Kent

I've yet to see a flat "used" alpine board........

Hey, hey.....welcome back Kevin. I'm hoping your email is "on" under your profile so I can drop you a line...... I kinda steered clear of this thread as it's been well hashed over the years. Kevin and I had contact via email a few years ago when I was going to front the bill for a mag and needed his expertise/insight. I could dance around all day about the issue....but the key message above is that is MUST be a grassroots campaign and most likely start out "tabloid" style in order for it to work and be cost justified. I still have all the email from folks would wanted to contribute and I appreciate the response. No "one" person can make it work, it must be a collective/dynamic means of communication w/o the egos. Unfortunately, that is rare...... I think only the 80s mentality surfers/skateboarders had that kind of unselffish vision, Kent Have any Grosh's laying around?

Nope, you don't want those either (too much flex to engage)....... For Step-Ins, stick with either FAST or Intec systems. Both will require a new heel on your boot.

Yes. But, they are awful bindings unless you're under 75 lbs

Burton to Re-Enter Alpine Market by Press Release 04/01/2004 Burlington, VT - Two years after removing alpine-related products from from their catalog, Jake Burton announced today a renewed committment to the segment of the sport which helped foster his company's growth. This decision was made after preliminary earning reports have been released on the 2003-2004 winter season which shows a steady decline in Burton's market share. "It's time we focused on our roots and committment to all forms of snowboard expression", stated Burton. Burton plans to unviel its new alpine product line at the 2005 FIS Snowboard World Championships in Whistler, BC. The company will also immediately update its website and print catalog for the 2004-2005 season. Analyst are skeptical about Burton's move in the rather unknown, but loyal, alpine snowboard market. Less than 2% of snowboard related product sales are alpine related. "Build it and they will come", claimed Burton in a recent test ride on prototype equipment. In addition to Burton's core product line, they will be offering custom shop boards where riders can chose the flex, materials, sizes and shapes of their board. This specialized product will come with an upcharge and Burton expects to cash in on the profits. Burton will also offer a stiffer plate binding and an updated boot line. Consumers can learn more about Burton by calling Burton Rider Service: (800) 881-3138 or visiting www.burton.com. Burton Snowboards, the world's first snowboard factory, is a pure snowboard company solely dedicated to creating and perfecting a full-range of the best snowboarding equipment on the planet. Led by founder and owner Jake Burton, widely considered the pioneer of snowboarding, Burton's passion is snowboarding - evident by their overriding mission to open snowboarding at every mountain resort. Why aren't you riding? Celebrating 25 years in 2002, Burton has fueled the growth of snowboarding worldwide through continuous work with, and support of, their Global Team riders and development of successful programs such as Learn-To-Ride (LTR), The Chill Foundation, and the US Open Snowboarding Championships. Don't make excuses. Headquartered in Burlington, Vermont with international offices in Innsbruck, Austria and Tokyo, Japan, Burton, the industry leader, is the brand of choice for millions around the world. There is snow somewhere.

I was just feeding the bears...... ;)

The whole gas issue has me laughing... People get really pissed about paying a little extra for gas but then: Are happy to pay the $20 valet Drive 85 mph Celebrate new taxation and the officials that promote them Don't change their oil Don't check their PSI Back pro stadium proposals with public funds Rarely walk or ride their bike to the store Support subsidized transportation, but don't use it I think we live is a society where people really just want to bitch and moan than do something about it. Everybody has critism, no one has a plan (that doesn't involve spending money). Sure, sure.....we can live without gas after we spend $75 trillion dollars to convert people live's over to fuel cell! Just let me keep some money to buy another snowboard next year.......

Always happy to provide a little humor to a situation..... Yep, original work was regarding an old cow email I rec'd. I hate to get politically complicated...because the differences b/w philosophies can be easily explained through metaphors.

Easy enough.... Kinda figured if people are voting on race boards...we should probably see if anybody actually races! K

Two snowboards DEMOCRAT You have two snowboards. Your neighbor has none. You feel guilty for being successful. You vote people into office who put a tax on your snowboards, forcing you to sell one to raise money to pay the tax. The people you voted for then take the tax money, buy a snowboard and give it to your neighbor. You feel righteous. Barbara Streisand sings for you. REPUBLICAN You have two snowboards. Your neighbor has none. So? SOCIALIST You have two snowboards. The government takes one and gives it to your neighbor. You form a cooperative to tell him how to maintain his snowboard. COMMUNIST You have two snowboards. The government seizes both and provides you with materials to make one. You wait in line for hours to get it. It is expensive and can’t hold an edge. CAPITALISM, AMERICAN STYLE You have two snowboards. You sell one, buy Sean’s company and build as many Doneks as you want. DEMOCRACY, AMERICAN STYLE You have two snowboards. The government taxes you to the point you have to sell both to support a man in a foreign country who has only one snowboard, which was a gift from your government. FRENCH CORPORATION You have two snowboards. You go on strike because you want three snowboards. You go to lunch. Life is good. ITALIAN CORPORATION You have two snowboards but you don't know where they are. While ambling around, you see a beautiful woman. You break for lunch. Life is good. RUSSIAN CORPORATION You have two snowboards. You have some vodka. You count them and learn you have five snowboards. You have some more vodka. You count them again and learn you have 42 snowboards. The Mafia shows up and takes over however many snowboards you really have. TALIBAN CORPORATION You have all the snowboards in Afghanistan, which are two. You can’t ride them because you don’t have any bindings. You break them while using them as diving boards and claim a US bomb blew them up. FLORIDA CORPORATION You have a Prior snowboard and a Donek snowboard. Everyone votes for the best one. Some of the people who like the Prior best, mistakenly vote for the Donek. Some people vote for both. Some people vote for neither. Some people can't figure out how to vote at all. Finally, a bunch of guys from out-of-state tell you which is the best. NEW YORK CORPORATION You have fifteen million snowboards. You have to choose which one will be your main ride, so you pick up some fat snowboard from Arkansas.

It seems rather ironic that Kerry can't chose b/w snowboarding and skiing.......

Hey hey....a Euro acknowledging a US Skier! This is a great day....... ;) I'm not one to put too much hope on new product propaganda....but it's certainly no small undertaking to design/re-design a boot. The capital cost of molds alone is simply crazy.... Although this sounds like a material change. As for the UPS RSV (if that is what we're talking about): It could use a plastics change along with a beefier spring system and NO (I repeat NO) cant (Lateral Flex) adjuster. Darn thing always comes loose..... K p.s. Opps....one other suggestion. Redesign the rear heel block like all other SB boots. The "bottom" fits like any other sb boot(Intec/FAST heel), but the top portion (for rat trap bail bindings) is rather screwy depending on the brand of binding.

Fellas, felllas....I gotta hit the bull**** buzzer here. You simply can not generalize by saying "hardboots" and "ski boots". I'll stand by my link above that there are "usually" advantages, but certainly not the end-all. There have been plenty of "snowboard" boots that have sucked over the years...... A good fitting (albiet usually modified) ski boot will perform just as well, if not better, than a pair of snowboard boots. It depends on your application and proximity to a good fitter with an imagination. A 12 pack of beer usually helps as well. That said, the most popular ski boot for snowboarding was Raichle's Flexon series. (comp was the fav) This boots is still being used by several fellas on the WC...and I believe AP is still using his. I have 5-6 pair sitting in the closet. It was wildly popular because of it's "open throat" construction. Moderate fore/aft mobility and loads of lateral stability. Most guys would rout out the cant mec for a little flex. So...some might be saying. "Well Fuzzy used Tecnicas" Yep...he sure did. They happend to have the a similiar "open throat" design as the Flexon....and he, as well, routed out the cuff. So, before we go generalizing about boots, let's make sure we understand the difference in shell constructions.... The newer "carve" series boots would make excellence choice for ski boots. But, I'd still lean towards a pair of Fin's AFseries (whatever they are called now). How's that for hypocricy? Did I spell that right? k

My standard line is "depends on your application" I guess my best example is to grab the kid's PSII, throw in a road race or rally game and then see how each car (or truck) reacts to different shock/tire settings on different courses...."on" and "offroad". Same holds true in snowboarding.....sometimes you need rigidity, sometime you need flexibility. K

FWIW - Be careful about your language. A 12ish meter or 167ish board isn't really considered a "GS" board. Perhaps tossing in your weight range could yield a few possibilities....

Not sure if Troy went again......but if he did, I can guess the result. K

Take advantage of your proximity to Prior...... www.priorsnowboards.com

The Phiokka are most simliar to the Emery Course (Rossi). (Note the angle adjustment and lack of "disc"....which was why Burton are so flexy....which leads to bail breakage....and why those alum Burton disc are worth their weight in gold) They are certainly more flexible than Cateks and Bombers....but beefier than a SnowPro or any Burton. I suppse you can try to argue any benefits to flexy or beefy bindings.....but it looks like the Phiokka's are the most popular binding right now at both the NA FIS races and WC events and people are scrambling to get them. Jeff Greenwood is the NA....or at least he was last year. At Fin's defense.....Bombers are certainly more popular on the race hill than 3-4 years ago. K

LOL....thanks for the link Phil. The Virus Deathlock is the same as the Phiokka...... OEM work.

Unfortunatley, there is no "norm" or "best" for bindings in the race world. Depends upon your style and conditions...... As pointed out, some guys use very rigid equipment, others do not. Although, there appears to be more guys using Bombers/Cateks than before....as a total percetage. Bombers Burtons Catek SnowPro Emery Virus Phioka F2 Just to name a few......

No...don't use Loctite. Wrap with plumber's (Teflon) tape........ maybe 99cents at your local hardward store. k

Hard to critique when I don't know what you're goals are or how you would like to ride......it's all about application tossed in with a bit of fun. But, I did get a very big kick out of your one-piece pix. Very funny. An fomer rider of mine wore one at the X-Games this year... Perhaps they are coming back! K

It's nothing really to do with aggression or ability....but the Burners are more prone to breakage. Personally, I've never broke any of my split tails (rode for Sims for 2 years), but broke the 162s like little pixy sticks. Juding from the pix above, those bindings are quite far backwards. Sims messed up the binding pattern and it was VERY common for guys to add another set of inserts. In general, you mount the bindings as is the rear edge ends about 2/3s down the split....give you a bit of a tail. Then again, whatever works, keep doing it.

Q - I currently only have a freeride set-up A - No problem...as long as both feet are on the same board. Q - NO experience in racing A - Gotta start somewhere! Q - I have yet to acquire a helmet A - No problem, we have plenty. If you're lucky, you can borrow my Hansonstyle helmet! Q - Donek Incline (I just ordered it) A - I guess you'll be waiting awhile! Q - I do plan on coming to Afton to watch, and to ride on Saturday. A - Make sure you say Hi. I'm setting the course and most us "older" guys are pretty friendly. Q - Have you raced? A - Trent's a veteran! Q - What type of equip are the average racers using? A - "Average" is about 14 years old and using softies...... Q - Can a person learn to race in the race, or do I need to find a way to get some trial runs outside of race time? A - Whichever. The best is usually meeting with my team during the week or one of the TBD Buck Hill races. Details soon. But, if the $$ doesn't bother you, then racing your 1st in USASA is fine, I'll direct ya down the right way. In a nutshell, go to Buck Hill on a weekend morning and meet up with "the gang"....... Welcome! kent www.thegteam.net

I wouldn't expect anything else from them.....including good boards and pure modesty.