BadBrad

That's surprising. I wear MP26 boots and I can only go as low as 50 degrees on my 4WD before I get overhang. I use 54/51 on that board.

I'm still waiting for that big breakthrough. :(

That's the main thing that worries me about getting back on skis. I remember torquing and hurting my knees when falling on skis. I think that lower body injuries are a lot more likely on skis. Most snowboarding injuries seem to be upper body (wrists & collarbones).

I guess mine's a reissue, since it's from around 2004 I think. I bought it from someone on this forum a couple of years ago. Mine has 3 pairs of inserts front and back. I currently have the front binding set right in the middle of the forward sets of inserts, and the rear mounted in the forward set of inserts but with the TD2s mounted fully rearward. This gives me an overall forward shifted mounting and a little over 18" stance width. In this photo you can see the binding marks where the previous owner had them mounted. Mine are currently mounted pretty much the same, with the rear binding just a hair further to the rear.

I agree with learning how to fall. I have had some nasty bike crashes and snowboard crashes and have never broken a bone. I think part of it is luck and perhaps having strong bones, and part is knowing how to fall. I'm pretty good a tucking in my arms when I'm going down. That saves wrists and arms, but can also result in shoulder/collarbone injuries. I have landed hard on my shoulder where it was sore for months, but thankfully no serious damage. My nephew, on the other hand, has broken an arm at the playground, he broke his wrist snowboarding (without wrist guards), he broke his hand snowboarding (with wrist guards), and he broke his foot falling off his bicycle. He is tall and thin and has grown quickly, so he might just have fragile bones, but he also doesn't seem to have any sense of protecting himself from the hit or knowing how to fall. Even playing hockey he never seemed to prepare himself to take a hit. So, I think that taking a tumbling class or a martial arts class that teaches you how to fall can really help prevent injury. It also teaches awareness of where your body is in space. Improving your strength and flexibility can also do a lot to prevent injuries.

I'm curious what those of you with Madd 158's are using for stance width. Since it is such a short board, do you use a narrower width than on your longer boards? The center of the inserts is only around 17.5". Based on the binding marks, the previous owner of mine had his set just under 18". I have mine set just over 18". My other boards (Prior WCRM 173 & Prior 4WD 164) have stance widths set around 19.3, which is right at the center of the inserts. (Based on the standard numbers (floor to kneecap, .607xinseam), my stance width should actually be more like 20.5", but after years of riding short Burtons with stance widths 16-17" I'm still not comfortable going wider than about 19.3 yet.)

I use the Level Fly gloves with the built-in wrist guard. It sounds from teach's post above that these might be too soft, so perhaps I should look into something else. My 14-year old nephew recently shattered his hand snowboarding. He was wearing proper wrist guards, which may have saved his wrist, but the bones in his hand were shattered and he currently is in a cast with a bunch of pins holding his hand together.

I started snowboarding in the late-80's, got hooked, and didn't ski for about 20 years. Then a couple of years ago I rented skis for a day while on a club ski trip. I thought I'd be like a beginner again, but I was skiing pretty well right away. I was amazed at how easy they were to turn, especially compared to what I was on 20 years earlier. It was almost too easy -- no challenge. I think carving really helped me be quickly comfortable on skis. And I could carve the skis better than most other skiers because I had learned how to use my edges and how to angulate my body. I have a 2-year old boy, and I plan to start him on skis next season. I think it would be easier for me to be on skis while with him on the slopes, so I'm going to look for some off-season deals this summer. I'm pretty clueless about ski equipment, though. How do I choose boots and skis?

That looks like a great idea, and the price isn't too bad either. The drawbacks I see are that there are only hand pockets and no lift ticket attachment. But overall a great idea.

I think it depends on the board. What kind of board are you talking about? I generally mount my bindings centered, except on my Madd I mount them forward.

My old Marker ski coat has served me well for about 15 years, but is finally starting to fall apart. My wife implied that she might get me a new one for Valentine's day, but I don't really know what I want. Any recommendations for a nice ski coat that's also a good value? Here is what I like: - Not a baggy snowboard coat - No hood, or removeable hood - Lots of useable pockets - Light insulation (not a lot of insulation, but not just a shell either) Any recommendations?

I think there is a decent analogy between the speakers and the snowboards, in that it comes down to personal taste. I once bought a set of expensive speakers that were known for being extremely accurate and having a very flat frequency response. They sounded great, but kind of dull and flat to my ears, so after a few days I returned them and got another set of speakers that was slightly less expensive but to my ears had a more pleasing ambience. Likewise, I own a Prior WCRM and like it a lot, but I demo'd a fiberglass Donek FCII 167 and it was a blast to ride -- I loved its snappy feel. I also have a lot of fun on my Madd 158 and my Prior 4WD. They each have a different feel and I like each one for different conditions. I think metal boards are great, but if your style is to spring off the tail between turns and make tight slalom-like turns then I could see where a metal board might feel kind of dead to you. Another analogy could be bicycle frames. I'm not big or particularly strong, and I've always liked the feel of good lightweight steel or titanium frame. To me, aluminum or carbon feels dead. But I know many others who prefer aluminum or carbon.

I ride a variety of angles depending on board width. On my Madd 158 I'm around 63/60, on the wider 4WD I'm at around 55/50, and the WCRM is in between. I have no problem switching from one to the other.

1997 Burton Alp 5.6

I really like the ZipFit liners. They mold to your feet as you ride and are very warm and comfortable. They are available in different stiffnesses and they also have laces and a power strap to further adjust stiffness. See www.zipfit.com

I actually bought a TD3 second board kit. I wanted a second board kit and a suspension kit anyway, so this was the perfect solution.

Soon to be heard in the lift line: "Dood, did you break the nose off your board?"

I, too, like a generally soft and flexy setup, so these SW bindings might work well for me. I have used Burton race plates since they first came out, and I still use them on my Prior 4WD. I like the flex, low profile, and light weight. In all these years I have never had them fail, but I'm not a big strong rider and I don't ride that many days a year. I also have a set of TD2 SI's. I use them with the TD3 e-rings to get a little more flex, but I still find them a little too stiff for my liking. I have gotten used to them and they work fine, but I do find that I tend to loosen my boots because the slop between my foot and boot gives me that extra flex that I like. However, that slop is obviously not as good as properly engineered flex. The only advantage for me over the race plates is the greater cant/lift adjustability. Lateral flex with no fore/aft flex does make a lot of sense, and the e-rings can still provide some dampening in the fore/aft direction as well. These SW bindings sound like they'd work great for me. The main disadvantages I see are the height and the weight. I prefer a low binding height, and I'd love to keep the weight as low as the race plates. Anyway, I do plan to buy as set of the SW's at some point, but they aren't in the budget right now.

I had one when I was small kid due to a bicycle wreck. I only remembered waking up in the hospital. I had one while snowboarding a year ago. I got knocked unconscious, I think it was just briefly. When I came to I temporarily lost some short-term memory. I knew where I was but couldn't remember where I was staying or where my wife was. I made my way down the hill to the lodge and took a break to make sure everything was okay. Most of my memory came back and I continued riding the rest of the day, but I still don't remember the first half of that run or the crash itself. The next morning I had a very bad headache and was throwing up so I went to the emergency room. A CT scan showed no severe swelling. Thankfully I was wearing a helmet or it probably would have been worse.

I got a TD3 step-in kit to use with my TD2 bindings to give some more of that flex. I'm thinking now that the Sidewinder with the lower TD2 e-rings might be a good combo for me. It would give me more lateral flex but not raise me higher up off the board.

A little wood glue will fix that right up like new.

Not in the lift line, but my 13 year old nephew said that I ride an "old man's board". I'm nearly 4 times his age, so maybe that's true. We old-timers can remember back when alpine was more popular, and we could find alpine equipment at our local ski shops. Now the local ski shops have no clue what an alpine board is.

I originally used the Burton cant/lift on the rear binding, then over the years went to just heel/toe lift. But then I got a wider board with more relaxed angles and found that my heelside turns were wavy. I tried the rear cant/lift and it made the heelside turns smooth again. So I apparently twist the board if I don't use some rear inward canting.

Nice woody! Classic and classy.

I wore a Briko for years that was very slim, but it didn't look as if it would offer much protection.