dshack

I had read awhile back that some were of the opinion that a bootfitter could do more in terms of shell stretching or punching on a Head boot than an Upz. What about Burtons? Has anyone stretched out the narrow toebox on them? Are they made of pretty resilient plastic?

Those discs are only for 4x4 inserts, right?

I'm open to any brand, except I'd probably need burtons a half size or a size bigger (wide feet for their length, and I've heard that the burton toebox isn't too great for that). Something with real buckles would be nifty.

Bottom of Cascade @ 10, Top of Star if it's closed? Afraid I lost your number, Brian, but mine's 415.608.9267. Call me anytime before 9 or so- I tend to stash my phone when I hit the mountain.

I keep feeling like Burton does something good, then gives it up. The mission GT with the little wing, the P1 carbon, the torque, the alpine boards and boots-seems like they keep abandoning IMHO pretty good-quality freeride and carving gear. I tried a friend's C60's and found them super light but pretty giving laterally. I've heard the T6 is fun, though, and a friend told me riding a vapor with some C02's on it is like having nothing on your feet.

I'm sure it performs great almost all of the time. I'm also sure that on the rare occasion there's a quality control problem with the inserts on the board, you'll wish you had those two other ones to fall back on. Plus you have to ride burton bindings....in softboots, I like me some nideckers or salomons, personally.

Sounds good, though unless I find something real cheap and real nifty, I'll probably have to wait until next season to get it. I've got boots, a freeride board, and a carver, and have yet to master any of them. I'd love to get some carving in with the hood crew, though- I feel like I'm on the cusp of getting real carves happening.

Taking off class to hit the mountain- want to meet up? NOLS says 2-4 inches tonight, and probably more tomorrow.

It might have merit for freestylers, but it scares me....

If you check out their "Series 13" website, the one where you can customize a board, you'll find a Maolo X, a Fish X, and some interesting-looking freeride boards. I like the idea of a premium-materials Fish with a wood topsheet, though they're asking a pretty penny for it. Series13.com

Are any Portland folk headed to Hood Saturday? I think I'd kill myself in the slalom, but I'd sure like to make it up and get some carving in.

Or two plastic ones that rotate around a little metal center piece? The rider would be able to, by rotating the pieces, adjust his cant and lift to any possible combination! That would be the greatest invention ever! You could call it the Galactic cant!

I didn't mean to come off as nitpicky or negative. As a beginner, I was taking the picture I saw and trying to figure out what technique pointers I could get from it. No offense or judgment was intended whatsoever. Right now I'm caught between trying to super-rotate on toesides, bringing my torso towards the center of the sidecut (which makes me more likely to stick my butt out, I think), and not rotating enough (which might rob me of some of that "pulling the board through the turn" feeling). To me, Chris looks like he's rotated about exactly in line with his binding angles, but majorly kinked at the waist. The racer looks like he's pointed about halfway between the board's long axis and his bindings, and the Sword guy is super-rotated. Is there an inverse relationship between rotation and angulation? It seems like the more you rotate, the more laid out you can get, and the more compact/angulated you get, the less you have to rotate, no?

Just so I can get a handle on "good" toeside form, please correct or elaborate on any of these observations: 1) He's rotated into the turn, but not so much that he's perpendicular to the board (ie binding angle<rider angle<long axis of board) 2) He's kinked at the waist to get his shoulders as close to parallel with the slope as possible. 3) His weight looks pretty well forward. 4) His back hand is at his front boot cuff.

$175 shipped, or free for some reasonable MP24 boots.

I'll see if I can borrow a camera to take some pictures, but besides some scuffing, the only functional problem is one stripped cant adjuster. However, I bought a new replacement one from Bomber, and I'll include it. The boots are mounted with the red Indy tongue and spring-loaded RAB forward lean mechanism. They also come with the green suzuka tongues, and the normal 5-position lean devices. They've got black "race" tongues, too; I'm not quite sure how they compare in stiffness to the other two. The liners have been molded twice, and are in good shape. $200.

I get the rotation into the turn on heelside; it seems like as long as you're keeping your shoulders and ass in the right place, you should rotate as much as possible. What about on toesides, though? Do you ever want to rotate past your binding angles (as in, more towards the center of your sidecut)?

I, too, am looking for some 24.5's. I've got some 25's if someone wants to trade.

I'm confused...Canuck shows the Speed TF thermos as having no power strap, but these do...

No, I've got a little cant on the toes. I mean a lifted/canted front foot and a flat back one.

Anyone ride with just toe lift? I've been riding my ultra prime at meadows, and while there tend to be some carving opportunities in the morning, I like to be able to handle powder runs and the softening on the snow in the late day. This sunday, I started out riding with pure toe lift, and while it felt super-comfortable, I'm worried that it hinders getting my weight into a hard carve. Any thoughts?

The Almanac sez: "Burton liners are not warm. Raichle Thermoflex liners are recommended for Burton boots, since you will get a significantly better fit, and they will be warmer. For the regular Thermoflex liners, use the same size as the boot. For the HPD Thermoflex liners, you may need to get a liner that is one size smaller." So would trying to squeeze in an HPD one size bigger definitely be a bad plan?

I'm a bit confused about heelside form. I've heard that you want to get your ass over your edge,to increase the pressure on it, but all these riders seem to have nearly-straight legs, only bend at the waist. Is the key to a good turn actually haveing your butt above the board topsheet, regardless of inclination? That is, if your board's at 60 degrees to the snow, do you want your butt to be as close to vertically on top of it as possible, or placed along a line perpendicular to the board surface, at 60 degrees to the snow?

As much as I wanted to make it to OES, it doesn't look like it's going to happen this year, due to some midterms sandwiched around that weekend. Hope to catch y'all next year, or maybe around Meadows sometime.

Sounds to me like you ended up with an ******* baggage check agent. Normally there should be no problem rearranging things to fit under a weight limit; I normally carry an empty duffel in my main suitcase that I can use to hold items from other overweight containers. From Northwest's baggage policies: Skiing and Snowboarding Equipment Northwest accepts one item of skiing/snowboarding equipment in lieu of one piece of luggage included in the free luggage allowance. Skiing/snowboarding equipment is accepted as checked luggage only. An item of ski equipment is defined as one of the following: One (1) ski bag containing up to two (2) pairs of skis and one (1) boot bag One (1) snowboard One (1) snowboard bag containing up to two (2) snowboards If combined weight of ski bag and boot bag exceed 50lbs/23kg an overweight fee applies.