neanderthal
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Posts posted by neanderthal
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2 hours ago, LiquidEarth808 said:
Canting is FANTABULOUS!!
Agreed!!!!
These are the best bindings for setting up a new board as they allow you to easily play with the angles
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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
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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.
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19 minutes ago, Corey said:
Not really. Modern softboots are so good that they really do belong in the carving forum.
Softboot carving is awesome and growing fast.
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
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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.
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Here is a second vote for the Phantoms!
They are way lighter and the way that they lock the board together is awesome making a split feel much more solid and like a regular board. Big bonus is the weight especially compared to sidewinders and I think there is enough lateral flex that you won't miss your sidewinders. The only downside I see if if you want/need an angle >30.
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Carlito - YES YES YES
On 2/20/2019 at 9:17 PM, carlito said:A quick mental inventory can't bring to mind any time. None. Where I had a bad situation manifest itself by going too fast in powder (well, maybe one). The opposite is quite common (this could just be me...)
We have all had that one time. I encourage everyone to think not just about the down up down of old-school powder 8 skiers but add a bit of the side to side that comes from the push-pull techniques. You will be amazed at the turns moving from squiggles to arcs but more importantly it allows you to force a turn when needed and not scrub speed then spend the next 10 min digging out.
Of course this is speed dependent and more is better!
On 2/20/2019 at 9:17 PM, carlito said:Embrace the chaotic freedom of movement in three dimensions that comes with the speed and accompanying flight
This one line sums it all up for me! Pardon me if I steal it in the future because you nailed it.
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It all depends on what you mean by powder.
6-10 inches inbounds I like to lean back and maximize the surfy feeling turning with the front foot like a waterski.
Any deeper or if its for a longer run the first thing is to keep as much speed as you can control. I find that leaning back robs me of power and mobility and want to be neutral or even lean forward if really charging. It helps to have a powder board or at least be back a bit on the bindings.
For bottomless powder its all about the bounce. Not sure exactly what the timing is but It feels to me a bit like down-unweighting with a slight delay. If you come down just before exploding up then in that instant there is enough compression of snow beneath you that you can feel resistance and get some pop. This pop is enough that you may have unlinked tracks in powder that is waist deep and that is the feeling and the days I live for.
My carving is not the euro push pull style but the powder technique seems to be similar. There is certainly a pumping motion that propels you sometimes above the surface of the powder but also works to pump you a bit when coming to the flat and has got me further than just straight-lining it in these transitions. I think this technique favors stiffer and longer boards and have had great fun on carving boards that would submarine if not actively pumping like this while being unhappy trying a dedicated powder setup that is just to soft.
Someone who rides push-pull please comment. My focus has been the up and down but I suspect that there is a component of rotation to this. It is just so hard to commit to rotation because if I focus on that and need to make a quick adjustment I am only primed to turn one direction.
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This is what I have been waiting for!
Finally a spring system with walk mode.
PLEASE port this to the other popular hardboots - UPZ, Deeluxe & Northwave .
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interested in step in complete
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Anyone ever ride one of these Fawcett boards?
looks like some sweet riding
I cant find anything about the company and his facebook is not current but it looks as if he is still at it on a similar setup as recently as 2017
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GoWaa_wgoQ
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Headed to Utah you say - on a tight timeline
This is worth a look (or in my case drool)
http://www.saltypeaks.com/swallowtail-snowboards
Each year they do a swallowtail collaboration.
Really tempted by some of these
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Looks like this is gone
wow that was quick
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Looking through my stash I found this board intended for my son but he is skiing with no interest to snowboard.
If someone needs a small board to ride or start a child on please PM me and ill send it to you for whatever the shipping cost is.
If its going on a wall or to a collection $100
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Hello all
A few years ago I got a couple of yellow bomber suspension pads which I added under my TD3 setups and noticed an immediate and significant improvement in my ride prompting me to change from blue to yellow E-rings.
Now I really like yellow E-rings with these yellow pads underneath. Weighing about 200lb plus/minus about 20lb year to year I thought that such a soft setup would just compress under my weight and provide no effective cushion after my weight preloaded the system, however, once mounted the system doesn't compress much and gives a better ride while allowing me to carve just as hard. I even have one board set up with the TD2 center disk, TD3 E-ring and a suspension pad just to test if there will be better board motion/isolation (This gave me a bit of heartburn at first and I check the screw tension often and there is no more loosening than on other binding setups)
My understanding is that suspension pads were a step between the TD2 and TD3 bindings and E-rings and have been discontinued once the thickness increased with the TD3?
Does anyone know of an easy substitute for these pads? What durometer were they and can I make some more by cutting an off the shelf product?
I have not yet ridden any plate systems. Cost, weight, ease and the idea of them clogging up with snow when not on corduroy have kept me from trying these systems. Is it time to go to a gecko or can I get the similar ride minus weight and cost with thicker pads?
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On 10/23/2018 at 7:51 AM, Jack M said:
However this does raise the idea of a binding whose baseplate is something like a Gecko.
Someone develop a binding with a Gecko like baseplate and I'm in!!! - Seriously I will purchase day one.
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are the cateks stepin or standard? and which generation os2?
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Eric
Sounds interesting. I would love to see & try something like you describe. How about a sketch. Maybee someone with skills can turn that to a physical reality
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On 3/11/2018 at 11:22 AM, BlueB said:
The nose is broken! ;)
It would be so sweet to have something similar to old designs but with more modern nose profile/decamber. And we want the narrow waisted version back!
I'm in for a narrow waisted tanker. Tell me where and when to send my money
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Interested. I'll take them if still available
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next in line
Kneel - Im sure you will love these!
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Was at Wolf Creek yesterday with 33" fresh and a few more expected in the next few days. This season has been slow and dry but may have picked up recently with the splitting of the polar vortex (https://www.usatoday.com/story/weather/2018/02/16/polar-vortex-split-stratosphere-warming-suddenly-what-does-mean-our-weather/344645002/)
Fingers crossed you should have some good snow.
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Are the bomber heels available or were they part of the sale?
Ill take them if they are for sale
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I'll take them. Email when I get off the hill
Soft board stiffness
in The Lodge
Posted
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.