ThePeonsChamp

I ride zipfit gara stealth 28.5 in my D mountain slopes and they're my favorite liners for sure that I've worn so far. Which zipfit works for you will depend on if you're high or low volume fit for your boot.

Imo the key for me to carving the steeps was for me to learn how to carve at the lowest speeds possible. Minimum carving speed. Learn it on blues and greens then progress. I had a lot of Hip checks on the snow learning this so don't be afraid to put on some extra padding. On the steeps you'll be surprised at how slowly you can carve, just make sure you really absorb the lower body on since on the steeps you'll have less time to transition or you'll get too much speed.

So I bought the Gen 1 versions that I think you had and they are tight over the top of the foot and hard to get onto my 28.5 zip fits but I wore them anyway as they helped lock in my back heel immensely. I got the Gen 2s this season and they have a stretchy connector across the top of the foot and it's definitely been a upgrade. They really complete the fit for me as I have a bone spur on my back heel so I had to punch that spot out and so the extra foam I added around that spot has really dialed in my fit.

Thank you so much I can't wait to practice. Really appreciate the tips!

Ooo I would love to get a lesson! I think I've heard of this Tom mentioned before here as a great instructor. OK any idea if Casper rode with lifts fore/aft? Also a switch clinic would be awesome and something new for MCC! I've been itching to get back to Montana for this incredible event(been since 2020 for me ). I'm so jealous that the snow was so good for the event this past year.

So I dabbled in some switch riding last season on a few boards and found more success on my wider boards for sure. Haven't tried with my thirst CC+ but I think this will be my go to for practicing with its 23.5cm waist since my coiler ECVC felt better spinning on than my thin thirsts. So for setup I'm wondering if Flat bindings or my standard toe/heel lift which I ride on everything will be more conducive to switch riding. I'm pretty tall so the toe lift has always been a must for front leg fatigue for me. The other setting I'm wondering about is if a more centered place on the board is better? Would putting my bindings all the way forward work better for switch? Does anyone know how @caspercarver set up his gear as I love watching his old videos with his jump turn carves. Not sure if he's active here anymore so if anyone knows that would be appreciated. I'm not expecting to ride like kkkkkento0901 @caspercarver @boardski but if I could rail one single switch carve this season I'd be happy. Thanks for any and all feedback

I love my Gara stealth liners in my 951 d shell. But that wasn't without some tinkering. I ended up needing to remove some material in the back heel due to a heel spur and then had my boot fitter put another tube of cork in the heel but that still wasn't enough so I found these https://patriotfootbeds.com/products/liner-sleeve And put foam j bars and some foam along my upper Achilles and now the heel is solid. I recommend the liner sleeves with strategically placed foam, huge improvement.

I'll try this on my XC.m. Thanks for the idea. I love my geckos on my GS boards. Did you like it slightly asym more?

Damn that sounds like an absolute blast! Where do you live again.... I uhh might need to check it for quality control *cough* mhm. hehe I'd love to try that thing but then again you know I'd be on the phone with Mark again lol.

So I rode my 8RW today for the first half of the day and then rode my XC.m for the second half. The 8RW is at .278 I believe on Mark's stiffness scale while my XC.m is .304 so decently stiffer. I hate to say it but I feel like the XC.m absolutely crushed the firm and icy stuff while the 8RW didn't feel quite as sound underfoot. Now that could a technique thing as I am a bit more tentative on the 8RW since it's an overall longer board and the Texan invasion has begun down here for us in New Mexico but the XC.m really did feel more bulletproof which sucks because now I want a Tesi8(8RW with metal) . I believe Mark told me someone bought a 8RW and a tesi8 at the same time so they might have the best ability to compare. I'll do some more back to back riding when the snow is better but for now my hardpack icy snow destroyer is the XC.m It took me a while to even bring out the 8RW this season as I've been in love with the XC.m it really is everything I've been wanting in a board. Damn do I love this XC.m. I wonder if Mark would make a 9SW with metal? Muahahahaaha

How thick is the Quasi-isotropic carbon? We talking sheet here or reinforced stringers etc? Sounds like it'll be a dream though. Cheers!

I still need to try that 205cm monster of yours. Although I'll probably catch the virus bug and that scares me

Can't wait to see the footage it looks intriguing. Whenever I see footage of skwalers it looks so clean and effortless.

It should be interesting as Mark said "Metal (titanal) it's not damp... It's about frequency/resonance and averages." I've had over 50 days now on my 8RW and that I think was my first board without metal so it should be interesting to compare the ride quality of the two. I'm expecting it to ride like a dream as the reviews for the tesi8 (8RW w/ metal) have sounded good so far.

That's a manly looking board Mario *tim the toolman Taylor grunt* Got this at the end of last season but haven't been able to ride it yet. Excited to ride a more nimble board for my home mountain when I'm looking for more CPR(carves per run?) Thirst XC.m (metal) 9sw tip/tail style 18.7cm ish and a bit stiffer at .304 as I'm looking to beef up preseason, one day I aim to lose people in my trenches like mario Shoutouts to Mark as always for his craftsmanship and personal engagement with his customers!