pow4ever

light the beacon and Rohan shall answer Thank you for the condition report!!

Just a happy customer that want to give a shout out to the new owner of UPZ NA. Chris went above and beyond to help get my tiny oder filled while he's got million others things to worry about. Transaction is smooth; top notch communication and super fast shipping. We are lucky to have another alpine enthusiast to take over for Dan. We are in good hand. I send Dan an email around summer time looking for parts to convert my older UPZ to newer swing tongue and different stiffness to play around with. Chris took the time to understand what i want/need and offer advices and various options. I couldn't be happier with the whole deal. https://upzboots.com/ https://www.instagram.com/upzboots previous topic on UPZ:

First they put up park, then they put up race course. "you are rutting up the bunny hill/intermediate/good trails". If we move to the steep; we get taken out by straight-liner.... i might as well take on knitting if we heed to every complains.... i like to think we are being of reasoning, logic and civility. dork/jerry/gaper are just sound made by mouth - if i care about what people think i would be skiing lol. I would so do a sick method if i can do it but i can barely keep it together on the flat In a way i value my enjoyment above other (most ppl do this but i tend to have cognizant as not at the expense of other to certain degree); just wondering if there are logic/safety reason for not rutted it up (that i didn't think of)? FWIW At every SES i went to; the park were rutted out... monkey see monkey do re-iterate: i don't carve near take off/landing area (stay off features). carve way to the side/edge where it's just wasted corduroy all day. Park is mostly empty. After people say something - we left and didn't argue. We were cordial about it. if there are good carving else where; that's likely where i would be. choice of last resort. I don't get much days in so every time i am out; i like to try to carve/practice. seems this more controversial than i anticipated. so i am out.

Park had the best snow for carving on that particular day. Everywhere else is too soft; not soft enough to be a pow day. Think a day or 2 after dump. Additional data point: In a pow day - tons of ppl was in the park enjoying un-track snow. what's with the name calling?

off topic-ish: Altras/Xero shoes wearer here. my street shoes is 10.5 and i ride in 26.5 shell. it's pain in the butt and i don't carve nearly as well as the discomfort it cause me lol... for zero drop/wide sole/food bed - seems to get good review from TGR. might get some for my street shoes. anyone use them? https://yoursole.com/us/shop/mens?features=206

On some mountain - some of the best trail for carving (consistent pitch) have park/feature on it. Plus general public usually stay out of it so it last longer. over the year - i start to enjoyed "small" jump here and there. That feeling is exhilarating. Air transition over roller is just fun. So now i can see how park can be place of "worship" just like how we revered fresh corduroy. Few of us went to Snowmass. It was a soft day. Park have the best trail in term of carveibility - firm enough to hold an edge. so we enjoy carve it up/lapping it without much thought. In my mind: as long as we stay off the feature (trench in take off/landing area can be hazardous). Observed right of way; we should be ok and usually don't give it much thought. On one run: Before we start. Either it's a park crew or patron told us in a very nice way that we shouldn't be there. Park crew work hard to make it a world class. What is the social norm here?

i read it as John G is reference to the video you posted EC with Ben. slow carve/deep require everything to go right. wow; class of 2013 here.... Good memory

Nice! remind me of pig chute in turner. this one seems even steeper

agree with crackaddict. Looks great! Be more dynamic (more up/down - left/right) on the heel side. Bend the knee more. Compare to your toe side - much more fluid. Heel side seem static/rigid. As to the how; that's million dollar question. How to get more pressure on the edge? could be setup/technique or both. that's the fun part to figure out.

@Xargo thank you for additional detail info (especially the bit on buckle/pivot hiking mode)! I got a pair on sale based on your feedback. was really surprise at how well the backland work for me (in term of toe box width after just simple boot bag bake with zero heel lift). hoping the fit is similar in HAWX The pin on Hawx is much easier to drive out than the Backland to install DGSS. Duck stance in hardboot is definitely interesting. Look like it's working awesome for you. i am mixing boots with great result this season. whatever work

too many boots and not enough feet/foot

ha... not my circus. i don't run FB/IG CDN link was ephemeral to DL the video for offline viewing. more preferment solution: https://i.imgur.com/N12vahM.mp4

nice! i was wondering what happen to Darlington/Alex Stern. Ayn Rand - i wasn't looking forward to read these 2 but i am pleasantly surprise. Fountainhead Atlas Shrugged perhaps In my more mature age - i am ready for the ideas being explore. I LOLed: https://xkcd.com/1277/

another one specifically for ski boot - double strap - one for inner liner and one for shell https://patriotfootbeds.com/products/trustraps-2-0

for me; being dynamic is one key element. always squat down just seems physically tiring to me. bend only when i need to; only because it's part of the bio-mechanical steps from point 1 to point 10. knee bending is just happen to be point 6. bending knee isn't the goal - body position being at the right place and the right time is. more video: UPZ - but in moonspeak....

lol... likely it's my incoherent thoughts/source problem; not on the receiver end. more than happy to share what little i know an/or attempt to clarify.

FWIW - my preference is circular. When i first started: I don't like stiff binding because It amplify mistake/input; any unintended input result in instability and negative feed back loop (akin to speed wobble). As i progress: "softer" binding F2/SW become more preferred - the extra "delay" or filtering out noise is great. As i progress more: preferred stiffer binding. We ride "hard boot" for a reason. We want that instant feed back. regress - i now like softer binding. ice/hard pack condition - i like stiffer binding currently - binding doesn't seems to make much difference. SG performance binder seems to be the best of both world for me. when it's soft/snow - get on the F2 when it's NE hard pack - get the TD3 STD out. (more edge pressure)

Do you find that in general? or any other specific condition? ex on plate? or race board? or softboot? on steep? Finding the "reference" point on when to start shifting is still elusive. i can do it but not able to articulate/explain it. (no clear single signal but multiple subtle input tell me it's time)

Glad to hear it! time heal all thing. We need you on that wall!!

i am still amazed at the generosity of the forum members. Good on you!

thank you philw! No experience with phantom here but FWIW I like stiffer spring on the front boot and softer on the back.

thank you Corey! on item 2 - agree with this 100%. i start to notice that progression to initiated the turn from feet instead the cuff/shin because my tolerance for pain have decreased as i get older lol... Starting last season - i start to unbuckle the top boot cuff because the pain is just unbearable. At first it feel like i have no control but i end up having that eureka moment. Dr. Beckman been telling me/us that decade ago but i hear but not listen. AKA i wasn't ready. This is in the context of embrace "AND" (optimization exercise). I want to pressure the board with my feet AND shin and everything else i can muster to increase edge pressure when it's necessary (ice/steep). with both 951 boots; that lateral stiffness is epitome of transferring motion into edge pressure but i am only as strong as the weakest link - me back knee is unable to keep up so i been experimenting with different boots on the front/back. This got me into the rabbit hole of boot cuff alignment; which might take some pressure/stress away from knee? (bad habit formed when we trying to avoid pain).

Lots of info on internet: https://skiracing.com/your-straightforward-guide-to-boot-cuff-alignment/ and various YT videos. Every year/season - my back foot shin took a beating. wonder if boot cuff adjustment will help. And the back boot liner have a mind of it's own. i wonder if boot cuff alignment will help. This seems the final step in "dial it in". in my mind: For skier - the default setup should work with most people. Since skier facing forward. We do have our hip parallel to the board (carving) but sometime we are "sideway people". Do we optimized for when we are square or sideway or somewhere in between? time to experiment but want to solicit some feedback. Any good instruction for MS951/UPZ?

Roberto is awesome/great to deal with. Very nicely machined hardware and work well. Form and function. Make my BTS and stock system seems outdate/obsolete. He shipped it on Monday(Italy) and I received it on Tuesday (NY/US) this is with snow storm. I have use DGSS on Atomic Backland. once on UPZ (boot swap) and just installed a setup on my old UPZ. I like Range of motion in the back foot and the different spring can help you dial it in. spring rate: light green, medium blue, red hard, yellow extra hard some other reviews/info: I don't see a thread in the accessory review so why not consolidate one.

on F2 - FWIW S/M/L - base plate are the same size/length Blue is medium tnut location is between small/large Red is currently setup as small but can be convert to large by moving the tnut