neanderthal

I would suggest ultracraft rather than hovercraft as it is a bit stiffer and carves better

@Shred Gruumer Can you help me understand? 8m - 11m, Fully regressive radius tip What does this mean? Is the tip 8m with a curve continuously increasing to 11m? That board looks fun!

Tried a few but all are more similar to the stormchaser. I have not ridden a winterstick or prior which is probably what your are asking. I really want a winterstick especially as it has such a rich history and looks amazing but is probably hard to manage other than j a deep powder day. There are a few reviews from heliski operations saying every time someone brings one they end up on a more regular shop board after a day. Really not sure what to make of that and would love to hear from someone on this forum with experience. I have two reverse sidecut boards ready to go next 3 foot dump. One from Corran and another by Fawcett but can't give a review of these yet. https://www.utahskigear.com/products/soul-waterman-snow-wave-powder-surf-snowboard-2020?variant=39518419714206&currency=USD&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&gclid=CjwKCAiAv_KMBhAzEiwAs-rX1A_8ar16RO01Np6l9P5Xq8oqp6G0jgBFNVV9ctUMslGM-Srbqyg94hoCeuYQAvD_BwE by https://mountainculturegroup.com/snowboard-legend-mark-fawcett-launches-new-board-company/ The other board I really want to try and would love to hear about is the 420 powderhull.(https://www.yesnowboard.com/snowboards/321-22-420-ph.html#/4-size-154) It's s neat concept but all the reviews are from jibbers not carver

If you want to straightline and rip a run like the Freeride snowboard contests you might like the Furberg. It is stable at high speed and will do better if the snow is inconsistent. If you like to turn, turn, turn never slip - big powder 8s and there are trees involved I would pick something else. Not sold on the swallowtail only in that it can get hooked up and there are some great designs with enough taper, width, setback and short tails that also solve the same problem set.

Prior makes the fissile in 172 (and a few other sizes) but with a 6.5m sidecut my experience has been great even in tight trees and the extra length comes in handy when its deep. It may not be what I would choose for a big line wide open bowl board if it is not soft or deep but I havnt found better for deep and trees. Furburg is a interesting ride. Might love or hate it but it is not like a regular board. Overall it has less float than the Prior and is a bitch to fight through trees or in a tight space. This is a dream if you have a wide open bowl of powder and you want to rip straightlines but the dream turns to nightmare if you need to fight some tight turn like a few moguls or a clutch move. I see a few guys on the Venture Euphoria in the area. They all ride softboots and from what I understand it is a soft board but the shape is sweet and full rocker looks like the way to go in pow. Really want to demo this board and the Jones mindexpander this season. Im partial to stepin hardboots when its deep because its just so much easier to get out when you are buried. Another good choice would be the the Jones Ultracraft. I got the ultra as it is a bit stiffer and ride with hardboots. There really is something about the spoon nose in pow that helps with turn initiation. You can carve it well enough but no way it compares to a real carving board. Really wish I could get a 172 ultracraft with the spoon nose and a bit of a channel at the tail. Hint Hint Hint - Any board makers out there

Prior Fissile 178 This is my powder tree sidecountry choice and it floats me at a bit over 200 the sidecut makes even tight tree days amazing in the pow

Awesome!!! What would be the downside of.directly mounting this to a snowboard instead of a plate?

I haven't used the BP but my understanding is that this part is made to mount a TD binding directly to the BP without an elastomer. Catek already does this. My goal was to add some elastomer under Catek if possible with off the shelf parts. If I am wrong sorry I - please show me the BP specific elastomer for this plate. BigWaveDave I have that binding. It is neat and certainly VERY strong. Only issue is that you have limited options for angles. On some boards I need a slacker angle on my rear for than the binding allows. If your angles work with this binding it is good.

Metal version almost ready to ride

I have a plate adaptor that replaces the catek base plate and mounts to bomber lower just to try out that idea. Hopefully will have a ride report and pics this weekend. Initial impression is that it will be a bit too high and heavy but worth a try. Really wish the 0 degree bomber plate was lower asi it is like 2 inches tall for 1/4 inch of elastomer. Please go with the steel bomber heel

I'll take them PM sent

Cocoa leaves worked well for me in Bolivia but no way you get the real deal in the US. Diamox is good for the symptoms if you are going to be at altitude for a short time (week or so) but it makes everything taste metallic. HYDRATION! It's not a question of your brain trying to establish a reference point it has to do with swelling in the brain. Also effects lungs the medicine is a diuretic to keep the swelling in check which exacerbates the dehydration that easily sneaks up on you with altitude and cold. If it gets bad even 1 night at lower altitude can work wonders

Looks like the only snowboard binding patent Fin has. He does have another for telemark bindings. Actually the canting system is the same and covered in the first diagram. What isn't covered is the method to suspend the canting disk on the isomer pad.

Looks like this is the Bomber patent US5895068A https://patents.google.com/patent/US5895068?oq=doyle+snowboard

Check out alc bindings they are similar in some ways but in Japan and I have not been able to get a response. (https://m.facebook.com/alcplate/) Anyone who puts out a new catek gets my money! Could be neat to update a bit but I would buy a reissue or the cad files and make my own

https://unofficialnetworks-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/unofficialnetworks.com/2020/11/18/big-sky-telemark-skier-jedi/amp/?amp_js_v=a6&amp_gsa=1&usqp=mq331AQFKAGwASA%3D#aoh=16057576283405&csi=1&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&amp_tf=From %1%24s&ampshare=https%3A%2F%2Funofficialnetworks.com%2F2020%2F11%2F18%2Fbig-sky-telemark-skier-jedi%2F

I'll take them Email later today when I get off the hill

b0ardski I share your sentiment! However, adding a swappable heel would not be as awesome as making a snowboard binding that worked with the AT standard. A swappable heel would certainly be heavier, raise the heel up a bit, only work on a limited set of feet(one model vs many), and as a special edition the cost would be higher as people couldn't search for bargains and closeouts from the wider market of AT ski equipment. The AT standard is defined and the market is moving - it is in my opinion better to harness that energy by riding the wave than to swim upstream trying to define a new standard. Why not continue with the standard toe lever bindings? AT boots have nonstandard toe and heel grooves and the tlt7/8 has no toe groove at all (with some good reason for skinning and potentially benifit for snowboarding ) Here is probably the best reason - stepins. Sure I just lost all the "hardcore" racer types OK. This is an aging sport what is our average age? Some of us have a hard time with the regular bindings but just suck it up. That isn't even the biggest market for this it is all the kids Burton is targeting with stepon. No one likes clipping in at the top of the hill! In this way skiers really do have it better. I started carving at a time that there were many advantages over ski equipment crossing over from skis. Today I'm not sure I would have made the jump as skis have gotten much better. Solve the stepin problem with off the shelf boots and we will see more people giving it a try Any engineering types interested please dm me I have given this a bit of thought

Take a look at some AT boots. There are a few good mods available on splitboard forums or phantom bindings website if you find them firm or limiting in range of motion. The shells as well as liners are/can be heat moldable so you can get amazing fit. depending on the boot you may be able to downsize a shell and have an overall shorter setup than with soft boots. Used or older season AT boots will save you some cash. I love these for the type of riding you describe and as a bonus walk mode makes hiking so much easier. Hiking in AT boots is as or more comfortable than softboots while probably being lighter. Yes more comfortable because of unrestricted ankle motion. This is my overall go to setup unlus it is truly deep then I know I won't have to hike much and if I get sunk in the powder might have a hard time digging out so I go with stepins. (So much easier reaching for a cable at the boot cuff than flipping a toe lever or ratcheting softies when you are sunk up to your chest) Deeluxe free69 with this spring system (http://www.primeboards.pl/en/project/springs-en/) are amazing! Much better than bts in my opinion. Lower profile and the range of motion feels more dynamic without a dead spot in the middle.

Here is another comment in favor of the ultracraft I am not sure what has changed in the spooning /3d contour in that last few seasons. Mine is about 3 y ago and the contour does not change contact on the flat or where there are edges only where the nose is elevated. It feels good in powder both self centering and improving turn initiation without any negative consequence on hardpack. The board is stiff enough I ride with hardboots ( AT style for hiking ) and I enjoy it inbounds as well as powdercat riding. If you ride with weight centered this board works great but I wish they made a 175 because I am used to loading the nose for aggressive turn initiation. The float is enough for my fat 21lbs in multiple feet of powder but when I forget and try to aggressively load the nose and charge into a turn - hello cartwheel.

Agreed!!!! These are the best bindings for setting up a new board as they allow you to easily play with the angles

If they go stepins I am buying!!! Also rather than BTS I prefer the pmb spring system (http://www.primeboards.pl/en/project/springs-en/). This is much lower profile and gives a great range of motion. It feels muchore seamless in flexion and extension than the BTS or ascc systems to me. I honestly can not feel the neutral as there is no dead spoy going from flexion to extension

It's a real problem! Mid week in a deserted resort out west (wolf creek is 20 miles from anything with no onhill accommodations )riding on 1/4 the run with family blocking above and below me I was hit from behind by an older skier straightlining the run and knocked out cold with no clear memory until I was sitting in the patrol clinic. Luckily CT cleared everything and while I couldn't close my jaw for a week nothing was broken thanks to my helmet and him skiing right over my head or so I am told. The other guy sustained a few fx ragdolling more that 100y down the hill. This ended my ec push pull attempts for the season and I actually had a few good turns on that run. The rest of the season I rode trees and side country (hike&cat) feeling it safer to be in control of my risk while still managing to get 39 days. A record powder year helped the cause. Not sure what can be done until resorts start taking the straightliners serious and that won't happen until they see liability from these incidents. Until then I may be hiking more as that seems to be self selecting.

Amen! Now please explain to me the difference between classic carving and all mountain hardbooting and the reason for this divisiveness in the forum. There are more ways than one to carve. EC- Push pull Race gunfighter stance tucked knees ala Jacoby For me as long as Nerva's definition is met its carving no matter the technique or equipment. Of course it is better if you can match his style!!! Seriously Knapton can school half (or more) this forum in carving and on a softboot setup

I was at a mountaineering/backcountry store this weekend to purchase some Atomic AT boots. After the usual size questions then come what type of skiier are you and what are you planning on using these for because another boot may be better for you. The dumbfounded look when I responded that I did not ski was priceless! Ears were perked that I wanted this particular model as it is preferred for hardboot splitboarding and I soon noticed that there were two people helping me instead of one. 30 min into the fitting I find out that my extra assistant is a snowboarder who also splitboards and has always wanted to try hardboots. A third employee not working that day is a hardboot splitboarder and it was suggested he could help with any mods to make the boots better for riding. As there was interest I offered to bring in some plate bindings and hardboots. This was enthusiastically accepted and I cant wait to hear how in goes for him this week. A couple weeks ago on a powder day hike I met another guy riding phantom bidings and Arcteryx boots. He was happy to talk and told me he likes the setup so much that he is using the same on his solid board now full time. 3-5 ys ago anyone I saw riding softboots was sliding and at best occasionally slarving. Today depending on the day 30-50% are carving at least some of the turns. Boards have improved with many directional boards that are fun to ride off the shelf. (I have a quiver of coilers, a few tankers and a prior but still ride my jones ultracraft quite a bit - all with hardboots) Softboots are not the same as when I started in Sorrels with no support. When we talk about growth in our sport what does that mean? Carving - certainly more people are carving even if its on softboots Hardboots - not all on hardboots carve and certain softboots are set up about as rigid as some plastic shell boots I have Racing - I expect that the percentage of people on this forum that race is low double digits. Alpine lost out to park long ago because one is more exciting to watch. People are interested, excited and motivated by what they see to a certain extent but we are approaching or just now recognizing a divergence again in snowboarding. The park stuff while exciting is so extreme that few people actual aspire to emulate X-game/Redbull style riding. The average Joe/Jane doesnt ride switch or fly through the air. Riders already see a carving board with isolation plates more like a formula car than a sports car and as they give up on having the board that won the latest X-game/Redbull contest in favor of a resort board we will see changes. If the goal is hardboot riding then I would say that in the US the growing appeal of backcountry in conjunction with AT boots is where growth can be expected. Hardboots are basically stagnant for what 20y? Meanwhile AT boots give a good sole, lighter weight, mold-able liners & SHELLS and ubiquitous availability (new or used). Throw a spring system on and WOW while still being able to ski. Additionally there is real exposure with film promoting backcountry and big mountain riding. This forum even has split the topics where the old bomber used to have all under Carving. The reality is that Snowboarding is at a point of divergence and that is not the death of what we love but shows vitality in a sport that looked to be dying.