mbweppner

My favorite fortune cookie along time ago read “A man with one watch knows what time it is. A man with 2 watches is never sure.” Of course, I have 3 boards and 2 sets of skis that I regularly take to the slopes...

Age 51. Hardbooting 22 years. Even though I have I have been skiing since a kid, and still continue to do so, hardbooting is still the most fun way to get down a hill.

Sold back in 2012. Thanks.

Sale pending

Front Back Back Receiver

Catek Olympic Standard 2 (OS2) step-in bindings with the short-plate (size 10 or less foot). Ordered with custom anodized colors in red and black. Includes D3 elastomers and original box and instructions. Leash not included. Bindings have been used 3 seasons (about 60-75 days) without problems. Red anodizing has faded a bit, black anodized parts are scratched where there is heel contact and the aluminum receiver has some wear as shown in the photo (bindings used with soft Intecs heals not hard Fintecs so the metal wear is reasonable). Reason for selling to to have all Bomber bindings on my boards. Replacement cost is aboout $380 with the D3 kit. Price is $190 with free shipping to CONUS. Pictures below. Thanks for looking. Note: I'm having trouble uploading pictures. Email me in the meantime and I will send photos while I try to fix this. Thanks.

I asked this same question on the TD3 Step-ins E-rings to Michelle at Bomber and she said: "Here is the information about the E-rings: The harder the density, the firmer the feel in the ride but you gain maximum edge control. The softer the density, the more flexible the ride but you lose edge control. The decision is really up to you and how you want the binding to perform." I like the firmer feel and maximum edge control but I still backed off from the hardest red ones since the step-ins are the most ridged bindings to begin with and went with the medium blues. <O:p</O:pYou can always order different sets and try them out.<O:p</O:p

I have the new 2008 leather FLOs and have used them 15-20 times this year and they are holding up well and feel great. They should hold up for at least 3+ years fo me. I also am a bit over 200 lbs and I like the stiffer grey tonque that comes with the boots also.

I have been skiing 37 years and hard booting for 16 years. Except for graduate school in the Rockies (and lots of Western ski trips) most of it has been on the same small set of hills in my hometown in Western NY</ST1:p. I always enjoy both hard driving slalom skiing/moguls and hardboot snowboarding in the same day (when my muscles get tired of one, I switch to the other). I think hardboot snowboard helps you perfect your skiing and visa versa. <O:p</O:pI have three kids ages 4-10 who all started with skiing first at about age 4-5. I did because I wanted them to learn skiing as there is a lot of peer pressure as they get older to snowboard. I think there are a lot of unique skills in learning skiing that are best learned at a young age. It is also A LOT easier as a parent to teach a skier as a skier (trying to pick/hold them up as they go down the hill, climbing up the hill when they fall, get them up a lift, etc.). <O:p</O:pAs they turned 7-8, I get them boards too (soft boots until they get older). I could have started them earlier snowboarding but found skiing easier for me to manage (try taking three kids out by yourself...). I also didn't want them to miss out being the best skier/ski racer they can be too as well as eventual hardbooters/carvers.<O:p</O:p

I have not tried the Heads but the new UPZs fit my wide and high arch/instep foot fine. The new 2008 boots also have a standard tongue liner of good quality and not the old wrap liners. Buckle and flex hardware has also been upgraded for 2008 so keep this in mind when reading older reviews. <O:p</O:p The only thing I notice is that the heel box may be a bit narrow (but I can't compare this to the Heads). I know that I do notice my Intec heel cable at the end of the day but the heel area works fine for me.<O:p</O:p Also, UPZs come in two color choices and give you an extra set of outer plastic tongues in the box (with different flex). I'm sure either new Heads or UPZs will be a huge improvement over your old boots. Have fun.<O:p</O:p

I have the new UPZ RTRs and just got my first chance to use them. I bought them since the new updated 2007’s seem to have addressed all the concerns that I read about with the older models from last season and before. These include a much better liner, better buckles and metal cant lever. If you see old reviews mentioning these items, they are pretty obsolete now (unless you are buying a used pair).<O:p</O:p I find the boots a bit hard put on but I have both a high-instep and wide foot and they fit great without modification once in them. The boots also come with two tongues and I installed the stiffer of the two since I weight 200 lbs. I had no problems with installing Intec heels after enlarging the holes a small amount with a drill and using the inserts provided by Intec. <O:p</O:pI got my first chance to use them yesterday and they worked great for the first day in a pair of new boots (I did wear them around the house a few times to break them in). The only problem I had at the end of the day was that I felt the Intec cable pushing into my ankle so this probably isn't UPZ's fault. Flex/control felt just right on a slalom racing board. They were as comfortable as my Salomon ski racing boots (I normally carve half the day and ski the other half). Like Salomons, UPZ's are a good choice for wide feeet. <O:p</O:pBased on my short experience, I would certainly recommend them. Some advantages over the Deeluxe/Heads are the really short sole length (so you can minimize your binding angle), different flex choices with two tongues and better color choices. Still, these are small differences and I’m pretty sure anybody would be happy with any of the three brands. I just think UPZ certainly deserve a good look this year. I am glad I did…<O:p</O:p