JRAZZ

So did you buy the Malamutes? I'm curious. I've only tried them at the shop but never had the chance to ride them. I always went with Burtons. The Malamutes, however, were much more comfortable to me.

Heck yeah! If you read online they say that they will eventually mold themselves to your foot. After 10 days of riding my first pair I gave up and went to a shop. Night and day difference. Just make sure you use toe caps and top spacers to make sure you don't get pressure points.

^++

Burtons tend to have a very short sole length. If you're spending this kind of cash I would try them on at first and see what feels best. FWIW I wear a 10.5 street shoe and have always used a size 10 Burton. The Flows that I have have the hybrid strap and the combination bugs the hell out of me because my toes keep on hitting the toe cap which doesn't feel good. I think that with the Fusion straps this wouldn't be a problem.

As far as sizing goes I ride Burton 10.5 size boots in the Large Flows. I use the "shorter" mounting point for the highbacks and the boots fit just fine. I know Burtons have a pretty short sole but feels like I could have put a size 11 Malamute in there easily. There's plenty of strap length left as well. XL might be an overkill for 11 size boots.

Sorry to hear that Hillary! Feel better! I got the green light from she-who-must-not-be-disobeyed. Will be up tomorrow if my car's battery doesn't freschitzel. Only question is what to take Donek or Steep? Decisions Decisions...

Last year I rode it with hardboots. It was OK but I felt I wasn't getting what I wanted out of it. Once I put the flows on it and used my softboots it just became awesome! I love how stable it is at speeds. It's really damp and likes to "go". The Flows allows me to put the edge in and hold. I'm still discovering what the board can do and happy with it :) svr, What do the risers do? Improve ability to transfer power to the edge?

So I guess I'm an accidental Flow rider.... Found a pair for $30 in a local used gear shop (NX2). I honestly had no idea what I was getting, I was just looking for a cheap pair to with my cheap(er) board. Pros (in nice bulleted form): Stiff. Responsive. Like! They do a nice job of bending my relatively stiff Steepwater. No heeloop - no heeldrag. (now if I could carve low enough...) Nice heel sticktivity. Seems to me that the lack of heel loop aids in keeping the boot in place and the heel in the boot in place. Easy to get in and out (after the requisite sliding backwards learning period). Comfortable (seriously, once you dial it in it is) minus the hybrid straps - see cons. Lots and lots of adjustibilitivity. Cons (slightly less nice bulleted form) Lots and lots of adjustibilitivity (just as many chances of getting it wrong as getting it right) Friggin hybrid straps. At 30 bucks, I shouldn't really complain but if you buy them new with the hybrid straps you are not of the intelligent persuasion. You can swap left to right which only slightly eases the stinkiness and leave them slightly loose which doesn't help and really defeats the purpose. Right now they compress my boot just enough to make my toes touch. I can go on but I think you get the gist of my feelings towards the $#$% hybrid straps. Just yesterday I had a couple of loops on our local rock hill (called Eldora - it gets snow, sometimes) with my skier daughter (the other one is a snowboarder so I didn't fail completely) and I was able to bind in before she could put her hands through the ski pole loops. Win! Add to that the responsiveness and comfort - double win! I usually read about these people who find cheap stuff that turns out great - never thought I'd be one of them*. picture for illustration * Except the friggin hybrid strap. Seriously, this is probably the reason I found them for $30 in a used equipment store.

I got hoodwinked into an early TG dinner. Good to know I wasn't missing much. Did Eldora today. Firm snow. Going to wait out the crazy traffic on Sunday methinks.

Slight aside... What angles are you running with soft-boots? I'm running 27-9 which gives me great control but makes it hard to align my shoulders across the board. Should I be running steeper angles?

I did notice a general movement when trying to bind in on one of the runs. Turns out the run itself was much shorter as well. Interesting.

I'll second the Flow NX2 recommendation. Last week I mangled my bindings (nother story) so instead of missing a day on the mountain I went to my local used gear store and found a pair of Flow NX2 for $30. Figured what the hell. I was really impressed! The were plenty supportive but the best thing was stepping in and out. That being said, I would invest in boots. Good stiff boots like Burton DriverX or Malamutes would pay dividends in control.

Ice is ice. The same problems you'd encounter on ice with softies you will with a HB setup. To me there are two main benefits of riding HB: Groom is fun and like-minded (read: weird) individuals to ride with.

Sunday rundown: Icedude, monoman, odd person, mario, and certain others. (some though were conspicuously absent - looking at you dusty) First run was pretty good and deteriorated quickly from there Tracked out and full of racer kids. No trenches were to be had. I missed snow. Image for illustration: Screw that! At least I got to go home with a nice green thing! (will have to wait for more and better snow)

I'll be there too

Fiiinaly. http://skiloveland.com/snowmaking-operations/

Just one scissor snip away :)

Mitts you say? http://www.kinco.com/product/901t/

I am officially freaked out. On both boards my stance is..... you guessed it: 20.5". What is this magic number? What does it mean?!? Oh yeah, setup: 65/60 on a 19" waist board. Regular (as it should be mario) with 3 deg up front and 6 in the back. Works so far but open to modifications.

Looking to buy some Catek WC (old) step-in uppers. Willing to buy the entire binding (WC please)

Or maybe this: http://www.superiorglove.com/endura-fully-thinsulate-lined-cowgrain-gloves

http://www.superiorglove.com/sidekick-premium-cut-resistant-fitters-glove-with-kevlar-composite-liner with some kind of underglove? I still prefer the Kinko/no drag option (both my wrists are already shot - don't need more hardware there) but I guess to each his/her own.

Right. Forgot to add these :) Specs are as follows: Length: 168 cm Effective: 149.5 cm Side cut: 10.9 cm Nose: 24.3 cm Waist: 19.0 cm Tail: 23.8 cm

Mogul... http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mogul ( and here I thought it meant bump... )

Kincos are my choice too for me they work even in the nice warm place on the top of the continental divide called Loveland. They've recently started including Nikwax sealant with the 901 and 901T (mitten). I don't really suffer from cold hands but my cold handed friends suggest using an under glove liner (gortex or cotton depending on your financial capabilities). For the super super cold days you could layer like this: cotton glove, latex glove, outer (Kinco) glove. I did once buy a pair of Hestra mitts, while they were really nice they we'rent any warmer than the Kinco mitts. They didn't make me any faster either. YMMV.