Eric Brammer aka PSR

The only two potential issues with putting those 104's on it are ; 1st} Wheel clearance. You might need riser pads? 2nd} Wheel contact patch in really deep turns. The reason for Carvesticks having the pre-coned wheels is that they'll still grip (on the inside-of-the-arc! At that point, you're on two wheels, ie., Way Up on Edge!) when you're Carving really hard. Or, you could buy a Landyatchz Evo, put Gullwing Sidewinders on it (get Riptide Chubby bushings for those!), and put the 104's on that ?! Or not...

Carveboard also put the Carvestik, which featured pre-coned urethane wheels. It was smaller, lighter, more nimble,etc.. I seem to recall that Carveboards use 10mm axles? If that's correct, Bear/ Landyatchz Longboards markets a 10mm inner-bore bearing (SKF, and Fafnir also make bearings that're basically a 608, with a 10mm inner bore) that's Ceramic and has a water-resistant shield. I don't see any reason to change axles IF you can get bearings to fit! 22mm is the outside size for 608's, and they're usually 7mm or 8mm wide. As for a remount of the trucks, consider simple riser between the deck and truck? Although, re-mounting the trucks will also tighten the turn arc a bit... This is a cool idea, something I'd love to hear back on if you put it together!

The VIDEO to this was epic! These two were side-by-side, and you could see they were "workin' it", when Fawcett pumped about 4-in-a-row while keeping really LOW to the snow, and, Bam, the skis went South! Note, too, that Mark is on a Palmer, not any special, or bigger Sims board! One wonders what it might've been if he'd been on a wide-nose 197 Burner?!

Nick, the Blast was pretty aggressive board 'in-the-day', but it's stable, and flows edge-to-edge without undue drama (such as folding the nose, or Not releasing an edge..), where-as the Silbefiel is a nervous pup. So, given your stature, stay on the Hot for now.. On firm+cold days, the F-2 might give you bigger comfort zone (if you ride light on your feet), as you'll still be able to tighten up turns as you need to, and, on soft-snow days (not Powder days) it may be more 'playful' overall. I've owned 4 Hots (loved all of them!) and 3 F-2's (liked 2, loved 1), and given the choice of being stuck with only 1 board, and only having these two product lines to pick from, I'd stick with Hot without hesitation. I write all this without yet asking, 'What do ya wanna learn?'; or, 'Where are ya at this Season?', or even 'Where do you ride?'.. My answer might vary given those considerations, but, for now, go with what feels best.

Scrawny... Quick on his feet, too! As for flex overall, I can see this board bending enough while carving. My only gripe with stiffer boards in Pow in when trolling slowly thru trees/bumps, or when the nose sinks. I didn't see the nose 'dive' badly (granted, it didn't 'bend up' like the hinge-nose of an O-Sin SWT, but only my 'Obsession' did That, more gently..) , so I think Dan will be happy 80% of the time, though crusty windpack (thinking of east-side of Mt Adams; yikes) might be ugly(?). As for Lurch's idea on flex, the capped '98-'01 Tankers did have the nicest flex length-wise, Volkl cores, and in the 'smalls' (162/167/172/177) were of a capped construction. They were amazing, good enough for me to put the R/A Obsession aside for a few years, even on powder days. IMHO, I'd bet both Lurch and Dan would be quite happy on this Fullbag.

So, Dan, how Soft is that Cascade Cement?? ;-) Seriously, if you're using hardboots, I don't think you'll have issues in-bounds on-edge, but chop might make ya dance an odd jig. In Sacred Pow, length is often a better thing, so a 171 H-head is a nice size, should float you quite nicely!

Lurch, have you seen Mig Skate?? Trust me, he has ridden his own gear, and unless you're 'svelte, you've got no worries! Once I figure out how to actually make more money than I use, a Hammerhead or Lifer are on the 'bucket list' (providing I don't kick my own bucket prematurely..).

I liked the bit in 'Scream' where Shannon Melhuse and C.K. were side-by-side, literally running by the trees as if they were Slalom Gates!

Well, Doc, enjoy! This is an Ice Rocket!!

Hey Curt, I am interested in this one. Can't touch it until Sept. (gotta MOVE 1st!), so, NOT asking for 'dibs', just consideration in a month...But, I'll try to pay more than the asking price...

No, Frank, they're Burtons!

And, yet, the Fruit falls close by the Tree;; http://powderjets.com/about Anyone [Mig?] want to get their Powdergun Experimental back? Or, maybe their pre-82 OP Swallowtail? Also, they do make full-on p-tex/metal edged boards; I saw them at Cannon Mt. (not a Mt. to be sneered at; It's Steep, Icy, and at times difficult to ride), and their crew was having a good time just romping around (testing stuff?).

Not to compare it to 'old tech', but this looks very much like a Rad-Air Obsession from '92-'93, with perhaps the stiffer fore-foot area of a Tanker 162/167? It has some shape elements of some of Mig's Fullbag boards, or a Jones Hovercraft (though, obviously, and thankfully, Not Rockered, nor with that Magna-traction stuff! Yay, that!). Nice enough, and I'm happy to see it; May yet put it on the 'wanted' list.

Snurfers are being made by the same guy that makes Vew-Do Balance Boards, Bru Moscallero. He got the rights from my first snowboard 'Guru', Paul Graves (a 3 time Snurfer Champ, btw). Bru was my 1st PSIA Snowboard Examiner (Level 1) in '89. I started Snurfing in 5th grade, 1975, Paul got me on a Flite in '78, a Backhill in 1980, and to The Nationals in '82 (Team East), where I met Jack Smith, and got re-acquainted with Tom Sims (this time on snow, not at a skatepark out West). Vermont may be backwater, a bit slower paced than the rest, but, I do believe finding that Snurfer in the Barn, that was a defining moment for me. I put bindings (bike tubes), edges (L-angle Aluminum), and a pre-peg fiberglass base on that Snurfer in '78, and gave it to Paul in '94. Having guys like Paul and Bru nearby, I've never doubted the Roots of Snowboarding, because we were there, living it... Snurfer has a good home now, and the guy making them understands what he's got; Living History, a Legacy, and a really fun Ride!! Check 'em out, they're great fun, and the simplest form of Snowboard...

Yeah, it works though, dependent on 3 things;1st} Binding construction. If the highback is purposely 'weak' [flexes easily, has big voids, or no rotation at the hinge], it won't be much better. 2nd} Your Stance angles. If you're under 21*F, you can still use the front calf to leverage more to the board edge, and,HeY!, Lift the Toes, too! 3rd} Hip-Placement, early in the turn. If you're full-on AASI brainwashed, your hip stays very centered (between the bindings, ie, fore/aft), so, rotating the highback to be closer to be in-line-with-the-edge won't matter much. But, then, likely, you are running blunt angles compared with how I ride. Torsional twist of a board matters, too. Some boards respond in this input range more than I'm comfy with, and my better-feeling boards are NOT flimsy here! If you're running Really Cranked Softie angles, you might not see/feel much difference. As I've noted many times, Softboot angles above 39*, without a top-strap (3rd strap system, highback Locked to the binding) don't really do much for heelside turns, as there's No Leverage from the highback until after the turn is almost done. The 3-strap at least translates the front leg's move towards the heelside into moderate leverage, but the highback isn't being pushed upon until mid-turn, once the hip has gotten just over the front heel. Putting MORE forward lean at high angles does mitigate this a tad, though. Good for steeps in softer snow, imho. Lastly, boot choice, and how well a boot suits the binding will matter (as in, what boot works with Flows?!), some boots do well at transmitting force heelside, while still being usable to walk in...

Taken from Freecarve; There's more like this in there, just gotta use the 'search' function to find them! On 10/28/2015 PSR wrote in from United States (65.96.xxx.xxx) It's been awhile since I got a call from Gilmore, at night.. But, I do recall one conversation we had, him on the hill somewhere near Boston, me cooking dinner in Perkinsville. He had this problem, riding softboots, where he was skipping out of his carves. What I told him to do, after going thru a quick checklist of 'how+when' as well as "what are U on", was adjust his highbacks, asymmetrically. After his first call, he adjusted his highbacks, called me back, amazed at the 'remote' fix! (you're welcome, JG!) In binding angles above 15*, the front heel edge pressure gets a bit miss-placedtoo far aft. In the old days, when three-strappers, and locked highbacks were the norm, all you had to do was make the front top-strap more snug than the rear. Easy. But with more modern bindings, the highbacks are made to deflect energy, not direct it. They're also made to work mostly with a "duck", low angle stance. So, how can you get these things to work at higher angles, and get some chatter-free carves? Well, first, pick a stiff binding. Be sure it's well padded underfoot, with a lifting Toe-ramp.Stay away from a 'baseless' platform as well. Secondly, if possible, get a wrap-around or 'Winged' highback. Both Burton and TechNine offer highbacks like this currently. Note the range of forward lean adjustment, too. You'll want to use two different angles, with the rear up to +12 more lean in adjustment available. Thirdly, check and see if the hinge-points can be moved to 'rotate' the highback around the 'horse-shoe', letting you run a higher stance angle while keeping the highback close to parallel to the board's edge. This is important if you ride angles up past the 21* mark, as otherwise, your leg-pressure going into a heelside turn will always be Behind your hip, making for a bit of a timing mis-cue, and likely an over-pressure in the later part of your arc. So, got those things? Stiff binders, adjustment range in lean, and hopefully the 'winged' highbacks? Good. Now, put the board on (on carpet, and move that glass coffe table outa the way,too!), with your boots, facing a full-length mirror. Make the moves you'd do for medium-deep heelside turn. Note just 'when' each calf engages the highback for tilting in. If the front hits first, then that highback needs to be a bit more 'upright' than the rear. Which one you adjust is up to You, but Don't Make It 'TIPPY', but rather let your legs 'ease' into putting nearly equal tilt inputs, with ability to 'relax' the edging, and, hopefully also still allow fore-aft moves without banging into the highbacks. If your highbacks can adjust in 'rotation' within the 'horseshoe', consider moving the lead hinge-screw forward a few clicks (or hole-set on T-9's), and/or the rear hinge-screw back towards the heel. I tend to do this on the front binding first, as my angles up Front are usually a good 12*-18* more aggressive (yeah, I walk slightly 'duck-footed'), but Everyone is built a bit differently, so you may find that a smaller tweak is all you need here. [Keep in mind, this will feel a bit odd If you ride Fakie at all, as the 'symmetry' is not there anymore going into heelside turns.] The idea here is to let your hip move a bit more further forward Before you get on-edge too hard in deep heelside turns, and also keep the edge pressure more even mid-carve between your feet. Note that too much forward lean at the rear binding will make for a tendency to wash-out (or 'Pop' off of) the board's tail late in the turn.

Oh, cool! So ,That's what you do with your Torque bindings when the highbacks crack into lil' bits!! I'm all over it, will be gathering the bits + parts over the summer.. Thanks Dan! ;-)

Looking at those Kinco's, I'd Sk8 Downhill with those, once the cuffs were trimmed. Tarmac is much more brutal than most snow (there are exceptions, in both cases!) on friction wear, so, if the Kinco's are holding together, and staying warm-ish/dry-ish, they are a Winner! My very old 'Cold Earth' gloves survived 3 seasons of irregular use, but were what I used to learn how to get my hip/knees onto the snow in the early-mid 90's (and, back then, the quiver was crazy; Nitro EFT asym, the 1st Madds, Barfoot Ravive,Nirtro Diablo, Hot Asym,Rad-Air Soul,Burton 205/M-8, well, you get it, odd stuff), but when i took them out two seasons back, they exploded. What I think is needed is Cold Earth's warmth and overall durability, mixed with some stitching/leather from Kinco, and maybe, some drag-influenced input from the Sk8 Longboard slider-glove makers. My 2+5 cents, all royalties get put into my kids education fund asap...(well, they did make national Honor Roll Society, but Trump hates Education, so, a hedge.?.) .

Yeah, so I'm 53 today... As for 'loading' on my feet, I put way more strain on them doing the odd 'summer' job (in which, I alternated from Instructor/Coach to a variety of warm-weather jobs for 22 years. Trust me, pushing a stuck rollercoaster train out of a swale is a bit more work than punching in CNC Coding) than walking around on the flat floor of a Machine Shop. There may be a hereditary component, as arthritis runs in the both limbs of my family tree. But, having run a similar boot for, over 15 seasons, then suddenly finding that one must now stretch the shells another 3-4 mm in width at the fore of the boot, yeah, that's an eye-opener. My footbeds no longer supported the forefoot, as bones had spread enough to not fit where they'd been comfy the previous decade. Many of my sk8 shoes don't fit, either. I sk8ed on VANS shoes since the 70's, used them as my primary Luge Brakes (Gummy soles that're thick, but don't 'grab+skip' when footbraking!), but I can't wear them now for more than 10 minutes at a time. This occurred rather quickly, in the span of a few years; those few years were working at one particular shop within the corporation, and it was the one shop that didn't put down padding near the Lathes/Mills, forcing the operator to work in an uncomfortable station 8-10 hrs a day. This one shop also had the continuous issue of oil on every flat surface; the root cause there was that Maint. was putting the air-filters in backwards, so the evacuators were spraying a fine oily mist all the time. After 3 incidents where employees fell hard enough to be injured (usually right after mopping!), corporate finally investigated. By then, there was a greenish film (we turned Copper, primarily) on the tops of every machine. So, IMHO, I would like to think I'd still be able to do many of the things I did as a younger man, but my feet payed a steep price for my employment at this one shop.

Yeah, I wax every other day, all winter. Your point is ?!

For replacement t-nuts, get Aircraft-grade Stainless, as it has to have a certain (not Chinese alchemy!) amount of Nickel IN it, not sprayed ON it. True too, with bolts, but, in this case, the T-nuts get the abuse of all the salts sweated from your stanky feet, plus what-ever puddles you walk thru. Chinese ignorance of established standards for manufacture have unintentionally caused many disasters, from little stuff like this, to the Oklahoma Mall Collapse in '86 ( where I was Very Aware of this while studying Architecture Design at that time! ). But, we buy this Crap all the time now. If Kissinger had only stayed home....

With Zardoz, I buy the Puck, then buy the Refill kit, which, while still a 'small' amount of fluid, is plenty for my neck of the woods, and, the refill kit gives you fresh pads for the puck. One thing I really like is that in riding spring-time woods (usually on a 'beater', but, at times on my O-sin or a Tanker) is that softwood needles and hardwood sap usually don't stick, and, unlike Martin's neat Wax suggestion, the puck fits in a fleece pocket nicely. BTW, Martin, Turtle wax is a bit cheaper! During my AASI Lvl 2, I was at Ski Windham (just a bit south of Albany,NY), and in the last two days, it was in the upper 70's. We soaped boards with soft-scrub, leaving lil' bubbles as we went! Do what ya have to! ;-)

Well, THAT narrows thing down one notch! Use Ocham's Razor to good effect, then! [hint, not Montana's fault, nor, likely, the tech running it!; not an Asym Core, I'm pretty sure..]

Please be aware of heel-lift, and, your ankle width. IF you are slipping Up in a Dee-Lux 325, you may need a shell that is 'skinnier' near the heel/cuff, and a UPZ actually is a tad wider from 27 mondo on up (it also is wider in the toes!). So, even though a RAB doesn't fit, consider an old Dalbello based boot (which would be Burton/Head/Blax), or maybe the "Indy" series of Dee-lux boots, but maybe a shell-size down (watch for toe room!). The fit is, up to you, but, if you're 'losing traction', that isn't good. Pay heed to your foot shape, and comfort limits. It may be fixable with your current shell, given some fixes to the liner as they are. If not, think about whether your foot matches the overall shell shaping.

Las Lenas!! Took a Cat-tour up to the Continental Divide ridge, and came back In-bounds. My 200 Tanker was great there, and my protege romped it on my O-Sin 4807, so, we both were always 'on top' of the situation!! Although, Velle Nevado was also good, despite the low cloud cover (upper Mt. was a tree-less fog-bank; damn near went too far 'left' off a precipice!; learned to stay 'on groomers on 'foggy' days!), and had epic soft-snow conditions in late July. Take dramazine before any bus rides up to the Resorts!