kmartshopper

Do you know the outer diameter of the whole disk? Wondering if it could be used with soft bindings? If they are like 9" or bigger and could be, then I'll take them.

With regard to gear, which I should have mentioned. I'm trying with a normal board that I handle well with softies - and trying it with my hardboot. An O-Sin 3800, TD2's (probably stiffer than ideal) and Raichle SB324s. I have my eye on BTS, but have vowed not to buy any more gear until I can get over the hump and can carve tighter radius to control my speed on steeper blues with current equipment (old school Donek FCII). From what you're saying, it sounds like it might be a good idea to try some lower angles. Running 50/45 range now (vs. 30/21 softies). I'll try dropping it with a little more splay and see how that feels. I have 3f/6b cants turned more for lift than cant though. That's a good basketball analogy Ian-M... seems to make sense. Beckman, I'm not sure I understand what you mean w/r to the pivot, but lemme see if I do. I think there are 2 modes I ride bumps in. One is firmer more skier shaped/rutted bumps, in which I am heavily front foot weighted. Still initiating turns with the board edge though (not flicking) and the rear follows. Is that what you mean by pivot? The other way is softer bumps where I'm more balanced weighted and rocking the board and surfing around them - almost like the cross under drill. This is how I'd ride typical tree lines, and is the most fun mode of operation that I'd really like to get comfortable with. I can live with skipping the rutty bumps. I was interpreting ankle articulation to me dorsiflextion/plantarflexion (not that I had to google it of course!) - but maybe that's what you're getting at - it's a combination with hardboots?

I think it's the rear one because your rear foot/ankle tends to have a more acute angle than the front, thus driving the heel harder and at a more pointy angle into the back of the boot. I know the exact spot you are talking about, and although I have no recommendations how to fix it :( I would advise against trying to just play through it and break it in. I actually had the problem years ago with 'stiff' soft boots - burton ION's... and by the time I gave up and sold the boots to a friend (who they fit well), I had developed an actual calcium deposit on that spot on my heel. It's a solid extra physical bump on my heel that now makes fitting boots etc even more difficult than they already were. Don't get that!

I'm trying to get more comfortable on hardboots in non-carving situations. My limitation being how quick I can turn. Bumps being a good test case. I'm trying to step back and identify what it is that makes it so much harder for me than in softboots. The one thing I keep coming up with is the ability to use the ankles to quickly rock/angulate the board from edge to edge. Reading some of the beginner or 'how to learn threads', I see a lot of discussion between leading with rotation vs. leading with ankles. LIKE THIS THREAD I do understand counterrotation (I think), and I do it sometimes (in softies) for quick flicks - but that's not my primary mode that I'm worried about. With softboots, I generally ride properly weighted and am letting the board turn for me. I believe I am doing this (in bumps) with emphasized ankle action - rocking the board from edge to edge to quickly engage without having to get the whole body lined up perfectly. At times, even if I'm slightly off balance (which I can get at times in moguls) I can use that ankle induced rocking to make the board come back under me and recover my balance (which is actually really fun - especially in powder). Anyway, my current thought is that this is the main mechanism that hinders my maneuverability in bumps/trees in hardboots. After reading some of those instructional threads, I'm asking myself, what does it mean to lead with ankles in hardboots? Have ye not noticed that they are not especially flexible I can flex my boots with body weight and shin pressure (lead with knees at best), but anything my ankles are doing is pretty much insignificant. So still working through it and was just looking for any tips our thoughts! On the huge plus side... I spent the full day on them Saturday in chopped powder and bumps and they didn't irritate my achilles at all. I did fall a lot though - but it was fun and I was definitely improving. Awesome to at least be able to be riding.... practice practice.

Ah, perfect - sorry for the dup thread, didn't find that one. Some great vids in that thread - definitely add to that if anyone has anything new! I loved watching Phil Wigglesworth especially... so smooth... without all the arm flailing counter rotation I end up doing on hardboots :( Something to strive for.

A little late to the party, but FWIW, I picked up a NS heritage last year. It's a little more middle of the road than the lotus, but I did demo the premier (same as lotus) before buying, and had a similar impression. I'll compare it to a donek incline, which is my more carving oriented free ride board. Pros: Way better in powder - the rocker really helps keep the front end from submarine-ing. My 161 is nearly as easy in powder as my 169 O-sin 3800. Way faster turning and more manueverable in bumps and trees. Still holds an edge fairly well and is fun to carve on. Cons: Has a little tendency to wander on flats/traverses. But doesn't bite and kill you, so not a big deal. Although fun, it is very distinct step down in hard carving ability from the Donek Incline. Especially when the groom gets firm. It's my favorite all around board though, and I only pull out the donek (or hardboots) when I know I'm going to be on groomers all day.

I got these Mammut mittens back in 04' and they are almost entirely made of Keprotec. They lasted soo long but finally wore through on the tips. I'd buy them again in a heartbeat, but unfortunately, can't find a similar design anymore. Lots of great tips on this thread though, and I'm going to try to resurrect them with the Sikaflex treatment.

There's a good thread that people have posted some sweet carving vids to. I was hoping to see a few of non-carving hardbooters - trees, moguls, powder? I'm having some achilles issues and think I may try going to hardboots all around. Since I've had such limited success with this so far, I was looking for some inspiration. I'll I've found so far was this:

Have you tried a wider board or higher angles to help with that toe drag (or is it heel?). :p

That was in the forums. I just double checked, and you could search for catek in For Sale, and there's only 16 hits. Seems like it finds a handful between Nov 2011 and today.... but there's a huge gap before that - the rest of the results are from like 2003.

Looking for some Burton cant disks for my soft boot bindings. 4x4 pattern... preferably the 6deg cant. Anyone have any?

These are sold.

Very possible it's me, but is the search function having problems on the new site? If I search in for-sale for 'catek', I get 12 results back to 2003. That just can't be :) Searching for BTS in the whole site gets me 0 hits... that may have always been a limitation (3 chars?), I can't say.

What year Malamutes? Pics are free you know :rolleyes:

That's great actually.... I've been planning on hitting their demo tour on March 3/4 when it hits Sugarbush and Smuggler's notch. Leaning towards an F1 or Heritage. Have a Donek wide 161 (want to trade?) and am looking for something a little less stiff, lighter, and quicker turning (or some approximation thereof). What year is it, and any pics?

They are the best bindings for softboot carving that I've tried. I really like the heel lift so I don't need as much forward lean in my softboots. The leverage from the effective rise, plus the clearance and adjustability really let you dial things in. I don't know how much better the carbon and straps are than the base model, but they are very comfortable and high quality. The only con I found was that there are a lot of screws, that you really should check periodically so they don't come loose. Loc-tight helps - especially on the toe assembly, which tends to loosen easily due to it's design.

You sell the NS yet? How new is it? What do you think of it w/r to carving, for an all around free-ride board?

Closeups of the blemishes

A few more pics

Selling a set of Catek FR2 Pro Limited (Nidecker carbon highback and straps). If you're looking, you probably know what they are so I'll skip the details - hit up the catek site for more info. Size large. 4x4 disks. They are in very good condition. I bought them new in 08', but they've seen very little use - maybe 5 days a year. I start the day on hardboots, then switch over later when I want to relax, but I always end up switching to my more forgiving stuff. So these (on a Donek wide) rarely saw the snow. See the pics to for condition. Only a few nicks and slight wear. I took closeups of the only two spots that could cause you any displeasure. One is a wear spot on the inner strap. The other is a small cosmetic spot where the black foam on the highback peeled back and I trimmed it off so it wouldn't spread. Here are bigger pics: CatekFR2ProLimitedPics Would love to get $299.9999999!

I have an incline (wide) 161 and think the other reviewers are spot on. It's a excellent softboot carver and good all around board. It's a bit slow to turn in moguls and trees, and a little punishing in chop though.

Carving - one of the most fun things you could do outdoors. Analogous to riding a sportbike. Powder - something you make life decisions in pursuit of. Analogous to riding a hoverbike - where you can drop the reigns of control, try anything, land anything, and never pay a cost.

Regardless of the other discussion, you might want to consider the warnings about those front screws. ________ OPIATE REHAB ADVICE

I have catek FR2's with the carbon fiber (nidecker?) highbacks. Was looking at how they are so specially contoured for leverage, and it dawned on me that they really should both be shaped to the same side. My forward foot, it's all good, but for my rear foot, it is really shaped the wrong direction. It's not a problem, it's just not taking advantage of the custom shaping. I imagine they realize this, but it would be too hard to sell a goofy and a normal version. Of course, if a goofy rider and regular rider traded one highback each... Make sense? Any goofies out there interested in trying a swap? ________ No2 Vaporizer