Fastskiguy

Sorry to hear about your mother-in-law ;) but yeah, I was the only guy on the run for about 3 hours. It was freakishly amazing!

Well, it's a "midwest" black so yes, it's called a black but no, compared to east or west it's a blue. It's one of the best pitches around....but compared to the other pictures in this thread it's, well, let's just say it's the best around these parts ;)

OK guys, got my TD3's, got some tips on the setup, got out today in some brilliantly sunny weather on some spectacular snow and as a super bonus, no crowds due to the arctic blast here in the midwest! Heck, even school was cancelled today (-15F but warmed to -7!) so I knew it was time to go :) So these binders are pretty nice. I'm coming off of a redneck setup-snowpro front, TD2 SI with the medium cushion on the rear. Oh yeah, plus fintechs :) So I'd say more positive engagement, a lot easier to catch the toe bail, and maybe a really smooth ride with the yellow cushions...or maybe it was just the snow but it was SWEET! Today was so neat, got in 30 runs on this hill, only a couple of other guys went down blurring my lines. So by the end it looked pretty cut up :) Sometimes extreme weather is just really really great :)

LOL! Carving the same run 30 times in a row alone would just suck ;)

OK, that was my understanding too. It's funny that the bottom of the heel doesn't touch the binding and that the small pin bears most of the load. But hey, seems to work great! Got out today in the -15F weather (great sun, great snow, no crowds!) and curiously the right (front) boot developed some play, moved the heel piece forward one notch and it was perfect (again). Rear left foot started and finished perfect. Thanks guys :)

Perfect technique on the blues=perfect on blacks but less margin for error. Testing your technique is a reason to ride blacks, are you precise enough? You can run blues all day in search of the "perfect run" but it gets old after awhile....for most. It's the dedicated flatlander who really understands!

And here is the right boots, this time lateral/caudal/medial (oooh, tricky!)

Could you guys check my setup? I think it's just right but I'd love to hear some opinions. Out here in the sticks I don't have anybody to check with....haven't seen any TD3's on the local slopes (LOL)...just want to be as sure as I can that I'm set up right. The funny thing.....the heel of the boot doesn't touch the binding, it's all on the pins...is that right? Here are some shots....this page is the left boot...medial/caudal/lateral

A garland would be great! But it's impossible to describe in words. OK, I'll try.... 1 find a wide run 2 start a traverse on your heel side 3 engage your toeside edge and carve towards the fall line 4 before you reach it move back to the heelside and crank a turn back to a traverse 5 then repeat as you get better, make the toeside turn longer so you get more into the fall line....then past it....then gradually blend it into a regular "turn" this way you can practice the easiest part of the heelside first....a lot.....and gradually make it more difficult and "like real snowboarding" over time Just don't forget all of those heelside tips everybody threw out there :) LOL, proof you can't describe it. Help me out guys :)

I have a super thin recoiling burton cable lock but it doesn't instill confidence. It is light and small. I've wondered...my bike lock for my snowboard?? (at the base that is....) https://www.kryptonitelock.com/products/ProductDetail.aspx?cid=1001&scid=1002&pid=1194

You will get to where you can clip in while gliding off of the lift.....usually. As far as getting out.....I totally agree :) (but it's 6" less bending down so that's something, right?)

Staying totally hooked up on an honest "Blue" run isn't exactly a gimmie for 99.9% of skiers and snowboarders so the bar is pretty high to begin with. I'm sure you know this but a "turn" is 180 degrees, gotta get every turn completed before diving into the next one or in a turn or two it's "****, I'm bookin' now!" You mentioned knees close together. I widened my stance this year and I feel like I am really in an aggressive "attack" position, knees apart, ready for action. Wider stance maybe? Carvedog gave me the best tip so far....on heelsides it's OK to touch the snow with your right hand as long as you touch it with your left hand first (I'm goofy) and on the toesides it's OK to touch the snow with your left hand as long as you touch it first with your right hand. I love the EC style and it was fostering all kinds of bad habits LOL. Nothing wrong with a soft board but the comment about it not holding as well as your SL skis....I've been on plenty of SL skis and the alpine boards I have been on (donek fcII 171, blade 180 med, axess 182, axes 172, custom GS (can't remember specs)) have all held as well as any SL board. Can you take some runs on the boards of the guys who are cutting up the black diamonds? And finally, philosophically, if you can rail it in good conditions and have trouble only in "ball bearings over refreeze" then embrace it, look forward to it, and work towards mastering it. The best riders can rip it in those conditions, riding in those conditions gives you the opportunity to learn to rip it as well. Tough conditions are tough, but that's when you have the most to learn.

Crap, I still have these suckers, how about 15$ shipped to the continental US? Have 8 bolts plus the cant plates.

Yeah, it used to take 5 or 6 minutes or something now it's like...not sure but maybe 2 minutes? I wish we had a big mountain to ride around here but I'm grateful for what we've got :) http://alpinevalleyresort.com/index2.php

It's a high speed quad on a 330 foot hill. On the weekdays I can glide up to the line and step out of the binding, sit down, zip to the top, do a quick 180, click in, and head down again. 11-14 short round arcs later it's back on the line and up again. Running this way you can do a lap in 3 minutes, sometimes 2:55, skiing with somebody else or once a few other people show up it will slow you to about 17 or 18 per hour, on a busy day it's a whole different story. 1 hour there, 1 hour back, 35$ ticket, 3:45 on-snow, 20K feet, it's the best deal I can get. Heading to the land of big lifts, Sun Valley, next week, for me it's like heaven! 3000 feet in one shot, I usually have to stop 10 times LOL!

Clicking in with standards must be tough...never occurred to me to even try! But on our short lifts where we can log 60 runs in a 4 hour session.....(f)intecs speed up the lap time

Wow, nice pics, thanks :)

I'd like to say "no", or rather something like "base bevel is for pussies" but I'm going with "yes, you've got to have it"

Dude has guts for riding with no arms!

All I can say is that it's crossed my mind to tune skis that way but then we went from 205's to 180's or whatever and it seemed like....well gee, they're only 180's so I kinda forgot about it. Do you notice any decrease in edge grip? Or just an easier-to-handle board?

Mine shipped today so I sure am glad to read the rave reviews. Can't wait :)

He's flexible and that's a great position.

It's happened to me. LOL, well not the falling thru part but on a double chair the seat was flipped up. Made for a mighty uncomfortable ride up, that's for sure.

No idea....in fact, I really would rather not know

I had some MRR's too, just thought they were the coolest thing. Not even step-in's, you had to reach down to latch the heel, had the sliding AFD too. Ran'em on my K2 VO Slaloms, just totally the rockin' setup back in the day. I ran mine at about 12 and would blow out now and again. I have Tyrolia binders now at only 9 and it's been no problemo.....but the way you stand on the ski makes a difference (honest!) and I'm standing on them better now. The greatest bindings in the world were the old Look turntables-they were totally reliable, just a fantastic binding!