kipstar

I know some fairly high level instructors in Hokkaido and they are very familar with the technique progression of skiing (and also snowboarding albeit softboots) in NZ, USA, Japan, Korea - they mentioned that the 'gold standard' of how to ski is quite different in each place, a lot to do with the snow condition. I remember it was something along these lines (according to my memory back then when I drank beer so I might recall incorrectly) NZ is probably the least consistent snow and terrain with high variability and complete white out and rain regularly, so not much tension in the body, very agile and adaptable; lowish hands held quite close to the hips, USA similar ot nz but much better groom and better snow generally so also fairly relaxed but maybe a little different riding as conditions tend to be a little more favourable. Japan and Korea much more 'precise' in body position (very noticeable in Japan where many many ppl ski or snowboard all the same with precision technique); more focus on the little things which are repeated; hence probably the vastly greater number of decent carving skiers and snowboarders; however Japanese ski with a lot of focus on improvement technically vs what I ever saw in NZ; they have a lot of technical contests a format I cannot recall ever seeing in USA or in NZ either; where you are judged on the quality of your technique (both in snowboard and ski); Korea similar but the body position in korea the hands are even further apart, higher and more forward. Personal guess - snow condition with very firm manmade. So it seems a little more stiff than USA or NZ, but also maybe because so many more ppl in Japan and Korea are into carving than what I saw in NZ especially where many are more freestyle etc. Been a while since I last rode in USA. This is what u see all the time in Japan, I don't see like this in NZ so much.

I've ridden a few days in Korea, the weather is extremely cold and dry, the snow is almost all manmade so is very firm, but has less to push against than natural snow; really stand into the turn and the edge breaks away sometimes; so I know from seeing them ski and also carve that they are actually often quite gentle in their pressure and start of the turn rather than stomping into the beginning as you might do in perfect snow conditions. I remember a constant stream of wrist and other injuries, when I was there for a week every day was like you see in the videos, but extremely firm. Great for carving, so there were quite a few carvers, but still it's mostly beginners and intermediates on the hill, steeper runs are a lot of technical skiers and boarders, not many bumps or other things just man made trails mostly cut into reasonably steep hills. I don't see this "rodeo hand" as an unnatural thing; the guy rides with quite a bit of rotation, finishes his toe side as Jack said and then the hand kind of has to go somewhere so he uses it to pull through his hillside turn to drive his rotation as well as the weight transfer in the first 1/2 of the turn; in those conditions where the edge might let go he is finessing it a bit and has included it into his riding style. Probably a habit he could lose, but he's many rungs above most carving soft (and hard) booters. A joy to watch. The skiers in Korea a lot seemed to have some very stiff arm and shoulder positions even more so than the Japanese vs. the more natural flow of a more typical solid US skier; I put some of that down to the snow conditions they ride in and the progression the way they are taught.

@Adas good boot this is what I have

Ok for novelty for half a day at the most, but pretty small and a bit dull. The best thing in Dubai are the Michelin level restaurants which are all over, trip to the dunes maybe, sailing if it isn't too hot, renting and driving Exotic cars and taking in the man-made buildings and terraforming for places like the Palms which is on a huge scale.

As my Japanese friend explained to me, the Japanese snowboard association has some rule that the board you race on needs some official distribution in Japan to be eligible to race. Donek does not have a distributor yet so you can buy it free ride it but cannot compete on it. Maybe Coiler and some other race boards are the same.

I have a stubby and Bruce specifically mentioned that it isn't meant to weight the nose, it is ridden centered, and to turn sharper seems to require more angulation and edge pressure centered then the board can turn as tight as you want, push hard enough and it will pop airbourne. In the words of Mr McDonald's "I'm lovin' it"

The prepped surface of the race course is also a lot firmer than what u rode on, I rode the SG course pre race during the prep period for a WC many years ago and it is pretty er firm. I would guess u could do on a board but the number of horrendous injuries would be even more than superg and downhill on skis. And required insanity and cojones size would need to be even bigger.

Very cool, looks like a nice run, #carversreprazeeeeent

This topic comes up a bit - I believe it's a bit like windsurfing vs kiteboarding - kiteboarding maybe looks cooler, more visible, learning curve isn't steep...so it's growing. Windsurfing especially racing is quite static eg formula. Looking at growth strategies, of course cheaper gear, more access is a good thing, and growth breeds visibility breeds interest breeds growth.... In my mind the massive growth in interest in softboot carving is our 'in' because at least in Japan, the number of guys seriously carving is way more than 5 years ago, just many are on softboot. And from Thailand of the good riders I know, from me + 1 instructor that I know of who could carve 5 years ago, now there are many riding stiff softboots and carving deep turns...and some of those guys are now asking me about hardboots and raceboards/carving boards as an extension of what they do now. If we were grouped together with that mob - Ryan klapton etc, they also have mostly buying online, riser plates, expensive bindings and boards - this is a group where the learning curve isn't so great for a few wholikely would switch for some days and use soft boots some days. Ski more of a learning curve. Freestyle boarders and assorted other gapers would have the biggest learning curve and most likely dropout rate. Incentives to consider: racing is definitely one. Technical contest (popular in Japan judging ppl on technique) is another. If u need to drive price down then could consider a highly restricted board boot combo (eg board must be 170 production in either 1 of 2 flexes with 1 binding model (hard) 1 binding model (soft) and no plate and choice of 2 boots (hard) 2 boots (soft) and then set up a series based on this. Similar to how formula or rsx windsurfing solved some of the gear war that windsurfing had ended up with (now replaced with foiling which will likely kill windsurf and kiting for many poorer ppl). Donek has kind of that ideawith the pilot, imagine if everyone showing up to a race had a single board (a pilot) in either a stiff or soft flex based on body size and no models replacing and updating except every 4 years - it would create a 2nd hand mkt and stop the huge depreciation...for richer guys they would keep this model for that race series. But it requires someone to make the first major step to create a series...in Triathlon Thai boxing and windsurf those entities exist (sports I know and am involved with) but snowboarding? Not sure. Maybe fis would need to be the driver but whether that would be an interest for them I don't know; unlike Olympics fis seems to love gear free for alls. Back in the day some guy had mountain dew fund the original pro tour back in the ISF days...i am thinking a rung below that. Schools, colleges, adults, masters. Make it a grass roots participation sport like triathlon. It seems with crossfit Americans at least appreciate sports turning anything into a group activity with some ability to compare to others. So race or similar is needed, it's just logistically fought to . Option 2 using the hot chick theory, if u could get a few more ladies in, that would help too. Then again if u just made hardboot paleo friendly, offered guys bonus points for growing beards and encouraging people to wander around claiming gluten allergies maybe all those crossfit ppl woudl get into hardboots.

stubby is one of the easiest boards to ride, so easy to make it carve, able to do it all. this is a great length, I have a 172 probably the same sort of dimensions just a smaller nose.

For powder the red tongues are definitely better IMHO, especially once it gets to knee deep you need a bit more flexibility especially at lower speed, and the red tongues are good for that, otherwise it really is putting a lot of load on your rear quad, in choppy snow similar. The easy thing is it is a small investment but noticeably softens the boot, ideal for early season, weaker legs, slower speeds or much softer snow. For carving snow and powerring into turns, though even when choppy I've tended to find the black tongues work better especially riding at higher speed, and at higher speed also the red tongues are a bit more work as they have less support, so you end up having to work harder in your feet to keep the board on edge. That's just my experience, my strength isn't what it used to be as I don't really do any weights work these days pre season, just cycling so my leg fitness is great but I don't have anaerobic power like I did before.

@bobdea Just wanted to point out some of the trout you have posted in your trout fishing blog are monsters! Some really decent sized brownies and steelheads. Its good to see the TD3 back in action and available again, price wise, it is what it is, inflation is a fact of life, would imagine the price won't come down much, maybe more likely to keep going up so it's worth while to support our manufacturers.

I have the same foot size as you (27.5+) and switched from the indy/deeluxe 700s in size 27/27.5 which were extremely narrow for my foot and a little on the short side. As the chart says, UPZ actually has 2 sizes for three sizes in the deeluxe and you are right in the middle, same as I was, you should definitely be able to make the UPZ work in the smaller size as long as your ankles aren't massive. For a couple of seasons I managed with the larger UPZ boot, and with a moulded liner I could maintain heel hold, but it is never great feeling in slightly too big boot as a slightly too small boot. I would recommend you switch to the 299mm size and run the intuition liner or Palau in size 27/27.5. Last season I switched to the newer UPZ model with the tongue that hinges out to the side, and it's a lot better; depending on the snow (in Hokkaido we sometimes get quite deep powder) I ride the red tongue in knee deep or choppy snow, and for groomers the std tongue. I am currently using the tongue liner that comes with the boot which is quite ok, but not fantastic, personally I find the wrap around intuition/Palau moulded liners better for 5 reasons: fit better, warmer, substantially lighter, the tongue doesn't slide out to the side, the boot flex ends up slightly softer (good for me, your experience may vary).

@barryj I have seen all the other long nose mosses, what is the one 2nd in from the left next to the coiler? That's something unusual (not so different to my custom coiler powder board). I am fascinated!

My Rose is really good for carving, the resort is not huge, but you don't need a massive mountain if the runs are good; both sides have a variety of pitches and the runs running under the high speed chair from main lodge have a variety of widths from really wide (kit carson) to steep and a little banked to enjoy...not too many people and the standard of skiing tends to be quite ok too so don't have idiots running from behind into you. The other side is also fun with a bunch of good carving runs too. Close to Reno, quite high altitude as well, so it gets decent snow, there is some ok off piste stuff as well although needs snow for that. Used to be some EC riders at Rose as well, first time i saw EC up close was in Rose. Personally I really like the smaller resorts as long as the snow is good, each is only good for a day or so, but you can go through all of them over a season. Alpine is my overall favourite mountain although not entirely sure it's the best for carving, it just happens to have a really nice variety of terrain similar to Squaw but back in the day fewer people and cheaper lift tickets (I doubt that is the case any more)