Mig

Three things aleviated my foot pain over the years until it finally disappered completely:1- Switching to Burton P1 straps when they first came out. 2- Switching to the Burton Driver X when they first came out (this reeeeally changed everything for me). 3- Getting used to NOT overtightning everything with the newer gear. You gain comfort, without loosing power, and without any heel lift.

Thanks for the answers, John. Softboots exclusively since I gave up on racing in the early/mid 90s. If I can find cheap boots and bindings that will fit and hold up to my size, I will give it a try again. I'm thinking some used boots with new moldable liners, and sturdy bindings.

Thanks for the welcome!Powdergun is still on the wall, right above my bed: With this framed picture of me using it back then, as a reminder to always keep it fun:

I think you're a snowboarder first. ;)Or maybe a slalom skateboarder first?!? Wassup John! It's big Mig, from slalom racing (Fullbag)... I did not want this to be my first post on Bomber, but I'm just too curious: :D What hardboots did you switch too in 1983? And what binding and board were you using?I don't remember seeing anyone on them until a couple years later, and even then it was mainly lace up plastic mountainering boots in "regular" bindings. I discovered carving on soft groomers and groomed spring slush (no man made snow in my area back then) in 1983 with my Burton Powdergun (I started riding in 1979). I stitched a leather loop at the top of my Sorel-type boots to hold the heelstrap high enough on the back of my leg so that it acted like a hiback on heelside turns. After seeing it worked really well in less than ideal pow conditions, I gave it a try on the groomers and was amazed. Next board was the first Elite 150 (square tail). It was nice having edges and p-tex but it felt like a piece of **** compared to the Powdergun. You could only skid turns, even in pow. By the way, carving to me has always been about making round turns and leaving just a thin track, no skid. And to keep this topic related, I voted yes. There's no snowboard forum on the net that caters to softboot carving, or where softbooters with a carving style can feel welcome (at least I never stumbled across a good one). I raced (and rode exclusively) on hardboots back in the late 80s and early 90s on the provincial circuit, with guys like Jasey-Jay and his brother, and even got a couple podium finishes (he probably doesn't remember me though, I am a lot older... LOL). Even if I did pretty good, I got fed up with the elitist attitude of some of the racers and went back to softies and freeriding. My local area had better pow than groomers anyway. I started considering getting back into alpine carving since I got back into racing slalom skateboards 5 or 6 years ago. So I started lurking more and more on Bomber. This poll prompted me to become a member. I'm sure fin is a good enough businessman to see that a specific softboot carving forum is a good thing for futur business and the futur of alpine/hardboot carving.:)