Softcarver

Of course most of us strive to maintain control at all times. I however also strive to improve my skills and that means pushing the boundaries of my ability. There is no way to improve without testing and pushing these limits. Pushing those limits means occasionally crossing them. A patch of ice or an unexpected obstacle can throw even the most seasoned riders into a state of temporary loss of control. Stories like this just make me nervous about moments like that. I am not talking just about this case. It's hard to tell from the articles how the fault should fall. In some ways it sounds like the defendant hit the boy although it is possible that the boy rode into the blind side of the rider since he claims to have not seen the boy. Either way it doesn't look good that the defendant claims to have not seen anyone. I think stories like this are going to open a new age of riding. Perhaps riding insurance and mountain police are down the road for us all. My personal thoughts on suing on the hill are as follows: As has been mentioned we all accept the fact that riding is a dangerous sport and must accept the consequences of engaging in this sport. However if someone is found grossly negligent than a criminal and/or civil case is warranted. I would never sue someone on the hill unless I felt that the accident was caused by an extremely reckless act on their part. And even then I would have to be seriously injured (in other words permanently) and they would have to have a very bad attitude about it. Of course no-one actually knows how they will react until they are in that situation so this is merely speculation on my part.

I've been very dissapointed checking the weather reports. The whole reasone we wanted to go to snowbird was due to their epic POW. Looks like were s.o.l. on that one. Let's keep our fingers crossed for that storm later in the week. If not at least I can sleep in.

I agree with this statement as well as other points you have made. I do admit that it is most likely that the accused did recklessly cause the injury by traveling at a high rate of speed for that area. I am sure the criminal court would not have sentenced him if he didn't rightfully deserve it. (Unless of course he had a hack attorney. LOL. ) I was just pointing out a few things that it seems some did not consider. And although a misdemeanor conviction may not ruin ones life it may prevent them from entering or staying in certain professional fields thereby greatly affecting it.

I know it's spring but I am in the middle of waxing the boards for my Utah trip next week. I use Dominator wax and was using their Bullet after applying the base prep so as to have a harder coat to protect the board from burn. I am using their zoom on top of that followed by a high flourinate from racewax. I will not be bringing my tuning equipment so I wanted the wax job to last through my stay. It just seems that the Bullet is so hard to apply. It doesn't melt on that well and I find myself doing extra passes to get it to melt in. If I do my first pass any slower I am worried about overheating the base. Then the scraping is difficult as well. Is this typical for most hard/cold weather waxes? Is there something that I'm missing or are there any other waxes that may be easier to apply with as good performance?

Love it. I hope so. LOL

I think that a lot of posters are jumping to conclusions without having the facts. I am all for punishing someone who intentionally rides recklessly and causes injury to another. But: 1) What exactly is the speed limit in a slow zone. I have never seen one posted. Perhaps the accused is capable of extremely high speeds and 30 mph seems slow to him. (Not that I do 30mph in a slow zone) But more importantly.... 2) Who exactly clocked the accused at 30-35 mph. Was the ski patrolmen also certified to rate speed by eye or did they have radar guns installed on the trees. 3) Was the accused intentionally speeding or did something happen to make him lose control making this merely an accident. Without knowing all the variables I would find it hard to pass judgement. Given the proper circumstances I would see the punishment as just, but I would need some hard proof of negligence or reckless behavior. I am sure that many of us have been involved in situations (wether recent or long ago while we were learning) where someone was, almost was or could have been (a close call) injured in a situation involving us. Think about it. Would you want to go to jail for an accident on the slopes. I am sure that an on slope investigation is not going to be as thorough as one involving a MV. Would you want your future on the line based on what someone said you did. Yes we all have a responsibility to stay in control, but we're supposed to do the same things in cars and look how any accidents there are when the rules are clear and concrete with strict enforcement. The skiier code is fairly vague as are the rules of the hill (ie. what does slow entail) Until there are speedometers, cameras and other safety devices installed on our hills and boards this is all left to an individuals perception. Again, if he was really being careless then a punishment is fitting, but is this really where we want the future of snowboarding to go. I for one like to enjoy my time on the slopes; responsibly.

I have a set of aluminum oxide stones for my base edge tuning. After a season worth of usage they are slightly scoredwhere they were worn by the edge. This seems to happen very quickly. (like I have to use a new spot for each time I do a board) Is this normal? Is there any way to re-fresh the stones or do I have to just buy a new set?

I've done that half by accident a few times. I don't think that I would ever wrench my body around like that on purpose, but it does make falling look a lot cooler.

but I ride with between 45 and 50 up front and 5 less in the back. I was at 45 for a while and just upped to 50 last time I went out. I didn't notice any issues and actually felt more comfortable. I do ride Catek's with a mildly stiff boot. I am half considering demoing a narrower board with some hard boots for next season to check out some higher angles. Maybe then all these people that look down on us softies will finally accept me. LOL

For some reason all my ride bindings are the same. The slots are a bit too wide but if you are careful you can get them caught without drilling and use the slot to adjust. Just leave the screws very loose until you get all four caught. As far as the high back it is what it is. I ride with 45-50 up front and 5 less in the back and I have not found it to be that much of an issue. I haven't found many bindings out there that rotate that much anyway.

It appears as though you did not appreciate my comment. My intent was not to offend anyone, but rather offer some possibly helpful information. I was not suggesting that you sell your board. I was merely relating what information I have received from a reputable source. My local shop carries Burton for at least 50% of their inventory. They wouldn't have given me tha heads up if there weren't a lot of complaints about the channel system. This also seems to be supported by the 20 sets of replacement hardware Burton sent out. However, if you feel comfortable with the system than by all means use it. It was asked if anyone else had experiences with the channel and even though I have not I felt it pertinent to share this info. I personally do not ride or buy anything Burton even though I used to own only Burton. This is due to several bad experiences I had with the company and their products. I am not going to get into it and bash Burton at this time. I personally would not feel comfortable having only two screws holding me to the board where if one came off it could spell disaster for my knee. I also weigh in at 215 as opposed to 135 so I need a very durable binding. I am sure that the channel has its benefits to other mounting systems including increased board feel, but it is just not for me.

Thats good and bad news. I think that is what is going on with mine. I am not sure how large the aluminum deck is but it seems as if the edges of it started the crack in the topsheet. Hopefully I will have luck with a replacement and a set of spacers will help out with the longevity issue.

That sounds like bad business practice to me. I just cracked a Lib-Tech board on a tree this season and even though it was clearly my fault they provided me with a "B" grade board at no charge. My friends and I all buy Lib-Tech and will continue to do so in part due to their excelllent customer service. I hope Nidecker stands behind their product or they will lose one. I even spoke with the rep before I mounted my Catek's and he did not see an issue. Now there are two minor cracks running just to the outside of my binding mounts on my front foot after about 15 days. I am making two polycarbonate spacers similar to Catek's to protect from further damage so I can ride in Utah next week. How do you like the Ultralight as compared to the Megalight? What differences do you notice? If they warranty my board maybe I will see about upgrading.

Have you sold the spacers? If not are they the race or freeride ones?

I have actually never ridden it nor will I ever, but from speaking with the guys down at my local shop the screws loosen up often. And with only two screws holding you to the board this can be very bad. Besides not being compatible with other bindings the burton channel bindings have limited angles which do not accomodate an aggressive stance.

+1. This is a very effective method but you need a decent pitch for it to work. If you're in the flats you're going to have to hike for a few. Make sure to lean way back when starting off until you gain some momentum to surf over the POW.

I didn't wind up setting up a board with these. I wonder about durability of the footbed, given that it's only supported at the corners. Can anyone >180 lbs say vouch for these? As I stated earlier I weigh in at around 215 and have never had an issue with the bindings other than bending the front heelcup which was warranteed. I do ride very aggressive and was on the bindings for two full seasons before the failure. I have not had a problem since the new heelcup arrived. I now use the CAD's for my POW binding and my Catek's for groomed carving.

So I have been riding a set of Catek FR2's for the season on a Nidecker Megalight. I just increased my angles to 50 front and 45 rear and when I took off my bindings to wax the board I noticed the start of some small cracks on the topsheet directly under the bindings. I am going to Utah in a week and hopefully the Nidecker USA there will warranty the board. I was wondering about different spacer options to protect my board in the future. I like the F2 S-flex but I weigh in at 215 and according to the site I am too heavy. My next two options are the Catek spacers which I can probably make easily enough out of plexiglass or the Palmer PLS shock. Would the Palmer work well with the Catek's or is the Catek spacer my only option? Would these options work well enough or should I just drop Catek?

I will be at ECES and would appreciate if you could bring something for the soft boot riders as well. I would love to ride the new Saber. Otherwise the Razor or Incline would be nice. It will probably be the only opportunity I have to demo one of your boards before I decide to buy one.

I just picked up the level superpipe pro. It's a little expensive, but with Kevlar reinforcement on the fingers and palm it should hold up well. They fell warm as hell also.

I do agree which is why if someone is going around the same speed as me I choose to stay behind them. Or if they are going slightly too slow for me I pass quickly and straightline it for a moment to ensure that I put enough distance between us before I resume carving. The slopes get crowded sometimes and we just have to do our best to avoid incidents. I love your Dads saying. Defensive driving and riding is always the best whether or not you have the right of way. That is why even if you know you are right assume that the other person does not. I would rather slow down for a moment or let someone go in front of me and get down safe rather than know I was right while riding down in a sled. The code is only good to a point. Common sense comes in handy also.

I personally feel that most mountains where I ride in Vermont have fairly clear signs about the code. I could not help but see them and I do follow the code. I think that most people just do not choose to follow it and as was said above feel that they are above the code. One of the guys I ride with always complains about people cutting him off. No matter how many times I try to explain it to him he just doesn't get it. Let's face it, a faster rider always has a chellenge ahead of them. You can try to anticipate someones move as you overtake them, but people can always pull an erratic maneuver and throw you off. This is where skill comes in as you quickly maneuver to avoid an incident. The worst situation has to be when someone overtakes you only to slow up and take up the whole slope. Kind of like the guy who speeds up to 100 to pass you on the highway only to get in front of you to do 60. It is nice to see that some people take a moment to address the issue with dangerous riders as this is probably their only hope of becoming safer riders. Unfortunately as in all areas of life there will always be a-holes to deal with no matter what you do.

I just upgraded from the RIDE CAD bindings to the CATEK FR2 Pros. I loved my Rides and had two great seasons on them. I am 215 lbs and 6'-2" and am really hard on my bindings. I bent the heelcup at the end of last season due to pressure from the highback. Ride covered it under warranty, but I wanted to check out the Cateks. I only have three days on the Cateks and it took me a full day just to dial them in, but I love them already. Very easy to adjust and much more damp and responsive than the Rides. The body also appears very durable although I had an issue with my ankle strap already (they are used). I have ridden many other bindings and aside from the FR2's I have found no other binding comparable for freeriding. If you just bought the rides I would try them out unless you can step up to the Cateks. The Cateks are definitely worth the extra coin. I do miss the convertible toe strap though and am going to stick a set on the Cateks for the ultimate soft carving binding.

It's definitely not the same. I've been trying to get the hang of surfing for the last two summers with no luck, and I've been snowboarding for a long time. Fresh POW and surfing do feel slightly similar though in terms of floating. Not the same, just similar.

Salomon F22. The most comfortable boot my foot has ever had the pleasure of wearing. They almost feel like I'm wearing sneakers. I'd love to try the Malamute, but the Fusion series has size reduction which helps my size 12's get on a narrower board.