teach

Friday's conditions really beat my knees up, too. That was the most punishing snow I've ridden this season! One possible problem is just joint alignment; you don't notice the misalignment until you really load it up. I find that wider boards/lower angles make that worse. Binding setup and footbeds are the things to tweak here.

I have a fairly high instep and high arch when properly supported, very narrow heel and midfoot, wide forefoot. The amount of material that has to get redistributed in molding a thermo is just too much. The foam underfoot is a problem in that it raises my foot in the boot, where it gets narrower in front, giving less room for me forefoot. The heel shape works well for me. Even tighter would be fine! I still have some heel slip... Also I have a wide forefoot, so I appreciate the thinning out there; that was a huge problem with thermos, toes crushed together no matter what is done during molding. There's just not room for any foam there.

Anyone going this weekend? Nice cold overnight temps... could be good? Monday was great! New BOL member Bearlong was shredding on the 182 Donek. I've never seen someone hop on a big alpine board for the first time and just carve it up! I hope he posts some photos...

You might try the thin UPZ liner tongues. And maybe have the footbed made lower profile, so your instep gets some more room?

^Mileage varies. I found the foam liners simply had too much volume over large areas and caused problems that the Flo liners solved. ^^Yes, at 60 degrees cold feet in boots indicates that the fit is causing issues with circulation. Or are your bare feet cold at 60 degrees?

Rhododendron Glen and Pocono Raceway were super firm and fast today, softening up only slightly by 2:00 PM. Much of the rest was water ice consistency even in the morning.

Head to Camelback and PM me beforehand. I have 29 and 28 boots, and bindings and boards you can try. 28.5 is usually the same shell as 28... rarely any actual difference. Renting hardboot gear? Hah! Unless you check out Bomber's East Coast trip, good luck! Berkshire East used to, but I don't think they do this season since their hardbooting Snow Sports director left. Best to rely on this forum, or go to Colorado.

Last minute changes allow me to attend Monday; does anyone have a lift ticket for Monday that won't be used that I could buy? Not even sure how that would work but worth a try.

PM sent again! I have some, feel free to PM me if you're still not getting mine.

PM sent

Do you still have these for sale?

As Beckmann points out, your foot length may decrease with proper support. Mine measures about 29.6 cm flat on the floor, but about 28.9 cm with a footbed that does at least a little of the support job I need. I wear a Mondo 28 in UPZ or Deeluxe and most ski boots I've tried. That gives plenty of room for a liner, by the way. I can wear the boots all day buckled without even noticing. - the mondo size of a shell is NOT the interior length, it's the manufacturer's idea of what length foot it would fit, WITH a liner, socks, etc. That's often assuming a seriously thick liner. - Deeluxe's idea of this is: if your foot measures 27 cm UP TO 28 cm, then you "are" a Mondo 27, not a Mondo 28 and should use the M27 shell. My experience and others suggests this errs on the side of a too-large shell. So a 27 shell may be (probably is) fine for you. You'll need to actually put your foot in some shells to see; see Beckmann's guidelines, linked in his post. - the key is to get a good (close) fit in the ankle/heel area. If the toe box is too tight it can be enlarged, but there's not much you can do to make the heel/ankle area smaller, and too much room here causes a number of problems: toe bang, heel lift and heel spurs, lack of control in bad cases. Good luck. If you can't try them on before you buy, expect to go through several pairs before you find a good fit. Maybe you'll get lucky, but not too many do.

OK, I know you. Sent you a PM. UPM only, but I think Apex sells 4 x 4 hardware separately.

I ride at Camelback, I could bring it if you're going to be there sometime.

Yes, it is.

I have both 28 and 29 UPZ you can try. The UPZ are narrow enough in the heel that I can get by with 29, but the 28 is the best fit, and I wear US 13. So I'd strongly recommend holding off on buying M29 until you're 100% sure that's going to work well. Boots that are too big are bad in many ways, and can't really be fixed, unlike boots that are a little too small, which can be fitted with thinner liners, punched, ground, etc. Don't try the boots on with a liner to judge fit -- put your foot in the empty shell. See Beckmann's page www.beckmannag.com for lots of good information on ski boot fitting. Most shops sell boots that are too big, thinking that they'll feel comfortable when standing around and who cares if they work when actually skiing. Remember that the boot shell is what connects to the board here... no straps to take up slop.

I have a small Oxygen alpine board, 139 if I recall (will check) and pretty soft, and some bindings that would work. One pair Oxygen (Fritschi I believe), some Race Plates, I think a pair of Snow Pros and a pair of Snow Pro step-ins with heels. Feel free to PM me through the forum if you're interested in any of it. Possibly another board too will check.

Are both plates the original 4mm? Versus the "version 2"? I'd be interested in one, probably the 4 x 4. I'll PM.

That was probably the race team. That's one of my favorite aspects of Camelback. Their coach, Marion, is very helpful and amazing to watch. The sage grows in my back yard. Advice: expect to try lots of boots, maybe you'll get lucky and the first pair will be perfect, but more common is to go through several pairs (probably 7 for me) until you wind up at something that works. Bindings: Bomber, Catek are burly. SnowPros might work too and they're less fussy at first, a help as you're getting things tweaked. Boards -- I have a Donek GS board coming that's pretty stiff, but coming from soft boots, you may want a less stiff board at first. I have a 23 cm wide Coiler AM that you might want to try. Let me know when you ride and I can probably meet you and bring the board and some bindings and maybe boots -- I have a pair of M28 Deeluxe Indy boots you could try, even if only to do a shell test, and some M28 and M29 UPZ. For reference I am US 13 in all shoes (US 12 is always too small), and the M28 UPZ are a comfortable fit, not a race fit.

That was probably the race team. I haven't seen them this year yet, glad they're still there. I'm debating heading to Belleayre for Saturday morning; any idea if it's as bad as Camelback can be on weekends?

PM coming your way

18" of fresh should cover the little rocks the groomers dug up last week! Sweet! Wish I'd gone today. Did anyone?

Bomber has them: http://bomberonline.3dcartstores.com/AF-Toe-Strap_p_108.html

Did this sell?