Carvin' Marvin

Updated review since my experience this year is totally different. Oh man I had quite the week on the 8RW. To preface: last year I was firing at about 60% functional capacity but since a rebuild I'm back to 100%. For some reason last season I couldn't get this board to totally click. Something always felt off that no amount of set up tweaking could remedy. I'm not sure if I'm just properly drinking the Thirst Kool-aid now or what, but the 8RW is now my favorite board hands down. All issues and uneasiness just seemed to evaporate once I focused my energy solely between my feet. Being able to rip turns without curb-stomping the nose of the board like it owes me money is really nice and energy conserving, but it was a really hard habit for me to break. It is like the nose and tail of the board are irrelevant and it just wants to be ridden between the feet. Another big revelation I had on the board was when I met some non-carvers on the hill and they dragged me to the backbowls of Vail which had about 10" of heavy leftovers. I thought I was going to be in for a bad time but I was very mistaken. This thing will ride soft medium-height bumps and open powder no problem at all. No sinking, no catching, just rippin and cruisin. I'm really interested to try Mark's shorter offerings. This was the last board I expected to take over as my daily driver, but here we are.

30 years between softies is quite the record! You should see a doctor for any "stiffness" lasting more than 4 hours.

There used to be a small contingent of us that would ride there regularly but most have either moved away or migrated to the IKON. Great carving hill when crowds allow. I have the epic but moved further west.

I run my front binding like that with no noticeable wear or failures. I say go for it, but take my advice with a grain of salt since I'm kind of an idiot.

A few seasons ago I rang my bell HARD while wearing a MIPS helmet. That made me think there has got to be something better. Ever since switching to a Project Grizzly bearproof suit my injuries have dropped to ZERO. People say I don't move as freely or ride as gracefully as before, but this level of gaper-crushing protection doesn't come without it's compromises.

Nah, y'all is plural for a smaller defined group of people. All y'all is very plural used for larger crowds. Us southern born are all about the nuance. Not to diverge the topic too much, but how do all y'all Canadians address a group of people?

Cool Imma shoot for it then so long as she-who-must-not-be-angered will cut the housework leash loose. edit: the leash is cut

Both! It's a very versatile "word." Should have been y'all's, I reckon.

My feet are nearly identical in size. I use 27M UPZ rc10s with Intuition power wrap liners. The sides of my feet are snug but not uncomfortable when standing. I did add extra foam strips to the sides of my feet when molding to blow them out a few extra mm. The stock liners were a definite no go.

Yous guys riding this Sunday? I've got a rare one off and I just miss y'all so much.

Their goggles must have been foggy. Let's be honest. I deeply admire y'alls riding, but it's more like bulls on parade than ballet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0nJr_cpYWU. I see nothing disappointing. Just a young local snowboarder having the moment of his life and bringing home gold for the USA. The irrelevant turn at the end blew probably due to the fact hes likely doing 50mph at the end of a grueling slope course. Something tells me he can out carve 80+% of the people on this board. Competent park guys have been mixing in carves for years. Same sport, multiple ways down the hill. If you are disappointed by the misleading thumbnail rather than the riding then I understand. Those youtubers have been misleading us for years with their catchy thumbnails.

TDs are really nice. All aluminum/steel (in the bails I think) construction. Skookum as frig but decently heavy. They use canting discs for the baseplates so your lift and cant is limited by what you can achieve with those discs and the orientation of the top plates. The plates come in 0,3, and 6 degree flavors. It helps to have 1-2 of each when first getting used to the bindings to figure out what works best for you. This adds up the $. The sidewinders are really cool but are heavier and expensiver. I've only ridden the sidewinders twice, but something just felt off about the built-in motion/flex. People that are afraid of plastic in their bindings like these. With a 3d printer or some solid DIY skills and a nice block of wood the F2s essentially have inifinite adjustableness. Just mind that you have the right length screws to get enough threads to bite in the t-nuts. The MAJOR problem I have with intec F2s and UPZs is that I can't move the boot far enough forward to get properly centered on the board. To get around this I just mount them sideways on the board and move them over to the proper position. (IF ANYONE HAS A BETTER WORK AROUND THAN THIS I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR IT) This severely limits fine fore and aft adjustments, but to me its worth the trade off. Plus I really hate changing bindings from board to board since they are all set up differently. I can afford 3 pairs of F2s, Bombers I can not. Also no matter what brand of binding, be sure to inspect everything on a regular basis. I've seen F2s fail. I've seen TDs fail. Are you coming to Montucky Clear Cut? I'll eat my hat if someone wouldn't let you take their TDs for a spin.

Honestly I'd wait for another storm cycle. It's been freeze/thawing pretty bad. I went out twice and decided to hang it up for a few more weeks until Beaver Creek opens. If you've got an itch you just gotta scratch then there is still definitely fun to be had.

You must be new here lol. Ask five different people here and you'll get five different answers. Will depend on your ability, weight, your affinity for all metal construction, desired adjustability, etc etc. I like F2 Race Titanium intec or bail. Lightweight, affordable, straightforward adjustability,easy to get, pretty damn strong, I like the flex. I ride mine hard and have worn parts out as expected but haven't had a major failure. Dig around using the search bar for info on all the various styles and brands. Good luck and good turns

Whats it matter? Most of you guys are ancient equipment anyways!

Ah man y'all have fun now. I'm going to brave Keystone on Friday just to feel the wind in what used to be my hair. No Lovey 4 pak for me this year due to Montucky, but I'll definitely make more than a half-assed effort to make a Sunday or two before then.

Hey man ankles doing pretty good. Should be ready by the time season really gets cranking. Its circumference is a few cm smaller now so I actually do need some liners. Seriously contemplating picking up some overtime for a shiny pair of zip fits. We need to figure out a plan to ride this season.

There is a strict no gear policy this season at our house, but holy jeebus that purple topsheet on Dave's Thirst made me thirsty again.

I'm wondering what everyone's internal dialogue while riding consists of. Technique critique? Pondering life's great mysteries? I try to keep my brain on auto-pilot as much as possible so I typically default to a variety of airplane and racecar noises.

REGISTURD

Go duck and shred park bro!

Next season I hope to turn left..... and then turn right..... at least a few times! Oh man, I've got this freshly rebuilt ankle that is looking to get worked. I only had about half a season on alpine before shattering it. This season could be a game changer.

Figure out whats holding you back and work on it. If you can't then bring in outside eyes. If there isn't anyone around you then sell five of your extra boards and take a plane ride. I managed to get the basics on my own, but I didn't become a snow augering, run destorying buffoon without the help of some fellow buffoons. Oh and since everyone else is making style assertions-- thin lines are lame-- there, I said it. Trench Lyfe!

Yep that's him. Super cool dude. He said it was his first time on hard gear in quite some time. One of his buddies gifted him some sort of Donek prototype and he was taking it for a whirl. I'm definitely hitting him up next season for some turns.