TheTruth

Actually, the construction, geometry, and plastic fomulas used in modern ski boots are vastly different than older ones. When I said that older ski boots wouldn't drive the skis laterally, I did not mean they weren't laterally stiff enough, it's just their flex patterns (or lack of flex), and plastic composition was not engineered for skis with increased sidecut. The "shaped" ski revolution wasn't just about skis changing, it was also about boot engineering changing too.

Actually, they tried shorter skis at one point for learning (Head, IIRC), and it was well know that increased sidecut would allow a ski to turn quicker. One problem was plastic technology was not up to the task of allowing the boot companies to produce a boot that worked with increased sidecut. Try plastic boot from the 1970's on a modern ski. The ski simply will not work the same because the boot can't drive it laterally. The length thing was driven by skier mentality as much as anything else. Everyone knew longer was better. :lol: If you were an expert skier, and your buddies caught you on something less than 207cm, you would never hear the end of it.

It might help, if this stuff actually worked. For the past few years, I have been an on snow tester for a local ski shop. We get together to test and demo next years skis and snowboards to make a recommendation to the owner what to buy for the next season. I'm telling you the vast majority of this stuff is conceived by the Marketing Departments, not R&D. I've played with all this adjustable stuff on all types of snow conditions, and I can't tell a bit of difference in performance. Bottom line is give me race stock, or free ride equipment based on race stock for true performance. I don't want non-functional gimmicks that end up breaking off the ski/board after 3 runs. The fact is the Alpine snowboard community has it good. Everything from Donek, Prior, Coiler, Kessler, SG. etc is based off, or modified from race stock.

A lot of this stuff like the Volkl Powerswitch is a marketing gimmick for the recreational skier. Every year, consumer skis have a new "design" that will claim to absolutely, positively make the 5 day per year skier "world class". Funny thing is the true "world class" skiers, e.g. FIS racers and free stylers, have none of these gimmicks, and the basic construction techniques for their skis was perfected years ago. Remember, the "big" ski companies business model is based on volume sales each season. Every year, they need to create a reason why the recreational skier MUST buy all new equipment. If you look at the products from a small company such as Stockli, whose business model is based on quality (not quantity) of product, you will never see a great variation in design from year to year. They know what works and they don't need a flashy marketing scheme to sell their product. Substitute "Burton" for "big ski companies" in the above paragraph and you have the business model for most of the snowboard industry as well.

Well, we can agree to disagree. Here's where I'm coming from: What Kessler did was to adapt what was being done with World Cup race skis to the snowboard race world. If you follow race ski design, they went through a similar progression. GS skis became more "shaped" starting in the mid 1990's, by the late 1990's/ early 2000's they were very shaped, often resulting in skis with similar nose and tail widths. For various reasons, this design was found to be unacceptable at the speeds GS racers run at. The FIS started to demand increasing turn radius for the racer's safety. However, the racers loved the way the most highly "shaped" skis would quickly engage a turn. The ski companies found a way to please both the racers (who wanted quick turn initiation) and the FIS (who wanted longer turn radius for safety at speed) by keeping the ski wide at the nose, but incorporating huge taper down to a narrow tail. What's the turn radius of a modern GS ski? It depends where you want to measure it. Just behind the nose, it can be as low as 14-16 meters, from the waist back to the tail it can run 40-50 meters. The interesting thing is the construction of true GS skis has changed very little from the "straight" ski era. GS skis contained metal layers, and always has less camber than the all composite slalom skis (metal in slalom skis is a recent design). True GS race skis always flexed softer than slalom skis, and the tip and tail would always "roll up" (as you put it) into an arc faster/easier when on edge than traditional slalom skis. However, "straight" GS skis, the overly "shaped" GS skis, and the most recent GS skis all feel vastly different in use even though the have very similar construction. The single biggest change I see is the difference in taper between the various eras.

The largest why and how is addition of the metal layers and the taper between the nose and tail. There can be a lot of discussion of what is the "best" way to shape the side cut between the taper, but the fact that modern race boards have a significant difference between the nose width and tail width as opposed to "old school" race boards where the nose and tail width was the same (or almost the same) is what gives them their different feel.

Right on Jack. NASTAR can be lots of fun, but it isn't real racing. A lot of people can be "fast" in NASTAR, but when the course become very long, and very steep it is another story. All of a sudden, racers that are just a few tenths of a second apart in NASTAR, are separated by full seconds. I've personally seen racers that race head to head in NASTAR, get separated by upwards of 10 seconds (!!!) in a USSA GS course.

P.J. Dewey at Race Stock Sports in Waterbury VT. This guy worked on the World Cup circuit for years as the main bootfitter for Lange/Dynastar, and worked on the boots of World and Olympic champions. http://www.racestocksports.com//Articles.asp?ID=134

Watch the race at full speed: Then you can really appreciate the skill these athletes have.

165 cm for men 155 cm for women True Race Stock slaloms are a blast to ski on, but VERY exhausting. You need to be on your "A" game at all times, or the skis will take you for a bull ride.

I posted that to show why to never spend anytime below a blind drop off, race course or not. The man hit was probably a coach or course worker who thought the course was clear. The racer was in no way a fault. When you race on a closed course, and the starter gives you the ok to go, the racer's assumption is the course is clear. However, this may not be the case. I have had a few close calls on USSA courses with volunteers who were in the track as I was on course. This accident cost the racer her World Cup career due to the severity of the injury.

Check this out: <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGIVihIlBI4&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGIVihIlBI4&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> Racer was reportedly going 70 mph at the time.

I noticed the same thing. I guess Turtlenecks have gone way out of style, even in Snowsports. People must like freezing their necks all day while on the slopes:rolleyes: The only thing I found was 100% Cotton Turtlenecks at JCPenney this year. This was after going to 10 different retailers. They had a very limited stock, and yea, cotton isn't the best material, but the way I look at it, it is better than nothing.

Thanks for the replies everyone. Checked out some of the boards listed. Looks like many would be hard to find in the U.S. Also checked out SG Snowboard site, and titanal isn't listed in their BX board construction (maybe site needs updated?) Looks like the only "easily" obtainable board would be the Kessler BX from Catek or All Board Sports. I'm also curious about the Prior BX mentioned. I didn't see it on their site either. Was it custom made? Anybody out there know Prior's limitations for using titanal in softboot board construction? Getting a custom made Prior might be the best option at this point if they can do metal construction in a wider board. I also like what I see in the specs of these new BX boards. Lots of taper and much larger turn radius. Never like most mainstream park/freeride boards due to the small turn radius and vibration on hard snow.

How many companies make titanal boards for softboot use? I'm looking for a BX style board that can lay out carves on the crap that passes as snow here in the east, and hold up under aggressive riding. I know Kessler makes a metal BX board, and Donek can't just yet. What about other companies? Prior? SG?, Palmer? Others?

Trappe, T. A. et al. Effect of ibuprofen and acetaminophen on postexercise muscle protein synthesis. Am. J. Physiol Endocrinol. Metab 282, E551-E556 (2002). The results of this study were that, in the untreated subjects, post-exercise muscle protein synthesis (24 hours post-workout) increased in upwards of 76%, while subjects that received either acetaminophen or ibuprofen saw no significant increase at all. Rodemann, H. P. & Goldberg, A. L. Arachidonic acid, prostaglandin E2 and F2 alpha influence rates of protein turnover in skeletal and cardiac muscle. J. Biol. Chem. 257, 1632-1638 (1982) This study showed that NSAIDs reduce prostaglandin synthesis by inhibiting the COX enzyme can reduce pain and inflammation, but at the same time reduction of the specific prostaglandin, PGF2-α has a dramatic effect on the ability of muscles to hypertrophy. Trappe, T. A., Fluckey, J. D., White, F., Lambert, C. P. & Evans, W. J. Skeletal muscle PGF(2)(alpha) and PGE(2) in response to eccentric resistance exercise: influence of ibuprofen acetaminophen. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab 86, 5067-5070 (2001) This study confirmed the earlier Rodemann study showing the adverse effects of NSAIDs on muscle mass/recovery using human subjects. ------------------------------------------------------------------- This stuff isn't just my opinion. The potential adverse effects of NSAIDs have been known for years. The problem is not with taking NSAIDs for a short time for an acute problem (e.g. sprain or high fever ) or under the supervision of your doctor for a chronic problem. The problem is many people are popping them as preventative medicine prior to an activity, or taking too many, too long after an activity for some minor soreness. NSAIDs can have dangerous side effects if used for the wrong reasons.

I heard some good old moonshine works even better with them.:smashfrea:smashfrea

I'm not making those claims. This has been in medical journals for some time. Also common knowledge among strength coaches/athletes. NSAIDs are sold over the counter, however, they are not to be taken lightly. They are serious medication and should be treated as such. Just ask the scores of people documented with liver damage from taking too many of them. Nothing wrong with NSAIDs if taken occasionally at the right dosage, but they were never intended to be used on a daily basis as preventative medicine.

It has been -35F to -50F for the past week in interior Alaska (record lows for this time of year). The cold air is available, it is just a question of when and where it will hit the lower 48 this winter.

Nope, not just endurance athletes. NSAIDs have been discouraged for years in the Weightlifting and Power Lifting communities by coaches. Basically, NSAIDs: 1. Hinder protein synthesis, which slows muscle/ligament/joint recovery. 2. Taking NSAIDs pre-workout has no effect on post-workout soreness. 3. Taking NSAIDs prevents bone/muscle growth, which defeats the entire purpose of exercising! You would be much better off consuming a post workout drink containing whey protein and getting proper rest prior to the next round of activity than consuming NSAIDs.

If the long range forcasts are right, you may want to enjoy all that early season snow while you can. The long range called for colder than normal temps in the west, while normal to above normal in the east. The jet stream flip flop is expected sometime in December. The trough will dive down into the east, bringing artic air with it, while the west will be on the warmer/drier slide of things. The lack of snowmaking temps in November in the east stinks for early season riding, but was not unexpected. Of course, the weather is fickle, so we will have to wait and see if the long range forecast is correct. Even if the jet stream dosen't shift as much as expected, it will get cold enough in the Northeast withing the next few weeks to allow expanded snowmaking.

Keep the faith, Bobby. The long range forecast shows changes for the better (much colder) in the Northeast starting in December. We all like early season snow to play on, but after all, Winter doesn't even start for another month. The long range forecasts I'm seeing shows the cold extending well into Spring in the East, so lots of good riding well into April if this holds true!

Donek, Very interesting concept. I can see a market for this for people who want an all around ripping board that they can use to jump into a Nastar or beer league course and be more competitive than with a standard soft boot board. One question: Can the board be ordered with a larger turn radius and metal construction as a custom build? I can see using the internal damping out west where you guys have real snow, but here in the east where boiler plate ice is the norm in a race course, metal construction has huge advantages.

True. He was also very helpful when he was at the Startingate. Any idea where he is at now? I haven't seen him riding anywhere for years.

Stratton...Carving Challange...Money involved...Where have I heard this before??? Wait a minute...It's all coming back now... The CarveMaster Challenge :eplus2::eplus2: Speaking of CMC, does anyone even know if he can still carve???:p:flamethro