iLikeSnow

Jörg from Pureboarding rides with 2 different boots but i don't know any specifics. I think his rear boot is softer :)

I'm not riding hardboots for long, just over a year amounting to maybe 20 days. I don't know anybody in person to ask, so i have to come here and ask dumb questions, sorry :) I have a board with a 190mm waist, and to not have anything hang over the edge i had to turn my bindings all the way up to 65° back (70° front). Now i noticed recommended angles on the SG Snowboards website. For their Full Carve board, for example, they list 45-57 front, 43-54 back. And i can only wonder: how? I thought i had smaller than average boots, with a size of MP 25.5 (shell 25.5-26.5), but the full boot length is still 287mm. If the bindings where perfectly centered, that would need at least a 51 angle to stay inside the snowboards edge. But the boots stand far back on my bindings, so i have to turn them even further to have the back and cuff of the boot inside. image for illustration, bindings set at 48 : How do you set your bindings? Do i worry too much? Do you just let your boots stick over the edges a bit?

Woah, those slow zones actually work in the States? Where i board in Austria, the SLOW signs are more like warnings: speed up, or you'll be carrying your board for the next 100m

Too hard? You're 8kg over the weight range for the board! A board that's too soft for you will not properly hold an edge and is easier to break. You will probably feel like its clunkier than your custom while you go slow (board too hard?) until you get it up to operational speed - and then it's unstable because it's actually too short and soft for you. Get something in your size. You will grow into it. I'm your size (and working on shedding some weight. Damn christmas dinners) and riding a Goltes Scorpion 159 (softboots) and a Pogo Hardcore (hardboots), for both of which i'm at the lower end of the recommended weight.

Great story and really nice people you met there! What japanese secret techniques did they use on you to optimize your stance and angles?

Variable Cant disks (Unicant) have a small degree of freedom because of a fault in construction. It does not matter how much you tighten the screws.

What really helps when you are learning to change a habit in the way you move, is to exagerate the change. Align hips to face the tip of the board? I find that hard to do in a snowboarding stance without being strapped to bindings - that completly locks my hip and feels horrible in my back knee.

Got green RC10s this winter, used RC8s for the last 2 seasons. The new floliner version feels nice, more snug and tougher than my older RC8s, but that's all i can tell you so far - still need to get the RC10s punched out to accomodate my duck feet (Deeluxe are not an option for me at all)

I see the Völkl Coal XT listed at 630€. If you can shell that out and don't feel at home on lighter, shorter and/or softer boards, you should be able to get a lightly used Pogo Freecarve or Oxess Boardercross in that price range.

That makes me think you have been to at least one their sessions. Is it, as i imagine, Voodoo Priest Board Gurus dancing around you during a snowstorm until you magically hold edge and feel the urge to buy pureboarding equipment? Their stuff is certainly great, but the promotional material i found look more like a religion than a brand haha

http://shoes.about.com/od/mens_size_charts/a/men_width.htm Judging from this chart, i have like a G width foot measured 4.1" for 5.5 Shell size (25.5 MP) You think HSP/Dalbello are wide enough for that? I'm about to get my UPZs punched out a little more...

Technically, i don't see why you would need a leash under any circumstances. I've never seen skiers leash their ski, and those actually have a mechanism to release them at a set power threshold. Snowboard bindings don't. If you like the secure feeling a leash might provide to you, get one. there's always the off-chance that the step-in doesn't correctly close without you noticing, obviously that will happen after you stop searching for failure because you got used to them working every time. Slightly related sidenote: the most hilarious thing i've seen this season was a softbooter kicking his board in front of him on a long flat track. Then he gave it a bigger kick, ran after and jumped onto the board. He proceeded to surf for 5m looking mighty cool, then he slipped. He fell backwards, giving the board a mighty boost forward and to the right. Off it went over the side, where a 30m steepish drop was lurking. You should've seen his face :D

Those are called moguls in Korea? They're not even half your height! :P Nice vid, good humor! It really helps to stay low. While the moguls are still smallish, i try to keep my head level throughout, while the legs do a LOT of up/down work. When they get big, i generally try to... survive :D pistes here all turn into mogul-hells after 12am :/

At least you didnt find out because you happened to be there. With your alpine gear.

They can't be all that flawed with all the races they win. Won't matter, though, if you end up with one of the bad ones and can't even get a warranty claim on it.

There may be no Titanal in it, but on the other hand SG doesn't give warranty on their Titanal boards. Made me think, might make you think as well. On a related note, i heard Oxess are pretty indestructible.

Yonex make snowboards, including alpine? Sounds fun, love my yonex golf clubs at least. Guess theres not a chance we'll ever have those boards for sale in europe.

Now i'm sad i sold my longboard. But i guess i'd still hate the constantly squeaking bushings that i could never fix, and going through boot soles like underwear.

Ok, thanks for the info. I'm just making the switch to hardboots, so its more than likely that i'm not able to push this board into its comfort zone. I'll look into the girly 157 instead, hehe .)

Interested, but same questions as the above poster. I'm bringing in 70kg/155lbs and look for a "new" board :)

Are those dark spots in the back binding location extra holes for miss-drills or just dirt and scratches?

Please do, i've yet to put my UPZ RC8 in use but i'm already worried about the liner/coldness. It looks so thin :) About comparison Deeluxe - UPZ: I have short feet, wide at the toes (widest part right behind toes) and, i guess, narrow at the heel. In numbers, 25.5cm long and 10.8cm wide. Form's Greek ( http://www.hallux-forum.de/pics/fussform-1.gif ) I have a hard time finding fitting boots. Softboots i wear too big, can't find football (soccer) boots, boots at basic military were torture for the first month (and slightly better after, i put a hammer to their thick leather to loosen/widen the side)... Anyway, I've just bought my first hardboots. I got to try Track 325 at the resort, i immediatly felt them pressing on the outside of both my feet, right behind the little toe. Quickly turned to slight pain. i'm pretty used to this and know it will get worse very quickly, as i've tried skiing 2 seasons back with similar fitting boots. Also, they didnt hold my heel down very well, so i left them at the store. They also had UPZ there, and the guy told me they wouldn't fit because their shafts are tighter and i have strong calves... This week i ordered and tried RC8s at pogo. What can i say, they're almost perfect. Hold the heel down, wider at toes. Probably stiffer than the Track 325, but it's been almost 2 weeks since i had those on. After wearing them at home for 2 more hours, walking around, wiggling, doing squats, putting an imaginary board on edge, and reading up on more hardbooting stuff, i've found them pressing at a similar spot to the Deeluxe. But differently, usually boots that don't fit me only press from the side, in this case it was diagonally from the top down. And not even close to the hurt i got from Track 325 after just a couple minutes. I'll try them on the piste, if its a real issue i'll get them punched out a tiny bit. For all i read, that should never be a problem. Too wide, on the other hand... Calves are no problem of course, closed the boots to the 3rd buckle-holder-thing with no issue at all. Just snug fitting, as i imagine they should. Maybe it will be different on stress/piste, but i don't believe the 325 would do any better. Thanks for making me drive an extra 150km back at home, mr helpful guy at the resort store :P

A wrist guard will not prevent injury to your fingers! As others already said, a good glove will help some way with that. What you really should do to prevent injury to your wrists, and fingers, is learn how to fall! Dont extend your arm behind you when you fall on your back! Keep your fingers together. Make fists if you feel uncertain about the terrain/if you will go through upright. This may also help you increase body tension, and improve your riding. Another note on wristguards: they don't exactly prevent injury at all. If you have a bad fall, they try to save your wrists, but the power doesn't just disappear. The way they work, they may instead break your lower arm! (which is generally preferable to a broken wrist, but still hurts!)