All,
I've been directed here by a few people, but most importantly Sean @Donek . About 7 or 8 years ago, I made a conscious decision to really focus on carving with my soft boot setup. I angled my bindings forward and started leaning over as much as possible. In 2010, I bought a Donek (I believe it's called Ride...but maybe an Incline). I found the stiffest soft boots I could find and kept a real forward stance with my bindings. Since then, I've always focused on laying out carves as much as possible, but this is an all-mountain freestyle board with a soft boot setup, so I'm obviously limited. The thing is, I love going over bumps, popping in out and of trees, and doing the steep un-groomed stuff.
I live in Chicago and only make 2 (maybe 3) trips out west per year. My friends that I ride with are also very "all-mountain." So I don't really have the luxury of dedicating an entire day to one type of riding...and realistically, I probably wouldn't want to anyway.
I want to take the plunge and go hard boot. I'm thinking of the Donek Axxess. Per the website and some correspondence with Sean, it's the board to do all-mountain riding.
A few questions: does anybody ride on those terrain types I just mentioned in hard boots? Am I being realistic in looking for a board/plate-binding/hard-boot setup that will allow me the versatility to carve really hard but still enjoy non-groomed runs?
If that is the board, how tight should my sidecut radii be? When I bought my first Donek, the cuts were a little wider and I noticed I couldn't make as sharp as turns as I was used to (especially in the bumps and/or trees), but I eventually got used to it. What I've come to love is how it handles at higher speeds. Not sure I want to give that up, but I'm concerned the stiffness of the board and the boots will limit my maneuverability. Do I compensate by getting a tighter radii?
Finally, in regards to equipment: any definitive binding that would fit my riding preferences? and how does one go about selecting a boot? I rented a carving board from Bomber 2 years ago, and though I liked the carving, the boots were not comfortable and ultimately caused me to cut my day short. If I live in Chicago, any suggestions on how to try them out?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
jeff