steven

minimum stance width?

...as far as they would go

are the gecko's still available?

36/27 here. using old palmer risers (not in photo), and with size 9.5 malamutes and a 23.8 waist, i'm not getting much boot-out. board is 160. super fun set-up for tight carves (8.5 scr) as well as high speed cruising.

how so?

I recently bought a nirvana 180 from someone here on the forum, and am blown away. backstory: I hard booted a little bit 15-20 years ago, and quit after folding the nose of my burton amp 156 and destroying my ankle, requiring surgery. softies and powder (mostly)at that point. Fast forward to 2015-16, and I was looking to get the hardboot setup out again. I had so much fun on it that i upgraded to modern equipment (upz rc-8 with palouse wrap liners) and was very excited to start serious carving again. I bought a used volkl renn tiger 163, and had bruce make me a nirvana energy 168, with a waist width of 21, and a tight sidecut of 9-10.7-10. I was thinking the nirvana was going to be my bigger board, and the volkl my slalom board. Things had been going great, with my technique steadily improving. I was running f2 carve rs bindings on the slalom board, and standard td3's on the nirvana 168. I bought the nirvana 180 on a whim, as it was a good deal, and i was curious as to how a bigger board rode, and it had the same waist width as my nfc 168, but with a 12-14 vscr. It was also built for someone about 15lbs heavier than me. From the very first run i was shocked at how damp it was, and how i could pretty much put everything i had into it with the right conditions, and it would hold instead of chattering. steep runs that were challenging for me to carve smoothly on the 168 became easier and smoother! I now call the nfc 168 my slalom board, and run it with the f2 carve rs bindings, and put the td3's on the 180 nfc, with great results. Who wants a renn tiger 163 in great condition? ha! The 180 nfc has really been an eye-opener for me, and I am more stoked than ever because of the performance of this board. I am more relaxed, smooth, and clean in challenging situations than when on the 168. My question is: is there anything to gain by going bigger? I'm wondering how a 186 or so would ride with a 14-16 sidecut? The 180 is not quite as nimble as the 168 obviously, but i can deal with that. If i can get it up on edge quickly, it will hold mostly whatever i can put into it on a steep run, and carve a pretty tight turn. where do i go from here? i love the damp feeling of the bigger board. plate of some sort? I usually only take out my hardboot setups when conditions are close to perfect, and avoid chop and rougher terrain. no racing aspirations, just fast, clean carves. Thx for being here bomber!!

anyone using the spoiler set on upz boots? feels like i could use less space around my calf. my buckles are maxxed.

so nx2 gt does work with newer malamutes? Going to try them with the fusion strap.

anyone know of a currently available 3 strap binding with a lockable highback ??

just looked at your link, didn't remember paying that little. price adjusted accordingly.

where do you remember the thin spot being? I don't notice one.....

pm sent

great condition 163 volkl renn tiger. Tons of camber and pop. $150

what is the scr of this board?

damn. what's the SCR?

thx. let us know what he says.

sale pending. excellent shape. I'll post either way.

pm sent

what weight would this be good for? I'm 5'9", 165lbs. what is the waist width and sidecut? thanks!

Thanks SS.

so i rode today with the f2 bindings, and was much more in control, and smoother with my turns. It felt like i could be "cleaner" on steeps and higher speed/pressure toesides, even near the end of a hard turn. This could partly be that i was focusing on keeping the board angled higher on edge and on pressuring my front foot, but even when I slacked on my focus, it still felt better with the f2's, which allowed me to better center my boot over the toe and heelside edges. I am going to put the td3's back on tonight, and move the front binding closer to the toeside edge and try and center the boot better, and see if feels as good as it did today. FWIW i'm riding a coiler nirvana energy 168 with a deeper (shorter) vscr than normal, as a lot of my local trails are narrow and steep, and I enjoy the quick lower-speed carves. I ride 58/53 with more rear heel lift than front toe lift. not much camber on either. I love the way the board rides and holds and edge, but feel i may be asking too much of it with its deep sidecut on some hard turns. Still figuring it out, thanks for the input. oh- lastly- I'm getting quad burn on the outside of my front thigh when holding a heeled edge. May try some outward canting on the front foot to help with this?

this board has not been ridden since the initial post. I'm willing to take a little less than 300 if anyone is interested. thanks!

Of what is available today, whats the favored/helpful plate for clean free carving?

thx sunsurfer- great info, makes sense. So what should i focus on with the front foot?

thx guys- Corey- mine are toe clip, and the issue is not heel adjustment, as i can move the heel block forward or back, but the toe clip is maxxed forward. I'm gonna try moving the binding itself towards the toe edge and see what that feels like.