Jack M

This is exactly what the sport needs, kudos. I'm reminded of my first carving board - Burton Safari Comp II - 165cm length, 135cm effective edge, 26.7cm waist, 16.3m radius. I'll bet I would have had an easier time on your boards!!

http://www.bomberonline.com/articles/SES05.cfm Hope you enjoy!

ouch.

You don't get the decoder ring until 1000 posts. Hey D-sub, BLFI NLGSVI DZH Z SZNHGVI ZMW BLFI UZGSVI HNVOG LU VOWVYVIIRVH!!

It's a freecarve shape (not all-mtn), 20cm waist, pricetag starting with the number 3, billed as an "entry level carving board". That's all I know. I thought the Axis construction was derived from the Freecarve, not the Incline.......?

True, but there is a difference between forum fodder and published material in the archive. As for the "content" of TWS, I did a little analysis last year here: http://www.bomberonline.com/VBulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1192

Right on Redman, agreed all around, but to answer your question: It absolutely does not. However I don't appreciate unsolicited insults and disrespect. You don't see pictures on this site lampooning softbooters.

Hi Allen, Hope you've found our Welcome Center. If you can do "the norm" on your current board and you can carve your downhill edge, you're probably ready for an alpine setup. Yes, all-mountain carving boards like the Donek Axis, Prior 4x4, and Coiler All-Mountain are very capable carvers as well as in the powder and all-terrain. Although if you think you want to go right into a freecarve board, you can't go wrong with the Donek 171fcII. Incidentally, my best day in moguls was on one of those. It's 19.5cm wide at the waist, which is fairly wide, making it pretty maneuverable and floatable. And it carves like a dream. IMO, hardboots are superior in moguls because of the extra support. I find it difficult in softboots to stay centered while riding moguls. I always feel like I'm about to go "over the handlebars" in softboots in moguls. Good luck!

Tom Brady. As for the Donek Pilot, I just caught a glimpse of it at the SES, and took a few runs with Sean while he was riding it. He said he was surprised at how well it rode. The few stats I gleaned was a 20cm waist and a price tag starting with 3. Cool.

Donek Pilot.

That's the idea behind the Norm - remove all "steering" from the equation.

Coilers and Volkls are great, but Coiler is sold out through next season, and I don't know where you'd get a Volkl 178. The Donek 175 sounds like a good fit. 13m equivalent radius will be stable at speed (sounds like you're ready for it), and it's a little softer than their Freecarve 171 (which is known as a pretty stiff freecarve) so that should be good for your weight. And for the same or less money, it's good to support the US boutique manufacturer. Also, check out this article.

6' in 20 days. That's amazing. You picked one hell of a good year to ski-bum at Sugarloaf. This is easily one of the best seasons in the past 10 or more. You need a digital camera.

I think in order for a cable to work, the shape of the heel ledge on the boot would also have to change. A cable would probably just slip off the existing heel ledge. I don't think it would stay on at the corners. The SS bail must be work hardening.

This all royally sucks and I feel bad for you. But the above statement surprises me. After all the USA bashing here I had the impression that all Canadians were saints.

She'll say "why spend all that money if you don't even know you'll like it?" First of all, you will like it, so it's a moot point, but she'll hear none of that. ;) You can answer that Bombers are virtually indestructible and do not depreciate significantly in the course of 1 or 2 seasons. Also there is a good market for used boots for people looking to get into the sport such as yourself. I'll also add that I wouldn't hesitate to buy used Bombers or used snowboarding hardboots as long as the boots are in good shape. If the used boots come with moldable liners, make sure they have at least 3 moldings left in them. Otherwise, buy your own new liners.

Redman, It sounds like you are ready to bite the bullet, so I'll spare you the condescending advice that you can get away with using inferior equipment. You can, but there's no point if you are determined to master alpine carving. Bindings - Basically, you can't go wrong with TD2s. Spending $125 on lesser bindings will not save you any money - in fact it is wasting money because in a year or so you'll be back here buying TD2s anyway. So buying real bindings now actually saves you money! Boots - do yourself a favor and cough up the extra Franklin for boots with heat moldable liners, a la Deeluxe. Custom footbeds are another plus. I am actually more comfortable all day in my hardboots with molded liners and footbeds than I am in my softboots. Board - that FP164 will probably be a good choice to start on, if you are roughly average sized. Its 11.79m radius will do small to medium GS sized turns. It's good to start on a board with a smaller radius because it will carve at lower speeds that won't scare you. When it's time to step up, a good progression would be to a board with about a 13m radius. Also, check out the welcome center if you haven't already.

I am not in the greatest shape to begin with (curse this desk job), so I know I would have been quite sore each night at the SES. Sportlegs definitely saved my trip. It didn't eliminate all soreness, but SIGNIFICANTLY reduced it. I was also able to ride later into the afternoon than I expected to while using Sportlegs. Two thumbs up. www.sportlegs.com EDIT: whoops, I forgot that delts are upper-body muscles, not that sportlegs knows where to go, but I thought he was talking about his legs.

Do I hear a DRUM MASTER CHALLENGE being laid down?!? $100 entry fee to show your chops. To be held in Scott's basement. On his drum set. His good friend will be the judge. :D

Paypal is a bunch of chumps for freezing his account for no reason. Why the hell shouldn't he be able to do this? Fools and their money are soon parted - so smart people like this guy should profit!! Sure, it's tasteless and tacky, but free will is free will, and he's not forcing anyone to do anything.

Make sure you can first do The Norm on your soft gear, and then master it on your alpine gear. Definitely head back to the greens to get started.

Crave2carve, I agree with you, I like to change angles depending on board width. Bob likes to tease me that there is no mechanical advantage to putting your toes/heels as close to the edge as possible. I disagree, because there is leverage to be gained from the length of your foot and the use of your ankle/calf. The closer you are to 90 (straight in line with the board), the less effect your ankle and calf have over your edging movements. Carves can be initiated with the subtlest of motions from the foot, so it's good to be able to use it! 'course, it's not fair to pick arguments with Bob right now, since he's laid up with HAPE (high altitude pulmonary edema) from Aspen!

You're more than welcome to hang out here, but you should know that this site is dedicated to alpine (hardboot) snowboarding. You might try the newsgroup rec.skiing.snowboard for freeride/freestyle (softboot) info. Or Burton.com has a forum and I think twsnow.com.

Dave, Billy, it was "wicked good" to finally meet and put names with faces and personalities with type. It's so much nicer this way! And don't dare think I'll forget you said you'd make it out to the east coast session next year! word!

http://www.bomberonline.com/articles/welcome_center.cfm