Miltie

Sean, Very cool video and explanation. Looks interesting! Keep us posted on the progress. Have fun at A-Basin! Thanks!! Tom

Good thread King Crimson! I remember seeing alpine boards say back in 87 ish but really started to see them in person until 88. The snowbaord magazines (Transworld Snowboarder) were showing boards like the Kemper, Flite, Hooger Booger, Look overspeed and some I'm sure I forgot about. Was in college living in Utah at the time. I remember trying to carve on a K2 Gyrator 168 in softies after watching some dudes from Europe at Snowbird in the spring of 87. Finally got a set of Koflach Velugas (the pink ones) in 88 and borrowed a Kemper Aggressor with like zero side cut and Fritschi bindings. Got my ass handed to me on the first day for sure. Got hooked up with some Swiss Nidecker riders living in Utah for the winter of 89/90. They taught me how to carve and got me on a Nidecker for the season. I had also 2 Kemper Agressor 170s with Emery bindings but it didn't carve as well as the Nidecker. The Swiss guys were on Snowpros which seemed so much better than the Emerys. I remember setting up my Nidecker Magnum 153 with like a 38 cm stance (narrow) and canting the bindings like 3 degrees. Binding angles were like 45 front and 35 rear. We even had heel lift in rear and toe lift in the front. The Swiss guys were riding assyms already but they were protos. I remember going to SIA in Vegas that year (I was a buyer for a local shop) and it seemed like alpine was the shiz. Boards companies like Kemper, Burton, Flite, Hooger Booger, Hot, Nitro and Sims were all getting into it. Somewhere along the way I also had some Burton Rat-trap bindings but can remember what year - maybe 1990. I remember testing out the PJs with the Burton rep at the time and they seemed pretty good. Graduated from college in June of 1990 and ended up in LA. Went to one of the PSTA races in Big Bear, CA (Snow Summit I think) in 1991 with my Nidecker friends. Lots of alpine riders at that time. Remember seeing Tom Sims and his crew - all on alpine decks. Think I was on a Kemper Asym or Nidecker at that time. The good old days!

Bora, I am long time Bomber fan and normally ride TD bindings due to the reliability. A few years ago I picked up some of the standard bail SnowPro Race bindings for a smoking deal to use on my stash of boards in LA. My weight is about 160 lbs and my riding skill is average. After a few hours of riding, the 4 mounting screws on the plastic center disks tend to lose torque. Even had a binding shift 30 degrees while riding. I think this is mainly a function of the plastic material used. You will want to keep a #3 Driver in your pocket and check those mounting screws a few times during your day on the hill. Enjoy your new set-up! Tom

Theo, Thanks again for the info. Reliable Racing has some new brush type gates (like stubbies). Might be worth looking into as these might not damage other peoples boards/skis which could be a sales points when asking the Mtn Mgt. http://www.reliableracing.com/detail.cfm?edp=10932069 What night of the week you think they would lets us set-up/run gates? Let's discuss more as the season gets closer. This could interesting and fun. Thanks dude, Tom

Hey Wintergold, Dude.... you amaze me with your research on the Japanese sites. My understanding from a local shop owner here is that the white boards have slightly less damping than the black ones along with slightly tighter sidecuts and narrower waist width depending in sidecut. Think the target is lighter riders in Japan. Check the Spec Page below and you can see the differences in sidecut and waist. http://www.k-snow.com/kessler/spec.html Had a chance to see these boards in person a few weeks ago at a demo event but did not ride any due to a shoulder injury. The looked nice and many riders giving them a try. Surprising how many people are spending over 200,000 Yen (about 1,600 Euros) on Kessler and SG boards. Will do a little more research on the white decks after my wife (expert translator) gets back from vacation in Tokyo. Take care, Tom

Theo, Thanks for the input and your lengthy post (it made sense). Will check out the Nastar site and see about registering. I recall that you maybe did some additional gate training (ski gates). Were there any training days or clubs you hung with? Starting to train for next season already. Blew my shoulder out (torn rotator cuff) on a gate training day here in Japan. Need to drop a few Kg's, stop eating so much chocolate and get my shoulder back in proper order this summer. Thanks again for your info. Hope to meet up with you next season. Take care, Tom

Anyone participate in either the San Gabriel Series or Southern California Series SL or GS events? Is it possible to race in both series? Many hardbooters? Probably moving back to the OC in November and considering to join these events. Any input would be much appeciated. Thanks!! Tom

Hey John, Hope your season was good at Mammoth. Only made it there one trip this year and was unable to make the planned SnowPerformance camp. Looks like SNES was a blast except for George getting hurt. This plate is made by a company in Japan called Winter Tree. They are also the Bomber Distributor in Japan so that is why a set of TD3s are mounted on top of the plate. Link to their website below: http://www.wintertree.info/index.html Look under the "User" for more info on the plates and their rider Manabu Kobayashi who races the World Cup circuit on M-Flex, Bomber and SG Snowboards. He rips - BTW. Winter Tree has offered a simpler design of M-Flex plates for the last few years here in Japan (see website). My understanding is the D1 plate in the You Tube video is a prototype. Have not tried either version. Had a chance to look at the earlier plates at a local shop and was impressed with their design and quality. See you next season at Mammoth. Take care, Tom

Spent 4 days in Rutsutsu at the end of March. It snowed everyday and the conditions were unreal. I only took softies since I went with my family. Rode lots of untracked powder! The last day was just amazing groomed packed powder seemed like for miles. Wish I had brought alpine gear but still had a blast on the softies. Plan to ship alpine gear next time. BTW- most of the resort is open for off piste. Ran into some local hardbooters running TD3s on all mountain boards just have a ball in the off piste stuff. There was also one dude on a sick Pogo swallow tail just flying in the freshies. Good stuff! Hope you get good snow while you visit Hokkaido. By far the best snow I have encountered in Japan.

Yo Carvedog, Nice Poll. Had a heck of time getting my 08-09 Track 700Ts dialed in for the last 2 seasons. Felt like they had way too much forward flex. Upgraded the liners and moved from blue BTS springs to reds on top (I weigh 160). Finally at a point where I am happy. Still have some ankle movement when I want but have the foward stiffness I like.

At my local mountian here in Japan (Dynaland in Gifu) we usually have over 10 hardbooters per day on weekends. Some weeks there are as many as 30 if there is a gate training day or special lessons. Pretty cool to see this many riders on a regular basis.

Have a Metal FC 171 and think very highly of it. My size is 5'11" at 155-160 lbs. The board works well in most conditions. See this thread which includes my review: http://www.bomberonline.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=30030 Would go with Sean's recommendation for the 167. His advice has been pretty accurate on the boards I have ordered through him. Hope this helps!

Yo Fin, Very cool. I would order a set of these to replace the Uni-Cants under my Burton Custom Soft Bindings. Nice idea! Thanks! Tom

Got my son on a snowboard last year at 2 1/2. He could only go straight but loved it. This year he begged us to ride the lift so we took him up and he just started side slipping on heel edge. His toe side is a little weak yet and he needs to learn how to link turns. Loves to jump or ollie off of anything. He will turn 4 just before next season. We also started our daughter at 3 1/2. She turned 5 this season and had a breakthrough year. She is just about to start linking turns and some how figured out how to spin on her own. Her Burton Chopper has a beveled base which helps make the spinning much easier than with a flat base. Got to admit that it is totally cool watching your kids progress. I don't try too push them so hard and don't expect too much - just want them to have fun. My wife also got back on hardboots this year so my trips up to the mountains are going to be good family time. When I move back to Huntington Beach those Mammoth runs are going to be brutal on my wallet!

Was at Dynaland in Japan over the weekend for an Alpine Camp sponsored by SG Japan. Crashed in the slush and damaged my own board. Koji Sugimoto of SG Japan kindly provided a demo Full Carve 175 and a 163 for me to use. Must say that both boards ride excellent. The 175 felt a little long for the conditions. The 163 is very nice board. The overall balance of flex, torsional rigidity and sidecut worked well for my weight (72 Kg). Was able to get used to this board very quickly and had a blast on it. Anyone interested in an SG alpine board may want to check the Full Carve line out. Also looked at the Force but did not get a chance to ride it. Looks like a very cool deck for those wanting something a little wider. Nice boards Sigi and thanks Koji-san!

Know this may be a bit early..... http://www.snowperformance.com/alpinesnowboardmammoth.asp Who's planning to attend the camp this year?

Location: Dynaland, Gifu , Japan and June Mountain/Mammoth, CA Conditions: Hard groomed and wet slop in Japan / Groomed packed powder and fresh powder (4”) in CA Previous Bindings used: Bomber TD1s, TD2s, TD3 SI, Burton Race plates and Snow-Pro Boots used: Deeluxe Track 700T with BTS (blue springs) & Fin-Tec heels / Raichle SB225 with RAB and stiff tongue in the front Stance/Angles: 48 cm (19” ) / 60 degrees Fr, 55 degrees Rr Rider weight: 155 – 160 lbs without gear Rider skill/experience/style: Average / 20 plus years on alpine gear / race carve - upright Boards used: Custom Donek Freecarve 165 Metal (traditional shape), Custom Donek Freecarve 173 Metal (traditional shape) and New Donek Freecarve Metal 171 (new shape) E-Rings used: Blue (medium) E-Pads used: Yellow (soft) Cants: 3 degrees front and 6 degrees rear I received my first set of Sidewinders in Japan shortly after they went on sale and immediately bolted them on a board. The “bling factor” and usual primo Bomber build quality impressed me at first. Normally ride TD3 SI’s with blue E-Rings so I decided to set up the Sidewinders with blue E-Rings as well for better comparison. The first day on the bindings was in hard snow conditions (early AM) and wet chop/slop in the afternoon. First off, found the ride of the Sidewinders to be “Cadillac smooth”, however, the “built in” flex was a little disconcerting at first. Power edge to edge was still excellent and seems unchanged from my TD3s. They seem to soak up much of the vibrations/harshness caused by uneven snow. Once I got used to flex, things clicked. One “post riding” observation is that my knees felt better after riding and the next day. Assume this added benefit of built in flex of bindings. Had a second set of Sidewinders shipped to my office in LA for trip to California in early March. Spent another 4 days on the Sidewinders in “hero snow” conditions at June Mountain and Mammoth. Still have the same impression. Smooth. The flex/dampening provided by the yellow E-pads was perfect for my weight. Do not think I would even want to try the blue E-pads – probably too stiff. I have been on step-ins since 2003 due to the convenience and my “desk jockey” laziness. After riding the Sidewinders, I forgot all about step-ins. Would probably buy a set if Fin makes step-ins but would still ride these without the step-in feature. The comfort outweighs the convenience. Conclusion: The power transmission edge to edge remains great but the allowed lateral flex makes for a comfortable smooth ride. I am no World Cup racer but found the Sidewinders a step up from my already excellent TD3’s. Fin has raised the bar with this product. Thanks Fin and the Bomber Crew!

Location: June Mountain, CA Conditions: Groomed packed powder, fresh powder (4”) Bindings used: Bomber Sidewinders Boots: Raichle SB225 with RAB and stiff race tongue in the front Rider weight: 155 – 160 without gear Rider skill/experience/style: Average / 20 plus years on alpine gear / race carve – upright Additional background: Have been riding a custom Donek Freecarve 165 Metal (traditional shape) and a custom Donek Freecarve 173 Metal (traditional shape) for the last 2 seasons. Both boards ride well and I especially like the Freecarve 173 due to 13 meter sidecut. I do have longer and shorter boards but these seem to be my “go to” boards. Was looking forward to trying Sean’s new shapes (clothoid sidecut – sorry I am a geek) and revised metal construction (with rubber). Report: My initial impression is that the 171 seems a bit more versatile and able to soak up variations in the terrain a little better than the traditional shapes. It can also be squeezed into tight SL type turns easily but can handle bigger GS style turns with composure. Suspect this is due to the sidecut but regardless it responds well to whatever type of turn you want to do. This board is also very stable at higher speeds giving me the impression that I was on longer board. The nose seems to bounce around more than my other boards but this did not affect performance. Also, I immediately noticed increased set back of the new shape but no ill effects. The stiffness of the board was about perfect for my weight and was easily controllable without need of constant attention. Never stuffed the nose and was able to find a good balance on this board in all conditions. My other boards have narrower 19 cm waists so I was a bit concerned that the 20 cm waist might feel wide – not so. Edge to edge transitions where similar and edge hold was strong as expected. Conclusion: The 171 is my new “go to” board and will hopefully see many more days on the mountain this year. It handles most conditions well and is very versatile. Definitely worth consideration if you are looking for a freecarve board. Nice work Sean!

Take a look at Burton Driver X. They are stiff. Picked up a set last year and have been really satisfied with them overall. Worth considering.

Arclite, What Neil said. Take as much math as possible. I took the highest level AP classes in high school and it was a major bonus. That was over 25 years ago so most of the classes have probably changed by now though. I had a real doozer of a professor for Engineering 101 my Freshman year and he used to weed out students with surprise tests. All that I learned about related rates saved my ass. Also, once you take differential equations at college it will all make sense. Would recommend you also try to take as much scince as possible. Good luck and study hard! Take care, Tom

June received about 12 inches of new snow on Wednesday night. Took out the freeride board with plates in the AM and pulled out the Donek and Sidewinders at about 11AM. Gunsmoke was incredible. Hero groom! We rutted the place up until 1:30 PM. Temps are supposed to remain cold the next few days. Conditions for the weekend should be awesome. Those who make it up will probably not be disappointed. Going to Mammoth in the AM on the way back to LA.

I voted yes but think we need to include or Softboot friends. Many visit this site because they like carving. Sometimes they offer a unique perspective which can be a good thing. I ride both hard and soft boots. Usually, ride softies on the days I am with my family and need some extra mobility to teach/chase the shredders (kids). Still carve with softies and feel that the time spent with softies helps me with hard boot riding. We should also remember that most of us started out on softies and transitioned over to hard boots. Letting the softbooters participate here will only help our sport. Plus... Softbootsailor has posted some interesting threads and is stoked on carving. There are others like him that provide good info and energy here. Let's keep them coming to this site and provide an area specific to softboots. My 2 yen. Thanks! Tom

June was great today. Groomed hero covered with wind drifts in the AM. J4 lift never was operational so we stayed on J7 just bombing runs on Shatzi and Matterhorn. A storm rolled in about 11:30 and it started dumping hard. We left at 2:00 PM with at least 4 inches of fresh snow at the chalet - much more on top. Tomorrow should be epic.

Newcarver, Been on the Metal FC 171 for 2 days now. Really dig this board. It is great on groomers and even in 4-6 inches of pow this afternoon - seems to handle most conditions well. I weigh 155-160 ish without gear and have 26.5 size boots. This board has a 20 cm waist which I thought would feel wide compared to my other boards. To my surprise, it doesn't. I have a 2 year old custom Donek FC metal 173 (traditional shape) with 19 cm waist that I also like. The newer shape seems more forgiving and versitile(sp?) even though the running length is longer. My favorite boards seem to be in the 165 to 175 range. I would like to try to Metal FC 167 to compare. Not sure what conditions you normally ride, however, would think this board would be a good step up in length. It's been a while since I was on the burner but think this board feels longer than the burner but is more forgiving. Hope this helps! Tom

My first breakthrough alpine board was a Nidecker (Kneebreaker) Magnum 153 with snowpro bindings and Koflach Veluga boots (the pink ones) circa 1989 at Powder Mountain in Utah. Was attending Weber State University at the time and hitting the slopes almost every night. Been on alpine gear since. Next was a 167 Sims Burner with TD1s in 2001 after a few year layoff from snowboarding. Fin's handy work made me stoked again! Current - New Donek Freecarve Metal 171 with Bomber Sidewinders. Rode this today and had an absolute blast. Great combo - Nice work Sean and Fin. Thanks for keeping me fired up on alpine! :D