kipstar

I have an oxygen 149 that would probably be perfect. Only issue is shipping to you. Where are you located, the only issue is a shipping one.....if dad is interested to purchase an SG180 titanal proteam then the oxy is free. (just decided yesterday to sell the SG).

@Ernie Yes I have seen the large number of screws on the UPZ; I use plumbers tape on every screw and that seems to act like a form of Loctite also. Fingers crossed! I also have a spare for every buckle and every part where possible from UPZ which I carry around with me; did the same with the Indys - useful since I snapped one of the strappy buckles on that boot also.

carve model. The boots I tore the heels off were Raichle Indys with about 25 days on them. The orange plastic just basically completely gave way and both heels had fractured completely at the heel area where they are held under the binding. One major turn and I suspect the entire boot would have split with the heel and foot hinging up, and the sole staying in the binding. Not a good method for powerful toe side turns. They were always kept out of the sun and were looked after, so my conclusion is the plastic of that type of boot probably has a useby date of around 10-12 years no matter what you do with them. This is why it has surprised me that the northwave boots are not completely falling apart now. Along with the knee injury it has totally destroyed my confidence to ride at speed; I am always aware on some level that it would be possible to suddenly be riding with only 1 foot in the binding and the other one in mid air!

I ride with the TD3 std bindings, std dampening and with that set up, the board really rides nicely. As Ernie said, there is not a lot of difference between with and without in terms of learning curve, but it just makes crappy conditions (and variable conditions) a lot easier to ride. I'm riding in UPZ boots (which for me are a new set up) and I've been dealing with a learning curve on those at the same time as the set up of the plate, but feel like the points I raised are reflective of what is going on with the plate rather than the boots. Board I've been riding is an Oxess SL162 metal, and I'll ride on my SG180 in a few days to see how it performs. BTW check your heels, I had torn both heels of both my boots hence the switch to the UPZs. Weight wise guessing I'd say around 1kg maybe more than 750g? There is definitely a little snow collection under the plate, so if you drive a car and flick your board inside, worth it for any of these plates to have a small brush of some sort so you can sweep it out rather than collecting a pool of water in your Ferrari FF's interior.

After 3 very sweet days riding on the new Gecko Plate from Apex (this one www.geckosnowboard.com) I thought I should do a review since no one else has as yet. I'm a middle aged former half decent rider 20 years ago who has gradually gone backwards as a result of getting older, less fit, tearing part of my ACL in a rather large stack 2 years ago and live in a country that has never had snow in the last 100 years, so riding isn't something I do a lot of, maybe 0 - 20 days a year. That said, when I ride I tend to do a bunch of days in a row, so fitness is a bit of an issue, I heard a lot about plates helping to reduce fatigue so I thought why not try one, however I didn't want a learning curve, the weight on the lift or not really understanding how to set one up, so the Geckoplate (which I personally think would be better called the "Octopus which has mutated as a result of a nuclear leakage nearby and also which is black plate" which is considerably more catchy) was selected as a dip my toe in the water approach to a plate; I was assured I would not lose a day or so figuring out how to manage the plate, and I didn't want the weight of a major plate loading up my one good knee which I am completely paranoid about (it is very hard to get it out of my head the acute pain and stupidity that led to the fall, and not helped by snapping both heels off my boots last season which could have been a catastrophic fall had I ridden just 1 more run with them in that shape). I'd describe it as a halfway step between an actual plate and a basic riser; that's said having never used either but it's what the cool kids said to me on the lift. And cool kids are always more believable than anything else. So....onto the set up. It's a pretty easy beast to mount, as unlike the plate systems there are no moving parts; screw in the mounting screws and then place the plates on each side (they are marked which is which) using the line of holes that best aligns to the edge and then mount bindings on top. I've mounted them asymmetrically, with the end row of bumpers using the softer urethane and the stiffer urethane for the rest. Upon riding, I can only compare with and without. With the geckoplate there is no question the board is able to soak up choppy conditions better than without; I have been riding through chopped up powder, small bump runs, heavily ridden variable conditions, and the geckoplate certainly reduces the amount of feedback from that sort of condition; you can still feel it but it's almost like riding in a car with good suspension; you still feel it but the amount you feel is more manageable. Definitely has reduced the fatigue in my legs a little. The positives then: - dead simple to mount, well packaged when it arrives - a nice first step (and for me only step) into the world of plates/risers - very light and the height increase is not a lot (maybe +12mm?) - improves the quality of ride without stripping away the feel of the run - has basically no learning curve; first run was a little odd feeling slightly higher for about the first 10sec, then I didn't notice it again - seems to slightly reduce fatigue on your legs - it is the weirdest looking thing you have ever seen (ok for some people this might be a negative) - I really think I need to get Sean at Donek to do me a custom board with some sort of 10 leg octopus so that the plate makes more of a story here :-) - they supply two sets of bumpers and since you can mount asymmetrically or symmetrically, there is a bit of playing around if you like that kind of thing NTTAWWT, some of my best friends like to play around. The negatives: - it is an extra cost for a board (but IMHO totally worth it) - it slightly increases the weight on a chairlift; for me it is totally manageable and I would guess it is about halfway between the weight of a plate system and nothing - the extra height makes using the chairlift foot rests a little tricky, need to angle my knee to fit under the cross bar So all in all, if you are not really up for a full on plate system, then I really recommend to consider this as a good first step, and if you really like, you can go further down the path (and presumably the step from the gecko to a full on apex/donek/bomber/dinner plate is going to be easier) or if you are happy you can stop the gear accumulation here.

be very careful, I changed out the tongues on my UPZs recently; first thing is make sure you use a TORX head not an allen key (look carefully, it is not an allen key hole it is a torx which is star shape pattern). All the torx holes can usually handle an allen key of similar size, but the pattern is not quite the same. Mine were extremely tight to dislodge also, I think they are locktited in place to prevent any chance of coming undone (which is fairly important), the only way to dislodge if the inside nut thing is spinning is either to try to grab it with something which is virtually impossible....or order a new set of hardware from Dan Yoga and drill out the nut from the outside - I previously had to do this with a set of Raichle 700s that had also seized; if you ever ride in spring or on a salted race course then the salting I believe may speed up corrosion and once it is seized you simply cannot dislodge it. If drilling out I am not sure of your expertise, but typically start with a tiny drill bit and work your way up until you are getting close to the size of the screw/nut, I was somehow able to salvage the nut and could have reused it again for the 700, had I not had a spare part, but that would have required fixing the thread a bit in places, easier to just order new hardware, now I have spares for almost everything and it allows me to hack and break as you do. In the case of the upzs, once I had the TORX head I was able to unscrew it no problem; the 700s I had to drill out.

If I needed a Halloween mask I'd be contacting u right about now :-)

I only have my current Scorpion pic, but the 155 was the same graphic. Couple of pics riding it 10 years ago as well.

I was a big nitro fan..... The original line up of Nitro came out in 1990/91 and they had a sym board even then called a Nitro EFT (the alpine range were all EFT meaning Earth Freedom Tranquility) the asyms were 154?/16X/169 and the sym was a 162 Amero. The first year they came with Elfgen rear entry hardplates. Boards came without inserts and were mounted by drilling. Then the following year 1991/92 they kept the sym board but detuned it a bit from memory, the EFTs became Epics and were slightly worse boards but a little more manageable to ride (the small EFT I had would throw up a continuous snow stream off the toe side nose right into your face) on some level. The 2nd year I think they went to a Fritschi binding, but can't remember what they looked like. There was a marked difference in the top sheet between the first year and this year; the first year the top sheet was matt and painted (I suspect in layers); the 2nd year all the boards were glossy and must have been made using a different process. Now Nitro had a 5 hole pattern but you could still order no inserts. The year following 1992/93 the Epics all took a major step forward in terms of graphics were very very slick, tribal as someone mentioned, and the bindings were definitely now the white Fritschi binding which had the ability to have the purple pads where the boots sat floating (to allow lateral flex) while the entire binding was on a semi track system, a bit of a precursor to the modern plate; the binding was attached to the board via a single central pin and the toe and heel floated on tracks. 5 hole or inserts. The 1993/94 year was from memory the first year of the Scorpions, the Fritshis became grey at some point during that season and the float element for lateral flex was removed, but the system of the central pin remained. Surprisingly the Fritschis looked almost the same but for some reason were not compatible with eachother. From memory the Scorpion this year was mostly red fading into the black in the tail. I remember seeing Thedo Remmelink who was sponsored by Nitro racing during early 1994 back when Alpine racing was shown on TV in USA, and he was one of the earlier guys who had the closest technique to what we see now for racing, as opposed to the quite common heavily rotational technique that Peter Bauer was still using at this point riding the asym boards. Obviously Thedo was not riding an actual scorpion but at the time we thought he was :-) Still 5 hole. The 1994/95 year the 4 hole pattern had become prevalent so the scorpion now as a red board with a black stripe up the centre, bindings from memory started to look more like the F2 style binding and I think at this point Fritschi was replaced, although they were still selling similar looking bindings to Oxygen and other companies. Thereafter the more automotive theme started to come through and the scorpions hung around a bit longer although didn't seem too much different from previous years in profile (not sure about flex), and the Cam which had the amorphous lump made in a 3D mould of some sort on the deck was around 1997, by which time Nitro was not really doing alpine any more. I kept riding my scorpion for a while longer, and what I could remember is for a 163 it rode pretty well, although the nose would push a bit of snow compared to the modern low nose boards. Lovely boards. I still have an unridden Nitro Epic 154, a heavily worn out EFT, 2 Scorpions (154 edge blown and 163 here with me in BKK). Very sad when I saw Nitro stop making boards.

it is a bit like the 'most accidents happening near your house' fallacy; you spend more time driving near your house so accident rate is higher on average, not the result of any specific carelessness that kicks in when near your house. When you are starting to think about last run, then that's near the end of the day and end of your endurance, so by default it would seem more likely that this is a time period when it is more likely you see an injury if resulting from fatigue. Having said that, I tore my ACL on what I had told myself was my last run, and I've also had a concussion on what I thought was my last run (and another concussion that resulted in my choosing it to be the last run of the day). The ACL one was basically, 'last run of the season, let's make it count' mindset, pushing me harder at a time when I was more fatigued; my power deserted me mid turn and boom that was that; tumbling flip landing on my loaded rear knee fully rotated body and 6 months of rehab and ongoing pain even now. I agree with the others; rather than saying 'this is my last run' being the curse, it's more a case of knowing when your getting tired and turning in sooner rather than later. I was smart enough to do that last trip in Japan having just nailed a pretty quick run down some steeps. When I inspected both boots a few months later, I had cracked both heels through and another run I probably would have lost one, maybe both boots and possibly totally destroyed my knee. So, sometimes knowing when to fold them is the key, just like the song says.

I'd ask an expert e.g. ask Sean from Donek; as a boatbuilder I would personally use a resin that can flex such as west system gflex; plexus or sparbond; the key will be keying up the surfaces etc but only a board builder can tell u about that. Also these are epoxy glues, which have up to 50X the holding power of normal epoxy resin, and can grasp a surface like ptex maybe better than a straight epoxy resin could. A typical epoxy resin is quite brittle, which is why we don't use it for things like gluing masts on a boat, if you use in on the nose of the board, probably it's ok, but again, ask an expert. All these brands I guess someone like west marine might sell; you should check though cure temperatures and time as epoxy goes off slowly. mix it precisely and thoroughly, and wear gloves, epoxy is nasty stuff. Have plenty of ability to clean up the bit squeezed out (you only need a small amount but it needs to be thoroughly inserted) as you don't want to be cleaning epoxy off once it is cured. Brown packing tape epoxy does not adher to so you can tape things up where you don't want the resin to go. With gravity naturally it will flow and drip all over the place if you are not careful, even the glues (which are less runny) as they have a reasonable cure time.

I definitely noticed the issue of a 27 boot from UPZ being a shorter, smaller volume boot than the Deeluxe/AF 27.5; I could not even get my foot into the 27 size shell of the UPZ at all, and once in (using my old packed out liners as a double check) it was next to impossible to get the buckles closed over my foot; my foot was just too big to fit in the shell, confirmed with the liner out. The reason is that the UPZ shell seems to be running across 2.5-3 sizes whereas the Deeluxe runs across 2 sizes. What this means is a 26 size shell Deeluxe would be probably slightly smaller than the 26 UPZ which is the same shell as the 26/26.5/27, but a 27 UPZ is definitely smaller than the 27 deeluxe, and then the next size up the UPZ 27.5/28/28.2 is larger than the Deeluxe 27/27.5. Somewhere online there was a table that summarized this; http://www.sportkostner.com/en/upz/rc10 What I discovered when I tried the UPZ on is the 27.5, 28 and 28.2 (probably meaning the 28.5) are the same shell size all 309mm long, so if you are using thermo liners, they are all the same boot. I believe Dan Yoja's table is therefore not quite right; not a huge issue if you are not buying a half size, but it's a major problem if, like me, you were already being shoehorned into a Deeluxe 27.5 in terms of length and forefoot width. The heel pocket size of the 28 UPZ is about the same as the Deeluxe 27 which is reflected in the numbers produced in the myths video, with similar width and the way the UPZ buckles work, as well as the stiffer plastic, made the UPZ even though the boot was longer, a more positive fit for me even though the boot was actually longer than what I needed (marginally); the next size down was just too small - I was between sizes, but the AF series after seeing the heel falling apart, I decided time for a change ;-). I also found that the toe volume of the UPZ despite the claims of being larger than the Deeluxe, doesn't seem to be larger, in part due to the way the shell closes; the deluxe you can run zero tension on the front toe buckle at least with the zip style buckle adjuster; the UPZ by comparison is very difficult to do the same because the tongue buckle is riveted with less adjustment in the clasp; it seems to always be positively closed with some tension on it. What this means for a buyer is that you cannot use Dan Yoja's chart or any other chart if you are at the end of the shell size spectrum (ideally you want to be the largest foot to fit into the shell but this is an issue if you are just fractionally bigger than what can conceiveably be fitted into that shell size); rather you need to check the size.

Hey Guys So following my 'fun' of tearing the heel off both boots, I've switched to the UPZ, and now have a few parts to sell. Because of the shipping issue from Thailand (where the parts are), either it would be ideal if this is shipping to Australia/NZ, or where you can handle a bit of a wait so we can manage the shipping cost to be just the local cost; or better still you have someone flying via Thailand in which case get the stuff and a free dinner. Ideally I'd like to sell everything in one go for the same reason. BTS - used around 15 days; medium springs RAB - original; used around 25 days; slightly modified so the thread is slightly longer enabling the boot to be ridden slightly more upright than standard (I added more threads to the main stock, using a tap and die) Race Tongues X 2 - size 27.5; used around 15 days Standard Tongues X 2 - Size 27.5; used 25 days Spare cant adjuster X 1 - unused Spare 2nd buckle strap X 1 (teeth style strap) - used about 4 days (I stripped this off the busted boot and had just snapped the buckle strap) Older Bindings Fritschi 4 hole bindings X 2 pairs; ideal for lighter weight rider; one has a funky step in toe system the other is more standard; has an oxygen style plastic bail which locks onto the bail, so it is actually a pretty reasonable binding; they are old so really only cluttering up my house If I can get $200 USD for everything above that would be ideal, plus cost of shipping. I do have some other stuff as well which I thought I would list, again if it meant I could ship it all in one go, then we both end up better off. Other stuff Proflex F2 binding with metal baseplate; bought second hand as a spare set and I've never used them; they are the same as the F2s and appear to be in the medium size so ideal for a 27.5 boot at the most $100 USD + shipping Oxygen 4 hole binding with built in canting and a heel riser plate; used and never broken similar concept to the fritschis above; used more than 50 days, maybe almost 100. $50 USD + shipping (would go well if you got the frischis as well) Older Board for someone small Brand new Oxygen 149 Proton unused; bought when I read somewhere Kildy rode a 149...once it arrived it was obviously too small for me :-) Dunno, this one is worth only about $50 USD + shipping but the shipping is the issue Hit me up in the thread of via PM if any of this stuff is of interest.

Sounds dodgy. I really cannot offer advice, but would say that if sometimes what you see if not the full story; it is perhaps better to give her the benefit of the doubt (escaping a bad ex) due to the potential consequences to her family. But keep a close eye and I would say Jack's advice is good; if there is evidence of more then report her with a clear conscience. As we all know, when snowboarding, some people like lying all the time. I call this 'advanced push-pull technique extreme carving technique.'

the heels were relatively soft, they were the originals still in quite ok condition as the boots weren't used much. Bindings were not overtight or loose, they were normally finger tight with no movement in them. Plastic was not chalky or in any way degraded, and seemed fine in other respects. I suspect that the reason they broke was probably related to moving up to a longer board (SG180), and riding with a more powerful technique than previously, plus the general age of the boots and the plastic of snowboard boots being generally softer than the equivalent ski boot. I realise that plastic degrades and things break, so I am not posting this to complain; rather to just let others know that it is really important for a boot of this age to start to consider that 'things don't last forever' and it's better to go with a new set of boots than need a new knee or similar. The reason I caught it was I was considering buying a new pair of boots....had I not it would have been entirely possible to arrive at a resort in NZ or Japan and then realise the boots were unuseable.....or worse still to go ride and then suffer a huge failure. I would guess that riding a sidewinder would probably reduce the chances of breaking the heels from the side, as some of that sideways load is shifted into the binding and away from the boot/bail interface. Actually, that's probably the biggest thing from all of this....it's worth it to consider a set of sidewinders! When in doubt....buy new gear :-)

dear Ladia & Saul/Bobble/Bob Odenkirke.....so you think it is caused by overtightening? I never really overtightened in the bindings, maybe a little snow build up from time to time, but after riding my raichle flexon comps into the ground (300+ days and 2 sets of liners from memory) it kind of sucks that snowboard boots would wear out with just 50 days. Maybe the stiffer bindings though don't help; used to use the softer plastic oxygen bindings and those things had a little natural flex in them. The TD3 connection is a lot more solid. The heel entry on the TD3 is a little tricky on the rear UPZ boot though innit!

To be honest, when I saw it I had an immediate nervous laugh and then remember the extreme pain of a partially torn ACL last season...and that was with both knees still attached to the board. Losing a boot and still being attached to the board mid turn could be catastrophic for knee and injuries at speed if it ended up in a tumbling fall. I have a bit of a handsweat breaking out just thinking about it - I vaguely remember seeing a WC skier who didn't release a ski in the downhill and having their knee fully twist....I doubt you could reconstruct that and the agony would be unthinkable.* * unless you are tough like Herman Meier or Chuck Norris.

Damn Kieran, why you have to mention the silver buckles LOL ;-) How are you finding the UPZs? Still pretty good for you?

My indys I've ridden around 30 days on them and I bought them lightly used (I think the previous owner had done maybe a week on them or so they were in pretty mint condition). I'm not a huge guy, and I ride fairly conservatively; I don't stomp on the heels to get into the heel pocket (the indys never really fitted my heels well anyhow). I had felt what I thought was the board getting a bit skittish in toeside turns the last couple of days I rode in Japan, but didn't inspect the boots, it was enough I asked the board builder (Oxess) if the board was likely to be delaminating or bending from riding (it wasn't). So it was a bit of a surprise when I inspected the heels while overseas, and saw that both heels were cracked; on one side the heel was completely cracked right through, on the other side it was cracked just on one side, but in both cases, the boots are finished, and have been binned. (I don't think you could bolt on intec heels as the boot is about to totally give way). the crack you see here runs to the rear, and there's another similar crack on the inner side of the boot also. So a total of 3 different cracks (sort of). It would be a catastrophic gear failure to have the heel snap or give way, and the heel on one boot was hanging on with a very small bit of plastic remaining...... so guys, make sure you check your stuff! Still....a good excuse to finally pull the trigger on some sweet little pushy rap UPZ 10s! Green is fast!

And after riding in awesome winter conditions at Zermatt (on the glacier it is fresh powder ankle deep each day, and perfect groomed with ZERO people) it turns out that 27 is just too small, so I switch to a 28 shell and kept the 27 liners. I am only just a 27.5 in the Indy/700 with all the foam in the liner packed out, a stretched shell and I would have guessed I could fit into the UPZ 27 also, but it isn't to be; the way the UPZ tongue works it is more difficult to ride the boot with the buckles over the toe/instep very loose, really the boot is designed quite clearly to have a specific range of tightness across the foot area as the tongue is secured in 2 places, and so other people may have the same issue I did, a wider, high forefoot and you may need to go up a size (I am a 28.2 approx. foot length) for one boot or the other. Even with moulding the liner. The performance of the boot is very good, the flex is a little softer than the BTS medium spring initially, and a little firmer as you go from mid flex to fully flexed; I did not have any issues with the buckles colliding nor did the boot appear to bottom out. The heel hold is very good, and the weight of the boot is also very light as well once you go with moulded liners. All the screws I meddled with are locktited in from the factory, and the heels are now T bolted in place, apparently this is now standard. The boots appear very well made, and they do still have that same feel like a Raichle of being elevated in the heel, I am not sure there is an easy way to adjust this, cannot do much with the Indy/700 either. Interestingly the heel piece is soft rubber, but the toe piece is hard plastic, so I guess that must reduce the sideways flex a little, and also makes the boot probably a little slippery walking around perhaps, coming from ski boots it's not an issue. All in all, I am very happy, the hardware looks a bit better than the earlier generation Indys I had, and hopefully I won't crack the heels on these boots; getting the heel to engage in the bomber TD3s is not the easiest thing to do although it gets easier with practise.

So turns out my decision was made for me; inspecting my deluxe indys in the shop, I have cracked both heels and was pretty fortunate that I didn't tear the entire heel right off either boot while riding, so the boots are dead, already binned them. Measured my feet and turns out I am actually a 28/28.5, but anyhow, have squeezed my feet into UPZ 27s with Palau liners....fit is definitely pretty tight around the ankles thanks to the shape of the shell. Will enjoy riding them, the flex and the boot seems very well put together; bearing in mind some of the comments from the past, seems all screws/hardware is locktited in place; because the boot is so small the buckles over the ankle don't seem to collide. The flexing of the boot seems initially a little stiffer than the indy, which was a surprise to me, as I expected it to be softer, perhaps riding might be different, and it might be due to the powerstrap and incredibly tight fit currently.

I've always used custom footbeds, and used the self molding raichle skiboots before thermofits of the indys, but I suspect the shell of the deeluxe is a bit off my shape of foot so fingers crossed the upz will deliver! From what I know its just the glacier not the Italian side....any snow better than none!

Dear Hans Am heading to Switzerland for the first time to Zermatt in May (odd time I know) and based on your and Corey's comments will be seriously looking at the UPZ at a shop that sell them with thermo liners (sportsoutlet). Hoping to get back to the point I had with my raichle ski boots (buckle once per day, and only unbuckle at lunch and end of day). The deluxe 700s are a combination of heel-lift, shin bang (stripped all the skin off one leg), crushed toes and freezing feet.....they flex well but my feet just seem not so compatible with them (narrow heel, high arch, wide forefoot) so hoping the UPZ can solve all of these.....

thanks for the feedback guys. So basically it seems only Zermatt and Engelberg are open, and of those Engelberg appears to have a single lift with the gondolas shared with tourists going to look at some snow cave thing at the top of some mountain. I was quite sad to lose the chance to go riding in Japan again due to work in March....so now this is the next best thing before going to NZ in winter. So Zermatt it is. Meeting up with an old friend (hopefully) at the same time, and if I get a couple of days riding (or not) no problem, as it's a bucket list type destination. Will also spend some time looking around Lucerne, but not really so interested in European history or architecture much, but will nevertheless take it all in; if its a nice place I have enough miles to come back once a year in future (miles to come here are almost the same as going to Japan). But I do understand (and can see from the prices) it is damn expensive compared to Japan. But anyhow, really looking forward to it, and also hopefully lining up a proper boot fit and some new UPZs at the same time....if I can fit in a new board as well....well maybe might be 'justified' :-) Thanks for all the suggestions once again.

As a result of work, I need to go to Switzerland in mid May. While there I will probably pick up a set of UPZ boots, and check the place out, however it would be very nice to also get in a couple of days of riding, I know what Spring conditions are like (I rode Squaw and Mammoth in April/May and NZ in December/Jan) but any snow is better than none. Always ;_) I have never been to Switzerland and will fly into work in Zurich, and around Lucerne. If I can grab 2 or 3 days on the slopes, at that time of year which resorts are recommended for groomed? Zermatt and Elgenberg are these the only 2 still open? Any recommended boot shop with UPZ would also be greatly appreciated in Zurich or Lucerne or at one of the resorts, otherwise it seems a trip to the Outlet place is on order. Any advice would be greatly appreciated including basic stuff like 'you cannot drive to the hotel and must park at XYZ place'. I was just going to rent a car but you know how these costs can all add up when you are a typical dumb tourist. Thanks for any advice you can share....sadly the swiss carving site is 'no mas'