Jack M

Nice. I am working on my own review of Kessler vs. Donek vs. Prior vs. Coiler now. I only have a handful of days on the Kessler so far, but "beefy" and "powerful" are words that have popped into my head while riding the Kessler. As for how it does on eastern conditions... it does very well on rain soaked then frozen then groomed granular.

That's a big "would have". Thomas Prugger, the silver medalist, would probably disagree.

I can't imagine having my life defined and derailed by one bad event like that. My heart goes out to him. I have to admit that at the time, the media portrayed it in such a way as to leave little doubt that he was directly smoking pot, and I fell for it. That made me mad that he would so carelessly tarnish us all like that. But if that number - 17 billionths of a gram - is accurate, then it sounds like it very well could have been second hand. In that case, I'd say he's been screwed. I feel terrible for him, and I am proud for him and our northern neighbors that they can claim that first snowboarding gold. I'm happy to hear he is married and a father. Experiencing his kid(s) growing up will hopefully make everything else insignificant and bring him true joy.

You will probably be a little faster at first on your familiar soft gear than you would be with race gear. But someone with equal skill with race gear will probably beat you, if that matters. I would say to run the first few races on whatever gear you're more comfortable on, while working on mastering the hardboots by freecarving. But I'm not a racer.

I used to have that play, but I was able to eliminate it with the macro and micro adjustments. *shrug* You can get away with turning only one shoulder bolt, if you didn't already try that.

At boot size 9 or 9.5, the Swoard will be too wide. Check out Prior, Donek, Coiler, Nidecker, Volkl. Welcome and good luck!

ok, ok, everyone, I think we should appreciate the effort to play nice here. Jason, I feel your pain, but I've never heard of any company in any market ever saying "don't buy our product, a new version is due out soon". Never. To answer your other question, the Sidewinder is for anyone who wants a little more lateral flex in their binding without sacrificing safety or durability. This could be any ability level.

don't ever get into digital cameras. as soon as you get it home it's obsolete. :rolleyes:

PGS race boards are generally 180-185cm long, and if you want to be somewhat seriously competitive, metal construction. The major leaguers are using $1500 Kesslers, etc, but you can get started racing with less. Look for a used Coiler, Prior, Donek, F2, Nidecker or buy new if you can. For race bindings look for used F2, or used Bomber TD2 with suspension kit or TD3 with soft e-ring. If you're more interested in learning to freecarve before you start racing, you could start with a shorter board. Welcome and good luck!

That is the first production Burton race board. I think it should fetch a premium.

Right but I would say a lot of porn has very little to do with *photography* as an art. These are just a couple of Steve's: his site is NSFW.

http://tinyurl.com/yet559r

Well there's a broad definition of porn, but what he's doing is more like Maxxim and occasional Playboy type photography only better. I'd call it erotica. Not fetish, but alternative type models/chicks. Tattoos, piercings, club/rock scenes, etc. He also does other types of photography. He is the frickin' man with a camera. I have his old 1DIIN, the thing is surely bored in my hands. I think he's too busy living the NYC dream to get much boarding in these days.

try this article on for size... http://www.bomberonline.com//articles/cross_over.cfm

Which board did you go with? The longer board will allow you to relax a little more, but either way carving is a much bigger workout than sliding. Being in shape is the best answer. Otherwise, experiment with toe lift on your front binding, and heel lift on your back binding. The toe lift should help with the front quad burn. This will also allow you to widen your stance a little, which will give you better balance.

My glass boards all had a sweet spot. Position yourself outside it, and pay the price. My metal boards don't seem to have this, they're easier to ride. But the glass boards will more eagerly launch you.

I'm not a racer, but I like fast GS sized turns. I won't be crowning a winner, I just want to see how the new full-race GS boards do for freecarving, and also if our North American manufacturers have caught up to the Big K. I'll be measuring all the boards, and getting to know each one with as much riding as possible in January. ps - the Prior is being built now!

I'm tempted to put one binding at 90 on each and ski them!

too lazy to even read the OP eh? ;)

"I have two guns... one for each of you!" - Doc Holliday 184 metal GS. 14-24m (left) and 14-20 (right) These graphics make me want to jump in my Trans-Am, crank some Angus and peel out. And I mean that in a very good way. This photo isn't a great perspective, but it's the best I could do at the moment. I will post a better picture later. Watch for my Kessler vs. Donek vs. Coiler vs. Prior review in February!

seems like reducing toe lift by 50% and increasing outward cant by a lot may have been too much of a change?

I gave up softies when my equipment finally gave up the ghost in spring of 2008 Same here. I just hated overhang, and I didn't have a very wide board, and getting one wasn't a priority.

back when I rode softies, aggressively forward, 33/24. I had no tolerance for overhang.

I would call the combination of multi-radius/clothoid sidecuts with decambered nose/tail new and revolutionary, and when you ride them, mind blowing.

yup, or just a simple thing such as keeping your back hand in sight.