lamby

What a shame for athletes and our sport. Proud of all the competitors and glad to see the stands full of excited spectators. Keep rockin' it fellow-booters!!!

Go PGS contestants!!!! Great stuff!!!

I have yet to take up my new Nomad, so no review from me yet... Not enuf snow here. Been riding my older Malolo on the occasional "new-snow" days, but I blew the edge off it by making a stupid choice. Chose to take a line where it was too thin, and hit a band of rocks. Killed the edge, tearing it out completely, and hammering the base. It is retired. If things make a dramatic swing and we get more snow I may venture out on the Nomad, but hoping to score a replacement rock-board like a Malolo or other in the mean time. I have my feelers out in classified section. Hope your winter is going awesome. We are having fun here in Sun Valley. Got a little more white stuff the other night, and hoping for more on Saturday. Best, Lamby

Hanging out waiting. "Coverage to Begin Shortly" on screen.

162 Ultra Prime is a fun board. Has a rather large sidecut radius for that length of board - sidecut radius of 11.3 (I think). Really playful. We have a couple that we get on now and then.

We haven't had a big winter. I have been using a rather banged up 2007 158 Malolo on the odd day when we had a bit of fresh snow, but I blew the edge off of it the other day. I happen to have a brand new Donek Nomad, but I don't want to take it up when we have so many rocks popping up. Well, maybe we will get lucky here and things will change here. Looking forward to trying out that Nomad. We got about 5" the other night, and maybe more coming on Saturday. Hope your winter includes lots of powder days, where ever you are/ Thnx!

Looking for a used Burton Malolo 158 or 162.

Ester Ledecka just won olympic gold in alpine ski event tonight. Hardbooters rule! Here is her backstory as reported recently in the failing NY times: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/27/sports/olympics/ester-ledecka-skiing-snowboarding.html

Super helpful. Thanks!

I set up my F2 Titaniums and they have the same issue when I lock down the toe clips to my T 700s. But I think its only holding the toe clip away a little bit. It appears to be very close to full closure. For my arrangement I feel pretty good about how they lock down. Little concern that they will open unintentionally.

I have a similar issue. I ride in Track 700s and the front bails of TD3s, when I close them, rest on my lowest boot buckle. They appear to be well closed, as the bail is firmly down. I need to pull on it hard to open the binding and release the boot. Still, it is rather disconcerting. I've been riding it this way for a couple of seasons (got the Track 700s at the start of 2016 season) and have not had any issues with the bindings opening up. Still, I think it would be good to get off my ass and to break out my angle grinder to attempt a modification to the toe bail clips. My friend Carvedog tells me I need to move to TD3 step-ins. This would take care of the problem without mods and I can see that the convenience would be super. Carvedog also tells me that if the front bail were to break on TD3 step-ins, if that happens, the boot is still locked into place - you can remain in control and come to a stop, w/o the crash that usually accompanies a binding bail break. I did buy a pair of F2 Titaniums this season, but have yet to set them up on a board. From your picture it looks like you are on F2 Carve RS (it that correct?) So now I'm really curious. I will set up my new F2s and see if they are likewise held away from closing completely with Track 700s. By the way, I also sometimes use Burton Race Plate/Ibex bindings on days when I'm riding a softer board or a powder board. (I change out the bails every three seasons on these, changing out to brand new bails, as we have had a lot of breakage problems. With Bomber Bindings I change out bails every five years or so) I do like the flexy Burton/Ibex race plate bindings in some situations. They also do not close completely on T 700s, but they come real close to closing all the way. In years past I have rode Raichle/Deeluxe 123s, 324s, Burton Winds and Fires and never had this problem with binding bail clips being held away by the lowest boot clip. Did I read somewhere that new Deeluxe 700s have a new arrangement on the bottom buckle of those boots? Does new configuration address this problem? Best, Lamby

Hi Italian/MArc - We have been watching ski racing and Nordic ski racing from Europe (on you tube and such) and it looks like you guys are doing just fine in regards to snow. We have not gotten much yet, so I'm pretty jealous;-) I think you will find that a powder-specific board will make all the difference. A board like a Burton Fish or Malolo (or Prior Fissile, Kyber, Pow Stick, Spearhead) (or a Donek Nomad...) is going to have construction characteristics that help the board stay afloat and help you ride in powder, while still pressuring the front foot.. You will be amazed at how much easier it is to ride powder on a board designed for it. These boards often employ things like tip designs that may include "early rise" or "rocker" - the board may be cambered rather traditionally underfoot, but at the tip the board may be more relaxed in its flex pattern, helping the tip rise up and help you stay afloat while pressuring more with the front foot. Powder boards often include taper in the shape of the board. At the tip the board might be 30 cm across, at the waist 24 cm, at the tail 27 cm. - so a bit more narrow at the tail than at the tip, which helps the tail sink, allowing you to weight the front foot more. There are a lot of different makes and models out there to look at, each with design variations that should make for some interesting tools for riding the mountains. The Prior Pow Stick (and lots of other powder boards) include split-tails, which would be cool to try out. They say the Pow Stick, with its long side-cut radius really rails on the groomers, and the rest of the board adds up to an exciting powder tool. I used to ride a 163 all-mountain soft carving board on powder days. I would set my bindings back, and that helped, but still, rear-leg needed to be pressing all the time, and that gets tiring. Also, on groomed runs, between powder shots, the more rearward set-up of the bindings didn't make for the most comfortable riding on the groomers. Powder boards come in all shapes and sizes. Some will be great in deep deep pow, and then maybe kinda suck on the groom. Some will be good in wide open steep bowls. Some will have tight side-cut radii making them more turny and better in the trees. You can specialize or look for a board that is pretty good in a lot of various conditions and mountain settings. On days when I might riding groomers a lot, and just touching on the sides and going off-piste now and then, I'll likely be on a soft, all-mountain carving board. They are great for a wide variety of tasks. I can carve it up on the groomers or jump off-piste for a bump run. When we get more snow I will be leaning more toward reaching for something more suited to off-piste riding, perhaps giving up a little in regards to how that tool might help me enjoy the groomers. Great topic and replys all around. Here's to more snow in 2018!

Right on Eric. Lots of opportunities. Not sure what you mean about staying out of the trees, as I do enjoy getting into them on Baldy.

Don't mean to brag (well, maybe I want to brag a little bit ) I just received shipment of this new Donek 164 Nomad from Bomberonline! I'm looking forward to winter and hoping for lots of pow! Thanks Jim and Angie! Bomberonline rocks!!!

We are wishing Jim and Angie all the best as they deal with things. They have been so awesome in all of the interactions we have had with Bomberonline. I was in contact with Jim some weeks ago when I ordered a new board they had on sale. The board arrived today via UPS. I'm super stoked on it and looking forward to a great winter. Thanks for coming through again Bomber!!!

Snows been piling up here, and it sure has been fun. Ran into someone on the chair today who recommended a weather web site taylored for our state (ID). What weather apps and web sites do you visit regularly? The one I just tapped into is Idaho Daily Snow Report

Merino wool. Different thicknesses for different temps. Smart wool and IO/BIO brands.

How's it riding plates and hardboots for BoarderX? It used to be the setup, back in the day, but now you never see a hardboot setup at the FIS level (or on any televised boarderX that I've seen recently. I've been wondering if part of the reason people seem to go with a soft set up and sideways stance was to help them with landing the large terrain features at high speeds. Or is it just a preference that everyone seems to have. Nice pics by the way, and love this topic. So much fun, and so many ways to enjoy a hardboot setup.

Ibuprofen and rest has done wonders. Wow, a hernia! Did the pain grow and get progressively worse? Did you keep riding with the pain, and then it developed into an inguinal hernia? Hope you are making strides toward recovery ursle. Will it require surgery, or will you be able to avoid that course of action? Get well soon.

Stretching first...good point b0ardski. I did have a fall where I ended up with my butt really deep (almost in a shallow tree well) where it was a bit of a struggle to get out. That might have been the point of origin for the injury. Perhaps I hurt it there and the pain manifest later when I got more fatigued.

Yesterday I was riding powder and chopped up crud for a couple hours, then a rather mild, but kind of "sharp" pain seemed to just, "develop" on one of my runs. It feels like I pulled a muscle in my groin on my back leg. Its pretty mild. I did have a couple good falls and abrupt stops earlier in the day, but I didn't feel anything at at those times. When I felt it I was just riding along, turning in some powder, then I felt the pain. I didn't do anything abrupt or sudden at the time when the pain started to show up.I rested it today, but its snowing out now, so would like to go up tomorrow. Think I will, and will take it easy to try and make sure I don't make it worse. Anyone else out there get a groin pull when riding pow? How was your recovery? Did you do any rehap excersizes or phys therapy to help recovery? Happy riding.

I like riding different boards in different conditions. When its a powder day I'm on a powder board. When its a little less deep I'm on something that I can get around on the groomers on easier, but which is still pretty off-piste focused. If we don't get more snow I might gravitate toward a soft carving deck that I can also use off of the groom. If we the groomed runs get to be where its at, I'm on a carving board. Its fun to ride different set ups and keeps things interesting and fresh. I can also see the joy in riding one board for all conditions all the time - simplifying everything and really making for some strong skills. If I had to pick one board though, it would be hard for me.

https://www.capitasnowboarding.com/snowboards/spring-break-powder Very cool looking boards. Was intrigued when I saw some of these posted for sale earlier this winter, and wondered how they rode. Experimental shapes for powder most interesting. Thanks for descriptions and photos. More pics plz

The out-of-the-box 4 hole discs will work on a three hole pattern Burton board?! Excellent. Thanks for this info philw!

I ride Deelux 700s w/ bts on carving and powder boards. I love riding with hard boots and plate bindings on my powder set up. I used to ride a Super Model on powder days, but have moved to a 158 Burton Malolo and am so glad I did. I really like the way my Malolo rides. I ride a wide variety of boards. I enjoy riding in all conditions on all kinds of pistes. When I ride my 177 Prior FLC it is set up with Bomber TD3 with yellow rings and rather steep angles to avoid boot out. I ride burton race plates on soft carving decks on days when I want to play off piste here and there. (We change out our bales on the burton race plates periodically, as we find they fail after a few years of very heavy use). I like the soft playful feel I get with the ibex/burton race plates, but I feel they are too "light-duty" for really hard, aggressive carving. I use race plate bindings on my Malolo, as its an older deck w/ three hole pattern. would like to try some f2s, but not sure I can get three hole discs for those. I ride higher angles on narrower boards, and back off when riding my power board. Keep having fun and trying different set ups. Happy ripping in 2017!