jonbass

This is a great forum! I have been using forums to research my hobbies for quit a while now (I have a lot of hobbies!) I am a member of a goaltending forum, a unicycling forum and bass and mandolin forums. They are all filled with people who are passionate about their interests. This is the best one by far. Lots of information and and opinions are backed up with experience and reason. My new mission if I choose to accept it is to convince my wife that I need more stuff! ;) What about an Oxygen APX 165? Has anyone ridden them? I guess they are a boardercross type board, stiffer than a 4WD. It might fit the bill to start out. What are some other boardercross boards? Are boardercross board the same or similar to all mountain boards? I like the looks of the Coiler AM. I think the 172 would be great. I don't think I'm ready to get into custom ordering boards yet but I will keep an eye out for one. Cold weather is something i really have to consider when it comes to boots. We have long winters up here in the Yukon but it is often just too cold to ride. The hill here won't open on the weekends if we are getting close to -30 C. Jon

I think you are right. Sidecut radius may be the important element that I haven't been looking at. I spent hours last night on the board researching things and I definitely find that my perception of what I need is changing. I am really thinking about what I would use the board for. I remember years ago I wanted a burly mountain board because my freestyle was too soft when I was bombing down the hill. I went out and bought a Avalanche Damian Dagger 175 (It sounds like I was a big Damian Sanders fan but I wasn't :)) and rode it with soft boots with a freestyle stance and it just didn't work for me. In reality, I was comparing the carving of my freestyle board to carving with hardboots. If I had changed my stance and put plate bindings on that board, I probably would have enjoyed that board more. I am trying to be realistic with what I would be using a board for. After researching, I don't think that the ATV would be for me and I'm not sure about the 4WD (I don't think that I knew what it was like). i really do want to be able to carve fairly hard. That being said, the hill here rarely is perfectly groomed and snow conditions aren't all that great. A fair amount of ice shows up and the trails are narrow. A really long unforgiving race board may be too much for me. I am heavier but slower and more careful these days :D. I tended to go to my slalom boards more often than GS and longer boards when i wanted to carve. I never really enjoyed boards that were longer than about 175 back then. Then again technology has changed quite a bit. I might be happier with a snappy shorter race board with the right side cut. I probably sound a little wishy-washy but it is because of the steep learning curve. Thanks for the feedback. I think that i am leaning towards standard plates instead of in-tec just to save some money. I may later go that way but it is a place where I think I can save a bit of money to start. Especially if I end up with more than on board! :D Does anyone have some decent bindings for sale? TD 2's? I was looking at a pair of Deeluxe Suzuka boots 25.5 and UPZ RTRs 25.5 in the classified. Would that be a decent size? I have measured my feet at 25.3 and 25.9 cm.

Thanks for the info. I definitely want a stiffer board. I am starting to think that I would prefer a full alpine board as opposed to something that is more all purpose. I wish I lived somewhere where I can try some stuff out. I have been watching some carving videos and man I can still feel those carves! I am pretty excited. I have a pair of cross country skating skis and boots that have hardly been used that I think i will sell to finance my new/old addiction.

Thanks for the help BlueB. Great info. I have turned on my email settings but it seems my PM is turned off by the administrator. Probably because I am a new member. If you want to send an email, you should be able to now.

Hi Folks. I used to do a lot of racing and carving back in the days of Burton asymetrical boards and those fluorescent pink Koflachs that Damian Sanders used to wear. I actually owned a pair. The last few years my snowboarding has been reduced to a couple of days a year on a rental freestyle board. That just isn't fun anymore (I end up riding fakie half the time just to challenge myself because the rental board just can't hold an edge at speed) and I'd like to get back into laying down some nice carves and going fast. I was really pleased to recently discover this forum and all the great information. I've been trying to catch up on the changes in the sport (wow! I feel old!) and figuring out what I need. I am looking into used becaue I am realizing that I would probably have to spend $1500 - $2000 to get what I want new. I am not really sure what my budget is. I will see how it goes. I an 36 years old, 225lbs, and about 6' tall. Board - I am looking for a board that is fairly versatile as I doubt my wife will let me keep a quiver of them at home. I will be riding mostly groomed but there is a good possibility that I might do some backcountry/powder as I live in the Yukon and there is a lot of terrain accessible by snowmobile. I also live close to some great terrain in Alaska. I think that the boards that have caught my eye the most are the Prior ATV and 4WD. I am guessing that I don't want to go with a really long board (probably 175 and shorter) because the hills here can get pretty tight. Does anybody have any advice here or a board that would suit? Should I be looking at a longer board because of my weight? Or just stiffer? Bindings - I am a loss when it comes to bindings because they have changed so much. Step-ins came out after I had given up riding seriously. Are they useful and do they add a noticeable amount of weight? Do you have to spend more time maintaining them? I think I am more inclined to get regular plate bindings. The bindings that have attracted my attention are the Bomber TD3s. They seem to be really adjustable and versatile. I am probably least fussy about the bindings as long as they work and are reliable. Boots - I just measured my feet and one is 25.3 cm and the other 25.9 cm. I think this puts me in mondo sizing 25. Correct? It is cold out here so I'm looking for warm boots that are reliable in cold weather and that won't break in -20's celcius. Are there liners that are warmer? If so I am looking for those! :) I like the look of some of the UPZ boots. So to sum up. I'm looking for a versatile board and I'm willing to sacrifice a little performance to be able to ride some powder. Simple, reliable plate bindings and warm boots. I think that my dream set up at this point (with my limited knowledge) would be a Prior ATV or 4WD (160-175), TD3 bindings and UPZ boots. This will probably change in the next few day as I do more research!:D Thanks for taking the time to read this and I value your experienced advice. If you have gear that you think would suit me, let me know. Jon