michael.a

Also wondering about the dates of ECES or ECSS or ECS :)

If you are set on the Heads then I would strongly recommend finding a pair that come with the orange tongues. They are considerably softer than the stock black tongues. If you can't score any orange tongues, purchase a BTS kit with yellow springs. Heads are stiff boots for beginners and need considerable mods to be rideable, and that's personal experience talking from someone who had 50+ pds on you. I suffered for two seasons before I softened up my boots. The same applies for the bindings, TD3s as metal bindings are far stiffer (even with the yellow e-rings) than (cheaper) all-plastic bindings. Though I would definitely go with the step ins especially if you will be riding on small East coast hills.

How about northern New Jersey?

Gotta mow that lawn dude :)

If the manufacturer is who I think it is, they have many many factory 2nds or even 3rds for sale. Maybe your order for a mint one got mixed up with one of em

Allflex

^^^ Same here, no failure after 8 seasons of use I've pretty much used up one pair of F2 heels and replaced one cable that was almost frayed. The cables always fray at the same point, just where the plastic insulation ends at that little plastic cap. On my newest pair of heels I wrapped that area using some duct tape to beef things up.

Easy, get a Swoard Quite wide and come in various flexes. Good all around board esp the newest generation.

Same here, my HSPs were starting to crack above the heel plus another crack starting from the 2nd buckle down to the heel. But these were new boots with intec heels but with more than 150 hard days on them.

Hey (Harry, is it?) I'm talking about this one (ver. 14) compared with the 1 piece VIST (ver. 07) you linked. You only have these two to choose from when buying new.

Good to hear Use something sharper or at least pointier than a safety pin, I used a hobby knife with a surgical blade. The safety pin is actually quite blunt in puncturing the thick film and actually "stretches" it a bit.

Bingo, do not lay down this film dry, you are guaranteed to F up. Remember its just water with a few drops of dishwashing soap.

VIST says their 07 and 14 plate are the same, the only difference is aesthetic. My buddy was right to point out that almost all athletes use the older 07 plate on the circuit, is there a reason for that, does the 07 have some tangible benefit or is it maybe some version of that never-washed jockstrap magic. I searched and found no definitive answers. If it matters standard 4x4 pattern

Same issue with F2s, the newer versions have an adjustable front bail but whats the point if it loosens up over time, loctite or no loctite.

That is a smoking deal, jump on it, I had to buy my stuff here in Europe where we get screwed with VAT. From what I gather the PRO stuff is 8 mils thick. Is it too thick? Well no, my comment was more in line that you should be able to score thinner film for a lower price. Leisure time has afforded humanity great gifts :) Philosophy, art, democracy, awesome hobbies, this thread.... Don't understand the negative review, are they saying a thinner film is bad or just the quality of the film per se?

I might have a piece of the 3m film left over, will find it and see how it sticks to my ptex board. Also good point on filing the topsheet edges, strongly recommended for SG boards otherwise they chip really bad. I think Sigi himself has a video saying it is a must

I'm rubbing my eyes, but is Ryan still using a duck stance in those videos? Cant make it out on my phone.

I remember that one! I think the conversation then moved on to liability and that's what scared me off, people are nuts these days. This film is a passive defense tool against the assholes.

You are completely right, 8 mils not mm. So any 0.1 mm film should do. Pics please or didnt happen :) I completely understand, but then I dont think there is anyone who wouldnt go apeshit if someone sideswiped or keyed their brand new car with a "oh what, well it was just standing there". Let alone the resale value, you actually lose money every time someone gouges your poor board. Does the nail polish "melt" the finish? From what I know most snowboards have a coat polyurethane so it should be quite resistant to nail polish. I didnt mention this part but you can easily remove the 3M film for whatever reason, literally just lift up an edge and pull. Itlll leave a lot of residue but some elbow grease and top secret Goo Gone does the trick.

My OCD has gone way down, but few things tick me off more than standing in a lift line and having plebs beat the ever loving crap out of my board and it's not like they care what happens to their stuff either. I still don't get it, didn't they spend their hard earned money on this stuff, why scratch it all up? Anyway, even carrying the board and clipping in before I grabbed the chair didn't cut it, not too long ago some guy who was trying to cut in line just ran over my board leaving a nice sharp cut. Some of my previous cars had paint protection film so I decided why not, let's try it. So here ya go, this is my third application and I'm quite happy with the results. At the end some final thoughts. The film I got was 3M's Scotchgard, pretty thick stuff at 8 mm. I previously used odd sized scraps I picked up for free, but for my new SG I decided to buy a 12 x 75" precut peice on ebay. $50 shipped so its definitely not a cheap investment, next time I'll get a no-name knockoff. Topsheet was cleaned with isoproyl alcohol mixed 1:1 with water. Any, and I mean any, dust or crumbs left on the surface will leave little bumps in the film that are almost impossible to remove once you start applying the film. I rolled out the film to make sure everything was straight and taped the film down on one end so everything would stay aligned. Fill a spray bottle with water and a nice squeeze of dishwasing liquid. Start peeling the film away from the backing and give everything a nice wet spray but not soaking wet. Roll out the the film on the board. Using a plastic card or better yet a rubber squegee (I found credit cards to be too stiff and actually ended up scratching the film), start pushing out all the air bubbles. Rinse and repeat, peel some film back, spray it and the topsheet with your water/dishwashing solution and get rid of the bubbles. Nose and tail are a PITA as the film does not want to stay down flat and lifts up at the edge. Take some scissors and cut the film but leave at least 0.5 cm. So something like on the right side below: Start waiting. It's best to do this in a warm room so the water mixture can evaporate quicker. You can always use a hair dryer. Check in every so often and see if any air bubbles have formed, it's still easy to push them out. Takesa bout an hour or two to dry out. Afterwards, brab a really sharp razor blade and cut the film as close to the topsheet as possible, even try to cut a mm or two before the edge. You do not want any extra film protruding from the board, it'll catch, collect snow and water, and lift up the film. That's it Couple of things I learned. One application on a softboot board has held up for 2 years with no peeling. However, I ran into a problem with this SG as the topsheet has an eggsheel texture to it that prevents the film from completely sticking. After a couple of runs it started to peel off rom the nose and tail. I basically left it as is and just smooth it out at the end of the day. Doesnt look sexy when it starts to peel off but whatever, at least I'm protected ;) What I'll later do is trim the film a couple centimeters shorter. You definitely do not need 8 MILS film. I think 5 MILS is more than ample for protection against errant ski poles and the such. And no need for the name brand, 3M is obviously good stuff but any other paint protection film will do. edit: sharp eye from John E, I meant 8 MILS film not 8 mm. So use something half that.

erazz how close did the result come to the manufacturer's stated radius?

Would a result of 12.47 m suggest that more of the running length contains a 12 m sidecut? I'm no engineer or even good in math, but if the board were evenly split between a 12 and 14 m radius shouldnt the average be 13 m? Does that make sense?

I should have mentioned I'm speaking from a European perspective. I still find it impressive that so many started to ride in hardboots without the guidance an internet forum provides, I would be completely lost. But it wasn't until I attend my first carving camp that I made true progress. Haven't been to one in a couple of years and I feel... stagnation.

From personal observation Id say only 1-5% of hardbooters are actually registered on a carving forum and even less post, a couple more lurk, couple more just dont have the time and the rest just dont know or care. Forums on the whole are dying as are many civic associations, clubs, informal and formal groups. Too much time and effort.

Truly appreciated, thank you. I see a season passe is $600 so Im guessing $350 is some kind of summer deal? I may just get a couple of Triple Plays instead and just hit the mountain when conditions are tops, like supposedly now :D I actually remember Grand Prix.