Pow

Welcome home You're lucky enough to be riding an Arbor, some of the most formidable "regular" snowboards under the feet of a hardbooter. However, a softboot board is still a softboot board. You'll be able to ride it in the hard stuff for a while, getting used to the new feeling of hardbooting, but the board just wont perform the same as an alpine board under hardboots. So to answer your question, if you want to dive headfirst into this sport, get the full setup. If you want to adjust, one thing first then the other, get the plates and boots, expiriment a bit, then go for the board. Don't plan on riding your freerider on hardboots for the rest of its days, though! you'll need an alpine board one way or the other. just my two cents, others may disagree.

perhaps there should be a flaming penalty on BOL or something?

Perhaps this cruely mild winter is getting to our heads:(

Itd be a little unwieldy in narrow runs and crowds... itd be a great "perfect carving conditions" tool though:cool:

Welcome to BOL! It depends on what part of the USA you're talking about. In the midwest rockey mountains, there's pleanty of snow. On the East Coast, we're still pretty much waiting for it.

he says he likes his noodly board, so soft might be just what he's looking for:biggthump

I voted mountain/gear reviews (possibly a specific issue dedicated to reviews for convenience) as well as tech articles... I think It's missing something though... some little bit of entertainment to follow with every issue. Something like a cartoon, periodic following of a humerous project/expiriment, "outake" style pictures (kinda like the BOL photo contest) just a little something to spice up the content. I like the idea though! where do i subscribe:cool:

Simple little question, but i was wondering if anybody else uses completely different settings for your different boards? On my little alpine, I use inward cants and Front toe/ Back heel lift on the bindings, with my front boot in the third angle setting and my back boot in the fourth. On my Longboard, I widen my stance, cant outward instead of in, and use the second angle setting for both boots. I find this position more relaxing for cruising, but uncomfterble when alpine carving. does anybody else switch up their settings like i do?

Sorry about the confusion, Bernd is the rider in most of the pictures on pogo's alpine snowboarding website. If you click the link you posted earlier (http://www.pogo.biz/shop/product_category_displayE.php?cPath=24_42&language=en) you will notice a row of pictures on the top of the page. Bernd is not a member of Bomber Online to my knowlege. I was referencing the pictures of him to point out the slightly different riding style used to ride different snowboards effectively.

Ive never ridden a Blitz, so I don't know how it handles. Fin, owner of Bomber Industries, owns a Blitz and might be able to answer your "but pogo would be out of a question no matter how big radius or effective edge it has? like Pogo Blitz? " question. I don't think Pogo is out of the question, I think it is possible to ride Pogo snowboards with the angulated style in your pictures, but it would not be the perfect riding style to match the snowboards. I hope this is a little clearer:)

I dont know too much about the Blitz, except that i want one:eplus2: Fin might be able to answer that if he sticks his head in here. If you check Bernd's riding in the picture on top of the page, Hes angulated but differently than shown in the pictures you posted... that could be just him, but the narrowness of the board might have something to do with it too.

i agree its not as graceful as snowboarding, nor do i think it ever can be because of bio-mechanical issues (both skiis need to be perpendicular to the ground, therefore one leg would have to go through one ski) unless you got a pair of skiis with holes in the sides to give your legs some room:) which is why somebody should give these guys a swoard:cool:

when i said canadian i was referring more to coilers than priors, sorry:o

Holy crap, i think i just peed my pants!:lol:

Some guys skiing EC style, when they get really low they have to leave the outer ski off the ground... one of my favorite songs too:cool:

not to steal his thunder, but: Rossi Throttle 173, HeavyTools Lizard 173, Rad-Air Tanker O/S 187, Donek 186 GS

:lol: great stuff!

Id have to say probably not. From my experience, a euro (alpine) board would typically be trying to spring into the next carve too much for you to hold that angulated position for too long. A damp (canadian) hard board would probably be best (prior/coiler racing boards) as has already been suggested:) The Overdose rides like a kid on crack, i didnt think a board could be so lively! from what i hear viruses are even more so. not ideal for the style you want. the longboard is another story though... very chill laid back kinda riding, but possibly too soft for your style. Now if we could get some good snow, I might get a chance to ride them again:rolleyes:

Get a custom! a nice wide custom board designed for your ginormous feet. Now doesnt that sound way cooler than giving up? Donek, Coiler, Virus, Pogo, and possibly other boardmakers that im not sure of could probably help you out.

I tried to talk to the ski team coach here about it, but she's one of the laziest people i know. so i was told no. I think Alakata had some luck with his ski team coach, so he might be able to start something up in our area.

What you can't tell from the picture is that the kid he was racing pulled in on the turtle 30 seconds before, and is now busy climbing to the podium in the background.

That's hysterical! Id love to prank those guys one of these days, i almost tried something like that today when my doctor's secretary called... she mispronounced my last name so i assumed it was a telemarketer at first but then realized it was actually important when she said who it was:o

Be sure to look at the price tags of the interchangable lenses... many goggle lenses are the same price as another pair of goggles, and so buying another pair of goggles with a different lense would actually be more convenient, because you wouldnt have to take out/put in different lenses before heading out. just grab the right goggles for the job. that said, I prefer Oakleys, and they used to have a huuge replacement tint selection although theyve reduced it now.

an "easy out" drill bit sounds like the tool for the job, just be careful not to break it inside the screw!

Dont abandon your east coast brothers:( rain is delaying many openings in my area... I was hoping to get my first tracks in this weekend, but its looking pretty grim at this point:barf: