AcousticBoarder

You know you don't need yours anymore!

So I had my first day of the season a couple days ago and I feel like I reverted again. I am sure parts of it are that it's the first day so I need to get back into it/ breaking muscle memory again, and I'm not in as good of shape as I would like right now, but I was honestly put off a bit by how frustrating it was at times. I ended up switching to softboots in the afternoon (mostly because I was with friends who were in lessons in the morning so I could ride with them) and had fun, played with trying to ride switch. I am definitely reviewing this thread again in more detail, but is there a chance anyone knows of a hardboot instructor in southern California I could work with or would anyone be willing to meet up and work with me? I really want my goal this year to be breaking the bad habits and get fundamental form down.

For those who have been to the mountain, how is the terrain? Are the greens/ blues/blacks classified well or are they weighted one way or the other? My gf is joining us, but is learning to snowboard this season. She also learned to ski a couple days last season. Trying to figure out what to expect and what she should bring/focus on.

Headed to snow summit for some turns this Wednesday 12/19. Anyone around and want to make some turns? I plan on being on Hardboots in the morning and switching to soft in the afternoon. My gf and a few friends will be taking lessons and looking to get her on Hardboots by February for MCC so will be working with her in the afternoon! Any suggestions?

If you are volunteering your Kessler 168 to loan out for a bit I for one would be interested.... lol

As far as the bindings go, I am in m25 RC10s on TD3SW standard bindings. Depending on the exact year model, I can either just barely use the binding without flipping the bails, or I must flip them in order to use the TD3s. As far as stepins, I have tried to convert to them but I have to switch the bail, which makes it just as time consuming as using regular bindings.

Until recently I've been in the stage where I specifically have been looking for others to ride with to progress my riding, contradicting this philosophy entirely by waiting at the chair when I see another hardbooter I can connect with... I'm trying to shift my mindset now and focus on me without worrying about others, especially on perfect days.

Ooooh very nice looking. Now I am just waiting for a set that fits small boots well!

+1 for hard to adjust for small boots. I have never tried f2s myself as it took a long time for me to figure out what cant and lift worked for me and I've found it to be a bit finky, so I've been on Bombers (SW) exclusively, and otherwise like them. These do look like the base plate would help to accommodate smaller boots by adding metal back to the center and allowing the blocks to be adjusted in more while still giving access to the 4x4 bolts.

I still need some time to be able to commit, but if I can go I will plan on bringing my Mavic! Edit: Booked and going!

Short answer: I'm just not interested in much of the other snowboard board stuff. Long answer: I started snowboarding when I was little (5 or 6?), my family was heavily involved with scouting, so each year we would have 2 separate trips (1 girl scout and 1 boy scout) to one of the closer mountains near us. I decided to do snowboarding, and LOVED it, but you can only do so well when you get about 2 days a year. Fast forward a few years, and my brother (10 years older than I) started working at the closest mountain as ski patrol. My love for snowboarding grew more and I finally got a used setup of my own, but being young and not able to drive, I still only had a handful of days in a good year. I did learn at that time I generally preferred easy to moderate runs, did not care for the park stuff, and lacked the drive to hike to powder. Shortly thereafter, my brother discovered hard-boot snowboarding himself as an avid outdoor person. I was fascinated with how he could turn, navigate the run, and make even the most bland of runs so much more fun, so I wanted to learn it. He let me borrow/ was able to acquire some old gear for me to try, and whenever I could I started trying to find that first perfect carve. It was a new experience for me as I never really have been into sports, but it felt like the perfect match for me as I enjoy technical trades and the attention to detail that comes with it, which this had much of. Over the last couple years (I'm 27 now), I have steadily been able to have the time, money, and means to really dedicate more to it, resulting in some more time on the snow, current equipment, and riding with others which have propelled my skills much further. I still definitely have a ways to go, and there are some bad habits I am still breaking from a poor base of infrequent riding, but progress has increased exponentially. Alpine snowboarding feels like a lifestyle to me, not just a hobby. I frequently spend hours browsing the forums, watching videos, and obsessing learning everything I can until the next time I am on the mountain. If only that could translate directly to applying it and being a better rider! When I change jobs and complete my education, living close to a decent mountain will absolutely be a high consideration on my list. I really do love so may things about this sport - the amazing community, the feel of the Gs and carve, its my "absolute activity" as Jack and others have described where everything just fades away, the infinite tech details one can nerd out on and tinker with (ok, its a love hate relationship there sometimes...), how smooth it feels to be in a clean carve, like you are flying down the mountain, especially on perfect groomers, the amazing winter scenery and fresh air (or lack there of at altitude?), and ofcouse, when you fall, (generally) you have not much more injury than a bruised ego and can try again!

Thanks for the tip Corey! Yeah, I should have clarified that is definitely the plan, and that we will be doing before MCC. I want to get her atleast boots though before then, and such small boot size dedicated bindings are probably needed as well. Hey Jeff, thanks for the reply! Now that you mentioned the raichles I just realized I think I have some old gear somewhere including maybe a pair of raichle boots in m24... Let me see if I can find them and see if they fit her, or if I happened to sell them and get back to you.

My girlfriend is showing interest in hardbooting so I am looking for a setup for her. Definitely need boots and bindings, I think I have an old board that should work for her, but would be interested in a forgiving one for a new female rider. This would be her first time on a board and she only started skiing last season. Hoping to get a few days atleast on the snow and then join for clear cut!

Ruroc helmet (especially now that the face mask is tested/rated/certified) and bright neon/glow colors (I like orange and blue). Added some neon orange gaff tape arrows on my helmet too to help indicate side to side travel, though not sure how well that actually works. I recall someone asking me about them though so maybe they do help... I also prefer mitts to gloves as there's some slight finger protection there, albeit minimal. I'm definitely in the market for a back/spine protector and have been for the last year or two. Just been difficult to try some to see what has a good balance of protection, maneuverability, and fit/comfort.

Still looking if anyone is offloading one!

As you leave it sitting there for me right?

Looking for a Kessler 168. Let me know what you got!

What are we at now? I really want to say yes but I am unsure about how my income will be soon...

Yeah, hard to really see on screen, I rather like that contrast look

Wonder if this would help me.. I had stumbled on the same posts you had too. I have a high arch and instep and have done a few things to eliminate the pressure over the foot, but at times it still feels too tight. Is the asymmetrical layout you chose to distribute the pressure to the side of the arch?

Just a thought atleast for a good while... Might want to buy/ keep the domain name alive for bomberonline.com and forums.bomberonline.com with redirects here (no actual page needed) Can we also keep all of the resources from bomber website including pictures and names of parts, etc? Even though catek is gone it is nice being able to look information up still. For that matter (not now but down the road) it would actually be nice to see the ASB site become an updated carvers almanac with information on other brands as well. Just thinking out loud. I am sure you could get help from us when the time came. Very sad to hear it is likely the end for the bomber products too. I am curious now as to the legalities and possibilities of releasing detailed specs and information to us on the parts and bindings. I think it would be amazing to see from the ashes of this like an open source binding project, perhaps a way to maintain parts for existing bindings too. In my opinion, while the TD3 was not perfect, it made huge strides in improvement over most other alpine bindings out there that seem to use the same or similar mold of the f2.

Words cannot express how thankful I am that we are working to keep the community alive. Thank you Jack and Fin and everyone else who have helped keep us afloat. Very smooth forum transition so far, and it is nice to have the forums where they are not dependant on bomber. Does anyone have any light to shed on what this means exactly for the business as well as manufacturing of bomber? I too am crossing my fingers that it is transfered to a new or existing company.

I'm in the minority here in the 20-30 years "olf" category haha, turning 27 next month. My older brother who worked ski patrol turned me onto hardbooting at an early age too.

When was that taken? We have more snow than that now I think....

I only have a few days on mine, and there are definitely other factors such as great conditions and some dedicated technique refinement, but I have had similar experiences so far too.