John Bell

I too have a Rossi One Mag. I like MTX a lot--but then (being on the East Coast) I find myself on ice a lot. I've never jibbed in my life. Probably true that it's grabbier than a smooth edge. But I prefer that when the run is a Zamboniland.

Thanks for the replies! And sorry for the delay; thought I'd turned on instant notify, but evidently not. AMK--thanks so much. I ended up buying a 2-day pass at Liftopia. Saved me $40! You Westerners enjoy that big dump coming your way.

Hey, everybody. I'm salivating over a planned trip to Whiteface in mid-December, and I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions on where I can get a good deal on lift tickets. I'm going on a Sunday and a Monday, so I may just have to go to the ticket window. You never know if there's a coupon in some magazine or whatnot. Thanks for any ideas! John

Wow. Let's pick on the developmentally disabled! Classy.

I'm gonna chime in with my 2 cents here, despite no longer being a hardbooter. I'm a member of another forum on a completely different subject. This other forum is, like BOL, a great source of info on the subject at hand. (OK, OK, lest I pique your curiosity too much, it's on people who are obsessed with the show Perfect Strangers. OK? Happy now?) Anyway--they have an "off topic" section for some reason. And it gets heated. People can post on any damn topic they want and say all manner of crazy bull****. I end up remembering the screen names of people I agree with, people I disagree with, and people I think are 5 beers shy of a sixpack. And so I wonder: What's the point of such a forum? Especially when there are all kinds of websites out there specifically for political discussions (or religious ones)? From Huffington Post to Fox News, there's a place for everyone to share his/her views on controversial topics. The country is divided enough as it is. Do we really need to have every forum on every topic have some designated place where we share our nastiness? This really is a great forum. It's incredibly useful for anyone into hardboot snowboarding or thinking about it. And people here are nice. If you want to keep it that way, I'd suggest keeping it about snowboarding. But Lutherans are evil. ;)

Glad someone from BOL could make good use of it.

The wife and I are moving soon and packing up/discarding all our good crap/useless crap, respectively. I recently bought a board off an online store and have a snowboard box in nearly perfect condition. I can't bear to pitch such a rare and useful object. Thus it shall be free to anyone who can use it--but you have to come get it. Belljohnr [at] jah who dot com

Thanks for the heads-up. Lowest I've seen on those lately has been about $200. I actually just bought a pair of Rome Arsenals for $142 from Tactics. They also do a 10.1% rebate if you go to the site via Bing Shopping.

Looking for a fair deal on a pair of any of these: Union Force/Force SL/Force MC Head PX10 Rome Targa Rome Arsenal Bent Metal Step In Bent Metal Carbon Ride CAD Possibly Burton C60 if in good condition and with four-hole plates Drake Podium Flux Super Titan Catek FR (one dreams) Anything else I may not know of that is stiff and bulletproof Looking for good condition, with no capstrap-only toe straps. Don't really care about color, but if it's too wild (e.g., Rasta), then it would have to be a really super deal. E-mail me at belljohnr [at] yahoo [dot] com Thanks!

Saw this today and thought I'd alert the board as a public service. http://outlet.altrec.com/burton/mens-fp-goofy-snowboard Pretty funny that they have no idea what to call it!

Where are you located? Why do you have all these bindings? Why are you selling them all? What do you mean you "think" they're C60s? Those retail at around $400. Did you buy them used?

Let me tell you, the ICS system has cost Burton one potential customer. I would possibly have bought a Custom X had they not gone to this pointless and possibly unsafe system. I searched online a while ago for feedback on this, and I recall someone saying something to the effect that after 30 days or so, there's some problem with the interface between the screws and the ICS channel. Some also report "dead spots" under the bindings: http://www.goneboarding.co.uk/Forum/infinite-channel/ThreadID/25794/ShowThread.aspx But the very idea of depending on two screws seems like asking for trouble. I mean, who needs to adjust their bindings that often? The fact that they made sure that only Burton bindings work for these boards convinces me that this was just their greed talking.

Hey, QQ, your theory sounds sensible on the face of it. I'll post something if I get a chance to try MTX. Thanks for all the replies.

Thanks, guys. That's good information. I will definitely look into the Dreamraider. I avoid the park like the plague and even dabbled in alpine a couple of years ago. I forgot to put my stats: 5'8", 165-170 lbs. Funny--you read about Magne-Traction (MTX) everywhere, and all the reviewers seem to swear by it and say they couldn't imagine going without it. But that's a good point about none of the alpine racing boards having MTX. I'm reluctant to buy anything so different without trying it--but snowboarding is one of those weird things in life where there's no "test drive" (other than the rare demo day, unless you want to buy what they're renting out in the resort shop)and no returns if you try the product and don't like it. Or you know someone with a sweet quiver.

Sorry to post a softboot question, but you guys are way more helpful than the surly, agrammatical jiblets on other forums. And one board is a BX board, so maybe someone will share some expertise. I'm debating whether to buy a Rossignol One Mag (probably a 159 with SCR of 8.2) or a used Oxygen Supercross 157, with 8.6 SCR. This would be for riding mostly in PA on crust and ice, with hordes of people everywhere, in all directions. Here's a link to the Rossi. Warning: An annoying video will start playing behind the "video" tab, which you can pause: http://www.rossignol.com/US/one-mag_RE9NE03_product_snowboard-men-boards.html Any ideas? I can get the Oxy for much cheaper, but it's going to be so insanely stiff, and that worries me. Plus the Magne-Traction is a big appeal on ice. Thanks for any thoughts!

I'm looking for a good all-mountain carver to use with softies, around 157-160 cm, that will be solid on ice and crust and will turn very easily. I would like the sidecut to be much less than 9m. (I'm deathly afraid of mowing down the Horizontal Henry back-forth skiers and the rug rats on our crowded Ice Coast slopes.) Waist should probably be 24cm-25.5 cm. Especially interested in the Lib-Tech or Gnu boards with Magne-traction, the Never Summer Titan (but not the TX--too wide), the Donek Incline, the Arbor A-Frame, or the Unity Dominion. If you have something, please shoot me an e-mail: belljohnr [at] yah00 [dot] c0m. Thanks!

Mike, thanks for the feedback. Glad to hear that. Thanks for your super-fast payment and great communication. Pleasure dealing with you. Best, John

SOLD! Thanks. My 2007 164-cm. Prior 4WD is still available, so I've lowered the price and posted a few more (and smaller) photos. All the photos are available here: http://prior4wdforsale.shutterfly.com/26 I have taken the board out twice, and I believe the previous owner used it a handful of times. I bought it second-hand on eBay in 2008. I'm reluctantly going back to softbooting--at least for now. If I can't sell it for a fair price, I'm going to put softboot bindings on it again (as I did last week). It actually does pretty well with softboots. The board is in good used condition. If 5 is average and 10 is brand new, I would say that it's conservatively 6 or 7 out of 10. I just looked carefully at the entire base in the light; there are a total of four scratches, none of which are deep. Two are about 2 inches long, one is about 1 inch, and another (near the edge) is about half an inch. There are some multiple smaller surface scratches at the very top edge of the base, near the Prior logo at the nose end. You will need to tune the board before you take it out on the slopes. The topsheet is in good used condition. You can see the outline of where the bindings were. There is a clear stomp pad that I've left on. There is also what I believe is a cosmetic manufacturing defect consisting of a discoloration on the sidewall; there's a roughly two-inch section where it's sort of opaque yellow (like epoxy) and then fades into white. It's on the left side, toward the nose. It has about a quarter-inch of camber. Price is now $375, including insured ground shipping to the lower 48. A new one retails for $751. (http://www.priorsnowboards.com/boards_4wd.php) If I don't sell it here, I'll either put it on eBay or just ride it. PayPal is OK, but you'll need to add the 3% they charge the recipient. Otherwise, a money order or wire transfer is OK. If you are in the DC region, I would consider meeting up. I recently sold my Deeluxe Suzukas, and I can provide the contact info of the buyer if you want a reference. (I don't believe he's a BOL member.) Thanks for your interest! --John belljohnr at jah who dot com

Will sell for $100 including shipping. Or would possibly trade for some super-stiff softie bindings (Union Force, etc.). Thanks.

SOLD pending check clearance. my lightly used TD1s. Good condition, with purple bumpers and my homemade plastic board protectors. Cant plates are 0 and 3 degrees. Free ground shipping to lower 48. Will accept PayPal (plus 3%), money order, wire transfer (buyer paying any fees) or personal check (though I will wait to ship until it clears). If you are in the DC area, I'm happy to meet somewhere reasonable. Thanks, John belljohnr [at] yah00 [dot] com

Boots are SOLD. Thanks! Hi, everyone. I made a sincere but short-lived forray into the carving world two years ago but decided it's not for me. After some procrastination, I'm finally getting around to selling some lightly used equipment. First up are my 2005-2006 Deeluxe Suzukas, mondo 26 with standard heels. (The shells are 25-27.5, and the liners are 26.) I bought them from Buell here on Bomber in October 2007 and have used them just once myself. They've been stored in the house since then. I will include the original box. The liners have been molded three times each. (Actually, one foot has been molded just twice in total, but I can't remember which--so I'll err on the side of underselling.) They are in good used condition; the latches work fine, but there are some scuffs and scrapes around the toes on the shells. (But nothing that anyone would notice from farther than 5 feet or that would impair the boots' performance.) The liners have a couple of marks from molding. But they're very servicable and (other than my using up two more of the liners' five molding lives) in close to the same condition as when I bought them. I'm asking $175 including ground shipping to the lower 48. (If you live in the DC/NOVA area, I could even meet you in person and would knock the price down a bit.) Please e-mail or PM me for many more photos. I will accept as payment in advance a cashier's check, PayPal (buyer paying the 2% they charge), or a wire transfer (buyer paying any fees)--or a personal check, if you don't mind waiting till it clears before I ship. US funds and US banks only, please. I'm also going to be selling my Prior 4X4 164 and some Bomber TD1s in the near future. Thanks and happy carving, John belljohnr [at] yah00 [dot] com

www.kayak.com The best, in my opinion, of all the fare-finder sites. (Its search includes Orbitz and others--all except SWA). It also has a hotel-search function. Pretty good. Sometimes you can get a better rate if you have a triple-A membership, but you'd have to call the hotel to ask. Have fun!

This is so easy that I kick myself for all the years I used crust in a box. This will make a thin, crispy crust. Turn on your oven and preheat to 500 or (if it goes that high) 550. Throw some flour in a big bowl. Add some salt. Amounts? Who cares! Just eyeball it. Sugar? Don't even think about it! Buy some yeast in the little packets or in a jar. Doesn't matter what kind. It's near the flour in the grocery store. While you're there buying yeast, buy some parchment paper, unless you have a pizza stone and a pizza peel (which are both well worth it. Just don't get the super-cheap kind of stone, because I've cracked two of those under normal use. Get the thicker one that runs about $30 at Williams-Sodoma). The peel is the big wooden paddle thing--which can double as a cutting board. Activate the yeast by putting about a spoonful in a cup with some warm (but not hot) water with some sugar. Stir it up and cover. It should have a foamy head after 5-10 minutes. If it doesn't, the yeast is dead. Add the water to the flour and mix well. Add a little olive oil, but not too much, or the crust will be super-chewy. Knead it just until it's mixed--to much and it'll be tough. Add flour to keep from sticking. Let it rise for 30 minutes, covered and in a warm place. Flour up the pizza peel or the parchment paper. Better yet, if you have coarsely ground cornmeal, use that. Spread the dough out on it. Don't add the toppings yet! Put the crust in the oven for about 8-10 minutes--until it starts turning slightly beige in places. Then pull it out. This first bake will get the crust crispy enough so that it won't get soggy when you add toppings. Add the toppings, put it back in, and pull it out when the cheese is melted. The parchment will probably burn in the oven where it doesn't have pizza on top of it, so don't let that alarm you. The one caveat is that there will be flour all over the kitchen. So it makes sense to make extra dough and put it in the fridge in Ziploc bags for later use.

At the risk of breathing life into a thread that deserves to die of natural causes, I found this compelling: http://www.salon.com/opinion/kamiya/2008/03/11/omar_fekeiki/ (Click on "Enter Salon" in upper right as soon as the ad goes away.)

Definitely! Thanks again to Keopele:ices_ange for this undeserved generosity. Hopefully I can return the favor in some way eventually. For now, I promise to spread the aloha! I'll post a few pics after the trip, in just over a month.