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t-nut

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  3. How you guys feeling about new soft boot carving phenomenon?

    in Carving Central

    Posted

    I am glad that the thread has eventually taken the turn I hoped it would go after my post--a discussion of freeride boards that are wide, but nimble and also carve-able. I did not expect that a recapitulation of the oft agreed-upon statement--that wide boards are slow edge to egde--would amount to sheer iconoclasm and strike the nerves of some.

    Thank you, Rob Stevens for coming to my defense.

    I stand by my post, because it is borne of personal experience. My softboot carver was a 163 A-Frame 26.8cm waist, 9.2m sidecut. It was great in open areas, it was a pig in the trees. Hence, not a good freeride board. Compared to my 164 Frontier with around a 25cm waist, it was extremely slow turning and a lot of work to manage in tight spots. It even booted out on deep heelsides. Truly a most mediocre of all worlds performer for me.

    I've seen these small boards like the k2 carve-air that are marketed as freeride carvers, but I was and remain doubtful of the short sidecuts. Can you carve steeps with a 6m sidecut? I've always thought you need at least 8m to get a good carve.

    Lastly, I will say to those who responded rudely, if you think you know better or have something to contribute, do so, as my message was written in the spirit of open discussion. I'm not averse to respectful disagreement. I am however, like everybody else, averse to being condescended towards. In the last line, I make an appeal to the forum to tell me about freeride boards that can carve. I hope the discussion can continue in that vein, or in an otherwise constructive form from here on out. I think we could all use a bit more time shredding than we could use arguing on this board.

    Thanks, and have a good day.

     

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  4. How you guys feeling about new soft boot carving phenomenon?

    in Carving Central

    Posted · Edited by t-nut

    My real problem with "softboot carving" is that the wide boards required for those with larger feet do not perform well in a freeride setting. There are tight or critical spots where very fast edge transitions are necessary and a big, bloated wide board will be too sluggish here. Where softboots excel is all terrain riding. But if you have big feet, you need a separate rig just to softboot carve, which to me, defeats the utilitarian purpose of softbooting in the first place. If you're going out on a board that doesn't perform well off piste, why bother going in softboots at all when you could carve in hardboots? Moreover, the angles you'll use for softboot carving aren't optimal for the quick turns needed in freeride/variable conditions either.

    Softboot carving, for me, is too much compromise. You need a wide board which doesn't work in tight trees (where you find most of the good powder), and doesn't carve as well as hardboot equipment.  You take softboots, strip them of their freeride prowess and apply them to a riding style for which they are sub-optimal. I'd rather have a hardboot rig for pure carving, and powder/freeride boards for freeriding. After carving my softboots for many years, I often felt like they left me wanting. Having switched to alpine equipment this year, I have seen my carving dreams come true!

    The unfortunate reality is that each setup will excel at one thing and be atrocious at the other.

    What it really comes down to is, I wish I had small feet so I could carve my narrow freeride boards. I have not yet found a good compromise in a freeride board that is quick-edging, but still wide enough to be carved well without boot-out. Is that board out there? I'd be really happy to find it!

     

  6. Burton C02 softboot bindings sz M

    in For Sale

    Posted · Edited by t-nut

    I've got these Burton C02 bindings, from 2011 I believe. I got them off a used setup, the first owner didn't use them much and I used them for maybe 20 days. They've got plenty of life left. They are in very good condition and are uber stiff.

    These are the stiffest bindings I've ever used. I have 2017 Genesis X and these are stiffer. I had them on my Arbor A-Frame and they were great carving bindings. Only selling because I got new boots which don't fit them. They are "re:flex" bindings, so they will work with traditional 4 hole inserts or the channel.

    *note: the original straps have been replace with cartel straps.

    Get the lowdown here:

    https://thegoodride.com/snowboard-binding-reviews/burton-co2-review-and-buying-advice/

     

    $80 cad shipped

     

    20180209_153942.jpg

  10. UPZ Sizing Help Request

    in Carving Central

    Posted

    for what it's worth, i'll chip in my 2 cents. I had Deeluxe 325s that were too high volume for my feet. Had to crank down the buckles almost everywhere, and still experienced significant heel hold issues (heel lift). Not good.

    So I tried some Medium volume Intuition power wrap liners and the results were pretty amazing. These liners take up a serious amount of volume while improving the performance of the boot. No heel lift anymore, heel is locked into place and I found the powerwrap liner provided a welcome boost in the stiffness and responsiveness of the boot.

    • Like 1

  11. A sport for loners

    in Carving Central

    Posted

    As something of a loner myself, the individualistic aspect of alpine snowboarding is something that attracted me to the sport. During dry periods, I know certain people who begin to gripe and complain that there's no powder... no matter to me. Carving is a great way to escape their negativity! I like not having to compromise with others on which run we're going to ride, and simply being able to focus on doing my thing.

     

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  15. ISO - Power Plates/mondo 28 boots/bindings

    in Want to Buy

    Posted

    Hi all, bear with me here, but I'm really tired of booting out on my heelside, so I'm making a sort of omnibus thread here looking for either:

    1) Power Plates, or;

    2) Mondo 28 boots/bindings

     

    I'm leaning toward some power plates, as it should be cheaper to get only one new piece of gear instead of 2, but I'd also be really happy to find an affordable entry level boot/bindings that I could put on one of my freeride boards and finally sample some hardboots.

     

    Thanks for reading.

     

    Cheers!

     

     

     

     

  17. WTB - Flow NX2-GT bindings

    in Want to Buy

    Posted · Edited by t-nut

    51 minutes ago, BlueB said:

    I have a pair of older Flows in L. They are pretty stiff, don't know what model, I can check later. 

    What are they worth to you? 

    Depends on the model and condition ;) Need to know a little more before I could make an offer. Photos would be nice.

  22. help for an aspiring hardbooter

    in Carving Central

    Posted

    that's a good idea. Race plates seem pretty easy to come by. I'm not sure the waist width, can't find the info archived online and don't have the board with me right now. But yes, it is fairly narrow. 45ish angles would cut out the boot-out with my softboots. Hardboots would have a longer footprint though, right?

    I was looking at the bomber power plates to raise me off the platform, but I don't think they're compatible with the Burton 3D system. Perhaps I should look for these elevator plates or palmer plates? I do like the idea of using the Frontier with harboots though, I think it's stiff enough, and I don't weigh much.

  23. help for an aspiring hardbooter

    in Carving Central

    Posted

    Thanks jack, forgot to mention my height. I'm 6'1" and have been riding softboots for 16 years. I can carve my downhill edge toeside and really rail it around but I struggle with boot-out heelside. I've experimented with forward angles to mitigate this but found my soft setup doesn't seem to accommodate this style of riding.

  25. help for an aspiring hardbooter

    in Carving Central

    Posted

    Hi all, I'm wondering if some of you might be kind enough to make some suggestions on what (used) gear to look out for, for someone who is interested in getting into hardbooting and alpine snowboarding. I have long been an admirer of the turning arcs hardbooters make, and have pushed softboot carving to what seems to be the limit of my equipment. While I can comfortably lay out toeside carves at high speed on steep slopes, issues with boot-out have forestalled my development on heelside carves.

     

    I don't want to sit on the sidelines any longer and am interested in taking the plunge for next season!

     

    I am interested in free-carving, and in developing techniques which will allow me to carve on icy slopes. For a freecarving application, should I look for a hybrid sidecut? What waist width should I look for? I was thinking appropriate length would be anywhere from 170-180cm.

     

    My mondo foot size is 27.5 - 28

    weight 160

     

    I currently ride a '02 Burton Frontier X, 164cm.

     

     

    Any advice from the experts here would be much appreciated. I have been reading the forum and trying to gather information, but it seems there are many technical aspects to aware of in this sport, making it challenging for an un-initiated rider to make the right decisions when buying equipment for the first time.

     

    Thanks!

     

    -Tom

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