AK in PA

Just curious as to which boards/bindings/boots are (or would be) your top picks for aggressive freecarving on "eastern packed powder"...aka, hardpack and ice? Also, do boards that hold an edge well with minimal chatter on ice tend to feel sluggish when you want snappy edge changes in good conditions? I'm 5'6" / 175-180# and just bought a like-new 00/01 Oxygen Proton GS 178. (19.5 cm waist, 14 m sidecut). I have new TD2 step-ins (w/ soft rings) and UPZ Superlight boots on order to go with the board. (This setup will replace my early 90's Burton PJ 163 with Burton plates, and oversized Blax boots.) How do you think the Oxygen/TD2/UPZ combo will fair on hardpack/ice in comparison to your top picks? Can I expect a huge performance difference over my current PJ setup? ...Anxious to ride in PA :)

I've never been there, but would love to have shop around that carried alpine gear. I live an hour NE of York and know of none within that distance. Also, nearby Ski Roundtop and Liberty seem to have a higher percentage of alpine boarders than most places in PA.

I've always hit jumps and drops in hard boots. Sometimes drop into the pipe, too, but a stiff board is tough to manage in there. Last year, I cautiously launched off a 5' jump in the terrain park and landed on the flat instead of the transition. My knees hit my chest and I winded myself. On the next run, I picked up more speed for the jump, flew up much higher, but still came down on the flat and royally winded myself. Determined to get it right, I hit the jump at top speed the third time. I launched straight up to the moon, and came down (you guessed it) square on the flat. I thought I broke my ribs when my knees my chest. It took me three stupid jumps to realize the ramp builder was either an idiot or a sadistic bastard...

Not sure of those mentioned, but I was astonished last year when I learned of Craig Kelly's fate in an avalanche a year or two prior. He was an icon when I was starting out.

I love my Dodge Dakota Quad Cab. Plenty of room in the back seat for kids or adults. Plus I have a boatload of room in the bed for "stuff". I have a fiberglass cap on mine so I can lock everything in it. Of course, being a 4x4, it's great in the snow. I have the 4.7L V8 w/ a manual transmission and average ~15-16 mpg mixed driving.

Buggs, Where abouts are you located? Any idea what the factory specs are? I'm ~180#'s. Tempting, tempting. I have a 178 Oxygen Proton on the way, but I was really after a Donek or Coiler. Hmmm.

Looking at the Trench Digger 2's and hope you guys can answer a couple of questions. How do I know which suspension ring to get? (soft, med, hard) I ride small, east coast mountains here, often icy. I'm leaning towards the "happy" medium out of ignorance. And what about cant/lift options? (0, 3, 6) Is it recommended to get a cant for each foot or just the rear? This sounds dumb, but if you use a cant on the front foot, do it set it to cant your foot towards the nose of the board or toward the tail? Finally, how will various degrees of cant affect my already burning thighs? (make it better or worse?) Right now I have no cant on the front foot of my PJ, and a Burton cant disk (degree?) on the rear foot. I often find myself sitting too far back and end up with my back thigh on fire. If I do get new equipment this year, I want to do it right.

The Oldest Equipment thread got me thinking about new gear again. I've been riding since '90, took somewhat of a hiatus for a few years, but have been getting back into it again. My delaminating PJ and oversized, delapidated boots really need to be replaced. For the last year, I've poured over Bomber and the Carver's Almanac. If I were to spring for new equipment right now, I'd go with TD2 step in's without hesitation. I like their simple, yet bombproof design. (My old Burton raceplates give me enough fits when I have to remove them to retighten the cant plate.) I don't have a clue what I should get in the way of boots, though. I've been riding in an oversized pair of Blax/Dalbello boots for years. My feet have almost pulled out of them in the middle of a carve more often than I care to remember, even though I have them jury-shimmed to death. I've had the buckles replaced more times than I can count. I just measured my foot @ 10.25" heel to big toe; times 2.54 cm/in that puts me at a hair over 26.0 mondo. (My current boot liners are marked 27.5-28.5.) I have wide feet and ALWAYS have a tough time finding footwear wide enough and/or with a boxy enough toe to fit me. Boardwise, I've kind of had my heart set on 175-ish Donek or Coiler, but I'm open to suggestions. I'm 5' 6.5" and weigh around 180#. I only ride narrowish, eastern resorts. My PJ excels in tight turns at moderate speeds, but I have folded the nose up in softer snow, the edge slips out on ice, and it doesn't handle fast GS turns on steep runs as well as I'd like. So, I want something that can handle bigger GS turns better and can hold an edge on ice (so common here), and won't fold up when I'm fortunate enough to ride on something that resembles actual snow. I like the lively feel of my PJ, but would I be better served with something damp for ice? And finally...Pricewise, if given a choice, would I be better served buying great new boots and a cheap used board off ebay (such as the Oxygen Protons I so often see on there), or would I be better to get cheap boots and a great board?

Still on my early 90's PJ 6 mostly, when I'm not on my Asym Air. Love both of them, though I admit; between the cracks developing in the boards, my boots falling apart, and my bindings offering little stability, I'm in dire need of a new setup. ;) I didn't ride much after college (wife, house, kiddo), but I seem to be getting back into it more. Might spring for newer used stuff this year. (I say this now as I'm in the middle of buying a new house, and after just returning from an Alaskan hunt. :rolleyes: ) Hehe, I've learned to duck when I see my wife reaching for the rolling pin... ;)

2003 Dodge Dakota Quad Cab 4x4 - Have had for 10 months and 15,000 miles. Love this truck, my dream vehicle! Wife drives a 2000 Saturn LW2 Wagon with 45,000 miles. Really like this one, too. I really should drive it to work more often to save on gas. We've also had... 1998 Dodge Dakota Club Cab (Also nice, but tough to squeeze a car seat in the back. The 5.2 had a nice rumble that I miss with the newer 4.7 OHC.) 1995 Toyota Camry Wagon (Total Garbage.) 1993 Toyota Pickup (Fun little truck, but underpowered. aka; "The Gutless Wonder".) 1992 Geo Prism (Don't look at me. It was my wife's first new car while we were still dating. Ran great though, no troubles.) 1988 Toyota Celica GT (Fast bugger, but very problematic.) 1980 Toyota Celica GT (Owned it through 4 years of college with no engine trouble. Still ran great when I sold it with 240,000 miles.) Found it interesting that every one of the Toyota's (with the exception of the 1980) blew head gaskets.

I sprained my lead ankle in nasty wipeout years ago. The doc gave me a sheet of ankle exercises which helped, but my season was done for that year. It took almost 3 months before I could walk without limping, and nearly a year before it didn't bother me. I'd suggest you follow your doc's advise. Don't snowboard if it hurts or that will only aggravate it. (I tried a month after I sprained mine, but realized before the first run was over that I couldn't do it.) Injuries really suck, and unfortunately you have to let time heal them. Hope your up and running again soon.

I demo'd a bunch of boards many years ago, and the PJ far surpassed anything at the time for carving. I got lucky and bought one from a friend for half of what he paid for it. (He only rode it two times and just couldn't get the feel for carving.) It's still my main board, and I really like it. I haven't ridden any of the newer boards, though I'm certain many would be even better. But the PJ still carves up a storm...can't discount that. For the price old PJ's are going for, I think they're a real bargain for a carving board. I am finally looking for a longer, newer carving board, but I'm sure the PJ will still get a workout. :)

Anyone know what solvent is used in wax remover/base cleaner? I'd like to use one of the common solvents in my shop... mineral spirits, turpentine, laquer thinner, acetone, denatured alcohol, etc..

I remember them. Wanted one, but never so much as rode one. They were touted as a big mountain / go-big board. Congrats on your find. :)

I've been scouring the Donek and Coiler sites in search of a new 170-180cm carving board. Seems like everyone loves these boards. (I'm on an old Burton PJ6, which I like, but can't lay it over as hard as I'd like or get too comfy on ice before it slides/chatters out.) Anyway, In the Donek's, what would make me choose between a Freecarve, Freecarve II, and a race board? Or in the Coiler's, between a Freecarve, Racecarve, Racecarve II, and Purerace GS? Are the slightly wider freecarve-type boards more forgiving in less than optimal snow? Do the true Race boards get hard to control on anything less than perfect groomed runs? Does one type wear your legs out faster? Or another way to put it might be, for carving, why would you choose anything other than a true Race board?

We woke up to -4 deg F temps last weekend in the Poconos. Wind chill was -15 or -20 or so. I usually get hot riding and that weekend was no exception. Longjohn shirt, thin fleece vest, fleece jacket, and Gore-Tex shell...should have skipped the vest. My nose got chilly though.

Whew, I'm so glad to have found this place! I've been looking into new boards lately and haven't found a soul (let alone a company) that could give me any advise or offer a product that is suited for carving. There is some exellent technical info in the archives, and apparently quite a few knowledgeable forum users as well. I started snowboarding ~14 yrs ago. I've always loved carving more than anything. Much of that time has been spent in hardboots on a PJ6. Most of the remainer has been in softboots on an Asym Air 6. I never did find any interest in the pipe, park, or doing spinny tricks. I used to ride almost daily for years, and then marriage, a mortgage, and kiddo got me sidetracked for a few years. Now I'm trying to get back into it. My Asym Air is delaminating, my hardboots are falling apart, and my softboots have decomposed into duct tape. Thus, I'm in search of new gear. When I was hard into it, asymmetrical boards were considered the best thing since sliced bread. (I know I love both of mine.) Now, it seems they're not even being made. On this site, it appears so many are now using incredibly long boards. I'm seeing mention of 180cm and even 200cm+ lengths! It's apparent that technology has changed quite a bit since I was "really" into snowboarding. I plan to scour over these articles and threads in the coming weeks to try to get back up to speed with the technology and techniques. (According to the articles, my tight kneed riding style and asym board is very old school.) This past weekend, my dad took a digi-video clip of a couple of my runs. I wish I could load them up somewhere to have my form critiqued. On equipment, does anyone have any suggestions on board/bindings/boots for fast speed and carving on black diamond hardpack runs? I'm 30 yrs old, stand 5'7", and weight ~177# (closer to 185-190 dressed for the slopes). I'm open to setup or form suggestions, too. Feel free to disect the setups listed in my profile. Thanks, ~Adam