dhamann

second if @TJR is all set.

board 1: hammer, full camber (only sold at authorized dealers). board 2: valhalla, triple camber fusion. board 3: proto ultra, triple camber. all 7-8m and flex 7, 8 it's a flat ice, textured or not. please. do it on a cloudy day and maybe you'll get a clap. gotta be a pretty good driver to execute that though. nice beanie. 107k views in 4 days is pretty good marketing i think. fake it til you make it... to the bank. it reaches those who buy the brand. hey, green is green. we are a small, but growing piece of the pie here in the carving focused world; especially when those that think getting low is the goal; it's just a by product of a well executed carve; unless you prefer to fund your local chiropractor or doctor of your choice. wider boards, more camber, ~stiffer, titanal among other ingredients being introduced into the construction of some models like ride does. i'd say the market is finally catching on, and capitalizing on it. don't be surprised when a 15yr old takes home the golden duct tape (overall). ns is good at what they do. i swore by them in my earlier years... until i rode rocker camber rocker camber rocker; among other things. they're not faking much. great almost indestructible boards. turning will never go away and as the video presents, anything can turn.

alternatively ability, terrain, interests. I don't think it has as much as to how the rider intends to ride the board as it does to what is the goal you want to achieve from a board. the boards don't ride themselves and will not suddenly give the rider a particular skill set. but whatever, let's go quiver shopping: ability: what is the body athletically able to do and what skills do the rider have and wish to achieve terrain: what region are you riding, hard surface, soft surface, variable surface, how wide/skinny are trails, crowds... the majority of the time you plan to ride. interests: do you prefer strictly directional hardpack carving, side hits, switch riding with freestyle aspects, take it easy while riding, skid and side slip some of the way down, ride balls out hard every single turn, drawn to steeps and challenging terrain, happy killin it on the greens, race style, bomber style, etc. considering the objectives above, selecting a board(s) should come fairly easy; especially with the help of a board builder. of course we all like to bridge the gap to some degree (or not), but having boards with a focus and intention will help the rider enjoy the ride a lot more. boards and equipment for this sport is an investment! most folks reading this are likely interested in equipment and not just another toy to add to the collection. although there are some decent toy boards out there on the market. just understand what you're getting. enjoying the ride is the objective for me and knowing what's under my feet and the capability of the board and what it excels at most is where the enjoyment comes from. I think most commercial boards are shades of gray. even the focused ones, which is focused a lot through marketing. they can all carve and turn circles, etc but do you want to ride hardpack bell to bell and can the 7m radius board achieve that for you? something that falls into the ability and terrain objectives. one time at band camp i had a rep approach me about gilson boards. these are boards with a raised edge. are these guys serious? that was my first thought. waxing, tuning, maintenance, etc. wholly edge burn. my thoughts remain the same. just not for me given the focus of the terrain and interests of my riding. god speed to others. curved scooped noses are great for the pow float focus they are intended for, but present some challenges aside from that single focus. most riders with some sort of skill already know what they're focus and interests are while riding, but don't always know the questions to ask. i guess that's why we're here. what size, sidecut, shape, flex, construction, cost is best? answer these questions, buy it and we'll see you next year for another one with a little tweak or completely different board to fill the void. it's a rabbit hole one must explore to find what works best for them. understanding/feeling the many different characteristics, riding a lot of boards and focusing on the differences will result in a quiver that's right for you. it takes time; just keep saving. for myself, it is firm hardpack the majority of the time so my quiver has this focus and intention to enjoy any flavor of hardpack that may come my way and how i may want to approach the day of riding. although almost half of them can be ridden "all mountain" anything.

refer to 2

PM'd a few pointers regarding shell fit, molding with toe caps, oven molding, etc. I'm not a boot fitter, but from my experience and geeking out on research. Hope it helps. Happy feet, happy shredding.

sell em and get a larger size shell if you want, but you probably don't need to. try a thinner liner such as an intuition plug (low volume) or pro wrap (medium volume upper, low volume lower) and mold them. the stock deeluxe liners are kind of puffy. i wear a street shoe 12us myself and feet measure 28.7cm. i was in a M30 deeluxe for a few years and now i'm riding a M28 upz. the upz liners are thinner on the lower part and fit me well once they were molded. i plan on getting a pro wrap for my 28 shells due to the shin bang i'm getting with the stock upz liners. something to consider.

Firm and fast. Lotta grooming ridges. Use caution. 10 minute stop on sunbowl lift around 9:30am, then closed til 11ish for maintenance. It ran the rest of the day. Today about 50-59% open I’d say but lots of snowmaking mounds ready to push out to make it normal midseason around 70% open. Not including the two trails eggbeater and lynx closed for two plank racing.

yep

not his first rodeo. gimme mo

i was in the bozone from '01-'06 and i think it was the '02 year i remember choking in the whiteroom for the first time at BB. a snorkel for the cold smoke is real. pretty sure it was early in the season too and worried about hitting something below as it was waist deep and even deeper when you made a turn. literally could not see and difficult to get any speed. i concur the 18" vs 60". western challenges.

from a kids group chaparone who was on a snowboard at top of lift: hey you must be the one making all those marks in the snow. look kids, it's the snowboarder who rides like a skier. ehm... sidenote: saw another alpiner on a volkl using poles. i now understand the confusion from the chaparone.

the 1-2 weeks for bibs are upon us. even @Jack M may get a softboot board out for this one. let the season begin. 3-8" Thursday night into Friday 5-8" Monday 3-5" Wednesday, 5-8" Wednesday night flurries and photo shoot Thursday all snow falls from above with temps tickling 20 degrees give or take, humidity 90% and low winds. We'll see. Hope it all lands for you all... and keeps coming. teens and single digits to follow! mmmm. purrrfect. tried to coordinate a trip up prior to surgery, but couldn't make it happen. enjoy!

can break ankles too. not an enjoyable experience for everyone. the intensity put on the body carving with softboots is much greater, but that's what keeps it interesting. carving steeps is intense no matter what equipment you're on though. hardboots create a whole other challenge with less room for error. love seeing other softboot carving going down. keep it up fellahs! i forget but i think my bxfr is 10m here. nevermind the rock skipper on first turn. from almost a few years ago now. time flies.

see also Stranda snowboards. 6m is just dangerous unless geared towards light riders and sized small. marketing above suggests otherwise. won't be surprised when they get pulled from production just like the nidecker spectre. on the other hand, short/fat is a thing too. 9 or 10m focused on "race" "boardercross" "rip turns" etc. is a good place to start for most imo. a starting point/entry level is what these boards are geared towards. looks like the NS east is disco'd. another example came and went; we know the elephant in the room. how many times do we all get the same old questions? what board is that? where do you get that equipment, etc. etc.? It's an offering as a starting point to grow the interest of softboot carving, k carving, a carving, j carving, euro carving... and create sales. was it better when they hated us? for those that have one or two boards, i can see it as a good option to try out a focused discipline. for those of us that have two boards for every day of the week, probably not. i'd still demo one if wide enough. can't find specs on em yet.

almost always on low angle slopes. impressive maneuvering/skills demonstrated with their bodies none the less. case in point, doesn't need to be steep to carve; especially with soft boot equipment. however, speed can be your friend; or not. snow snakes can have a pretty potent venom.

it is massive, but don't let it intimidate. you can ride it. progression. i don't think it's been mentioned yet, but one of my favorites was elk park ridge off ramcharger; catching it with morning sun is the best. elkhorn off of ironhorse on the north moonlight side for sure! gotta skate just a little bit from the top of ironhorse, but well worth it; start is kind of steep but mellows out and maintains double/triple wide in middle and back to single wide on the long lazy runout down to the chair. while over there, you might as well hit three forks 2 to whitetail if you like the untamed alpine and don't mind walking a bit. these few are bucket list IMO. the cooler is fun, but over rated. the little cooler is not. follow the shade when lines get busy. just change goggle lens and add a layer. tear it up.

@crackaddict anyone else get this feeling while standing in a lift line? dam snowboard carvers taking up the whole trail. yup. skiers can come out of nowhere. smooth riding. great example of quiet upper body and letting the snow come to you and not reaching for it. lava. softboot carving doesn't have to be all mustard like the young gumby asian riders make it out to be. an edit of a full run is nice to see too. give it the gas.

+1 on starting that process. well said @pow4ever. it's a jagged pill. persistence will pay off.

1.25 finger, barely 1.5 tight, but not 2. Skinny fingers. Or 1 sausage finger. Fits good with stock liner for me. 2 fingers is too big. One is kinda race fit oriented but daily rider manageable just like your m28 deeluxe probably. If upz, likely down to m27 but may need a thinner liner. Confirm cm feet measurements as you know. I was in between 28/29 mondo. Went with 28 and if too tight, I was gonna get a thinner liner but m29. Ya, m29 liner in a 28 shell. If still too tight, punch shell. All minor tweaks but sizing I know is correct after confirming with shell fit of the manufacturer’s boot being purchased. Molding with toe caps and riding for a day sold me on this being the way. Snug but not stuffed. Compromise being that I guess that the plastic is harder in super cold conditions, walking can be slippery, binding changes (set and forget), buckle clash, likely change liner at some point, no hiding with bright colors, etc. Always gonna be compromise. A bit of trial and error but once they’re set, you’re good. Til you find an excuse to buy more sht again anyways. Adjustments and options with upz are all there as long as you get the right base boot to suit your needs. Minor tweaks for at least a five year investment or longer.

i was in a track 325 deeluxe, M30, bts, stock liners for a couple/few years. i probably would've been better suited in a M29 deeluxe with a thinner liner like an intuition plug, pro etc. Although I never really noticed heel hold being an issue/problem on a regular basis. i just wanted new boots because i felt the deeluxe were limiting me. plus i wanted to buy some new shit. after doing a shell fit test with UPZ i got some new rc12, M28 over the summer. stock liners. I wear US 12 street shoe, foot measures 28.8cm on larger foot, no sock, skinny feet/shins. rice method mold with toe caps to at least help mold my feet to the inside of the liners and create a toe wiggle area. the liners did have a little squirm inside shell while riding, but manageable on a temporary basis. pretty snug but not stuffed. heel hold noticeably improved. i couldn't get too aggressive with my riding due to injury; not advised. however, when i concentrate more on the riding (don't fall, stay on edge, head on swivel, don't hit anyone or anything, etc.) the squirm becomes almost irrelevant. almost. an oven molding with the liner and a handful days of riding may remedy this minor squirm issue further. tbd. I used F2 race titanium bindings, toe riser block for front toe boot and two stacked cant wedges for rear heel. my one test day proved that i'd probably feel more comfortable with a higher riser block at the rear heel binding as well. could be due to a '90's tuck knee and bad habits, but... think that'll work for me. when i get some td3's i'd probably do 6 degree front and 3 rear to accommodate the UPZ ramp angles. then maybe test a 6 degree if possible to see if there's a worthy difference if the 3 degree isn't working like i had planned and want to split hairs. the UPZ feel more fluid flexing/riding than a fighting flex both fore/aft, torsionally and laterally than the deeluxe. they just seem to work better. lower liner/cuff could play into this. could be that new gear syndrome too, but glad i made the switch. also happy i didn't go the xc12 route and stuck with the rc12. they seem to be plenty playful enough combined with the security/support to push the limits when the stars align. tested on a '94/'95? oxygen supercross and sg 163xt titan. +2 funny feeling to walk in; slippery when on. a shell fit is key prior to the investment of any boot. little tweaks can always be made to accommodate the individual rider after proper size is determined.

pocket full of kyrptonite

hi @darex. welcome. just continue to carve with your custom x, slx boots and whatever bindings you have and identify what you don't like about each one. share those thoughts and maybe you can get a more clear guidance here. there's a lot of knowledgeable folks here to share their two cents. i'd suggest to get a race tune and set edges to 1 degree base, 2 side and polish with a fine diamond stone. focus on directional freecarve riding since that's the kind of board/equipment you're asking about. jumping into such specific equipment can be an investment; both monetarily and the time it takes to learn new equipment/discipline. if you have a freestyle jib background, this kind of equipment will not perform like that; at all. what's your boot size, binding angles you plan to ride and how long have you been riding? what mountains do you most frequent? all i see is your weight and height as factors to consider. throwing product names around means nothing. more information is needed for making any guesses or recommendations that might be best for you. cherio

yep. you have the board covered, but at least a medium to stiff board too. 9 or 10m radius based on weight, but a good start for most. is it possible to use soft or medium equipment? absolutely. depends on the style and efforts you're looking to put towards each carve. the more rigid the equipment, the more restrictive it can be to do "boned out" kind of maneuvers. it's not the equipment that makes the carve; it's the rider. equipment helps though. just like, no bad weather, just bad clothing. etc... k2 thraxis boot with intuition SBC liners and a booster strap. wouldn't mind something stiffer, but then i'm pretty much into a walk mode upz so there ya go. i've ridden them for almost two seasons because they didn't wear out. most boots will lose flex/support or start to lose flex around 8-10 rides. then there's reality. if your sponsored/supported, ride softies 8-10 times a year or have the money to buy boots every dozen days then by all means, the support/performance and results in your riding will be reflective of that. the deeluxe edge pro boot is probably next for me. considered trying an F2 boot, but too much hassle to go through to get some in the states without knowing anything about them. bindings: a material that can break away unless the rider is willing to sacrifice the body. stiff/supportive highback and ankle strap. i always preferred higher the better on the ankle strap, but a down and locked heel is what you're looking for too. be mindful of the buckles on ankle straps. don't be hesitant of the base being a little flexible. it doesn't need to be stiff as f. flex is a good thing. love my odrives, but switched to j apollo. it's kind of obvious, but read past the marketing of products and read reviews if available. dialed in carving specific equipment can get expensive as we all know too well! every season can seem like you're starting a new sport. good luck.

bx racing may involve some rubbing. "rubbing is racing". some forgiveness in the base bevel may be recommended, so a 1 degree. however, start with a base grind and structure to get board 100% flat. i'm a proponent to keep as much metal on the edge as possible because once it's gone it's gone. if free riding/training and if you have tools to set the edges yourself, start with a 1 or 1.5 on side to get used to a new style of riding and board for your daughter. train on that and then set side to 2 when ready. polish medium for training. polish fine+ for racing. maybe wax sidewalls, boot tips and heel cups with something. some folks with multiple boards may just go right into .7 or 1 base and 3 side for slalom race boards. that's probably a sweet spot for serious competitive strong riders. i beg to differ with the experimenting i've done with edge tunes on bx softy carving boards. to each their own. good luck and let the riding do the rest. wc athletes may or may not share their "secrets" but that's my 2 cents for your daughter based on size board and being a first race board for her. see her on the podium in no time.

looks like a serious, yet playful skinny build. 8 turns on the headwall with this thing. Njoy!