SunSurfer

One current listing on e-Bay http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=td3&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=p2045573.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.Xtd3+bindings.TRS0&_nkw=td3+bindings&_sacat=0 Asking US$390 on eBay for used. Bomber will sell you the same new for US$389. Go figure why they're not offered here!

Same technology, just a little later to the party for KS?

And if you're a body dragging, extreme carving, kind of guy......

This video "Lessons in alpine snowboard carving" from Snowytom has over 380,000 views.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8WCcie09Q0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCE8hH5j5Ws Made with this kind of request in mind.

For the historians here, given the comments about the Hot team in this thread. Hammer Snowboards have an online archive of Hot snowboards going back to pre 1994. http://www.hammersnowboards.com/Archives/site2006_2007/products/hotsnowboards/hot_archives.php

UPM pattern: http://bomberonline.3dcartstores.com/assets/images/PDFs/UPMPatternDrawingv1.jpg DIY plate hole pattern to match Boiler Plate http://bomberonline.3dcartstores.com/assets/images/pdfs/BP%20Mount%20Pattern%20v1.pdf

Can you touch your toes? I have really tight hamstrings and find getting into my rear bail binding when I'm already clipped into the front really stresses my lower back. More than anything else that's why I ride Intec heel bindings. I ride 65F & 60 degrees R mostly and those angles may contribute to the issue, it may be less of an issue with the angles you plan for your Tanker. I interchange regularly between TD3 and F2 step ins. The one difference I note is that there can be worm screw creep on the toe bail position on the F2s so the binding can loosen over the course of the day, whereas the TD3s are rock solid.

Yesterday at Turoa. "Can you ride it backwards?" Me: "Well, yes..... you can, but why would you drive a Ferrari backwards round a racetrack!" My last day of the season here, eight days in total given work commitments. Lots & lots of "What is that....?" for boards, plates, boots, and hand helmets, and after the explanation lots of "That is so cool." A few people confessing to having ridden carving boards back in the day pointed towards the Bomber website. And my second to last run of the year, lady in her thirties smiling after I carve down the approach to the Giant chair "That looks like fun!"

Nevin and his coach give some slalom racing tips in this video sponsored by Gillette. I was intrigued looking at his Deeluxe boot setup. He has a second bolt with a nylex nut that appears to probably lock shell and cuff together on each side of both boots. He has a modified BTS on the rear, with a solid pre-load cylinder creating substantial initial forward flex, and a fairly tightly wound down BTS red spring limiting forward flex. He appears to run a locked (no BTS), relatively upright position on his front boot. The boot mods are even more clearly seen in this video, as are the substantial heel lift angles both he and Vic Wild were using at Sochi in PGS.

Some people actually drill a matching hole on the inside of the heel, and run the cable up the inseam of the leg. I do it this way because the conventional way, with the cable on the outside, causes me heel pain and blisters. Takes a little getting used to, but for me the comfort factor far outweighs the slightly awkward cable pull.

Will be based in Ohakune from Thursday 20th Aug to Sat 29th Aug, riding whichever side of Ruapehu looks best in the prevailing weather. Lookin' good for coverage at this point with over 150cm base both sides.

And yesterday, Ryan & I sat down and had a beer together in Wellington, a pair of Deeluxe Suzukas changed hands, and we discovered we have more in common than just snowboards. :)

I'm aware of pre-jumping in downhill and I respectfully beg to differ. A pre-jump tries to avoid the lift in the lip and is achieved by raising the CoG, whereas a scrub seems to me to be a deliberate downweighting of the CoG while also avoiding the lift in the lip by throwing the rider/vehicle off the surface by a sideways rotation. The scrub, if performed well, should result in the rider being back on the surface with even less air time than a pre-jump. It would be very tricky to perfect & perform on skis, but if able to be done could make for a definite time gain. Or maybe more likely than downhill skiing, boardercross/skicross racing. Innovation often transfers from one area to another. Just depends on whether someone has the vision to see the potential.

So how long till a skier manages the same CG down weighting in downhill?

Hi Ryan, I may be able to help. I have mondo 29 feet, and have a near new pair of Deeluxe Suzukas and an older pair of Raichle 323s that are just sitting in the cupboard that have been picked up as part of other TradeMe buys of gear. I'm in Wellington. Email me at ajmck7enzie7nz@gm7ail.c7om Remove the 7s

Central Otago fields all doing well so far with frequent snow dumps. Mt Hutt is open. North Island fields have started their season but only beginner slopes running with man made snow. I won't be hitting Ruapehu's slopes till late August so still plenty of time for me.

Central Otago fields (Cardrona in particular) are doing fine with frequent South/south westerly weather patterns bringing in cold moist air to fall as snow. Same weather patterns aren't reaching Mt. Ruapehu with any consistency, so while those fields opened 27th June, only their beginner slopes are running currently with man made snow top ups.

TV3 & Stuff website reported 3 skiers and a hardbooter, Andy Herron from Ruapehu (right), rode the first chair when Mount Hutt opened this morning. Coronet and Cardrona also had their opening days. All fields had high winds, Cardrona opening for a short time before closing just before lunch. http://www.3news.co.nz/nznews/mt-hutt-and-coronet-peak-open-2015061308#axzz3cvPWrnVI He's clearly a good keen man, not having had the pleasure of riding with him. Here is what appears to be him on the first chair at Hutt in 2014.

Found this piece on the BBC website about Brian bartlett and the BTK knee. http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20150609-the-man-who-built-himself-an-extreme-knee I found it inspiring, & fascinating in the way engineering is used to try to better replicate the functions of a human knee. The Alpine Injured List thread has reports of joint replacement and still riding. Well it looks like you could be an above knee amputee and still ski, board, mountainbike,.......! The peice references an original article from Mosaic Science http://mosaicscience.com/story/extreme-prosthetic-knee Two other prosthetics mentioned in the piece for action sports - XT9 made by K12 Prosthetics, and the Moto Knee made by Biodapt http://www.fabtechsystems.com/Bartlett-Tendon-Universal-Knee-Product-Detail.html http://xt-9.com/xt9.html http://www.biodaptinc.com/

The strong El Nino pattern that has developed is forecast to bring more frequent southwesterly winds laden with moist air in off the Great Southern Ocean, which should result in better snowfall. Historically, our glacier scientists note the gradual decline in glacier snowmass over the last 100 years, but report that generally snowmass increases in years where the winter has an El Nino pattern. Mt Hutt and Cardrona (below, 9th June) due to open this weekend with reasonable cover for this time of year.

http://forums.bomberonline.com/index.php?/topic/41235-ses-2015/?p=420111 John Gibson, "Johnasmo", describes what he currently uses. Mind you, in my experience of trying to make even halfway decent snowboarding videos, the crucial quality for great video is to be able to ride as well as John can!

Sochi Men's & Women's Parallel Slalom YouTube #Sochi365 - 25 videos so far Hopefully the GS events will come in time!

Turn the question round. What's the root cause of beautiful snowboarding? or skiing? or any physical activity done with style, grace and ease? For me, it was the beauty of an alpine rider's style at Mt Hutt (NZ) many years ago that turned me onto the path to alpine snowboarding. Prior to that, I skiied. I wanted to get down the mountain, on pretty much any slope, go fast, and master the mountain. Since then, the goal is different, an aesthetic I keep working towards. I stepped away from the mainstream, and took a different path, and I expect to be following this path for as long as I ride. I'm making slow progress towards my goal. I'm part of a winter sports club here in New Zealand. It has a large communal accommodation building in Ohakune, at the base of Mt Ruapehu. All the members are keen on being on the snow, on skis or boards. Yet none of them have the same goal in their riding. They want to be in the mountains, they want to ride with their friends and share the experience, the kids want to play in the terrain park, some want to go ski-touring and skin up to the crater lake and cruise down to the Whakapapa side. Parents want to teach their kids and see the joy and sense of achievement that comes from beginning to master these physical skills. Some want to ride fast and feel the thrill of being on the edge of control and the frisson of risk, some seek untracked snow at and beyond the limits of the field. And these are all completely valid reasons and goals for going skiing and boarding. If your skill level allows you to do what you want to do on the mountain, what is the motivation to change, to extend the skillset, to do the analysis and practice necessary? Naah, I'd much rather shred with my mates! So I sit in the chairlift and watch the riders going past below and beside me. And every so often I see someone ride past in a way that is clearly beautiful riding, more likely a skier than a boarder here, because good carving of either sort are very rare indeed in New Zealand. I generally ride by myself because I'm constantly seeking the slopes and space to practice. Now, in each run, the journey has become the goal, not the liftline. I want to hear the sound of my edge cutting snow, to feel the pull in my gut in the depth of the turn, the rhythm of the dance from edge to edge, to feel like my board and I have become one as I dive into turn after turn after turn...... I aspire to beauty in my own riding, and I enjoy beautiful riding by anyone. Because I look for beauty, I judge some people to ride less than beautifully. That's aesthetics for you.

Following up a comment I heard somewhere about this years difficult snow season in the USA being due to higher temperatures than usual in the Northern Pacific I found this site. http://ourocean.jpl.nasa.gov/SST/index.jsp?year=2015&month=04&day=17# It maps satellite data for sea surface temperatures worldwide, with maps available going back to early 2012 (though the scale might lead you to believe earlier). Comparing the Northern Pacific temps for January for 2012 to 2015 shows very clearly just how much warmer the ocean has become over that period. It's a comfort to me, here in the South Pacific and contemplating our coming ski/board season, that water temperatures around New Zealand seem relatively unchanged in comparison. Maybe I'll buy that season pass after all!