nigelc

just waiting to put my money down:)

I tried last year to replace the topsheet on an old F2 Roadster that i had lying around. I liked the boards general specs but its torsional stiffness was nothing like what was required. i peeled the topsheet off and had a mate of mine that makes high end marine carbon fabrications laminate with a vacuum bag three layers of bi-axial carbon along with some unis to augment the torsional stiffness. None of the fibres was oriented along the long axis of the board and most were offset by between 30 and 45 degrees. The board looked great and he did a really professional job - he has just finished the rudders and stocks for the new AC45's so clearly his work is good enough for BMW/Oracle! Anyway long story short The board didn't feel very different than before the modifications. Simply adding stiffness to one side of the core had a very minor effect. The added stiffness is simply that of a thin sheet of FRP - actually pretty floppy without the effect of two skins seperated by a core where the stiffness varies exponentially with thickness. The board lasted two runs before I swapped back to the Prior.

whatever..... you know what I mean. And I am sure they keep changing the name. I am easily confused. Actually I see now that the 176 I rode was 26cm wide. Somehow it only feels as wide as the all mountain board. I was very surprised at how much I liked the pow-stick. I really want to like the 4WD.... but I just don't no matter how much I ride it.

i rode a pow-stick recently at whistler and in my opinion it carves well with hard boots- at least as well as the AWD. i dont generally like wide boards but for some reason it doesnt feel any wider at 23cms than the 21.5 cm wide AWD. Once in the soft snow it really shines and i finished the day very impressed with the board. some boards you get on and immediately know they are right. this is one.

Thanks 2ravens. Yes that toeside looks tragically similar to mine. Fortunately the pink is restricted to my eyes......

I have never had any problems with the rubbing from seams etc. I have had the odd issue with pressure points which required some attention with a heat gun at localised points after initial moulding. I am now on my second set of intuitions so by my count the seventh mould. They seem to pack out over 30-50 days or so, allthough the current pair are on day 41 and seem fine. I have got better at getting it right with every go.

I have tried my intuitions both ways and strongly prefer moulding them without insoles. The liners seem to form a moulded footbed of their own. YMMV :)

Ok what I think you are saying is: there should be no rotation/counter rotation during the initiation. The upper body should stay relaxed and upright through the turn and roughly facing the bindings. The turn should be effected through flexion of the ankles knees and hips (in that order) and weight shift with little or no involvement of shoulders etc. I Think you are proposing to unweight the board by a down unweighting/crossthrough/retraction and when on the new edge to extend until the fall line, then to retract through to the new edge change. Is that right? Just trying to clarify While I have a passable heelside, I have the classic toeside problem of rotating toward the turn and dropping my head and shoulders into the turn on toeside. I struggle to weight the front foot enough on toeside and this may be a binding setup issue but i don't know where to start to fix it. I have six degrees of heel lift on the back and flat on front on 54R/64F. Two Ravens I would love to look as good as you! By the way it is great to have the input of you guys - beckmann, rob stevens, blue B et al - I really appreciate your comments

" That, and try to make sure you always have a 'toeside hand', and a 'heelside hand'. This should make the transitions less tippy, and will provide a reference point for resolving rotational issues" Very informative, if difficult to understand. Can you elucidate on the above a little further please? cheers Nigel

How about a race report?

where is that view - is that towards horseshoe bay?

My wife had a pretty comprehensive fib/tib break in the ankle a couple of years ago. This was repaired with plates screws and wires. At first she was able to ski on it without discomfort, but as the swelling in that ankle has diminished over two years or so she had begun to experience discomfort in ski boots and hiking boots. She had the metalwork removed at the end of November. This was a much easier operation than the original and she was able to weight bear immediately. We have just completed two weeks skiing in Canada and she was fine with a much more comfortable ankle. She did have to have her liners remoulded (by George McConkey at McCoos in whistler - highly recomended) but she enjoyed her skiing much more without the feeling of all the metalwork.

I did the trying out of many boards a couple of years ago and though I liked the 4wd I just couldn't give up the magical edge grip of the wcrm and bought a 177. Though the 4wd might be some peoples idea of a board for on and off trail it just doesn't do either well enough for me and I decided that I would rather have a "real" carving board. I tried the 4wd this time with a view to purchasing a board for off-trail. It is better than the wcrm in soft snow, but not much. I also tried a pow-stick at the same time and in a two board quiver this would be my next purchase - see my review. I honestly think the pow-stick carves about as well as the 4wd and offers a magically easy and user friendly ride in soft snow. I think I would also like a tighter turning slalomish carving board for steeps and busy days. I would also like a distillery and my own mountain.

I rode this board with hardboots -SB413's and x-bone step in's on both Blackcomb and Whistler on a day with 20cm of fresh on top of a similar dump the previous day. I have no experience of powder and make no claim to be even competent. The first few runs were taken down blues with untracked on top of groom. The board is stupid good. it turns quickly with little sign of sinking or dipping the nose. I could put good weight on the front leg and spent most of the day with both legs evenly weighted. A run down Dakine off the glacier express chair was just amazing. On a relatively steep pitch with at least half a metre of fresh it is easy, stable and controllable.I tried it in the trees but firstly I royally suck at riding trees and I think this board is too long and a mid 160's board would be much better. later on the peak express chair opened so we went over to Whistler and tried some runs down the west bowl. This had not been open for at least the previous day and possibly the day before so had truckloads of fresh untracked powder. The west bowl is a double black and I consider myself an intermediate rider at best and have no powder experience. This board made it easy and i had the run of a lifetime on a metre of virgin BC powder. It is like cheating! The pow stick also carves reasonably well - about as good as the 4WD all mountain board which is very surprising as it certainly doesn't look like it will carve. Its also reasonably forgiving on bumpy chopped up late day groomers and is manageable in the moguls. The tight side cut radius means that it will carve tight turns and it will also skid round very tightly. I just loved this board and now i have to figure out how to buy one!

I tried this at Blackcomb on a day with 20cm of fresh, more in places. I had been on a prior wcrm 177 all week in a variety of conditions so was able to compare. The construction is up to Prior's usual high standards. The 4wd is definitely more floaty than the carving board in the powder, but still felt like a carving board where the pow was deeper. Also the board was more forgiving in the inevitable late day bumps on the busy trails - springboard, jersey cream, honeycoamb, zigzag for those who know blackcomb. As the day wore on the temperature rose and the lower half of the mountain became a slush fest, which also suited the general nature of the board. On the hardpack the board just did not carve as well as my wcrm, nor did I expect it to. I enjoyed riding the 4wd on this day but I felt It was a swiss army knife - it does not carve as well as a freecarve or race board and still feells like a carving board in the powder. The board does all things and none of them well. On slush it was good with less of a tendency to dive the nose on initiation than a true carrving board. In the end the board does not do any one thing well enough for me to consider buying one.

smashed two Giro helmets, one into four pieces. Not sure i would be here if they didn't work well. I didn't miss a day. All Giro make is helmets. I am definitely a fan.

i have destroyed both mcl's My last accident, a severe over the front at pace in slush overextended my rear knee. Completely ruptured the pcl and major damage to an allready compromised mcl. It took four months to walk without a limp, and six months to run. The mcl has healed somewhat. pcl has left the building

interestingly this guy had an entire international rugby career without an ACL: http://www.rugbymuseum.co.nz/ABProfilee.asp?level1=All_Blacks&Level2=ABC&IDID=500

I have no pcl in my (rear) right knee and have injured the mcl of both legs badly at least three times. My daughter ruptered her acl completely about five years ago and is still skiing quite aggressively. Conventional wisdom had it that repairing/replacing the acl was necessary in order to avoid cartilage damage. My orthopaedic surgeon friends tell me that the latest long term studies can find no statistically significant difference in the fifteen year ocurrence of osteoarthrosis. Naturally this was very disappointing to them as they both make just about all their income from acl repairs. A key factor seems to be muscle strength and they both recommend cycling as the best strategy for aiding knee stability. I also think that the quad strength i gain from carving may help. Also i think having a ligament injury in the front knee is a different deal as a slip when one footing off the lift may lead to further cartilage damage

yes I have read that thread before. Doesn't answer the question though. Also I would have to buy a pair of sidewinders and a pair of td2 stepins to do this. Mondo money.

Any update on the prospect of these Fin? I am in the market for new bindings and I am waiting for these. Can I buy SI TD3's and then be able to convert them to sidewinders afterwards?

sell a nominally similar self-adhesive transparent film. I tried it on a board about five years ago. Complete waste of time and money. It did not work very well against the worst scratches and nicks and did not protect the side walls and edges of the topsheet at all well.

we were in queenstown twice this year - before and after your trip down there unfortunately. I will be riding as much as possible at ruapehu for the remainder of the season. Its a shame I wont see your plate. i have been following the progress avidly and having seen you ride last season it would be easy to see how the plate has made things easier for you. never mind.......next season...

when are you next at ruapehu sunsurfer? i would love to check the plate out

one dead kiwi already this year when the car was blown off the road by the wind......... http://www.mountainwatch.com/Features/8225762/Season-3rd-Death-at-Mt-Hutt