kmartshopper

Did you do this to just lift the bindings 10mm all over, or did you taper the peice so the binding was actually tilted a few degrees with the heel higher than the toe? I'm pretty maxed out on the rear foot lean, and would like to get the 'lean' from the bindings, and leave the boot in a somewhat neutral position. ________ Foot problems advice

Finally had my first day on hardboots this weekend, and I improved greatly over the few days. I was railing on a salomon precept 167 (265mm waist!) - and I'm beat to crap! Donek FCII 171 arrives this week!! Anyway, my question... I believe I could benefit from at least some rear foot heel lift. My question is how do I go about getting that? I'm running older snowpro race bindings. Are there generic shims... or do you need specific hardware? Thanks. ________ Avandia Settlements

I'm not much of a trickster, but I do like to make a few fakie turns once in a while. It's becomes really tough with high angles because in a fakie toeside carve, you are basically looking directly behind you. The old adage about target fixation - 'go where you look' - falls apart. Turns into more of a 'go where you fart' situation. ________ LovelyWendie99

I've emailed you about the gear. Can you post a pic? Thanks. ________ Maine marijuana dispensaries

I haven't even had a chance to ride the hardboots I just bought... but that is the precise reason I got them. On a scale of 1-10, I'm maybe a 5 in softies/Malimutes. Only a few times this season have I seen someone exceeding my capabilities on softies... and they were 6or7/10 at best. Every single time someone grabs my attention ripping up the steeps and hardpack like I want to but can't --- (the 8,9,10's/10) they have never been on softboots. So if they exist, I've yet to see them. I still intend to ride bumps/powder/woods on softies and a K2 Recon Riser 161 (light) and a Salomon Precept 167 (wide). I'll try bumps on the hardboots, but I like jumping and popping around off the bumps, and I don't know how well that would work. ________ Mexico hotels

That's good to hear. From Volkl's site, it looks like >= 168 is a GS, and a <=163 is a SL... the GS has some added structure, in addition to the obvious length. Are you still able to really tighten up the turns on some of the more narrow trails? That's what I was afraid of with the stiffer board... don't know if a 163 would be better for me than either the 168/173. I'm finding the Volkls are easier to find (and cheaper)... so I may end up going that way anyway. Thanks for all the feedback. ________ TOYS GAY

My knee was still too messed to try the powder yesterday :( but if the stars align, I may try to shake off some cobwebs at Okemo Friday. Just for the day though. I still haven't found a carving board anyway... so I'll be in softies, but I'd love to see the sites and check out some of the carvers and kEwL gear in real life. p.s. Out of Bounds at Killington doesn't carry alpine gear anymore, although the guy that runs it seems pretty helpful, and it seems like a good shop (I plan to try them when it's time to get a grind). ________ Hotels in mexico

Hmm... sounds like the the F2 is a bit more my style then... I'd like to be a little tighter turning. I don't actually ride CT, but mostly Killington - still tough to really open it up in most situations. I just wonder how much I'd be giving up in edge hold on icy conditions? That's one of the main reasons I'm making the leap to hardboots... seeing hardbooters still carving hard when I get to the point where I can't bite in with my freeride board/softies. ________ WENDIE 99

I've emailed you regarding the board. Any chance you have more pics to post? THanks. ________ Lovely Wendie99

Stats: Edge, Waist, Sidecut, Taper Volkl 173RT: 154.5 19.0 11.7 5 F2 172silberpfeil:155.5 18.4 11 0 To the newbie seeking a first board, these boards seem quite similar. I was thinking of the Silberfeil cuz of the freecarve designation. Would the volkl be much stiffer? How much of a diff would that .7m larger radius really make? From what I've read, the volkl has more of a 'racing' reputation - but is that just marketing/brand imaging? 6'4", 175#, NON-racer. East coast hardpack. Don't intend to do bumps, pwdr, or trees with this board. I do know how to carve fairly well (on softies), so I'm not a TOTAL newbie... just new to hardboots. More thanks to everyone for all this great info and help! ________ FIX PS3

I don't remember where I saw it, but I'm fairly certain I also saw that the baseplates were still AL, and are anodized gold (I pity the fool who don't like TD2s!). Bales are TI (must be normally steel)... don't remember about the bolts. So probably only just the weight and bling. ________ Lovely Wendie99

Yeah, I meant that I was waiting for some hardboots to get here, and I'll be using those. I was trying to be cheap and use this board with the hardboots - then get a more specific board after I get a feel for things. I do ride just that... 30/24 with the malamutes - although I do still get a little overhang with sz29. I was actually planning to go higher with the hardboots (425s w/just old snopro race bindings) - start maybe 45/40 to see how it feels. I'm wondering how the wider board would affect - versus maybe a donek axis - which seems to be similar radius and edge, but like 21.5cm (probably a handful stiffer too). ________ Vapir no2

I'm awaiting the arrival of my first set of boots, and plan to learn using the "biggest stiffest" board that I already own. It's a Salomon Precept 167. 9.3m sidecut, 1320mm edge, 312mm tip/tail 265mm waist (fatty!). It feels very stiff, holds a great edge, and is very fast and stable - at least when compared to normal boards you'd find in a typical shop :) . I have read that this is comparable to an earlier W5 or 550(FYI, but I don't know what they are.). I can carve it heel/toe pretty well with malimute softies - but I can't bust the real hardpack, and have trouble tightening the turn radius (it doesn't blow out... just keeps tracking the same arc - gimme room!) I'm 6'4" skinny-ass 175#. Love bumps, carving, and trees... well, except one tree in particular :( My ideal board will be all-mountain, so I'm wondering what limitations to expect from this board - as compared to a top notch AM board. Think that fatness would be problematic? ________ Vapir no2 vaporizer

Trying to find some raichle's in decent shape with 4 straps, 5position lean, and thermoflex liners. Mondo 27. I'm in CT. Drop me a line if you have anything around. ________ New Jersey Marijuana Dispensary

Anyone have first hand knowledge of these two models? I know the liners and the lean adjusters are different, but what about the shells? (speaking only about the larger 4buckle 413's). If I bought a set of 413's and got thermoflex liners and a 5position adjuster, would I have essentially the same boot? Thanks! ________ FISHNET

email for you... ________ ISLAM ADVICE

Thanks for the info all. That's pretty much what I wanted to hear. Now I'll just wait around until something pops up in a 27... just a few indy's in the classifieds now. ________ CrystalH

Can someone chime in and tell me if I understand this right? Indy's and suzuka's come with HPD liners. Lemans & older xxxSB's come with the 'other' Deeluxe Thermoflex liner? Has anyone used HPD liners in lemans's or 423SB's, or is this a no-no? I have narrow feet, and also don't want a terribly stiff boot, so I was going to try to go this route to use the SB shells with HPD liners (to better accomodate a large heel spur). Thanks ________ AVANDIA LAWSUIT SETTLEMENTS

I just started to take the plunge into alpine gear... Got my used bindings in the mail last week.... check! Boots (413s) in the mail... will arrive this week.... ...but... Tore a knee ligament (MCL) on second run Friday morning at Killington All I'll get to do now is admire my untested gear. On the bright side, maybe the hardgear will be more supportive and I'll be able to get out this spring if things go well. I'll join you all someday... for now, just cry for me. :( ________ Hotels in mexico

Umm... what's the status? Was the $250 offer too low, or did it just not work out? You don't seem to have email. If it just didn't work out, I'd do $250 + shipping, but don't want to spend more than that at this point. ________ WENDIE 99

I will take these if they are the 04/05 model. Let me know, thanks! ________ Kitchen Measures

You have mail ________ Gm premium v engine

Right now, I can carve OK on my softboot setup... as well as most of the decent SOFT BOOT carvers I see, and I love it. I'm using solomon (malimutes-precept167-SFXcarbon). My observations have been that I... ...can't dig into as firm snow (chalk) as the hard booters. ...can't pull as tight a radius. ...have bone growth on the rear of my heel now from pressing into rear of boot on toesides carves (or hitting hard, rutty moguls on toeside). My hope is that a hardboot setup would help me carve better, (of course :)), but also would minimize the hotspot on the heel. I think the overall hold and available custom moldability of a hardboot would help this situation. Just wondering if your experiences agree with my hopes regarding the fit of the hardboots? I am not an ex-skier, and have no experience. I'm also scared to mail order boots with my terribly narrow heel, but I can't find any gear in the area (VT, MA... maybe ME?) to try on. Should I just resign myself to mail ordering from a shop that will take returns, and just eat the shipping costs? Thanks for any advice you could offer. ________ Big Tits live