RJ-PS

Just got a few pairs of these for the shop. Didn't think it would be as hard as it is. Bailed pretty hard after a few minutes on them, now I'm respecting them a bit more. Won't be making any vids of me anytime soon, but you can check out the pros: youtube vid Gotta love House of Pain.

I was talking with Harry Gunz (Rad-Air Snowboards Owner) the other day and mentioned a Crazy Banana board from back in the day. He says, "That was my company." Great conversation ensued about the history of Crazy Banana and then snowboarding in general from an "across the pond" perspective. Anyway you can give him a yell about the boards or anything else for that matter at his website: www.rad-air.com either guestbook or contact will get you in touch. He's a down to earth totally cool guy that just happens to produce boards that make all your snowy dreams come true. jdgang, some of my greatest snowboarding memories were on my '91 Burton Air. Still have it in the shop.

Buell and Rebecca, Absolutely amazed at your passion and dedication to our sport. There are few who would take a season like last year's and continue unabated. You have my admiration, RJ

Glad you and the fam are safe Dave! Did you lose any work? Is the clean-up time gonna hurt ya?

Either way you're talking about the top two boards in the race industry right now. The choice comes down to price/performance. If you can throw money away buy a Kessler. No one talks badly about them and you can't argue with wins. The trade-off is performance vs longevity. I've heard of more than a few dynamic breaks. Talked with Sigi the other day and they had less than 1% warranty issues and those were all delams. I've not carried any of the titanal boards yet because of that issue. Seems like Sigi has it dialed. Everyone's buzzin about his new SG models so I'm bringing in a few.

It's sort of ironic, but a lot of the European riders are railing the longboards with softies while those of us on this side of the pond are using hardboots. I don't think one is better than the other, just preference and conditions to be considered. Speaking of....if you are sinking in the pow because of weight issues go wider as well as longer. Since you're a big guy the increase in float through the width will help as much as if not more than the length. But to be sure Bmax Rog one can certainly rail a longboard on softies!

Where do all the banned boys go? I'm pretty sure they're not on the Catek Forum. I'm guessing Randy is at Tahoecarvers.com. Are there other forums?

Hi Gleb, 1. How did you figure that out? 2. Is there a way we can find out who has been banned in the past? 3. Who decides?

2 Years ago the Rossi rep was telling me they were going to get into BX and then into alpine. I told him I would buy when they did. Two years later and nothing.....

How many hands does he have?

Neil, you win. No one's better than VJ. Wow, guess God was just showing off. Certainly doesn't seem fair for her to have both snowboarding and look good at the same time. I digress. BlueB - don't know where they got the pic from, I was just admiring the scenery.

Never did both the literal and the visual align so..........breathtakingly. Ahhhhhh Utopia, well done Madd. http://web.mac.com/mikebanker/iWeb/Madd%20Demos/Demos.html

Talked to the Future mag guys in Vegas to ask what was up. They said the mag just couldn't make the numbers work, sad thing, good mag. Anyway they said that anyone with subscriptions outstanding would be receiving the number of copies due in future snowboard mags. If you aren't getting yours, let them know.

both hardbooter.com and exoticboards.com can get them for you.

Blahhhhhhhh Just ride it. I ride mine with hardboots and so do others. It is a stiff BX-style board so if you go with softies make sure your boot/bindings are stiff enough as well. Have fun!

The 177 is the wider board, the 172 is narrower. I ride my 200 in the trees. If you ever get up to the Killington area see if you can ride with Vin, no magic tricks there, just solid riding.

Agreed Nils, When you put the kind of force that we do with hardshell snowboard boots onto an object of finite flexibility it reaches a point where it can no longer flex, but the energy has to go somewhere. Sean makes great boards as does Bruce, and just for the record I'm not selling Doneks or Coilers presently.

Bjorndolf has a Tanker up http://cgi.ebay.com/Rad-Air-Tanker-177cm-Wide-Snowboard-All-Mountain-Powder_W0QQitemZ300086853056QQihZ020QQcategoryZ21250QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem It's just under your price range and the Tankers have been the choice of softboot carvers for years. There's a pic of Vin Quenneville at oobsnowboards.com showing him laying it over in softies. I heard he can work his 200 Tanker. http://www.oobsnowboards.com/archive/vins.html Solid carve!

SHOPS......depends. If you aren't too concerned with your edge, yeah take it anywhere and they will make it "look" right. However if you want it done right ask around. Even within a shop there are those that can and those that can't. If you find a tech that is being trusted to do racer work, you're probably safe. If you spend some time talking to a tech that doesn't know what he/she is doing, that will normally bear itself out in the conversation. They'll say things like, "It doesn't really matter...." or "I don't care about that on my board". Remember the majority of shops are just tuning snowboards for Joe Freestyler who may not care how sharp his edges are except that he detunes the whole edge for rail riding days. You on the other hand are looking for perfection on your board. Therefore ask around here or your local mountain carvers, or send your board out to get it tuned. There are a lot of recommendations here for great techs to send your board to. Ask around.

There are some airlines that actually set policies on the difference between skis and snowboards. In fact as mentioned earlier some will only allow a certain size of snowboard, but skis sizes are apparently infinite. Definitely check on their policies and don't....DON'T TRUST the customer service rep on the phone (cost me $75 for that little snafu). If it's not in writing they most likely will not let you get away with it. Although I had a snowboard, surfboard, and golf clubs in the mix. Anywhooo if you take two boards and get caught you can get away with telling the attendant that they are powder skis. And if you are taking boots in your carry-on (always a good idea) just be prepared ( and allow time) to take them out at the security check.

Sorry couldn't help myself.....

Agreed Neil.

If they are under the size limits, usps is best. They also have the least chance of charging on duties etc. On the other hand if they are over the 108" max limits you have to go private. I think fedex is the cheapest for non-business accounts, but if you can send them on someone else's account (as already stated) that would be better.

Sorry I should have been more specific. I was calling the sides of the binding heel piece on the intecs wedges. The actually work great at getting iced up boot heels free before clicking in. As far as the binding heel piece itself, haven't figured that one out yet. If it's still not clear I'll get pics.

John, If you have intecs it shouldn't be a problem, you just do the stomp dance on one of the intec wedges, works everytime. legal clause: I am in no way shape or form advocating that you apply radical downward heel pressure on your bindings to release built up snow on the bottom of your heel. At least not if you bought the bindings from me.