Rob Stevens

I sat through that video looking for the 720 and I wound up watching a 360. I'll never get that time back. No question, you boys can carve, but I'm looking for the 7 footage...

I'm what's known in the business as a "Drugtalker". This is a person who uses the cultural phrases of the subgroup (words like "weeded") so the youths with think he's "Kewl". Of course, as a politico, when I'm with the militant anti-drug group, I can spew "Just Say No" rhetoric with the best of them. This is what I call the "Chameleon Effect".

720's??!!!??? WHAT?!!!???!! Please, post a film of that and I will send you an honorary CASI Level 5, which will be made specially for you. I do mine after this cliff I like to hit into a groomed gully. I'll start to lay out as I go up the counterslope of the far side, so when I get to 180, I'm actually going downhill again, rather than up. Like Kipstar described. When I finish, It's happy time pant explosion, for real.

I guess that winking, smiley face didn't work very well...

Just to stir it up... A U.K. study showed drivers on weed were less likely to drive outside "Legal envelopes" due to the general paranoia most people experience when weeded. In their test, doped-up drivers were more attentive, more curteous and did not speed. This does not speak to decreased reaction times, but I suppose some accidents are caused by over-reacting to a given situaton and that slower reaction times could arguably be of benefit, depending on the situation. Given this test, I beleive everyone should be weeded, always .

What Neil Said... Bring the race board. Sunshile has LOTS of low angle, wide open terrain that is perfect for hardboots. Even if there's pow, he'll be stoked... Just open it up. The fear training of high speed, chopped up riding will be good for his racing. If you want to go on Delerium, or go to the Lake at all, get the F/R board. Unlimited in Banff will set you up.

I shredded. I was never told not to shred. I shredded because I thought it was the right thing to do. Just wrote that on the back of my board... Fuggin' classic.

No 2; Haven't seen Duke in awhile, but Kiwi Andrew (pronounced Indrew), can get you going. He's at the Source in Canmore and really good. Flights are getting cheaper all the time and flying direct to Calgary is easier now than ever. Van would still be the ideal gateway. Despite the terrain not being carve friendly, I would visit the resorts Allee mentioned, like KHMR, Fernie, Red, ect. Demo soft gear and hit it. You didn't come all this way to stay on the groomers! They are only a small percentage of what's on offer. The interior resorts are rad. Silverstar and Sun Peaks have great carving terrain. If you just want to improve your riding skills, I can suggest some people who you could go out with. If you actually want to take courses, you should look on the CASI site and see if anything lines up with your trip. www.casi-acms.com The East is fun and Montreal is the best city I've ever seen, but I don't know if it's the ideal destination if shredding is your primary goal. I do love Tremblant for the easiest carving there is (midweek).

I was a poor rider for a long time. Now, I'm not. I really enjoy going to the shops that supported me when I had nothing. I try to give them full price and they won't hear of it. Just my willingness to do so has gotten me some of the best pricing I've ever received. It sounds like I'm employing reverse-psychology, but that's not how I wanted it to work out... it just happened that way. The best part about being able to afford full retail is that you get EXACTLY what you want, when you want it. For me, saving time not having to look around fits my personality because I hate shopping.

Neil; That's interesting... I know I couldn't use singles when I just wore a hat. The vapour from my always-overheated body would fog them in a second (doubles as well, though). Since I made the move to helmets, that problem went away. Mind you, if I crash, I usually give my helmet a wipe before I put my gogs up. (Also, as a CASI 4, I have to buy a case of beer for any instructor who sees me eat s#!t, so I make it a rule not to... I still bought my share of beers last year). As far as the clear lens being "better", it's probably not, I just really like it.

Phil; I think it's great what you're doing. The Youtube movie shown in this thread is interesting, but I think you guys could go one better, simply because you're a pack of whities. Why not get National Geographic to have a look at your storyline? The Ride Guide? Banff Mountain Film Festival? There is a world conference of instructors in Korea this winter which CASI is going to attend (4 of us). The US is not going because of Kim Jong Il's policys on nuclear power, ect... It may be risky for you and I to travel to the places we'll be, but if one more person can bring back a positive message, it's worth it.

Oldvolvosrule; As a big fan of "Better Off Dead" the correct quote for your signature line would be... "It's a shame when people be throwing away a perfectly good white boy like that." I hope I've been of assistance to you.

Chadx; You missed the "I like" part when you quoted me. It means just that. I run what works best for me. The only way to get anything out of these forums is to try things you haven't before. I would encourage anyone to try clears... after giving it a go, if you find it's not as good, then it didn't work for you. I would hesitate, particularly here, to paint anything as unsuitable when the only yardstick you have to measure with is your own. There is also a tradeoff factor that I consider, which I mentioned and that is ease of cleaning (with no coatings to scratch) and single lens durability.

Try an MX shop like Bow Motorsports for a good variety of sizes, cheap closeouts (summer stock) and good brands. I ran single lens clears alot last season. For flat light, I like no tint... It's how we evolved, so it must be ok. Don't worry about the fog factor. I would put them up on my helmet whenever I stopped and they would stay clear. Singles are also easy to clean, as you'll never have a broken seal leave vapour between the lenses. Just put them inside your coat for one lift up to get them warm and then wipe them down with a face cloth you brought from home (or the hotel). Goggle bags are not that great for wiping gogs, as they get saturated after the first wipe.

Why not pick a shop, keep buying there for awhile and get good deals eventually? However, if you can get your own pro deals now, then it seems you're already in the mix and didn't need to start this thread in the first place. Personally, my goal is to be able to pay full retail for everything.

Has anyone tried this new Burton offering? I used to run lace up koflach Hunters and Superpipes (needed a good spraypainting to knock down the neon) and they had their advantages. No foot cramps, no cranking straps and very responsive underfoot, while still maintaining good ankle flex. Fill me in if you've had some turns in this setup. It's first year was last year, I think.

Dave's suggestion above, about the lesson, is the call, for sure. For 6 people, an all day semi-private is pretty inexpensive. You also have someone who can take you through the other steps that Dave described. If you've never been there, it can be pretty overwhelming. Some people stay on the Green chair, just because they're not sure what the rest of the terrain is like. So Whistler is the busy one now, huh? When I lived there (88-95) Blackcomb was the Spore Expo and Whistler was "fairly" low key. I can see how access from the Creekside would pull people off the road. The traffic increases over the last few years have been incredible. Driving from Van on a weekend would be a non-starter for me. I'd be taking my sled to the Coquihalla Lakes Lodge. Hwy 99... Whistler's toughest run.

I get you about the speeds needed to air out, but I'm thinking more in terms of a recovery move, just to stay on your feet, rather than falling and losing all your speed. That sort of panic edge might have to be used anywhere... flat, trans, wall, vert... wherever. It must not be a problem for their pipe jocks, though as Burton hasn't changed their baseplate design in a while. C02's huh? I've never seen them, but if they have a carbon structure like the 60's, they'll be as light as you can get. Mind you, a regular plastic binder like the Cartels would probably be fine as a super stiff baseplate / highback really only should pay off in harder conditions. The one concern I would have with any soft binder for touring would have to be durability. ALWAYS carry spare parts. When heli or snowmo, I usually have one complete binding, dissasembled, in my pack. I don't split, but should think that it would be 10x as critical to carry spares when you can't just "motor" home.

I did sue Burton. As settlement, I had them change their name to "Stevens"... the next day, all their retailers dropped them. They counter-sued me and now I have to send Jake a cheque every month. Come and visit me in my squalid little shack, with the one-off Stevens snowboard for a floor.

I'm a bit hesitant to get into another pair of them because of the turn towards micro-adjustability. They look more and more like P1's every year. The first ones were simple and strong. (with the exception of a few shattered highbacks) I'd like to see that the top line binding, intended for a rider who has their setup dialled, have adjusters that were designed for overall strenth as the paramount consideration. It does surprise me that the heel loop profile of the C60's baseplate is still so low and fat. Simple carving aside, I would have thought that one of their pro pipe riders would have found a bootout problem on late, highly edged turns up the pipe wall. The Cateks, with their high, flat heel loop would seem to have this licked, but I'm still not convinced about the lift. I rode Palmer risers for a time and found that turning was great, but landing jumps could be a little "twitchy" sometimes. An unintended shift over the edge was more likely to lead to unwanted edge grip. It's too bad an optional baseplate, for direct mounting is not available. It would be good to be able to test them side by side with the C60's on the same board, down the same mixed terrain run.

I was on your site SWT... I will look out for the pre-order. I'm currently on a C60 and like them very much, but the new ones look a bit fluffy. What would be your binders weight compared to those? I'm not sure about the ride height... it looks a little tall for my taste, but more edge angle seems to be the tradeoff. CASI discount, eh? Nice!

I guess so... What's the site? Anyone use them? Heavy bastards?

Did I see, in other posts, a mention of Bomber Industries making a soft boot binding? I can't see any sign of them in the Bomber store.

Bryan; Please stop showing pics of the SnoDad... You're killing me! I want that thing so bad! If you ever have a need for $, send me an email... I'm sure we can work something out. I know you've said you never sell things like this once they're in your collection, but PLEASE...??? I really want to come to your Ledgends day too. It looks like a great time from the pics and vids on your site. As for your board question, the ideal shape should indeed be a fish. Even before that, I would consider weight to be paramount. I have noted before that I use a pre-production Forum "Streetdweller" I got from a friend in R&D. It was a sample from the China factory to give them an idea of its construction. This board came stock with no edges, as its purpose was jibbing and not turning. This sample also came with no inserts for bindings. The overall weight loss was considerable. When riding this board alongside a regular board with all the metal, its ability to stay with your feet is like night and day. There is also the tomahawk factor. It becomes alot lower when you take away the edges. NB has been given a no edge or insert Fish which should be the ideal ride. All the above aside, you can still get the no rope idea with a regular board and Streetdwellers are still available from some Forum dealers. The one you can buy would be shorter than the 160 I have (they never produced a 160 for the market), but if you're shorter (5' 10" or under) the store 150 should be fine as you usually set them up with a bit of rear bias. My 160 has as much nose as my 174 Salomon. I am 6' 2" and have never buried the nose on my 160

You may find boots and a board, but your biggest hurdle will be bindungen. Even the biggest baseplates will be well short and now that they have toe risers in just about all of them, the lift will be right under the middle of his foot. That would be awful. Maybe he would be better off skiing. Snowboarding sucks anyway. It's far more dignified to stand up all the time, rather than parade around in front of people, looking like you wet yourself.