Hilux

I'm planning on heading out Monday night to Cascades. Pakenham night New Years eve and/or Calabogie New Years day.

I remember reading on here a couple years back that 180cm was max for a snowboard for some airline...don't remember which one though. Although that really wouldn't make sense if you have a travel box/bag measuring more. I just tried searching and couldn't find it.

Great vid, thanks for posting! You folks (regular local Colorado riders) are sooooo lucky to have that much wide real estate. You must feel so free just to let it rip and not worry about the ever-so-fast approaching tree line on every turn. Keeps me on my toes though:D

10-4 on Bridgehead for coffee if staying in Ottawa although there are better places that pull a better espresso if that's what she's after. Bridgehead finally started roasting there own last year. Equator out in Almonte is where it's at but it's 30-40min drive. Chateau Laurier is good for location but the rooms aren't anything special if you pay full pop; get a discounted rate and it's worth it for location and the building itself is super nice. As for eats, my go-to never-fail is Wellington Gastropub, 10 minute drive (relatively cheap cab) from Chateau if that's where she decides. You'll pay $18-30 a plate but is ridiculously good and locally sourced when possible. Only have 5 or so things on the menu for mains but they are typically all good and usually have a vegetarian option that's killer and the service is outstanding and consistent. Make reservations as it's small, quaint but an awesome vibe. And they also pull a great shot and have a great selection of local and regional beers. http://www.thewellingtongastropub.com/ "Town" is also apparently really good. Haven't been but my close friend loves it as a hardcore foodie. http://www.townlovesyou.ca/ "Oz Kafe" is really good too but I prefer Gastropub overall (and no I don't know anyone there or have a stake in the place...it's just that good!) http://www.ozkafe.com/ If she has to hit up the canal on the weekend, do it in the evening as the kids are asleep and it's beautiful with the lights. Or do an early evening skate and dinner after, that's a good night. Morning is good too and you'll usually only find the commuters skating to work at that time.

Johnny, so far from what I can tell the Flo's are still stiffer then the Palau's I have. I've only flexed them (Palau) trying them on around the house but the plastic in the Flo's really seem to provide that rigid feel where the Palau's are stiff but more forgiving as it is only material thickness and density giving it the flex characteristic. Keep in mind you can get varying stiffnesses of thermo-moldable liners be it Deeluxe/Palau, Intuition etc.

Thanks for the responses so far. I'm really reluctant to get this done as I know there are some real hack techs. I've been hand-tuning my boards/skis for 15 years now and it's one thing to mess up a tune (I have seen some funny mishaps working in the industry over the years though) but a base/stone grind is a whole other ball game although it does depend on the person operating the machine and the machine itself. Anywho, keep the suggestions coming especially specific to base grind experiences. Hope to get out soon!

So, I have a couple softbooting neighbours who rant and rave about Magne-traction where your edge is shaped like "~~~~", essentially a "steak knife" (at least that's what Lib Tech is comparing it to). I've been in softboots once in my life and I don't care to get in them again so haven't tried this technology. My neighbours claim it's the cat's meow, spectacular edge old etc. The theory is that these waves along the edge are spaced at specific locations like under your toes/heel so you can engage the edge sooner and pressurize it. To me this design would seem to create leverage and effectively depressurize the rest of the effective edge along the board and/or if the board is up on edge it would appear that you would only have contact points at the peak of the waves (3-7 "contacts" depending on board) thereby decreasing TOTAL edge contact (little contact in the valley). From what I've read the other selling feature is for the kids in the park; you can detune your edges for rails/boxes but still have grip with these magic waves. Then I was thinking, if this really is that awesome, surely Sean, Bruce, Frank and Co. (sorry to the other builders I've missed) would be adopting this...no? Or is it specific to playing in the park (even though my neighbours don't go near that stuff) and this creates the illusion of edge hold because the majority of softbooters are sliding and pushing snow around to turn (no offense to my friends who can actually carve)? Either way, I don't buy it, but then again I haven't tried it. Thoughts? *Brian/Corey, is this section okay for this post?

Hey Ottawans! I've lost all my connections from when working in a ski shop for years so am looking for a tech/shop that I can trust with a stone grind. I'm thinking Shaver Sports up at Fortune as I've heard good things by full-time ski patrollers. Any other experiences suggestions?

forrest: Perhaps I should have been more specific. The softness was a welcome effect for my 190ish lbs. They weren't mushy or uncontrollable but rather provided a nice flex characteristic especially with the higher cuff. The only reason I'm switching out is because they are old and aren't holding their mold as well. I don't really have many molds left in them. I've found they've been packing out quite a bit more in spots like the back of the cuff at the top of the shell. The Palau I picked up are stiffer but in the right spots it seems...for me anyway. I'll see what they feel like on the hill. They are the equivalent to these but mine have the black and grey scheme of the ones on the Palau website. http://bomberonline.3dcartstores.com/Thermo-Flex-Liners-DEL-141_p_179.html http://www.yyzcanuck.com/store/Deeluxe-141-Liner.html http://www.palau-boutique.com/overlap-hard-ski-boot-liners-palau,us,4,PAL-OVHARD.cfm Buggs: got your PM and responded

I used the stock liner for a few outings. I originally received my boots in October (couple years back) and wore them a couple times a week around the house until mid December to get the liner molded to my foot. I LOVED the liners at first. Amazing heal hold, snug fit, great flex *a note on flex, the stock liners will stiffen the boots considerably compared to some thermo's as the tongue has a plastic molded piece attached to it. Long story short, the tongue on the liner can be positioned differently and held in place with vecro. I had severe bruise on the top of my foot where the ridge of the tongue dug in. I tried it again last year thinking originally it was "just a new boot" and had to get used to them, but the same thing happened again, lots of pain. The liners are great quality so this is really too bad. Anywho, I switched to an old pair of Raichle Thermoflex (10+ years old) molded them, and boom, super comfy and got an amazing flex out of the boot albeit softer. This year got a pair of Palau's to try to stiffen them up a bit and remold as the Raichle's are on their last legs. FYI - I put a 28MP liner in the 27.5 shell and it works for me. Hope that helps!

Full size difference...hmmmm, I'd be tempted to downsize (27/27.5) and get it punched a tad for your bigger foot, combined with low profile footbed. Perhaps you've mentioned this, are you using thermo liners too?

Street shoes size! My kicks are a mix from 9.5,10,10.5 depending on company and activity I worked at an outfitter and running store for a while and definitely wouldn't trust/go by street shoe size...unless you measured with a brannock that also had mondo with smaller increments.

Buggs, also found this thread. http://www.bomberonline.com/VBulletin/showthread.php?30607-Sole-Length-Database&highlight=upz%20size I just did a rough measurement and from the heel (edge of fintec) to the toe block is about 278mm and when I extended the tape measure out to 299mm and it would appear that's where the DIN soles would be as forrest mentioned. What are your feet size in mondo?

I'm not Stephane and I don't have a 26.5 but my 27.5 says this...

Sorry I don't have much experience with Deeluxe but I've always been a 27/27.5 in all my ski boots (Salomon, Nordica, Lange, Dalbello). I bought 27.5 HSP and they fit great but wasn't too keen on their performance and slightly higher volume. I asked Dan Yoja (UPZ distributer in BC) about sizing and he said to follow the standard sizing method (measure your foot in MP) and that if my previous shells were 27/27.5 stick with that for UPZ. I measured my foot in Mondo Point and flipped Dan the measurements just to confirm and he said for sure 27.5. Hope that helps. Also see below from UPZ site NA.

Tabby you can carve, I have the pics to prove it:D You'll rock again on that TR Coiler.

For wide, high volume feet, Head Stratos Pro if you can find a pair. They seem to come up quite often on this forum. Failing HSP look for Dalbello Carve series. They are the same shell as HSP but have DIN soles. I picked up a pair of NOS off ebay for $50 for backup parts but used them for skiing instead. Blue B on here used to use them too. Others have said that UPZ are wide in the toebox but I don't find them particularly wider than average. I've got a D width foot and put an older Raichle thermoflex liner in there that takes up quite a bit of space. From what I've read they are wider than Deeluxe though. You could always get them punched too and get a lower volume liner. Hope that helps start the conversation and I'm sure others will chime in.

Should have heeded your advice :D Looked like a great day though. Still pretty sparse covering around here...and raining.

Yeah Tabby! Taking the plunge, awesome! You can make us all jealous at ECES afterward and tell us all your fun stories :D Never been out west skiing/snowboarding. One year I'll make it out to SES...have a blast.

I was using a Raichle Thermoflex sz 28 in a 27.5 UPZ and it was a snug fit and near-perfect (only because I need my shell punched in one spot...had the issue with other liners too). Liners are getting old so got a pair of Palau's sz 28 and the liner fits no problem but I haven't molded them yet. These were used only a couple of times and molded by previous owner and when I put my foot in, it felt surprisingly good. I've done fairly extensive research and read on other ski forums where people commonly upsize and Intuition seems to recommend it. I'm sure others have had good results with same size liner as shell though.

When I first got my UPZ I was all keen to modify them with ACSS or rig up Fin's BTS. After 2 hard seasons of riding with stock spring mechanism, I'm quite happy. If there was an "easy" mod, I would however consider trying it but mostly just because curiosity would get the best of me. I consider myself a strong intermediate rider, 190lbs, have Raichle Thermoflex liners and added a booster strap. I find this combo perfect for me and actually the booster strap made the biggest difference in performance believe it or not while the liner just added comfort. I ditched the Flo liner after the second time out (there's a thread somewhere with my experience). I think the new ones have a proprietary powerstrap "shoxxter" too. When I see pictures of myself carving I was surprised at how flexed the rear boot was, never would have thought that (see pic). You probably won't get that consistent full-range-of-motion "feel" as with BTS but maybe that's not what it's all about...or maybe it is and I'm being seriously held back ;) Edit: I should add I have never tried Raichle/Deeluxe, only HSP and UPZ.

*SIGH* hmmm would love to Tabby, I've got this gig though that keeps getting in the way Monday-Friday...;)

Welcome Neil! As others have said, Cascades for the majority of weeknights but I also rode at Edelweiss last year with another group we just found out about. It's definitely a good vibe, riders of all skill levels, some coming from softboots, and it's really a great way to learn. The sessions were fun last year despite some crummy conditions but we made the best of it, adapted and still had a blast. Even if the "formal" sessions don't happen, it's just great to ride with a bunch of folks who are so passionate about the sport. You all good for gear?

Weird, I had that exact same pain after lafcadio and I did the Standard - SI swap on our TD3s (I converted to SI). My pain was same spot but mostly on front leg. Last year I didn't notice it as much though. It's funny that there's lots of talk about the TD3s being stiffer (even compared to standards) but I don't really notice it at all. I just love the convenience of SI for our 45sec runs down the molehills. I would also think the F2 SI are similar flex as they don't have the suspension pad system of the TD so it would all balance out. Sorry for threadjack. Happy sale!

What year is the Volkl BX? That's look pretty fun too, and still in plastic! The Oxess just looks plain bad-a$$. Would love to try one at some point...actually I think we're heading out the Calgary next winter to see some friends so hang on to it ;)