Jack M

I don't, sadly. Perhaps my heelside will suffice? Obviously not EC and please pardon the hat and borrowed goggles - I forgot my helmet & goggles this day...

This one? I agree Erik J is the man.

According to the halfpipe analogy, a backside air would be a toeside turn. So it is totally ambiguous.

I've heard those, but I don't know how that translates to carving. That is, I have my interpretation, but I never know if it is the same as someone else using those terms. Why can't we just say toeside and heelside??

what do frontside and backside mean? I never know.

Totally agreed. Unfortunately I don't have time to do this, and, there already is a half-started page there: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Alpine-snowboarding/108208885873727 I think whoever does put together (or takes over) "the" facebook page needs to be someone with a vested interest in the long term growth of alpine (read: they make money from it). A simple participant would probably lose interest over time and let it go stale.

Perhaps, but there will definitely be an advantage to riding a Boiler Plate.

Awesome! I hope my kids rip like that someday!

I'm registered. Seth himself is competing as well. It's going to be awkward when I beat him! ;) :D Should be a fun test of the Boiler Plate. Although it's not chinese-downhill style. It's one at a time, against the clock. And no jumps. http://www.sugarloaf.com/Events/Calendar/Banked_Slalom.html

The two aren't really comparable at all because of the vast differences in flex characteristics of the boot/binding combos. I would tell you what I think of Sidewinders, but it is not relevant to this discussion. Personally I don't see a need for hinge in softboot bindings at all, because of the greater range of motion of the ankle. Unless your binding was as stiff as hardboots. It looks like yours is not. A softboot binding that could provide hardboot-type support and performance would have to basically be a hardboot that bolts to the board and opens up like a clamshell to let your softboot in and out. I think Flow bindings are closest to this. Make the tongue rigid, taller, and wrap around more and voila. As for a 3-strap binding, I think making one to equal hardboots will turn out looking much beefier, more enclosed, and nothing like the binding you've got going. However for ultimate carving and racing performance, hardboots will always be the choice. It's been done in Rollerblades, if that matters. Real freeride snowboarders spend way more of their day riding than walking, so I personally can't really fathom buying boots with walking as a criterion. Unless we're talking backcountry or hiking a pipe or a jump over and over. The only time I am sick of having my hardboots on is in the apres-ski bar with the onset of swamp-foot, and then I just take the boots off.

fine with me. Surely you are not comparing hardboot bindings with softboot bindings, right?

Thanks, it wasn't clear at first. Well, you'll notice this forum is minimally commercialized. That means we don't get paid to moderate it. We can't be consulting people on a regular basis of what is ok to post or not. You just need to use some common sense. Like, responding to a thread which hasn't been active since 2007 will usually not be received well. This is a relatively small, tight knit community with a conversational feel. Conduct yourself as if at an apres-ski bar or cocktail party (for grownups). If you want exposure for your product you should consider purchasing an ad like the ones in the upper right corner, or a vendor account. Personally, IMO, if I were you I would give up on the whole-binding idea and concentrate on add-ons. I don't see a need for the hinge thing for anybody, and I think the bottom half of softboot bindings has pretty much been perfected by many. Your binding core does not compete with the others. I'd rather see an aftermarket highback with a 3rd strap or a tongue (a la the old Kelly or Elfgen tongues) that could be added to existing bindings.

This is fine. It wasn't clear before to skimming eyes that these were two different bindings.

Lose the klugy hinge and I think this may appeal to carvers. Please don't resuscitate ancient dead threads to discuss this binding. Starting a new thread like this is the right way to do it. Thanks.

:lol: tufty, would you like a job? It pays nothing! I like this. A lot.

dude that overbite is fierce!

The way I've heard it is that Karl was the first with the "isocline" design, and the Apex is derived from it (as is the Boiler, Donek, etc). I'm pretty sure we should be calling them Karl-style plates, not Apex-style. I was more focused on the nice upright torso and perfectly level shoulders. I don't think his knees are together too much. As long as we are putting up our own pics... (please disregard the hat and borrowed goggles - I left my helmet and goggles at the house that day! :o)

haha, let me rephrase that. If you are not carving, it is a lot easier to go t2b.

Is BX cool? Does it have mass appeal? Do they regularly show it in Transworld and other mags? I have no idea because here in Maine we have Seth Wescott so we are inundated with it. If the answer is "not really" then I don't see how carving could ever get there. I get the impression BX doesn't have much traction due to the dearth of BX boards on the market. Burton doesn't even make one.

Another guideline is shoulder width plus an inch or two. I agree the golden ratio does not work for all. With your heel/toe lift you should be able to go wider. Play around.

I usually use inseam length divided by 1.62 (roughly the golden ratio) as the starting point. Use that width, and toe lift on the front foot, heel lift on the back foot, and experiment from there.

You are either part of the problem or part of the solution. Can we please hear your suggestions for forum/site improvement? Or your specific objective complaints? Would you like to contribute educational articles for the archives? FYI I have always encouraged Bordy to stay (and he is still a member in good standing).

You established a pattern of deleting nearly all of your posts, so you lost the privilege. It's disruptive. It ruined conversations and made a lot of people look like they were talking to themselves. Like another user said, use an external image host - tinypic.com works great if you are capable of reading and following directions. Then when writing a post here, use the embed image button () and put the image URL in the input box that appears. I have restored your edit privileges. I had put Snowman in your usergroup which cannot delete because he was slashing and burning all his posts. Then he started editing them, so I had to turn off editing for that usergroup. He's banned now, so I can put it back. No, it would be easier to just ban you, but you technically don't break enough rules. You are free to stay or go as you please, but frankly I don't understand your masochistic desire to be here.

+1. Average softbooters look like complete idiots anywhere outside of the park. It is no wonder skiing is cool again. Strangers come up to me every day I ride to ask questions and pay compliments.

If you don't have to stop, you aren't really trying. Or you are a triathlete. Or you are riding softies or skis.