bdurgin

SLC, can't beat it

Skipuppy and Randy, I concur with your recommendation. I took a “year” off to ski bum after high school (turned into 5) and it was the best decision I ever made!

I use a step in the rear and a standard binding in the front. With the old Burton rat trap bindings I found it difficult to step in on the front (without having at least one foot already clipped in). They were always misfiring. So I found it easier. I still have this setup now that I have Catek Intec, but I probably don’t need to, I was just used to it, so I bought my new bindings that way. This setup works fine for me. I’m wondering why you want to mix and match. Do you have 2 boards and only want to spring for one set of bindings? If so, I’ve been told that you should try to keep the same manufacturer on the front and back.

I have a Volkl 173 for sale http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7200480599&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMESE%3AIT&rd=1

I'm selling my 2 Volkl boards on eBay: 2000 Volkl Renntiger 173 2002 Volkl Renntiger 163

I have the same issue and I’ve tried several products (Hotronincs and Bootglove from the products you listed). The best results I’ve had by far are the stick on toe warmers for warmth, price and convenience. I do still use Boot gloves, but only in addition to the toe warmers when it is below zero. I think they do help a little. I also buy the toe warmers by the box.

Actually I need to recall my last statement about the osprey eclipse being more traditional than the switch. It is the eclipse 26+5 that doesn't have the backside entry, but this would be too small to hold all your gear. The backside entry on the 42+5 is a little funky at first, but you do get used to it. I really like the overall design and way the pack fits so it doesn't bother me.

I bought an osprey for backpacking a couple of years ago and I will now never buy another brand. I purchased this switch for lugging gear around. The front panel loading was a little weird at first, but I am used to it now. However, I would recommend this eclipse, which is a more traditional pack design. These are expensive, but very high quality and extremely comfortable. Great if you plan on hiking with your gear in the future.

Last winter I used all season Michelin tires. I would be all over the road with just a dusting of snow, so I put snow tires on it this year. My mechanic very strongly recommended that I buy Nokian snow tires. I was a little hesitant about the price, but I trusted him and bought the Nokian tires. They were well worth the price. I have been out in a few storms this year (even freezing rain snow mix) where most cars were sliding around and my car tracked perfectly when breaking, cornering and accelerating. I had used Blizzaks in the past, but now I am a Nokain convert. Last year was the first year that I didn’t put snow tires on and that will never happen again. I think it is well worth the money and effort to have 2 sets of tires (snow and summer). I think that the Blizzaks worked very well, but the Nokain are amazing.

I am curious as to why people like the toe clip/step in combo? I don’t know about the Intec system, but with the Burton setup, many times it was actually easier for me to get into the standard race plates on the front. The rat traps would frequently misfire especially on power days. However, once I have my front leg clipped in I have good leverage on the board and I am able to step into the rear binding with ease (usually). Also, I believe that the standard Burton race plates were cheaper than the step-in, and I only need to get into and out of the front binding a couple of times per day, not every run. The Bruce Varsava article is outstanding. Thanks for the reference. Now I am thinking that I am not properly adjusting my bindings. I probably need more lift than cant…

Jon, thanks for the info, but I wasn’t able to locate the Bruce Varsava article on canting. I checked out coiler.com and tried googling with no luck. Sounds like a great article. Jack, thanks for pointing me to the TD2 setup articles, now I get it (I think). “Lift” is referring to having the cant disk slop in line with the direction your boot is pointing, so it simply raises your boot heal above your toe for the rear boot and vice versa for the front, but doesn’t slope your legs to the front or rear in line with the board (to move your knees in (or out?)). I was thinking the term “Lift” was like a riser plate on a ski, just to get your boot higher off the board (level). Now I understand what you were talking about in your earlier post. I’ve never actually thought about just trying lift. Now I have another adjustment to consider tweaking...

Thanks for everyone’s help. After doing some more reading I am leaning toward the Catek Olympic over the TD2. I think I would rather have the flexible canting options of the Catek over the suspension of the TD2. However, I am a little hesitant about going from a sloppy binding like the Burton Race to the Catek. Since Burton are the only bindings I have used I’m not sure how a much more ridged binding will work for me. I’m assuming I will be able to adapt after a few days and everything will be good. Does this sound like a reasonable assumption?

Great, thanks to everyone for the clarification and additional information. I do have the unicant set to 2 degrees on both front and rear. I stopped using cants when I stopped using my ski boots 3 years ago. However, I put them on again this year and I feel much more centered on the board so I want to continue the cants with the new bindings. My wife has hers set to 7 degrees, but she currently uses ski boots. Once we get her snowboard boots we will likely reduce this angle. I am now thinking that I could go with 0 degrees cants and continue to use the unicants. However, it looks like the TD2 has a great deal of lift built in. Do you think this setup would have too much lift?

Thanks for all the responses. Jack, just to make sure I understand you correctly; if I went with a TD2 with 6 degree, I could actually adjust it to be anywhere between 0 to 6 degrees of cant? If so, why do they make 0 and 3 degree cant disks? Do you think there would be any problems using regular TD2 in the front and TD2 step-in in the rear? We have had this set up for the last 4 or 5 years with Burton and have been pretty happy with it.

My wife and I both have hard plate setups. Currently we have Burton race plates on the front and we and Burton bear trap step in bindings on the rear. I’m sure that “bear trap” isn’t the official name for these step in bindings; they have a lever that you need to cock to set them, then you need to stomp down on them and then the bail snaps up to lock you in. We have had this type of step-in bindings for about 5 years now. It has been working ok, but the misfiring at step-in and falling over while getting out once I get tired toward the end of the day is getting old. We saw someone on the hill with the Intec system last year and he recommended that we check out bomeronline after we asked about his setup. After doing some research I would like to keep our Burton race plates on the front and mount Intec step-ins on the rear of our boards. Here are a few more facts about our setup: she has a 3 hole board and my boards are 4 hole. We both currently use universal cants (plastic disks that you can dial from 0 to 8 to set up the desired cant angle), she currently uses her ski boots so we need to get her new boots. Based on this I have some questions about the best Intec binding to meet our needs: 1. TD2 look really nice, but seem limited with the canting. Also, since I plan on buying one set of bindings to use on the rear of both boards, is it possible to get one 3-hole and one 4-hole binding? 2. CATEK Olympic step-in seem to be the most adjustable and they look really nice. However, if we put these on the rear of our boards, would we be level with the Burton race plates and universal cants on the front? It looks like these fit both 4 and 3-hole set up without any additional hardware. Is this true? 3. Deeluxe X Bone seems to be the most basic, but might meet our needs just fine. Would these work well mounted on universal cants? If so, would they be level with the Burton race plates and universal cants on the front? Are they durable? 4. I currently have Burton Fire boots, are these Intec compatible? 5. Can you set up Intec heel kits to be both left? We are both goofy so we would want to have the cable on our outside left. Do I need to buy 2 kits for this? Also, we really don’t need to keep our front bindings. We could buy the matching front standard binding if that made the most sense. Since our front bindings are working fine I would like keep. Sorry for the long message. Since I can’t actually go to a shop and look at this stuff and ask questions I want to make sure that we get the bindings that will work the best for our setup. I would appreciate any suggestions. Thanks in advance.