pow4ever

DC also make Burton step-on compatible boots https://www.dcshoes.com/men%27s-control-step-on-boa%c2%ae-snowboard-boots-194466024608.html#cgid=snow_men-shop&start=3&hitcount=15 K2 have a new clicker system: but all these require vendor locked in boots. you might be able to use the "step in" boots in regular softboot binding but not guarantee.

substitute swim for drinking....

just pointing out that interesting piece of info

if choice is between to cry/laugh. i tend to laugh on the absurdity of it all. water-diamond paradox is an interesting concept ref: i am sure there are more nuanced explanation out there https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2018/07/25/632473671/the-diamond-water-paradox

remind me of the joke: Pay once and cry once. (/r/buyitforlife) Feet/fit are so personal; it's a thin line between love/hate, heaven/hell. I like the stock Track700 (heat moldable) liners; Dalbello gold wrap liner is even better. some love the stock UPZ liners; most hate it. Had the track700 stretch/punch out (toe box) without issue. With our boots; most boot fitter don't have much experience with the plastic so some might be more conservative.

i am not religious but started the exploration on that "glimpse of the perfection". I think it's one of the reason why so many of us are attracted/addicted to the "perfect carve". That momentarily/ephemeral glimpse of the divine/Nirvana/carve. Alas it doesn't last but that's the meaning of it all; it's not suppose to last. On Spirituality - i read the Bible from cover to cover <-- this is like 10+ books lol... CS Lewis: mere christianity Luke Burgis - Wanting: The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life Susan Cain - Bitter Sweet thinking of picking up reading the Koran; but Arabic is a tall hurdle. Will have to settle for translated. Eckhart Tolle - The Power of Now Michael A. Singer - The Untethered Soul Geeky read: Tony Fadell: Build: An Unorthodox Guide to Making Things Worth Making not much summer fun read so far: i think i will focus on the fun read for the rest of this summer. Andy Weir - Hail Mary. Love it.

with 951 we can only use standard binding for now. by going from step-in to standard binding. You will gain some "play/flex". More play/flex(more travel) mean a more damping ride but at expense of responsiveness. Suspension is mostly personal preference. That delay effect could be a good thing(filter out unwanted input from driver) or it could be a bad thing. F1 racing suspension is stiff compare to baja 500. each is tune for different application. seems many people took the same journey: Deluxe -> UPZ -> MS951 many are happy with UPZ. if you are getting heel lift with Track700; UPZ is a great option. Plus step in is an option and it's easy to offload if you don't like them. This way we change less things and can focus more on technique. speaking for myself: It's mimetic desired (theory by René Girard) that we think the next piece of equipment(monkey see monkey do) we procure will be the things we need to get us to the next level. That didn't happen for me. I almost rage quit last season after dropping way too much money on boots/liner/boards and not getting the result i wanted. I had to reset expectations and start working on the fundamental to get me back on track. That's when the changing in equipment/dial-in setup start making sense. I developed some funky-ness in my heel side(transition from toe to heel). there is some delay/hesitation. I was blaming Contra shape. track show it very clearly heel to toe - clean pencil line toe to heel - it fan out/squirrelly; once board is back on edge it's fine. went from F2 back to TD3 STD; track700 to ms951 and bunch of technique refinement. Now it feel like carving again. i am sure next season is going to be sh!tshow all over but at least it got me stick with alpine for a bit longer. still dream about the last few run on the lift just admiring my own track. Nice/tight turns. Point being - it's not just ms951 (the lateral stiff is what i need in this context). i was able to make those turn before (but i couldn't tell how i was doing it). overtime/this time: i feel i can articulate it better. One need to developed that sense of "good" vs "no so good" feel first before start tweaking the setup. i am far from dial-in but i have some reference point/mental model that i can go back to. TLDR: I would work on the technique first before change boots. exception is that If you are getting heel lift in 700; try UPZ first. What a mind job for me is that bad technique can also cause heel lift.... When i was ridding well: boots usually fit perfect. when i wasn't riding well; there are hotspot/heel lift all sort of fitting problem. apology for thoughts diarrhea in advance.

thank you for the intel on Bigsnow! I will wait for groupon or my ski club to put a trip together It doesn't look American Dream mall is doing well financially. Hope the indoor ski area continue to flourish.

with in the ms951 line: it's the same shape/boot just different plastic stiffness. One can modify the flex some what with tongue, bladder, springs. 100 - softest 120 - medium (i have this one) 130 - stiff i would guess the 100 would be a good place to start. I know the track700 flex well and MS951(!20) is stiffer laterally than the Deeluxe. My track700 never stiff to me since new and now it's getting long in the tooth; it feel down right squishy.

awesome! any insights/thought/review you like to share? when is the best time/day to go? less crowd, good grooming lol. listen to me this choosy beggar here lol More importantly - on expectation setting How is the riding? is it actually conducive to practice/drill/dial in setup? or it's more of a novelty? Thank you in advance!

i am sure someone out there have bolt a snowboard on top of an electric skateboard. Need some sort of cushion/riser in between to prevent wheel bite. Maybe a fun weekend project.

same here; I ride with tons of forward lean; heel lift on the rear (t700) for a long long time. draw back - shin bang city. It take me a long time to buckle the rear boot so it's just right but after 2,3 runs the tongue moved and it's back to square one (plus i need to have the top buckles real tight). Too many variable == same input; different result. Bad for progress. At the end of this season; i backed off the forward lean and just let the laterally stiffness of 951 do all the work and able to achieve similar/better result. Now i can ride with the top buckle fairly loose(supportive but not cutting off circulation). IOW instead drive using shin; now i drive more from the feet (lower) and it's much more consistent for me. YMMV.

Cool; I never thought about it that way. There are a couple more people chimed in expressing similar conclusion but you are the first one. When I do it; usually it's sh@t hit/about to hit the fan. Wonder if i can lean into it and use it as crotch/drill of sort to help with my riding. Thank you for sharing all these videos!

exactly. tie to topic of harmonic motion - quirk/wasted movement is a good way to put it. Music/art/style beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. "Classic music" - Tchaikovsky - 1812 Overture is pretty bad ass because it involved Cannons. That's pretty damn rocking roll. i love the contradiction/dichotomy of "Effortless aggression". that extra movement disturb the flow. Just like when we look at our track - do we preferred clean or jerky line? As long as you are having fun/great time that's more important but for myself. i like to dissect it like joke/frog. must be German in me. I do notice: those who ride more compress tend to have cleaner hand motion. Those who ride more up-right have more chance of "waving to the crowd". Which make sense; longer travel meant more things can go wrong during transition. hey you "Relax harder"!!

LNI i echo @TVR's sentiment. These are worth it* *If you are strong/bigger rider and like laterally stiffness. Good thing there are different flex version now. My point is if i can make it work for my weird/busted feet. You should be able to make it work. Budget extra $$ for liner, boot fitter. Try the stock liner/fit and go from there. Don't be like me try to save money and hopping that the boot will break my foot in.

@MountainSlope Thank you. That's what i am starting with(center mark). From talking to people and this thread (see below): there might be further optimization/biased can be done (likely more personal preferences).

For me: it was not comfortable out of the box. However the plastic is great to work with (grind very well). Lots of hot spots but i got weird feet (same for all the hardboot model i try). wide front foot, narrow heel and big calf, Morton's toe(shape of the foot that is characterized by the second toe of the foot being the longest) length/volume wise i am good but width is way too narrow. After extensive boot fitting + custom insole + aftermarket liner: i think i am now at the starting point of what most people start with. not quite slipper but no more tear. ref: Morton's foot affects approximately 22% of the population. This is in contrast to 69% of the population with Egyptian foot, which is characterized by the big toe being the longest.

Peace and love y'all. not everything is an attack interesting... I took it differently. Don't think anyone deny those are awesome rider/great video. Intent isn't to critique/poke hole (as beauty is in the eye of the beholder). I myself rodeo hand and trying to figure out what i am doing wrong. Education/discussion purpose. in my naive way of thinking It had something to do body positioning/timing. ie: my body is in the wrong place or there is something un-expected had occurred (snow condition). on easy/mellow trail with good condition; no rodeo hand. under more challenging condition; my hands seems to have mind of it's own (it's getting better). it's a signal; i am just trying to better understand what it's telling me. or maybe that's just normal for aggressive riding.

awesome! to put it less eloquently: thank you Sunsurfer for the video! it should also be in the hardboot video watch list.

Spring 2020: Contra BX: Contra FR: Contra SB vs. SB2: Contra AC vs SB2: https://imgur.com/a/E4ST69g

just when i thought i kick the addiction; this thread pull me back in maybe there is something to it: we are all from that Primordial goo. it's comforting floating in the ocean; feel that primal rhythm. like running, walking, rocking to sleep. running is active mediation and carving is like chaos mediation for me. in addition to that "Simple harmonic motion". carving to me is finding order/control in other wise variable/entropic environment. getting goose bump just thinking about it. yep; same here i can ride the same trail over and over and my ski friends don't get it at all. making tighter turn each turn is great drill and watching from the lift picking apart the track - crap; i mess up here. oh damn that's nice one there. it's going to be a long summer...

YT recommended; must be good. For I welcome our robot overlord. Nice aggressive/air edge transition

How does everyone center/dial in these boots on the binding? the center mark on the boot isn't true center. If we center by the middle of the foot in the boot; it's often too much forward. So far i ride by the boot center mark as a starting point. it seems ok. How does one dial it in? thoughts/logic? I am not a smart man so detail picture is greatly appreciated trying to figure it out from the video/frame grab

This is great! Love the sharing of "carving journal" as we toward the end of the season. I am stealing them all. there are gold in them hills since my back knee don't work too well lately (insert waaahmbulance/broken record). I can't bent my back knee down as fast/smooth as i would like and that really mess my edge transition. Ir dawn on me If i can't bent down but i sure can lift my knee up. the subtle mechanic difference seems to accomplished the desired outcome. Focus more on transition; planned it out. Easier say than done for me. as so many things need to be done correctly. but i tend to idle and let the mind wonder when i am in the comfort embrace of carve bosom. instead i should focus more on getting ready for the next turn. Having a mental check list where is my head, hand/shoulder/cg, knee, feet. build those muscle memory and adjust the tempo/timing more dynamically. few random thoughts as the more advance rider have burden of knowledge. As i journey through regression i might be able to relate better. square the hip, don't counter rotate, "push/pull", pinch the side, "feed paper underneath the door", be dynamic, up/down, always in motion, rotate more/angulate more they all sounds good on paper when you already experience them; but without those concept/body mechanic clicking already those analogies are difficult to mimic in real condition (especially when the tree/lift tower coming toward you real quick). MCC "beginner" clinic - great concept but if a rider is only comfortable ridding on Butter Milk West. Tuner don't have much beginner trails. Nothing wrong with Milder runs - Buttermilk West/Broadwalk of the Loaf. Those are some of my favorite trail. I love mellow cruiser. For the super stars it's not an issue. I had a hard time showing up with new board/boots/binding/busted knee and not much riding time under my belt... talk about hubris.... would I do it again; heck yea but IMHO if you do take the plunge. Be prepare to get challenge. Which is part of the fun. Lastly: Don't be afraid to fall. There is some aggressive element to carving. Our body will do amazing thing to avoid pain. in avoiding pain sometime we pick up bad habit sometime revelation/clarity came through. We need to take that leap of faith/pain in order to get to that effortless stage.