someone video your riding from several angles and post it up for feedback. Be aware that you will get lots of great (and seemingly contradictory) advice. We all mean well.

Those Shadow boots are 15+ years old so no promises on them holding up. If you enjoy the HB experience good boots should be on the top of your list. I recall some off size Burton disks for specialty bindings, but my memory isn't what it used to be. Otherwise the disks for that vintage Burton bindings will fit. I used to have a stack of them; people would buy bindings and when I installed them I just kept the unused disks in a box. There are likely shops across around the world with a box of them.

If the diameter of the Burton disk fits you can use either 3 or 4 hole; depending on the requirements of the board of choice. Is that what you are asking?

Because going fast in Sorrells sucks. I never considered any other style to make any sort of sense to me. I bought the first set of hard boots I set my eyes on (Burton - back in 1989?). Softies don't let me do what I want with the board.

Boots- I thought Donek had picked up Deeluxe distribution for the US? Sean's website has several options for boots. Great news to see "Bomber" alive again.

I'm wondering if this threads title is being fair. Only one of the owners has, to my knowledge, been charged with any felonies. That said I would very surprised if he didn't have any knowledge that the financial situation wasn't 100% Kosher. Maybe more charges will be forthcoming? I dunno.

Sidecars steer very differently than motorcycles, it's true. I've owned several over the years and they can be a lot of fun. Due to the location of the third wheel they handle very differently going left or right; kind of like toe/heel on a carving board. Making things even more interesting is that they do countersteer as soon as the hack tire leaves the ground. I can't think of a more peculiar handling wheeled vehicle. All this makes for continually changing handling requiring a skilled driver to keep it upright and going in the right direction. It's a lot of fun the fly the chair at speed with a passenger!

Unconscionable. I sincerely hope nobody got swindled with her "Career Advice". Makes me ill thinking about it.

Awful news for a lot of folks. Nobody is a winner in embezzlement. I hope the Callens eventually find their way to making things right for everyone who lost money.

Like a Phoenix from the ashes. Rising anew to conquer mountains once again! Great news!!

I decided I couldn't wait for the clearance; I don't want to chance having my heels (and therefore all my bindings) out of commission. I bought a spare set of Fin-Tec heels. This way whatever parts I need will be in my inventory. Thanks to Sean for having a few sets left over!

In my world FAS is Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Not something generally desired. YMMV.

DNR - a medical term for Do Not Resuscitate. Boy did we give the regional Marker Rep a ton of crap for that. Those bindings were doomed to the dustbin of history. Any boots that fit are so brittle by now they will break on the first run. Thanks for the memory jog!

Why not reach out to Donek? Donek Snowboards 35907 E 88th Ave Watkins, CO 80102. Email: info@donek.com Phone: (303) 261-0100

50th orbit of the sun. My first board was a new Burton M6 with the old 5 hole pattern and a three strap setup. I'm thinking it was about '91 or '92? I raced for a while, now I get out a few times a year due to living on the windy plain.

During the Olympics my ten year old daughter thought the logo on the bottom of a bunch of boards read, "Burrito". It reminded me of the old "Shalom" top sheet so I suggested she write Mervin and give them her idea. How much would that piss off Burton?

The single runs bugs me too. The course shouldn't decide who wins and it sure seems that way today. Agreed on the "announcing". I'm guessing they are in a booth in Connecticut looking at the generic international feed in real time. On a positive note they are broadcasting all the final runs.

I have a persistent ankle problem from going over the nose of a too soft slalom board on a snowy day 5 years ago. I sprained my ankle severely in my boot. It was fun while it lasted, but not worth the ongoing reminder of that fateful day. It doesn't prevent me from doing anything, but the ache never goas away. Be safe out there.

I have an old Thule Rocketbox that goes on the van in 10 minutes when I need it. I have it mounted to the crossbars and suspended from the garage ceiling on pulleys so I can drop it down when the van is parked under it. Tall door so it fits through when mounted. Last weekend I had 2 boards, 1 pair alpine skis, and 7 pair cross country with 8 sets of poles up there with room to spare.

Justin Reiter is one of her coaches.

It was a pleasure to ride with such talented and smooth riders. I ride alone 99% of the time, so seeing three hard hoot guys (two goofy like me) is extra special. I have some work to do on my riding now. Thanks guys!

Fantastic. Like the rest of us I'll be easy to spot.