ajcannon

man...that is just nasty. I've got a relative who have toenail problems and she just had her big toenails removed. Weird looking, but let's face it..the darn things aren't good for much other than problems. I say take 'em off! Will insurance cover that?

just bought a Prior today and the shipping was $60 (US dollars I think). I live in Iowa. That "Broker fee" sounds sketchy... I'm interested in seeing what my credit card company charged me for the currency exchange (I'm sure they'll take a small margin there...easy money right?

There should be a picture attached...

They are shipping it tomorrow. I thought long and hard about the shoe size thing...you are right, I probably won't ever be able to do the extreme eurocarve stuff- but I'll get pretty close to it. I thought about the Swoard, but for a first serious carving board I was looking for something a little more mainstream. Oddly enough, steep angles have always felt natural to me...the bigger adjustment for me will be widening my stance - I've been riding 16-1/2" apart (that felt natural too). They did tell me that this deck (I think it is a 2004-2005 model) is a bit more flexible that previous years. That I hope will be about right for me since I don't race. I'll ride it this year with the Burton bindings and boots (assuming I can find a couple 4-hole discs). I'll upgrade the rest next year - then I'll have two set-ups I can ride (damn I sound like a spoiled little kid). Life is short right? Thanks everyone for the help. I'll post something after my first day on it. Thanks again. -AJ

Thanks everyone for your comments. Chris: I agree with you...in a perfect world I would go some place where I could demo a bunch of decks, but logistically I live in Iowa and only get out to the mountains once or twice per year . I usually go to Steamboat and there just isn't a place that demo's carving decks there. So it's kind of a stab in the dark. Just have to gather info and take my best guess - then live with it. It's about a $700 guess so I've gotta hassle you guys for your opinions :) Jack: I'm definately looking for a 13m radius (or at least upper 12's). I don't race and never will but I do get pretty aggressive in decent conditions so I want a board that is pretty stiff but maybe not quite racer stiff. I don'tride terribly fast, buut I do like to make powerful turns at moderately high speeds. Sounds like the 181 would work OK in that regard. Bob: you had the 185 right? You say it was tough in bad conditions...is it just stiff as a board? I like to do tight fall-line turns down the edge of trails when it gets crowded - is that still possible on this board? I can always setup the Coil on crappy or over-crowded days. Thanks guys. -AJ

I've got this deck on hold for the next 24 hours and am considering buying it. See this link for the specs. The board is ready to ship and they say it is their "standard stiffness" for this model. It is the Prior WCR 181 - see link below for geometric specs. http://www.priorsnowboards.com/boards_wcr.php# Any words of wisdom? I explained my situation in a previous thread, but basically I'm looking for a serious carving board to do wide GS style turns. I want to do the full-blown euro-carve fully-laid-out turns. I've been riding a half freeride/half carving board (Burton Coil 72) for the last three years, but the small radius 10.26 and flexibility make it somewhat limited for high-speed turns. Since I already have the Burton, I want this next board to be a serious carver. I weight 200 lbs, am 6'2" and wear size 12 shoes. Is this board the right choice for what I want it to do (assuming I set it up right and improve my technique a bit)? Any reservations or words of warning? Would the 185 be a better choice? Other ideas? If I buy it, I'll likely set it up with my old Burton bindings and hard boots for this year, and then upgrade those next year - see any problem with this strategy? Your previous replys have been a huge help already...thanks in advance. -AJ

Just curious...have you guys ever appreciated the Bashor bowl like I obviously do? or do you think it is just a lame little run to be over-looked for more impressive terrain. Is it lame? I always felt silly riding the stupid thing, but there were times when I would break off by myself and go ride that stupid run over and over again. you can only get like 4 or 5 turns before you hit the bottom at full speed. For some reason it was always fun. I guess it was one place that was always groomed, smooth, and wide open. One time back in 1993? I was at Winter Park and I fell in love with that bowl. Every time I went back there after that it was closed. Maybe I'm trying to relive the Winter Park bowl experience I had back in 93? Sad isn't it...

d-sub got it right...sunshine liftline is a long wide-open one for carving, and Heavenly Daze is steep and challenging. I would also add that there is a little mini-bowl-like-trail next to the halfpipe (can't remember what it is called). It's just a wide open bowl-shaped trail that has a little double chair over it (for the halfpipe and nastar). For some reason I always loved making big wide turns in that little bowl. It's got a nice slope and kind of funnels down at the bottom. If is snows, hike up to the top, there are some trails up there that have sparse trees that you can just lean back and float through them at top speed. Do that for the last run of the day if you want. There are some nice trails off of tomahawk, and I think I got some nice turns in on a run called "fawn?" maybe. Have fun. I'll be out there in March.

Thanks to all for your coments- they were all very helpful. I've been comparing the geometry of my Coil 72 to some of the recommended boards in the reviews section. The most obvious thing that stands out is that my board has a small radius (10.26m) compared to most of the recommended carvers (mostly in the 13's although a few in the 12's and 11's). The small radius on the coil combined with the relatively soft deck make for a board that is a good all-arounder - but maybe npt ideal for carving at high speeds. Over the years I made up for the soft deck by riding the tail hard at high speeds (so the nose wouldn't over flex). Jim said that going to a 13-14m radius made a huge difference for him. I am suspecting I may find the same thing. I'll keep the coil for overly-crowded slopes or for cruizing around, but I am going for a GS-like board with 13 to 14m radius to maybe take me to the next level. I'll probably look for a longer deck (like 180 to 185). You only like once right? The coiler site says they are booked for the year. I'll probably call Donek tomorrow and see if they can get something made this year yet. I'm stoked about this because I feel like I am finally learning what it takes to do the full blown carving I've been kindof moving towards over the years. Thanks for everyones help. Any last words of wisdom forme? If not I let this thread die. Thanks to all. -AJ

My experience seems to go along with your assessment: Currently I have my bindings way back on the board...I think over the years I found that putting any weight at all on the nose in the turns was asking for trouble....then I think I began slowly moving my bindings back...because ashort tail is stiff and at least stable. I used to just lay on the tail hard in the turns. It would keep an edge just fine and I could make some nice looking turns, but this just isn't natural. I may give the Donek guy a call. I'll keep the coil around for sure - its anice board - but I think it is somewhat limited. Technique-wise I think I'll be just fine if I can get the right board and the right set-up. Thanks for your comments. I saw in your profile you had an Alp 7.1. I had one of those before the Coil and I couldn't quite get that one to do it either. Maybe I am the problem - who knows. Thanks again. -AJ

I am sure that technique and set-up are both issues. I've been reading the technique posts on this site and that will help. Regarding set-up: Honestly a couple years ago (when I bought the coil), I searched the internet for help on how to set-up the deck and found nothing. After finding this site and reading through a lot of old posts, I now know that my stance is way too narrow and way too far back. Thats great info that will undoubtedly help me out so I am stoked about that... Just wondering now if I want to drop $600 on a new deck or ride the Coil again with the new setup. I only get out there once a year and I want to make it count :) Thanks all for your comments. I've learned more from this site about technique, setup, etc thatn fromany other source. Recently I picked up the Snowboarding 2006 Buyers Guide only to find that they don't have a single carving board in the whole mag. Are there other good places to learn about set-ups, technique, etc, or is this site the only source out there? Thanks again. -AJ

I haven't been there in 15 years or so either. But I did like it very much. It is a good mountain with a lot of trails and lots of different terrain. They had really high tech covered detachable quads and and gondolas and they had these cool bar-code scanners at the lift line where they would scan your lift ticket and give you a printout at the end of the day of how many vertical feet you had done that day (that was 15 years ago - pretty cutting edge back then). I will tell you one insider tip that I remember...in the mornings we used to take the gondola up then ski down the back side. On the back side there was a base lodge that served hot crepes with maple syrup for breakfast. We did that most mornings. Mayeb they still do that. Have fun.

thanks for the reply...VERY helpful. The Sunshine liftline is the best...last time I was riding there a woman crashed into me from above while I was carving a big long turn. She yelled at me, then her private ski instructor made a rude remark...funny... love that trail though... thankis again.

Thanks for the reply. My weight is 200lbs, I'm 6'-2" tall, shoe-size is 12. I've got burton boots and bindings. When I bought the Coil, I wanted a carving board, but I obviously had no idea what I was doing. I've had a lot of fun on it, but maybe it is time to pick up a real carving board. Based on the reviews on this site the Donek boards looked pretty good, but what size should I go for? Thanks.

I was afraid that might be the problem. I've managed to carve decent turns on it, but I have to basically ride the tail (put all my weight on the tail - but then I can only do large-radius turns. I think the nose is just too floppy probably? What are you riding now and was it night-and-day when you switched away from the Coil?

I have been hard-boot riding for a number of years now, although I moved to Iowa a few years back and only get out to CO once or twice a year. I bought a Burton Coil 72 a couple years ago. I like it fine, but I have never been able to pull the full-blown euro-carve lay-out turns like some folks. I wonder if it is me or if I am limited by this deck. The specs on the deck are: overall length: 172.5 cm running length: 146 cm waist width: 21.5 cm sidecut depth: 2.6 cm sidecut radius: 10.26 m I suspect this deck may be a combination free-ride/carver so maybe it isn't a full-blown carving board?? I've been reading reviews on this site and it seems like the Donek boards are great. Would I come closer to the euro-carve thing on a new deck like that? I'd like to pull some of those fully-laid-out carves before I die and I am not getting any younger (32 now). From reading stuff on this site it seems my set-up is out of whack, so I'm sure I can improve somewhat by getting that right (my stance is centered a full 2" behind the center, and my stance width is only 16 1/2"). Until I found this site I had virtually zero information about how to set up a board (thanks). Is it just that I'm not riding the "sweet-spot" or is it that this board just isn't made for "serious" carving? Any advice would be appreciated - I want to get the most out of my once -per-year trip coming up in March (to Steamboat). Should I pick up a new deck before I go? or just set mine up differently. Thanks in advance for any advice you may have.