Miltie

Neil, Both boards look sick!! Are the inserts on the NSR for Vist system? See you in a few weeks (H1N1 permitting). Take care, Tom

I registered myself and a co-worker a few days ago for coaching only. We will probably stay at the June Lake Motel because the owners are cool and have treated us well over the years. Plus it's a nice drive to Mammoth while you enjoy your morning coffee. Neil, Any recommendations for wax during that time? Will be waxing up boards on 5/14 before we head up. Thanks! Tom

Ordered 4 boards from Sean this year. Two were custom metal boards and 2 were stock Axxess models. Really impressed with the build quality. The metal boards were 173 and 165 in length. Both ride great for what I do - couldn't be happier. Sean also went the extra mile and built me a board in very short turn-around time so I could pick it up during a business trip to LA. Great boards and strong customer service!

Yo Neil, Still in the travel planning phase. I am hoping to burn airline mileage but need to wait until April 1st when the surcharges drop like 90%. My vacation is approved for the US side but getting a little grief on the Japan side. Hopefully they will grant my request. Just attended a 1 day SG Camp in Japan last Friday that rocked so really looking forward to this camp at Mammoth. Will keep you posted. Thanks! Tom

Sounds like you blew out the serrated cant adjuster on the outer cuff (the white pieces). See number 14 on the attached pages from the Bomber Store. http://www.bomberonline.com/store/boots/parts_sb.cfm http://www.bomberonline.com/store/boots/parts_sb_cuff_cant.cfm I've had to replace this on all 4 sets of SB series boots I've owned over the years. My weight is about 155-160 lbs. There was a thread about 5 years ago showing how to epoxy the 2 serrated white cant pieces together. I have done this to all my SB boots or have installed machined aluminum cant adjusters I bought in Japan. You will need to drill out the bolt from the outside. The bolt and t-nut will need to be replaced afterward. Bomber usually has the parts in stock.

I have a 167 and weigh about the same as you. Typically mounted the front binding forward in the insert pack and then had my rear where ever 48 cm is. This forward position worked better for me after riding with the bindings centered over the inserts. Have fun with the board. One of my favorites!

LOC, I have been going to that shop since it was called Pat's (like 10 years ago). Have had several sets of footbeds made there with good results. Try the cork ones - made a huge difference with boot fit for me. Jeff knows his stuff and has been doing the footbed/bootfitting gig for a long time. There is also a guy named Chris that might be the boot shop manager. GaryJ, Hope you and the family have been good. Your kids must all be teenagers by now. I am on my second tour in Japan. Still got my place in HB though. Wasn't planning on moving back but that is the way it worked out. Vacation is currently close to max so I am trying to get to LA/Mammoth for the Snow Performance Camp in May. Only have 8 days this season so far - have a new metal board I haven't even riden yet! My contract is up at end of 2009 but looks like it will get extended through 2010 if the "powers at be" here have their way. It ain't a bad gig here - just wish I had more time on the snow! Take care, Tom

Loc, I posted this last year. http://www.bomberonline.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=18637 Take care, Tom

Neil, I am maxed out on vacation and strongly considering to attend the camp. Just waiting for some work schedule stuff to be finalized and then will investigate flights - hope to burn up some mileage. Schedule would be hectic though as I need to be back in Japan for some meetings on 5/20. Still have some gear/boards in LA so hope to travel light. Will contact you through work once I know the schedule. Take care, Tom

Anybody planning to attend the Snow Performance Camp at Mammoth from May 15 to May 17?

Try to keep your shoulders in line with your hips. Also if you face both shoulders down the fall line (like Skiing) on your heelside edge then your rear foot will follow (leading to what you call overbreaking). I find that pointing your front shoulder in the direction you want to go also helps prevent this condition. Are you in Japan now? if so, you can pick up few different DVDs with a guy named Morio Aizawa which explain about proper body and shoulder position. The DVDs are named The Carving, Artistic Carving and Snowboard Alpine Technique. Some Alpen stores carry them. Good stuff.

Neil, Had a lot of fun last time riding and jawing with all us alpine freaks. If I'm back working in Torrance next year I will gladly help out with some of responsibilities. Waiting to hear if they plan extend my contract or not. Take care, Tom

You want to find the kit about halfway down the page http://www.wslc.co.jp/snow/f2/08_09/bin_spare_parts.htm Note: this is from Japanese F2 site

One of my friends owns a large snowboard/surf shop around Nagoya, Japan. He tells me that hardbooters make up between 1-2% here. My guess is the hardbooter population in US is less than 1% since there are fewer in US than here in Japan. Most hardbooters I see in Japan are also a little older - maybe 30+. Similar to what I've seen in the States. Lots of decent riders here as many people fixated on technique. Many people ride in groups with some even wearing matching outfits. I am not into the "group thing" here so I just bomb runs and work on making clean turns with good form.

That footage is almost the same as his sequence in the Japanese carving video called Installer 7 (from last year). He rides Moss as Gecko mentioned. The shop Minds is from Japan. Not sure what area it is located in without doing some more research. There were several riders last Monday at my local mountain (in Gifu) with Minds stickers on the boards. FYI - I think there are about 4 new vids this year (Installer 8.0 and 8.2, GTS 4 and Demonstrators 16) plus a few from SBJA with races results and technical carving contests.

Finally got a chance to tune/wax the Axxess and Custom Metal FC that Sean sent me. Both are just great quality boards. I am particularly impressed with the quality build on the Metal board. It's amazing that I can send Sean the specs I want and they can build so close to what I requested. The fit and finish is also top notch - much better than most of the production boards I own. Nice work team Donek! Now I can't wait to get my TD3's and Fin-Tec heels! We should all be thanking the great folks at Bomber, Donek, Prior, Catek, Coiler, Virus ... etc. for supporting us alpine addicts with fine products. Their dedication to our sport and hard work should be commended!

Haven't used softies in about 3 years due to foot discomfort. Scored a set of 32 Forecast boots with Intuition liners and some Burton Custom bindings for this season. Plan to use Uni-cants or Burton cants front and rear on an older Burton E-deck 163. Have a similar binding set-up for my powder board as well. Will see how it all works. Plan to start my days on the HB set up and then switch to soft set-up once the chop is developed or my legs turn to rubber.

The bindings screws (longer) mount into the standard inserts in the board not the plastic spacers.

Also middle section is very flexible. There are some Japanese riders in New Zealand right now testing. So far their reviews are very positive.

Ordered a Surfeye Active Flex World Cup plate system today. See link and scroll to bottom. http://www.surfeye.com/tuneup/ACTIVE.htm It mounts similar to VIST plates I have seen but no drilling is required. The rear binding mount is fixed and the front floats allowing the board flex and the plate system to "slide" on the topsheet as the board flexes. The underside of the plate system has plastic surfaces that allow it to slide. The designer is Kirao Iwase who is well known in Japan for his tuning (Eyes Tune-Up System) and shaping surfboards. Can't wait to mount it up once I pick up it in October. Trying to decide what bindings to use. TD2 or Ibex with Uni-cants?

Anyone have confirmation if the TD3 will be a reality?

Working as Technical Liaison in vehicle Quality Assurance. Coolest part of the job is to evaluate prototype vehicles during development and pre-production stages. Majority of my time spent supporting field technical operations for affiliate companies. Never a dull moment and feel very lucky to be doing something I enjoy. Alpine snowboarding, surfing and hanging out with my family are what keep me sane.

I am having the same issue with my 700T boots. I did not buckle them tight when the liners were professionally molded so I am worried about what will happen if the liner starts to pack-out. FWIW- the new deeluxe thermoflex liners are way soft (less dense foam?)compared to my old ones. As a potential fix, I am thinking to remold my older and stiffer liners for the 700T or pick up some Intuitions. My older liners also appear to have more foam material in the shin/ upper cuff area. I too was expecting a stiffer boot. Need more time on them to really see how they perform. On the up side, the new buckles are a nice improvement!! Tom

Anyone heading to the World Cup event in Gifu, Japan on 2/24? The FIS sight shows PGS will be run at Takasu Resort.

Just a quick heads up for anyone looking for a boot fitter in the LA/Orange County areas. I recently had some Superfeet full kork footbeds made along with my new Track 700T thermos fitted at Stefan Kaelin Sports on PCH in Newport Beach. Originally went there with my boots to have the footbeds made and they offered to mold my thermoflexes at the same time. The boot fitter's name is Jeff and has about 20 years experience in ski/snowboard boot in boot fitting/design/testing. Jeff is very familiar with both thermoflex liners and Intuition liners(note: Stefan Kaelin Sports also sells Intuition liners). One cool thing he did was grind the heel and arch areas on the footbeds so they would work better with the volume of the thermoflexes. If you need some boot fitting, look Jeff up. He is an interesting guy to talk shop with and did a nice job on my boots. Tom