Señor Chuggs

I've seen your video and posts on here about stance width/angles. I remember looking at them a lot last season. I have really appreciated those contributions! I run high angles on my narrow F2 and a Pureboarding-esque splay on the Burton. First time I rode this season I took the F2 on my first day to warm up, but my buddy said he thought I rode better on the Burton. It was at Breckenridge, with much wider slopes than I'm used on in the east. good info on the TD3s -- thank you

Awsome.. my setup has limited cant/lift options. I feel it most on toeside I think at first, but then I think it could also be a slop in mid-to-late heelside turn that inhibits finishiation. I want my back heel up, canted ever slightly inward if at all, and ankle hinged tighter --but with movement. Front foot is pretty flat and feels fine. my board has that damn 3 hole insert pattern (love it though). Next big equipment purchase will probably be a used modern carving board + bindings, but not this season. anyway, my start at a solution: I got some UPZ boot shells. I think ill try and see if the internal ramp and flex on my new back boot is enough with a flat binding. If so Ill try the burton cant wedge under the front binding to counter the ramp on the front UPZ boot. if the back foot needs more lift or the front doesn't feel "flat", I'll wear my AT boot on the front foot that has less cuff hinge, and is probably less ramp. I don't really have a question I'm just trying to think what stance options I have to try. My turns are starting to get more consistent, in that it no longer takes days of riding to finally click. I am riding good now until Im on slopes/conditions outside my comfort, or I get tired. I'm getting tired very quick. I stop to sit on the sides a lot during a session to catch my breath and rest my legs. I'm thinking theirs a stance adjustment out there that will conserve a lot more of my energy

can anyone recommend a good material to put between an ibex/burton cant disk and the snowboard? Its just a hard plastic wedge with a metal center.

Hey thanks a lot all for the tips. I went ahead and got the boots. I realize I didn't need to make a whole new thread for this since Ive already read reams of info on this site about boot sizes, and the seller @jburk has been very helpful answering my PMs. Will definitely post back again once I ride these!

@Odd Job do you have a trick to keep snow from packing to your boot soles? I also have had difficulty recently getting into my bindings with the toe clip. I broke a binding once trying to force it closed, now I know if my bindings suddenly don't fit its probably because of packed snow in the connection. But picking the snow out of my soled always puts me beyond the 5 sec mark.

I might have interest in a listing on here but I have an equipment related question I want to ask the whole forum. I have these Garmont AT boots. The shell says "FREE RIDE 25-26.5 SX" under the plastic tongue but the sole says MM 297. The liner is to worn to read but the listing at the time I got them said Mondo 26.5 / US 8.5 These boots listed are the same size as mine but they have a smaller footprint right? https://forums.alpinesnowboarder.com/topic/57068-2017-upz-rc10-mp265/ I wear a size 10 - 10.5 sneaker and my feet have bunions. the Garmonts feel tight and i've done minimal dremel work to inside the shell to make them bend at the cuff a tiny bit better and give my bunion a little more room -- pretty much unsuccessful but i've been hesitant to play around too much with my only pair of boots. My foot length is 10.25 in, or 260 mm. Do yall think I should size up if I upgrade to proper snowboard hardboots? I'm especially wondering about this listing because I thought I read UPZ shells have an odd shape that tend to make them seem like they run small. I carve on a Burton Alp with forward stance and I think any new boards I ever get will always be pretty carve-oriented. I did ride deep-ish powder for the first time this season and I thought about renting softboots, but by the afternoon I was glad to be on my board. I think better boots would provide enough help in different kinds of snow. I'd really appreciate any thoughts yall have for me. Im not really looking for new gear but I know it would really help my riding.. so Im wondering if I stumbled upon a set of nice boots that happen to be my size.

Gear essential-ism vs. technique essential-ism. Both of these tendencies obfuscate the dialectical materialist theory of snowsport progression. Gear developments and adjustments inform the riding technique, and that riding technique in turn informs gear developments. Both gear and technique are just modalities of unfolding theory and practice. Technique: I watch the Youtube, read the technique articles, discussions, theories --> I ride a few lines, adjust technique, develop an understanding of the theory by practice, and uncover new truths --> go back to the forums, find some of those new truths in subsequent reads, journal my own progress to rationalize the empirical truths uncovered in practice, fit them into a framework...a framework which is dismantled and rebuilt again as the cycle repeats itself. Gear: I read the setup guides and stance guides, dial it in on my gear --> ride a few lines, interpret the consequence of my input on the ride, make minor adjustments if needed, develop an understanding of the theory by practice, and uncover new truths --> (re)Read more set up guides, new truths in mind, make invasive mods to current gear or try new gear to achieve different stance and setup in accordance with working theory --> ride more lines, develop more understanding, make more adjustments. --> ride more lines. Gear development is recursive. Out of the box, the newer gear CONTAINS more knowledge than the older gear. New knowledge from all the riders and builders that contributed to its form. but its form is not static, nor is it deterministic. Knowledge is IMPARTED onto your gear as it changes form through mods, adjustments, and development. Just as knowledge is imparted onto the rider as technique is refined.

https://photos.google.com/album/AF1QipO9PlOU2wqWc0qH0POtxKqA-_0mOWIq8kD5A7-f I hope I don't pick up too much carving skills out there! I want to stay a beginner forever and just play with my old toys! If I carve too good, I might become an internet elitist with some lofty obligation to "the sport" . Sounds lame as hell TBH . I better not make too much money either, or else the carving gurus might have ideas on how I should spend it! In all seriousness, I think the carving world is good at "progressing the sport", in how it produces awesome (yet prohibitively expensive) race tech developments that eventually trickle their way into the freecarve market. This is leaps and bounds better than the softboot world, (if I may make this crude distinction) pushing weird serrated sidecut tech and the like that doesn't do much to help most of the people riding that stuff. How do we get carving equipment into rental shops on the hill? create more incentive for groomed slope rather than throwing all the resources into the terrain parks. I don't think this stuff is ultra-specialized by necessity. Their CAN be a world with accessible entry level carving equipment. Why there isn't is I think the more pertinent question. As far as what's holding ME back on new equipment, its rental/demo opportunity vs days on the hill vs money. I know the best use of my money at this stage would be on plane tickets to go out west to go to a carving event and get some instruction and opportunities to try modern gear. Don't have that right now. Saving my time and PTO days for a season where that might be possible. I might even sell my car before I go too so I have some money ready to buy new gear after I demo some stuff. But I'm not under any delusion that buying new toys will "progress the sport". It will progress MY sport. And for that matter, I could probably progress MY sport for a lot less money and effort by switching to softboots, consulting local sources to kit myself out right on modern gear, and getting more local instruction. I just have rented crumby softboot stuff before, and I like the feel of crumby hardboots better. I have no idea what quality feels like in either realm, lol. For everyone else, they'll see me on the hill, maybe ask about it, maybe check out Alpinesnowboarder.com and get hooked, but chances are slim. Most folks will continue get stuck in all the barriers to entry that keep snowboard carving the exclusive club that it is, despite perhaps showing some interest. THAT is holding back the sport. And please don't take this the wrong way, I LOVE these forums and Its super rad how instructors offer all this guidance over the internet and get so much reach. I'm just attempting to making the right critiques.. the critiques that may spark progression of the sport in a more inclusive direction, which I've always assumed to be one of the missions of this community.

Full disclosure: I'm still getting my boots dialed in. When i took a Snowshoe trip earlier this month, my crew was shocked when I took off my boots to reveal several blisters and a swollen toe bunyon. I did not even realize until it was pointed out. I had been riding all day.. no mention of foot discomfort, and I barely even noticed. Thrill and joy are powerful. Might be a carving addict. That said, I got me some new insoles for the rest of this season and I will be on the hunt for boots come the off season.

Good point. Thank you for clarifying. one day I might borrow a friends tools and take a whack at making my own custom wedges. Right now I'm just trying to set up my limited equipment most optimally. I remember watching this video a long time ago too. Its great for reference. Ill probably watch it again every time I'm thinking about another stance adjustment. In fact, there are many chapters in the alpine snowboarding repository of knowledge that I find myself going back to every season as the stoke picks up. Timeless knowledge!

interesting... ill just have to play around with different stances. This vid is very helpful. The cant/lift disk allows my rear leg to be set at a lower angle, thus probably warranting the inward cant. I might try flat feet at the mellowest angles I can be on my board without overhang. Its close enough to the neutral 60/60 and might be a good basis for calibration.

I got a question for this thread. I got a set of these burton plates. The only cant/lift option I have is the included disk that I have ridden on the rear foot, as pictured above. It provides heel lift with a little bit of inward cant on the rear foot. But This page suggests slight outward cant on the rear leg is optimal. Has anyone ridden with it flipped? (set to the Goofy side if stance is regular or vise-versa) would anyone recommend ditching the disk and riding both feet flat?

Do you have a gasket pad to go under the cant wedge for the Burton race plates? Does such a part exist? My can't wege looks like it would erode my topsheet.

@daveo -- Yes... not sensitive enough evidently. Neglecting to wear insoles is a Gaper move...but a stealthy one. Appreciate the suggestions.

Sorry to resurrect a long-dead thread, but I have just come to the realization that I've gone several seasons with NO INSOLES in my boots! I got them used and just did not give it any thought It might take some carful work to trim new insoles to fit my boots without having an original insole to size up with. My local shop sells Superfeet, so I could leave the trimming to them and see how they do. I wear a men's size 10 sneaker but I cram my feet into 26.5 mondo (US men's 8.5) AT boot for riding. The shop does not have custom moldable insoles to my knowledge. Would the helpful folks on this forum suggest I get my shop to fit me in Superfeet, or would I be better off buying another brand of insole online in a size 9 and fitting them in myself? What are good brands? I thought my carving was getting relatively good, but I'm stoked to see how much more response I'd get from proper fitting insoles. I've been trying to drive without a steering wheel for too long.