Dex

Thanks people. I have molded footbeds custom fitted to my foot. They helped out with 20% of the problem with soft boots but the agony was too great to endure in the long run. I raised the heel on the toe turn every time to compensate for the lack of force since the heel is fairly loose in those bindings and all the tiny muscles in the foot protested. With these footbeds and hard boots I will be fine I'm sure. I used to be 20 years ago anyway. If I ever find any hard boots to try on. It will be difficult also finding used ones. This will have to be an ongoing process for a while with a bit of luck required. If I were central European it would have been different or if traveling is made easier soon. That is clear. Too bad Swedes have to be half-piping and jumping backwards like a bunch of monkeys in winter outfits. There's a lot of them I assure you just not exactly slalom types. Both new and used market is dead but what's the fun if there's no challenge?

I think it is what I have on the soft boots and alpine ski boots (which has been the alpine sport for me for any years because of the foot problem) and they have been based on street shoe size to start with, but I will do proper homework on new measurements first. I have the video from slapos above.

Incredible help. Very good. I also think brand new boots is necessary. I will hunt. Size is EUR 41-42 / 26.5 Mondo so pretty much the most common men's size out there.

I know it's a separate question than the boots. I know that I will go for hard boots period and that they will be universally functional. I got side-tracked because I needed the right thinking for a first investment. The reason why I got a little confused is that the directional boards for groomed riding I looked at had between 18 and 26 cm waist and that's quite a difference. I'll concentrate on the boot purchase first and then for a first board, I will get something wide but that I can still carve with. Stance comes later. I'm quite sure I will become just as mentally deranged as the rest of you and the way forward there is just a few screwdriver turns away. I also believe that the riding I'm used to has been pushing my feet to straighten out. I remember that and I know why. It's back to the original question. In the soft boot's support, I couldn't get enough force on the turns without standing straight. Absolutely terrible technique. I think this is going to quite different. Thanks again. I don't think I will be spending more than 1000 euros for the package as a beginner. If it will catch on, and I will spend more on the hobby sooner than later.

This is excellent people. Thanks for the ideas. I might be looking to get the boots and the bindings online and then simply shop a board locally and fit them on that one like proposed. A few things before I start thinking myself: Are all carve boards too thin in the middle to even do a straight back foot? What width would be necessary on a directional board for such a stance? I'm not saying I definitely need to stand like that in the end. I do on freestyle boards. One way that would help immensely is by guiding me through one selection of boards and point to a good carve board either among the F2s on the site I found or on the ones recommended by slapos or as an open specification for a semi-intermediate boarder almost 6 feet / 175 lbs / (age high) wanting to fit hard boots on them discussing like I do above (measurements, stiffness etc.). Then I can compare with what I look around for. I need a kick-start and start learning the landscape! They said there was little hard boot gear to choose from. They were liars! Thanks again and I'm feel like I'm ready to nerd like a newb after just a few most posts here.

Since I don't own a board or boots right now, I might as well buy/rent an alpine board when it is time, but it is good to hear that you can fit the bindings on a freestyle board as well. Besides, who doesn't want to be the guy with the arrow looking board among the rest? What is also good to hear is that the hard boots generally help people with foot/ankle problems. I thought as much but I hadn't heard it from anywhere. I have seen the Burton Step-Ons but I must say the system looks "strappy" without the straps, but I can believe that the shoe sits firmly in there. I do think the boot itself looks to soft for me. I need most of the lock-on in the heel. I do remember my stance in the 2000s. It was near perpendicular to the riding direction with the back foot so it might get tricky to get used to the new thing but I am open for it.

I have also wondered what I will do to try out boots. I have found a website blue-tomato.com that has F2 boards and Deeluxe boots that seem to have a good return policy. The whole offering is pretty much here and I think there are things for beginners (even though I may not be one exactly) or at least cheaper to start with. https://www.blue-tomato.com/sv-SE/products/categories/Snowboard+shop-00000000--Alpin+snowboardutrustning-00000004/

Hello people, Going to keep it as short as I can. I haven't started alpine boarding yet and since equipment is very expensive I'm going to inquire as much as I can first. In 1999-2000 I boarded with a freestyle board for the first time. I absolutely loved it and trained fast. Back then, in my country, a step-in binding was common and the boots were hard, but it was still a symmetric board. It is now basically history. Now when I've rented equipment in the near past, it hasn't worked. I get an enormous pain in my foot arches and other places in the lower leg that I didn't get with the step-in system. I've tried custom fit soles and everything but came to the conclusion that I need a hard boot system to keep the foot in place and since I don't need to jump, ride backwards or such, I think alpine boarding is for me. I can take the board on an occasional off-piste but certainly nothing that warrants a broad board. Am I on the right track with my thinking? It's difficult to imagine since I've never tried alpine boots or boards. Since there are also hard and soft boots in the alpine realm I need to find out what to try first. Any idea? The next step is then to find somewhere to rent first (and then buy) and in my country (Sweden) it is very very rare although snowboarding is huge. I haven't seen any place that rents this type of equipment. Thanks for any newb insight you can give.