Willow 15

SG has finally got their new boards on the site. http://www.sgsnowboards.com/

Great thread and very interesting. I wonder what the average age of an alpine rider is compared to soft boot rider. With age comes wisdom. There will never be a begginer/learner hardboot package cause it will never sell even with the best marketing/olympic coverage/blah blah blah. Cheap gear is available out there, maybe not new but servicable and probably in most cases to good. How many people who have metal boards on this forum would have just as much fun on a glass board. In the last few months there has been loads of amazing boards in the classifieds, i.e. Madds. Once upon a time you would have to prise a board like this from its dead owners hands. On a completely different tack maybe we should make it more exclusive and bring back the asymetric so the big companies and shops will run away screaming.(Hi Jack) Even more fun in the lift line answering stupid questions, (why do you have a bit chopped off?)

Thats a great looking board, and I have a question which year and size pj 4.9,5,6 or 7. I knew asymetrics were coming back. First Virus are on the case and now the kids are. Joking aside, I bet you are going to rule on that masterpiece, and do you intend to bring the kids up as hardbooters? I am trying to do it the subtle way, my kids are 8 and 10 I started them skiing, now they are snowboarding in softs but are forever asking "when can we have boards like you", especially the eldest. It makes me laugh as all I can think is "mmmmm the force is strong in this one". Enjoy

Mine.:lol:

Hey Jack, I don't think they do myself but I thought it was worth a shot.

Do plastic mounaineering boots count, cause I was using a pair of Raichle mountaineering boots on a Elite 150 in 1984/5/. Then I had my first full season in Austria (86/87) riding fluro pink Koflach's, plates and a Crazy Banana Mad Max 170:1luvu:. What a season, that board was the best powder board, till I snapped it. After that I rode high backs and plates. These dates might be out by a year but I was definately racing on Safari's.

Anyone interested. I am and so should you. Lets face it if it was'nt for pgs and psl, brands like Kessler, Sg, etc would mabey not be here. A lot of people might say "I am just a free-carver" and that's cool but our top tech such as metal, riser plates, de cambered nose & tails come from the fis circuit. The best thing is, it takes no time at all for good product innovations to filter down to us. Innovations in motor sport take a long time to filter down to our normal drives. There is nothing better seeing new boards on this site with top tech from the usual suspects (Donek, Prior, Coiler and the Euro makers), I love it and wish I had the wallet and time to test them all. So the conclusion of this thread is I will be looking at the webcams from Landgraaf to see if I can see some action. If not I will be checking this site out http://www.fissnowboardworldcup.com/ and hopefully reading posts from philfell. I will also be wondering if anyone will resurect Northwave's .950 cause some of those boots on the world cup circuit must be very, very tired.

Just been having a surf around the web as I am getting itchy for snow and found this http://www.legna.co.jp/form/09_10Kessler.pdf I thought someone here might be interested. Also you over the ponder's are not the only ones http://www.thesun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/news/2667847/First-snow-of-the-season-lands-in-the-Cairngorms.html

If you fill your Sorel's with broken glass and acid. My Upz's gave me the most horredous shin bang and that was with a custom liner, I loved the performance but the pain was not worth it. It is a good idea to t-nut but I never did and had no problems riding with Catek os2. I hope yours fit like a glove and happy riding.:)

why not all the cool movie characters are on the losing side. But i am in the same boat my C60,s( 05;s with solid high back) are nearly dead, one of the high backs is snapped and bolted together with plastic and metal taking away the lightness of carbon. Is there any new products out there that compere to C60,s or Nidecker 900's. Yes I know Catek, but I drive a Passat not an Audi so I am wallet unfriendly.

I think you are doing yourself an injustice. I have just turned forty and my body is falling to bits, but found the full race very easy to ride. Its even sideslips turns like a beginner board when you want it to, probably cause of the de-cambered nose. The last time I rode it was in Flaine in April and I was a bit wary in the afternoon slush. I should not have been it cranked real hard without throwing me off. That's beside the point though you have still got a fantastic board which will turn heads. Mine does.

Hey groovastic, I was wondering why you did'nt get last years with the stubby nose. Your board is two years old! You could have got a 09/10 Prior for a €100 less. Don't get me wrong though I have last years SG full race pro and its the best board I have ridden.

I have just noticed this statement on the F2 site for their PGS board Were the receivers not called in last season. Now we know why, alpine boards will bankrupt your company. Damn you hard boot riders.

I noticed this board on the Prior site a couple of days ago and it looks great. Have a look at hardbooter.com to give you an idea about the boards heritage (I may be wrong). I have also noticed lots of 09/10 board manufacturer's sites now open. The new F2's looks interesting. they also have been playing with their camber , interesting. Hurry up Winter!

I love my SG 163 and would totally recommed to any one, even if you ain't racing. But if price is an issue I would go for Prior. €623 new or you could get a demo for €592. If you wanted to do a McDonald's, "go large" there's 183's for €530. I am also looking for a new board around the 180ish size, would love an Sg but can't justify the price when a demo Prior is nearly half the price. I am keeping a close eye on the new Donek's (looking super nice) but I really think the Schtubby is going to be my new baby. Trouble is, by the sounds of love:1luvu: for Coiler's on this site the waiting list is probably HUGE. Is that last statement correct Bruce?

This is looking good. One thing you have not mentioned Fin is product availability. To aquire a Vist plate is quite hard unless you know of Rabanser and where Hangl's are bought I have know idea. Also do you have any idea of cost yet. I think you are onto a winner and a big seller. Keep up the good work and reserve me one.

This is the last time boarding this season. I am missing snow already.

Just got back from France And I must say a big cheers to BlueB for the heads up on the Carvex. It was my third trip of the season and the first one without foot pain. My UPZ's are heading for the bin. I would thoroughly recomend finding a pair and adapting them for BTS, they work a treat. I did not have any problems with overhang using 53/46 degree angles on my SG 163 Full Pro(I think its about 20cm waist). I am a size 9 english 10 american but was able to use 265 mondo shell with Thermoflex. Now I want to try some Krypton pros. Check out my photo's of me loving carving in ski boots. http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/Willowfifteen/CarvingInFlaineApril2009#

Finally got my Dalbello's sorted, but have some quiries. The forward flex feels great but when pressured heelside the upper casing pivots on the top pin and levers away from the boot. At the same time the lower bracket levers back a little. I know they are not designed for Head's/Dalbellos but was wondering if this happens on Raichles. Or maybe I have made a mistake installing them. Has anyone pinned or t-nutted the bottom half of the upper casing to the boot? This question is primarily towards BlueB who has done this mod to Dalbello's but if anyone has any ideas please chip in.

Cheers BlueB:biggthump, one final question. What stance width are you using? Looking back I see you don't use cant but do use toe and heel lift. I am 5'10" and use 20" or 21" stance with Catek's and no cant or lift. I was thinking I might have to shorten my stance or start using lift/cant because of the lateral stiffness of ski boots. I know its going to be trial and error with allen keys before I finally get it dialed in, but was interested what stance you are using.

Hey BlueB, great heads up on the Dalbello's. Got a pair of CRX from fleabay, paid roughly $55:biggthump. I have put my thermo flex liners in and they feel great. I am just waiting for my BTS to arrive so the full mod can be done. My only concern is in your post you said you used the bigger pins from your Raichle's, do I need to source some bigger pins or will the Dalbello pins work?

Hey, BlueB can you fit bts tb dalbello crx? Cheers

I would love to but with the weight restrictions on flights and trying to carry skis, ski boots ,powder board, alpine board, hard boots, soft boots, plate and high back bindings and thats just my kit never mind my wife and kids gear it starts gettig very, very expensive. So I am looking for compromises that don't affect performance to much. Thanks for the info on the raichle's tufty, I think they will be to soft for me.

I am currently looking for a boot to board and ski in, cause my UPZ are torture. I have seen these http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RAICHLE-SNOWBLADE-%2F-SKIBOARD-BOOTS:-NEW:-MP-27.0-(UK-8)_W0QQitemZ320346500545QQcmdZViewItemQQimsxZ20090304?IMSfp=TL090304128001r23314 Does any one know much about them stiffness ect. and would it take bts. Or am i better off getting Dalbello's or Full Tilt.

Loving those pants:1luvu:, I still have my Fishpaw Schaffner jacket and a pair of moto x gloves.