jburk

Didn't your mother teach you it was rude to tease the less fortunate? That's just mean...

It seems to me that there's not much benefit to combining the lift and cant into a single unit, while it drives up the number of different pieces you'd have to print if you ever wanted to experiment with different lift and/or cant combinations. I think the real upside to printing your own pieces would be to provide more flexibility (smaller increments). The downside to the F2 wedges is that they only come in one lift and one cant, both of which are fairly large, so doubling up on either lift or cant is a big jump. Have you looked into printing the lifts in 2* pieces, and the cants at perhaps 1.5*? Then you can just stack them up as needed, and you're only printing 2 different pieces; one lift, and one cant. And perhaps a 3rd type would be a flat spacer, to raise up a binding while providing no lift or cant, for those with differing leg lengths, etc... <edit> the "spacer" type wouldn't be strictly necessary, since you can always stack alternating cants to get a riser </edit>

Looking for a used set of F2 Race Titanium bindings, must be the small size, or a recent model year large that can be converted to a small. Any large size made in the last few years can be converted to a small by virtue of having 2 sets of holes each for toe and heel. Currently use Intecs but getting tired of all the hassles related to centering a UPZ mp26 boot, I've been told that the non-Intec version is more compatible with the short sole lengths. I'm OK with missing heel lift kits, cant wedges, etc (have a good complement of those), and while I'd prefer to get a set with both center disk covers, I could live without one or both if the price is right.

Keep the first part of that sentiment and lose the second. Don't be so hard on yourself; it's this dissatisfaction with our own performance that is the motivating force behind improving. Unless you're worse now than you were 2 years ago, then your frustration is totally justified :-)

I think the two sizes are for the binding sizes (Lg/Sm and Medium) but offer the same degree of lift, the mounting holes are located more towards the center for the medium toe and heel pieces. Toggle the size options in this page http://www.yyzcanuck.com/shop/parts/f2-heel-toe-lift-kit/, note how the holes shift between the sizes. I originally had a large F2 binding this season, had to change over to a medium and found that all the lift and cant pieces were different between the two sizes

I ordered a set of F2 Titanium Intec from Donek recently, and the T-nuts were stainless, so you should be good.

Those look like Robertson heads (sometimes see them labelled as "square drive" down here in the US), really common in Canada. Their advantage over phillips is that they require significantly less "down force" to prevent the driver head from camming out. My experience with them was that you could use at least as much (and perhaps more) torque compared to an allen key, and they're less likely to strip than either a phillips or an allen head due to the tool slipping; the shape of the socket tends to hang onto the driver bit. <edit> I should learn to just keep my mouth shut :-) they look like phillips heads on a different monitor </edit>

Had a minor issue with my RC10 boots that was getting to be less minor as time went on, so I sent Dan an email inquiring about whether it was a common occurrence. He replied back promptly considering it was over the XMas break, we talked on the phone the next day, and he helped me find a resolution. Parts arrived in the mail today, Excellent customer service, couldn't be happier. The alpine community in North America's fortunate to have him rep'ing UPZ boots.

mp26 UPZ RC10 (2017), they're listed as medium Intec Titanium (21.5 -> 27.5). They only seem to be available as either medium or large in the stepin version (no small size listed at either YYZCanuck or Donek), but do show as the "small" on the F2 site. The extra set of holes in the plastic cover might only be provided in late-model versions, I bought these from Donek about 2 months ago, so I can't speak to earlier model years. That last pic is a 55* front on a 18.5cm waist with the toe lift and a single outward cant wedge

I switched from TD3 SI's to F2's for this very reason, and still had to mod them. If you go with a non-stepin F2 in a small size you shouldn't have an issue, but for an F2 Intec I had to drill an extra set of holes for the heel piece. The plastic cover has an extra set of holes that served as a template (but you could also use the heel piece), and @www.oldsnowboards.com was very generous with his time and drill press to help me end up with a nice clean mod. Thanks again, Bryan! Used the heel "pressure plate" as a last-minute check to ensure that everything was lining up before we drilled the pilot holes. The advantage of using the plastic cover as the template was that the t-nuts line up with the second set of recesses in the dampling pads. Even moved this far in, I can just center the front foot.

Thank you for confirming that I made the right choice; I wanted to buy an MK this year, but a realistic assessment of my current fitness levels led me down a different path. Hopefully this isn't a case of "the older I get, the better I was", but 10 years ago I rode 200+ miles a week (7.5K to 9K per year), mostly averaging between 19-21 mph. That sort of fitness evaporates in months, and there are a lot of months in 10 years. I spec'd out a Donek Freecarve with the "secret" construction, but the geometry is in the same part of town as the MK: 167cm, 8.5-10.5 scr, 18.5 cm waist. Sort of a "kinder, gentler" MK, I've only got about 4 days on it so far, and it seems that it can take everything I dish out without complaint, but is a real sweetheart to ride when I'm feeling less energetic.

For the record, here's what I ended up with as well: I considered the Power Wrap, but since I have really narrow heels but also need an extra wide toe box due to some previous foot injuries (yes, my feet are shaped like pizza slices), I went with the Pro Tongue liner. The helpful folks at Intuition said it's about the same stiffness as the Power Wrap but wider in the forefoot, and has laces you can tighten for as much heel hold as you need. I had them molded at The Mountain Shop in Portland, OR, along with some custom instaprint-like footbeds that they made up and posted for me. I can't say enough good things about the people there, if you're looking for a bootfitter in the Portland area I highly recommend these guys. I went back for a second molding of the liner for some minor tweaks, at no extra charge despite my offering to pay for the service. They also did a minor boot punch for me, that last change resolved any remaining issues. Boots are a 2017 RC10, mp26. The Pro Tongue liner was a 26 medium volume, and fit true to size in the 26 boot. My largest foot is 26.2cm so length isn't an issue, but if you have a high-volume foot you might consider the low volume liner version; I'm somewhere between medium- and high-volume, and the second molding involved really cranking down the buckles to compress the liner foam - before that there weren't any hot spots, but the entire liner was just that little bit too tight all over, wasn't apparent until after a few hours on the hill.

Wow. Really don't want to get locked into a heelside in there; do walls hurt less than trees when you hit them? "Would we cut down trees if they screamed? We would if they screamed all the time..."

As a precaution against domestic carnage, have you asked your wife how she would feel about wearing something like this before you get one made up?

I'm really in favour of softbooters trying to learn how a board can turn by virtue of its shape rather than trying to swing or pivot the board around with their back foot. I think only a very small percentage who try to carve a softboot setup will progress to full carves with linked turns from edge to edge over an entire run, but if it cuts down on the number of riders acting as heelside/toeside snow squeegees on the blues and blacks then I'm all for it. I rode up the lift a couple of weeks ago with a particularly open-minded softbooter who was curious how I managed to get the board to turn with such relatively (to him) steep angles. When I explained about how sidecut radius could turn the board by itself if the board was weighed/decambered (used the analogy of a ghost-riding bicycle), etc, he wondered if his board could do the same. So with many caveats and CYA statements ("I'm not an instructor", etc), in about 5 minutes he was doing a modified version of the "norm" turn on both heel and toe. The biggest thing was getting him to trust that the board would come back across the fall line just by use of continued pressure on the edge, and breaking the tail free to slide it wasn't necessary. "Holy shit, it's so much less effort..." Spotted him from the lift later and he was still at it, with noticeable improvement, linked turns and all. Some people are all about skills acquisition, getting a snowboard to carve a turn is yet another skill in the set. Who knows, if his buddies see him carve the odd turn instead of sliding the tail around, they might try it themselves.

There are a few hardbooting carvers in that series as well; this guy is so fluid he makes it look easy. His riding reminds me of some of the vids I’ve seen of Sigi Grabner, really smooth transitions from edge to edge.

I'm completely in awe of these guys, they're so solid I had to look twice to see the softboots:

+1 on this. They provided me with excellent tech support on a question I had regarding sizing F2 bindings, despite not having purchased the bindings through them in the first place, and then helped me out by selling me some F2 small parts that Donek didn’t list on their website. Superlative customer service.

That posting sequence is kind of funny; it was @snowjob‘s mention of an FC Secret that got me going in that direction in the first place. Looks like I’m behind him in line again. :-) But I can’t yet comment on how it rides; been out 4 days so far this year, but not enough coverage on the local hill to tempt me into bringing out the new board, so I’m still riding my ‘03 F2, while the new Donek stays home. Sad but true…

I was looking at ordering a board from Donek a couple of months ago, and while speaking with Sean he recommended either the MK or the Proteus. But it sounds like you and I are in the same place: I wanted something turny, but realized I had to make a realistic assessment of my current ability levels (coming back from a multi-year break, not as fit as I was 5+ years ago, etc). I’m already riding a 10.5 single-radius board and wanted to try a variable scr board, so the Proteus wasn’t especially compelling, and while I really wanted to try the MK, realistically I don’t think I’m up to riding it as hard as it should be all day long. My budget also dictates only one new board this year. I ended up going with a metalfc in the 167 8.5/10.5 with an 18.5 waist; the stock specs are for a 19.5 waist, but Sean says waist widths are always just a starting point. And instead of metal Sean made it with the Secret construction, same pricing as the metalfc. The sidecuts on the metalfc 171 or 175 may be more to your liking at 9/11 and 10/12.

I also had this issue with my 2016/17 RC10s and the stock liner. Not so much on cold days, but it got progressively worse as the temperatures rose. I considered the Intuition Power Wrap, but because I have really narrow heels but need an extra wide toe box due to some previous foot injuries, I went with Intuition's Pro Tongue liner. The helpful folks at Intuition said it's about as stiff as the Power Wrap, but wider in the forefoot, and has laces you can tighten for as much heel hold as you need. Had my first day in these today, a very different feel from the stock liners (way more direct, have to be a bit more subtle), now I just have to remember not to crank the buckles down as tight as I used to.

Me too. :-) That's what the ring about 2" from the top is for, I loop the leash back on itself and hook it to the ring, makes it short enough that it completely tucks up away under the pant leg. Short-term, like going into the lodge mid-day, I just undo one of the forefoot buckles and hook it to that.

I'm a real worst-case scenario person; it occurred to me that if the (f)intec handle were to snag on something while you're riding the lift (or if an "unpleasant person" gives the handle a tug as a practical joke), there's a non-zero chance of it seriously injuring someone below. Fastex buckles are good for packs, but release too easily from sudden tugs like a falling board. $5 of paracord, $8 worth of hardware, and 15 minutes gave me this setup. The extra loop on the floor in front works as a shoulder sling between the two toe bails, goes back into my pocket during the day.

Sold. Thank you

Sold, and thank you.