RoroSnow

Done here in Andorra, Pyrenées, with a very poor snowy season, poor quality snow overall, and good carving days that we could count with two hands.............Already riding my mtb so no time to overthink....enjoy your summer and wait for 24-25....

Two days running before the closing day....Last turns with the K168...

@svr2 Is the Ion wide version wider for the whole foot volume or just for the toe box ? Thanks !

@svr2 I did the same under the heel foam pad of the binding due to some play between the boot hook and the binding cleat....better now, less play....I would say, none. It's true that with the time, the binding foam pad tends to crash a little bit allowing some boot up and down movement from heel to toes. maybe 1 or 2 mm. That foam pad is probably for some confort zone or some kind of dampening but I think a full solid base with urethane pad under it would be a better solution....

@pow4ever Not crystal clear but looks like you're looking for the "do it all" soft boot board.....I do believe it doesn't exist yet....... If coming from a HB background I think that you will need to begin with two boards. One for sotboot carving and another one, more "all mountain", trees, pow, moguls and so on, orientated.... For both boards you could totally use the same boots/bindings interface if well chosen. I own a Donek Flux for softboot carving and it does the job amazingly well on groomers....but I hate it in deep powder and trees for example.... So I keep it for carving on groomers and for everything else and teaching, I use an old Morrow board from the end of the 90's....go figure.... The only board I had that was the best "allrounder" was a glass Donek Incline from 2005 (don't have it anymore)....but the Flux is by far at another level when carving......so I just go with two boards when soft booting, and happy with it......Using the right tool for the right job. Just my two cents...hoping it may help....

The first picture shows a Toe right above the edge which can be considered a good lateral setting and an overhang Heel, but from the Heel cup..... The boot itself may have the heel in the right place above the edge not considering the heel cup. If I'm not wrong, What to center first is the foot itself independently from the heelcup. ITOH, if to much heel cup overhang it can drag the snow if really high on edge...so it is also to consider.... But in the second picture, only considering the boot and so the foot, the toes seems to be more or less ok with a tad of overhang but the heel seem to have some good underhang... A rear view picture taken parallel to the board level may show it better.... But of course that's personal thinking....so if it works, enjoy it !!

Nice view from above helping to compare the different paths between the board and the center of mass during the turns...

Don't want to open a can of worms but I disagree with that...... May be other members' opinion ?... @crackaddict Nice job mate, and strong riding !!

Hi Jack, Do you ride them "stock" or did you do any mod ?

True for the boots, but if you don't need big mods you can still modify the liner and shave the liner inside for a tad bit more of toe room, splay and heat. You can also cut some slits where needed with a utility knife allowing a more flexible area of the liner where you did it. All this at your own risks !

Thanks guys !....It is also what I was thinking....but other ones' thoughts is always welcome

Not Hardbooting related, but I did stumble across that.......Did any of you also do ?........pretty unbelievable prices of course..... https://www.gooslate.com/?utm_source=event_newsletter&utm_medium=customers_sign_up&utm_mode=skip_if_exists

Hi @Alexs and welcome, As for @Neil Gendzwill, I did wrote a full review with personal mods on my StepOn equipment if you are interested..... I use those bindings everyday for teaching, and after two season of use and abuse, thousands of ins and outs, I hadn't have any issue with what you're talking about. As Neil said, the problem is that the people generally don't push the heel down enough to keep the heel cleat fully engaged.... And if bending down is a concern for you, two options : A cable pulling system to open the binding or a foldable camera pole with a hook at the end where you can open the binding from a more upright body position but you have to carry it in a pocket and fold and unfold it each time.......(both systems have been discussed here in the forums with pictures of both as well). Good luck !!

Not sure that the added weight can really be a problem for carving.....even probably the opposite....and we're talking about grams here..... About the bulk, except if you lift your pants up to show them, once you've left the parking lot, your pants normally cover them for the rest of the day...... Been riding my 325's for years with OEM system without any problems...... Riding with Drupi's DGSS this year and AFAIK, would not switch back for the moment...such an improvement.........Should have done it a lot before...........Never try the BTS though....... Of course it's about finding what works best for everyone.........lots of factors can be at play......

@TWM Nice Mod !!!.....How does the the heel hold feel in the Alien ?.....

Hi Hug, Welcome on the forum !..... probably the best place on the internet with tons of infos and kind people with the same passion ready to help you.... We're nearly neighbours.......I work as a snowboard instructor in Grandvalira in Andorra so I'm pretty sure you've already heard about it or already came there....You may go of course in some other resort around, but if you come in Andorra one day and maybe need to share some advice, don't hesitate.....you'll find me at the Pas de la Casa Ski and Snowboard School. Carve On !... Rodolphe.

I'm not really sure as English is not my first language but maybe "quick release straps" or anything close to that.....also in hardware shops or car accessories shops....

@zyzgerry What @John Gilmour said ! About the braces, not homemade at all, but easy find them in your nearest hardware shop... From the pictures I just finally did place them a little bit differently to avoid the tightening screw to drag in the snow when high on edge on heelside...

@crackaddict Solid ride......Congrats ! Any snowboard specific core workout for people with pretty poor core muscles ?....

.........thought that (for Donek secret boards) what was secret was the kind of metal that wasn't exactly titanal.....but maybe I did miss something......

I too jumped into the K168 train wagon..... The reason is that, like a lot of hardbooters here, I did want to feel how it rides and if it can be more fun than my beloved 11,5 fixed radius Donek REV 163........and the other reason is that at first, I wanted to have a custom made Winterstick or another Donek.... so why a Kessler ? Only because the shipping overseas from the USA to France is now way, way, way too expensive.... 25 euros for the K168 from Ivan's iCarve shop in Slovenia to my door and........ 350 $ for a Winterstick Alpine.....!!! My K168 is not custom but pretty close to what I wanted to be made by Sean or Rob Lu. Some tweaks are missing but well, this stock board shouldn't be so bad..... So I will report back about that board. Needless to say that Ivan's customer service was amazing !!! Really great and helpful....Don't hesitate to deal with him if you need to ! Absolutely awful snow conditions here in the Pyrenées, but lots of snow for some of you guys, so enjoy ! K168 report will come soon....

Is the Silver Surfer goofy or regular ?......... Or just because he's the Silver Surfer, totally ambidextrous.....

@Pigbrogg What about a Snowboard Bag thread ?

Have a look over there......