kipstar

For retro coolness, it would have to be the Aggression Stealth, my dream board that I never bought, with the most extreme asymmetric shift of any board I saw, and the cool zebra black and white fancy ptex base. BTW if anyone has a goofy one lying around I'll take it ;-) However, in the real world, I find it hard to go past the new generation of slalom boards, my Oxess 162 is maybe a little skittish at high speed, but for everything else, it's very very awesome. Cranks tight turns, can handle medium radius turns, loves the steeps, rides well at medium speed, can ride in powder at a push (well Hokkaido powder up to knee deep, although not quite ideal for it) and as others say about other modern slalom boards, it never feels too small.

Pat you never cease to amaze me - you are like the ultimate 60 year old - artist, still racing, doing what you love, and almost still doing backflips! If you have ever seen the Big Lebowski, you are more of a dude than the dude. Dude!

Depends a lot on the slope for the first few gates, if it is flat rolling to steep, then snowboarding is horrendously slow to start - if the start is fairly steep, then it's not so bad. The rut line transition can be hard work also - when I used to train on the same courses as skiers and especially with less skilled skiers (and I am pretty useless also at hitting the right race line) the rut line after its really dug out can be quite hard work.

is the cat included?

So Hans what is your conclusion? Good or no! g

I suspect if he saw some of the GS 185s and decambered noses + plates that guys on this board are running, he would have no idea whether they were called 'snowboards'. It's pretty sad to see that now basically 20 different graphics on what look like much the same freestyle shapes is where snowboarding is at now, compared to the diversity in the early 90s when a trip to a snowboard shop was like a full on adventure.

@ Sunsurfer I think a lot of it is to do with hip alignment; I am guessing you ride with your hips facing forward more than the average angle of your bindings, so this is part of the reason why your rear leg is flexing quite a lot more, as it needs to bend more to 'catch up' to the front leg since - if your hips are aligned with your bindings, and we use the more modern race style technique of almost no rotation, and just dropping our hips into the turn, angulating the board then pressuring the edge, the variation between the 2 legs reduces although I agree it probably doesn't disappear completely. From personal experience this season eliminating the fore-aft drive into through and out of turns and reducing rotation certainly balances up the two legs to be used more evenly, and then the flex of each boot can be more similar. When I went through the last few years riding much more rotation, I noticed the need to have a loser rear boot in the cuff, this faded as I changed my technique and the angle of my neutral position.

Naturally if you referenced family guy, the odds would have been better.... And gratuitous Thai language joke that is hilarious to me (and possibly less so if you don't speak Thai) (he says in extremely crude Thai, I will kill all of you, I will kill you with my massive gun)

And I thought the nose of my oxess 162 looked blunt. What a beauty!!

Michael a has hit it on the head. If u watch racing technique; minimal rotation; no fwd/backward movement; stable low position and quiet upper body that's perfect for variable conditions including soft rutted snow. In decent powder, a slight very minor shift back might help, but even that's not really needed except when the snow is damp and gripping (like sierra cement). Less flexion/extension perhaps than groomed is needed as edge hold is usually pretty solid although as always if you are pressuring the edge do it down the fall line not after it. The chop often results in being thrown around; if you can keep your upper body very neutral over the edge and not getting off balance. Often if it is sierra cement carrying a bit more speed can help too. Its my favourite snow to ride simply because it rewards good technique and is less phyiscal than riding groomed where you can really power the board, in slop u glide a little more.

There are plenty of other sources that state basically the same. Once snowboarding went to the very young/skate style/rebel image, and once the level of freestyle went to the point it is now without any major real focus on all mountain riding/cruising, then it seems like it would end up something like BMX, skateboarding, bodyboarding - all of which skew younger, and so quite a few people stop doing them 'once they grow up'. The squeeze from freestyle skiing is also pretty evident.

There are plenty of other sources that state basically the same. Once snowboarding went to the very young/skate style/rebel image, and once the level of freestyle went to the point it is now without any major real focus on all mountain riding/cruising, then it seems like it would end up something like BMX, skateboarding, bodyboarding - all of which skew younger, and so quite a few people stop doing them 'once they grow up'. The squeeze from freestyle skiing is also pretty evident.

Chainsaw, I would like to add that the soundtrack is not appropriate for a child or a snowboarder. In my experience, when snowboarding, it seems highly unlikely that anything would be hot, because snow is usually created in low temperatures. Perhaps if you were waxing a board, but your video is not showing board waxing. Therefore, I suggest you contact Snoop Dogg to re-record the vocal line something along the lines of : When the Donek's in the quiver ma Drop it like it's relatively cold as a result of the ambient temperature, not so cold that you cannot hold it, but cold enough to make you consider to dispose of said item Drop it like it's relatively cold as a result of the ambient temperature, not so cold that you cannot hold it, but cold enough to make you consider to dispose of said item Drop it like it's relatively cold as a result of the ambient temperature, not so cold that you cannot hold it, but cold enough to make you consider to dispose of said item When the checker pigs try to get at ya Park it like its a stolen vehicle but bearing in mind that traction on snow may be compromised even using snow tires Park it like its a stolen vehicle but bearing in mind that traction on snow may be compromised even using snow tires Park it like its a stolen vehicle but bearing in mind that traction on snow may be compromised even using snow tires And if a jibber get a attitude Pop it like it's a below freezing temperature that would encourage reckless behaviour with a firearm Pop it like it's a below freezing temperature that would encourage reckless behaviour with a firearm Pop it like it's a below freezing temperature that would encourage reckless behaviour with a firearm I got the season pass on my arm and I'm riding 6 degree heel cant-on And I roll the best titanal construction boards cause I got it going on

I'd consider trying to get a way to shift both buckles to be more to the side than running right up the centre of the boot; that would be by changing out the 2 tooth hooks with longer versions of the same thing. I would imagine at least one of the brands much have a longer version of the same thing. Or create a new set of holes and place it so that it is further around the corner of the boot. http://www.levelninesports.com/Dalbello-2014-Krypton-2-Fusion-Id-Ski-Boots You might then also need to shorten up the UPZ buckle length as well, this would shift the buckle around so they weren't up the centre line of the boot. Even if you only did one that might be enough to solve the issue. I rode raichle ski boots for several years; the cables they use run through a rib in the tongue (so it stays in place). Even then the cables were prone to snapping - without the rib in the tongue, I would not imagine that the tongue would last too long as the cable diameter is very small.

I did a little training for the first time in many years, and I've also gone from stiff set up a few years ago to a much softer set up (indys with the std BTS system). When you see racers riding what appears to be stiff boots, it's worth bearing in mind that they attack the course with maximum load through the fall line (not after it as we carvers often tend to do) and they often have a LOT more leg strength than us mere mortals, so I am guessing what is medium flex to them can be pretty stiff for some of us. I would definitely agree that getting the forward flex right (and I must confess the indys don't fit my foot that well so its a struggle) with a locked in heel is key to being able to really drive from a solid neutral position. The more power you have in your calves, the more you can use your leg strength rather than boot stiffness but at some point, the boot needs to support you in turns.

Join the queue. She's awesome.

Straight line blow. Not snow.

Most medium to high level ski boots have a ramp angle adjustment so u can change the boot board angle and also change the volume slightly. As u say better to have ability to adjust to keep range of movement in the ankle and boot fit although can keep range of movement by adding heel lift to the rear binding also. Why snowboard boots don't have is a pity but I think relating to the heel needing space for the intec assembly.

how about considering a cheap oxygen 149 or similar as at that age he'd outgrow any board each season as he gets bigger/stronger each year, and then from about age 11 onwards maybe he can start locking into a softer flexing longer board (which he will still either find too stiff when he's small or too soft when he's grown up a bit more).

awesome! Congrats also to the first Thai skier to go to the Olympics - Vanessa Mae Varaporn (the violinist) who supposedly is going to race in the GS for skiing. <iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Tgb0jK143MI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Love the 2 SG full carves. Nice graphics!!

Love that T32 video, some very very awesome riding, and loving the snoop-led zep mashup sound track as well. This guy seems to do a great job of dissecting how the turns string together, it might be a bit much information all in one go, but will hopefully explain, if you are a former ski instructor should be all pretty logical stuff - there is a whole series of videos to watch. Race technique is good freeride technique. <iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/5T_BJb3UYyc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I've ridden YongPyeong where I think this is shot. Korea is very cold, but dry also, so The snow is mostly man made and the hills are very vertical, so runs often tend to be cat tracks in places, or they will be very steep in one section, then going to relatively flat. When I was there not crowded, mostly, but it can get very busy on the more beginner runs. Awesome videos for sure, love the way some of these Korean and Japanese riders ride; very quiet upper body, powerful and stable.

Yeah, we had a very mini (2 people) expression session at Furano....all I can say is Masahiko RIPS! I shot a little more video while I was here and will take back and edit; sadly no footage of either of us riding (you would not want to see me ride, but worth it to see Masahiko for sure). After riding with Masahiko, I realised how many bad habits I have, so I have got some lessons from Kojima (former Olympic coach for Japanese snowboard team) at Furano International Snow Sports School (FISS), and English speaking ski/snowboard school here in Furano, so hoping by the time I meet up with another bomberonline rider, I will be able to actually keep up next time! The conditions for carving are EPIC in Hokkaido, really nice firm packed powder today, and empty runs (at times I was the only person on a main run as far as I could see). Gotta love midweek in Japan.

I had a really good chat to Japanese Bomber member Masahiko who rides in the UPZ boots and, to put it mildly, absolutely rips. He has ridden both, and I am also considering switching from the 700s. He has previously ridden the 700 using the BTS, and feels the deluxe/raichle has a softer flex side to side, and is slightly stiffer (with the BTS) forward although that would depend on the springs chosen. The Japanese market they seem to have a lot of riders using the UPZ because many of them race and the UPZ suits that non rotational style of riding due to the way it flexes. The fit seems to be narrower in the heel, and slightly wider in the toe area. The things he had changed was to replace the liners with overlap, as he described them, 'non ski boot liners' (by Palau) and he was running a power strap across the top which was one of the beefiest I have ever seen, looked almost like a 6th buckle by a Japanese company called G-Style. He did also say that the newer UPZs have an improved more reliable buckle (the older ones were quite brittle) and the plastic is better so they are less temperature dependent than the older ones. He is in a 25.5 (from memory) and had the issue of needing to switch the heel bails back to front to fit inside a bomber sidewinder binding, I would guess anything from 27 upwards would not need this although might be an issue of having the toe and heel bails sitting very close to the mounting screws. Definitely for me has made me consider more carefully to make the switch, mostly because my foot shape is not really matching the deluxe shape (narrow ankle, wide forefoot). I am sure some of this is already known in the carvers almanac etc but anyhow, was really good to hear it from a person that had ridden both.