Flywalker

Thanks for your comments guys! l have had my eye on a 4WD for years but after having a few email chats with BlueB and Chris Clark over at Prior l am beginning to wonder what would be the best way to go. Like l was saying before, there is just so much snow here that REALLY hard-packed days are few and far between. There is plenty of machine-groomed fresh stuff... and boatloads of untracked in the trees and between the groomed courses. DEEP too... like "where's my scuba gear" deep! Of course chopped up and tracked out pow is in abundance too if you aren't up early. I rode my old CON in snow like that and it was capable provided l kept the pace up an the weight back. Mind you, it was 27/21/26 so pretty fat up front. Are metal boards more prone to bending if coming into hard contact with a mogul? ls it a bad choice to consider one as an all mountain board?

...for your feedback! l am now in negotiations with Mr. Yoja and seeing if l can scoop a pair of the RC10's for myself and the wife. He still has some of the old stock in a 24 so that might be the ticket for her. We receive loads of snow out here so l was initially worried that they'd be too stiff for soft snow applications... but if you're doing alright at 155lbs l should be fine at around 170lbs. The wife may need the softer tongues though... she only 47kgs and 151cm!

Yeah... l know... it's not a powder board. l am shopping for new gear and there is SOOO much powder where l live that it's hard to find hard packed runs. However, l am coming off an old Sims CON 166 and rode that in the pow since it was the only board l owned. Seemed OK to me.... but l have nothing to compare it to. ls this a BAD idea? Since joining this forum my situation has changed and l am in the market again for a snoweapon. My brain has been scrambled with the options available to me now. LOVE to carve.... but... l love going everywhere, too. l'm kitting out the wife this year and coming home to Calgary for the winter holidays so buying myself two boards is out of the question. lf any of you Calgary carvers are around between Dec. 22nd and Jan. 5th it would be cool to make some turns with you before we go to Vancouver for a week (^_^) Gotta try to get my boards legs under me by the time l meet BlueB and Mr. Scooby!

l too am shopping for boots as my Burton Reactors(blue/bronze buckles) are very, very tired... Would these boots make a nice replacement? Thinking of getting the softer red tongues as well for the powder days... which there are many where l live. l used to ride my Burtons in free-flex almost all the time in all terrain so wondering if these bad boys would be the best way to go. Thank you for any input (^_^)

I'll take them if they are still available!

Shipping to Calgary? How much?

Hey Everyone, Paypal judged in my favor. l suspect this thread had a lot to do with the verdict. l just want to say "thank you very much" to everyone who wrote in here, especially Angie and Jim! Guess that means l'm shopping again!

Thanks everyone for your replies! l think l am getting closer. Mr. Scooby has a 147cm Oxygen Proton that has never been ridden which he is prepared to let go for a reasonable amount of beer tokens. My only concern with this board is that it may be really hard work in soft or deep snow. Mr. Scooby also has that Cobble and that eDeck available which are both around the 155cm mark. The resorts we spend our time at are usually blessed with heaps of snow. There are great groomed runs but as skiers we avoid them as much as possible because they are booorrriing. We are always in the trees looking for pow. As boarders obviously we'll have to start on the groomers for her but l am hopeful that within the first season she'll be looking longingly at our favorite tree runs while being strapped into her snowboard. l know, l know.... one board is a compromise either one way or another but again, from personal experience l was really happy on my 166 CON everywhere. l tried a Burton Factory Prime 174(?) and yeah it carved great but it sure wasn't very versatile. Soooo.... we have a 147 Proton, a 155 Cobble and a 156(?) eDeck in the running. l am quite sure that she will progress VERY fast... she's an athlete after all. There's also that Proton in a 156 l think. Mr. Scooby seems to have a massive selection....LOL! Knowing her, she'd be more likely to choose dealing with the difficulties at the beginning to get the rewards at the end re: longer board. l just want whatever board she gets to be able to do everything as well as possible. l'm going to be riding a 4WD exclusively and hoping to introduce her to powder riding as soon as she is comfortable. From what l have read about the 4WD it is right up there with the freecarvers in terms of digging trenches.... and has almost the same dimensions as my old CON. Just noticed that there's a 159 4WD on eBay too. 154 is probably the best bet, though....

Yeah l know she should have been in a wider shell... however even when she was racing she couldn't get into her Nordicas without work. The Langes are bang on now with a great custom foot bed and punched out by the pros at Silver Star. She tells me that she was never able to get into a 23.5 ski boot. Good advice re: test fitting the old Flexon. We can find them around here so l'll take her to our local ski shop and try a shell fit. lf it seems OK we'll have a go at your Raichles (^_^)

How about that Oxygen Proton in a 156? Turns out after a few more questions wifey's got 3 seasons of soft booting under her belt.... waaaay back in the day. Dunno if if that will help or not. Mr. Scooby outlined the advantages/disadvantages of shorter vs. longer but l have faith that she will rock whatever board she gets. She's a little ball of muscle... ex gymnast/ballerina, great swimmer... sports nut case. But... she is only 48kgs. l don't want her traveling at warp 9 just to flex the board before she's ready. Trees are not very forgiving! And BlueB... her shoe size is a 23.5 but WIDE. She went up a shell size in the Langes because it was impossible to get her forefoot comfy in the smaller shell. Not sure about a Raichle 23.5 shell. l am still on the hunt for boots though. Haven't had much luck so far. There was a perfect pair of AF600's in 24.5 on eBay but the seller wouldn't ship outside the States. Tooooo bad. Kinpa... thanks for your post. l understand your concern re: teaching spouses but l think it'll be just fine. l've been down this road before with g/f's and it wasn't so bad. My wife is a joy to be active with... if anything l'll have to curb my own desire to leave her on the groomers to practice while l rip up the mountain elsewhere. Never heard of a Pure Boarding 2 Shrederjen. Do you have any details?

Good luck getting the toe bail off those Carriers. l have a set as well because l broke the toe bail on my race plates and wanted to swap it over. l couldn't get the front bail off the Carriers. lf you know how please tell me!

ls a 27.0 shell a smaller shell size than the 27.5? l know my question isn't helping you but l bought a replacement pair of Reactors off eBay in a 27 thinking they would be fine. Now l am worried that the shell will be smaller... too small since the 27.5's fit me like they used my foot to design the boot with. Got a bit of a panic on now!

Hi... Could you please explain a little about what a 23/25 size is? l am looking for boots for my wife and she wears a 24.5 Lange ski boot. Would these boots be in the ball park? Are they a narrow fitting boot or a wider fitting boot? Thank you!

l have the exact same pair as you but they are pretty tired. You may be able to scavenge parts off of them. l need to have a closer look though....

Can you please tell me how much to send that A153 to Calgary? Is it in good condition? Can you upload more pics? l'm pretty sure l am going to buy it.

Wow..... l had a crack at this back in the winter of '93-'94. Never became very good at gates but it sure was fun. Rob was a demon though... and quite the sight in his exo-skeleton body armor! lf l can get my hands on a good board l'd like to have another go over the Christmas holidays if possible (^_^) My Sims CON has zero camber left and isn't really a gate machine anyway.

Allee, Angie.... thank you SO much for your advice! Everyone else too, much appreciated! Mr. Scooby has a Cobble(?) 155 that's new.. waist 20.8 and a Burton e56... waist 21.5 available. Never heard of either of these boards, especially the Cobble. Would either of them be a better bet than the Rossi or should l just pull the trigger on the Rossi knowing that she'll probably be done with it before the end of the season anyway? Cheap is good in this case (^_^) Might not be a bad idea to grab that white Rossi 156 VAS for her next ride... hehe... l know she's gonna rip. We started racing motorcycles last year in a sport called "motorcycle gymkhana". Run a search on Youtube if you're curious. She doesn't even have her license. l have been riding off and on since l was 14. This year she beat me 4 out of 6 races. l got my ass kicked!

Do you need it for parts or to ride?

There's an A153 in the Classifieds with bindings for not a lot of cash. 22.5cm waist. Would this be a decent starting board that can go anywhere? Maybe not quite narrow enough to lay it over... but...

What condition is the A153 in? Could be a good learning board for the wife.

l see. Never saw a "live" CON 147. Didn't know it was such a narrow board. l haven't shopped for a new board since March '95 when l bought my CON. lt was a fantastic ride but 400+ days later l can't even fit one coin under it. lnteresting to know that it is considered stiff by modern board standards. Fires are out, then. She wears a 24.5 Lange ski boot... not sure if she could squeeze into a 23.5 Deeluxe.

Thanks BlueB! She's 151cm standing very straight. Perhaps that old Sims CON has potential...?

Thank you for your input! There's a 147cm Sims CON out there in Craiglist land... too short? Thought about a 154cm 4WD but would prefer to stay away from new until we both know she's into it. There's a 156cm Rossi Throttle in the classifieds here. l was thinking of putting my Burton race plates on whatever she rides. Have some Burton Carriers somewhere, too. Also looking at the Burton Fire boots in Bomber's classifieds. They're the transparent ones which are supposed to be a little softer...? No point in building up a quiver until she has a go and decides if it's for her. One board that will carve AND ride pow for now. Not sure what Scooby's got up his sleeve but if any of the boards l just mentioned have potential please let me know (^_^)

Hi Michelle, For a first-timer isn't 164cm a lot of board? l was under the impression a mid-150's was more appropriate. Mind you l haven't bought gear for 15 years(and never for someone so small) so l have no idea what newer equipment is like... She is a great skier but really a beginner at snowboarding. We'll be in the trees a lot because that's where we usually ski. The groomers here are never icy... at least not on the days we've chosen to ski! l'm trying to give her the best experience on a board so she can improve quickly and enjoy with me.

When l did my Level ll in '98 l asked if l could do it in hard boots. The examiner's eyebrows crept up his forehead in such a way as to say "shall l just fail you now?" Things must have changed since then! Nice one Scooby, thanks! PM sent. Don't know how to enable my email yet...