mrjamie

Uh-huh, some enlightening responses, it's a coach love-fest... mmm! who's right? who's wrong? let's see what I can digest! At the end of the day I was experimenting with cross-through, and the board would leave the snow in-between each turn. Because there is less pop in the board I have to be more aware of where energy is stored if I want to pull it up and through. Also, I found that keeping the tail on the ground but pulling the nose up and dropping it into each new carve, which is especially easy to do since the tail is so soft, was good practice for cross-through. Ironically, my first three years of snowboarding more than once per year were ridden out on a Prior 4WD w/ Head SP's & Catek OP's. Never had the fortune to ride with anyone from this board, but there were a few Japanese father-son racing couples who let me tag along their lines! The Demo Rozzy came with The Jones Experience bindings, a package deal for $250 -- after taking them off and restoring my wear-worn SPX 45 the difference was immediate and so exciting. So much more response! I have you all to thank for that suggestion a year and a half ago I have a natural tendency to crouch over my back foot, which is observable off the board too, like when I'm walking down the street in the middle of a city and think 'Wait, how do I set up a heelside again?' and start squatting then and there. Less difference between the binding angles -- definitely want to try this, the 20 degrees of difference just felt a little too much for my legs. After some experimenting in the lab (living room) I think the knee pinching will be solved my staying over my forward leg during each 'squat and dump' at the beginning of a turn. I agree that ~10 degrees is the most difference I want between bindings, and maybe I'll try decreasing the front binding as well. For my next board, I think I'll wait and see what neversummer does with their rocker/camber lineup for next year! Those board look like they will hold a mean edge and pop well too...but I wonder if they are damp enough? Thanks, this post clued me to start squatting randomly and has caused my friends and family to ostracize me whenever we go to public places. But I know that your words are true! Good advice. The angles do feel a little far apart, degree wise, so while I don't have a plan for what they will be specifically, I will try riding with less of a difference -- ten, fifteen max -- between front and rear. Indeed! :D Will try riding with back and front more in tune and report back. I'm 156lbs (70.7kg), 68.5in (174cm) and US size 12. I enjoy smooth carves on the piste and long walks on snowy spines. Glad to see another softboot carver...a species even more rare than the powerful yet shy hardbooter. I'm going up to Whistler with the partner for two days during break, so we'll see how the snow there works out. Amen. I'll try out your differentials and see how the ride. :)

Yea, my heelsides feel the same way, but I'm on softies -- angulation and aggressive edging, always good things to practice :o It's a 163 wide Rossignol Jones board, and the tail is pretty soft too. Ah-hash, so ifsh I moves back too farsh on the tail during a heelshide, it shlides out huh? Well alright wisheguy! Time to loesh some weight! Definitely does not feel like binding/heel out, that's for sure. I've been using 35/15 on the softboots and that works for carving and powder, but it feels a little weird -- with my feet both angled forward but at dramatically different degrees, each one has a different axis to tilt on... any recommendations from other soft boot carvers (with big feet ) for binding angles? Handlebars, I see. This was my first time seeing myself carve in about a year, and all that flopping about was new to me too. Thanks much for the posts edit: I did a quick review of the board, if anyone's interested it is @ http://rogueumbrella.blogspot.com/2009/03/snowboard-review-rossignol-jones-163.html

It's been a while since anyone who knows how to carve has seen me carve, so I humbly submit a video on softies. The angles are up (35/15) on a Rossignol Jones board with Salomon SPX 45 bindings and burton driver-x boots. I'm having a bit of trouble sloughing off speed and it feels like my heelside doesn't bite as well as my toeside. Watching the video it looks like I'm not being dynamic enough with my lower body and I'm leaning over slightly too much for toeside carves; on heelside carves I should try reaching for my front binding. Any advice or suggestions you would offer is most welcome...only, love me softly <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43-lUwIkoOo&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43-lUwIkoOo&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

Beautiful footage, nice watching the rag doll physics of your body while you wait for the empty piste ;) Awesome when you railed... really great footage, I want to try this!

Anyone interested in heading up to Crystal this thursday? I need a ride from Thurston County (Olympia Area) to the Mountain and back, but in exchange I'll make a vegan lunch and desert to carry along with us. Yahoo Weather shows that some snow may accumulate for us, so South Backcountry would be sweet and fluffy on a Thursday with virtually no one else on the mountain! If you're interested, PM me or I'm just a phone call away (360)-628-2773 ~Jamie p.s. My hardboots were lost by the post service system between Japan and the US, so I'll be softbooting, but still I love to trench and carve, of course.

I was out today at Crystal, and Quicksilver was beautiful hard-pack hero snow. Thanks to the nice guys at the demo shop I laid down some carves on a jeremy jones rossignol board <3 Any other carves get out there today?

Beautiful pictures! Thanks for those at least :)

Whoops -- too close to the line. Hopefully in the future we can ride together. Have fun this time! Carve some trenches, enjoy the powder ya bastids.

from the past (a lot of good advice on hard boots in powder): http://www.bomberonline.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=13777

Is anyone going to be passing through Olympia on the way there and back? It's a lot to ask, so don't worry about me if Oly is way out of the way for everyone.

Oooh, I spotted two hardbooters on the mountain today (Sunday 1/4), beautiful packed powder, even the moguls were soft :) My hard boots got lost in the mail on the way back from japan, so I'm riding softies until I work up the courage to purchase another $480 pair of boots but if you'll let me ride along I'd love to hang out with some hard booters, finally, after years of solo action in Japan! First day of the season for me was today; lo-and-behold, I can lay down some trenches riding switch! Mmmmhhhhh. Go softies!

woah... awesome angles. Watching the rooster tail on his heelsides is sick. Rather, his heelsides are sick. Nice riding.

compilation of the small amount of footage from this season past: <object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0ZIkOgBEZk&hl=en"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0ZIkOgBEZk&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>

if you want low-angled carves, buy risers for your softboot setup!

yea, I was out for 8 hours straight on softboots yesterday and I started to feel that way about heelsides... but toesides feel awesome, getting my waist back over the back of the board and tweaking the style. Even with 29.5cm boots and 15 -9 angles, I still got my knee dragging on every toeside ;) hardboots look like awesome tools for carving, but honestly I haven't touched mine in a while... there's so much more freedom to play anywhere on the mountain in softboots, not just carve, but I guess carving is why most people are here eh!

er, sorry, maybe I wasn't clear. There is maybe 50cm or so of windpacked powder... any time you put an edge in, regardless of where it's facing, the nose tends to submarine 50cm down to the bottom... it's really light snow (-14c) but really windpacked. So it's not so much that there is a crush on top, or if you want to use that analogy, the crust is quite soft.

it's been snowing and the wind has been howling at 25m/s for the past two days... today all the mid and upper-mountain lifts were closed. Tomorrow is going to be a lot of wind-packed powder that collapses when an edge cuts in. Any advice on what to do with this snow from those of you who do see some reason to put away the hardboots on occasion? :p

I had the same problem with getting used to my softboots.. it was a process of learning how to carve again on different setups where pressure applied in the same ways resulted in different movements, yadayada.... I'm on a tanker (164 swallow-tail.. custom :p), soon to be replaced by a 187 tanker, salomon SPX90 bindings and burton Driver-X boots. At the beginning of the season I had my angles set all the way up (5x-5x) to avoid overghang, but after I realized that no matter how hard I tried soft boots would not be hard boots, and that carving hard-boot style with softboots hurt, I switched them down to 30/30 for a while. Recentluy I got palmer 20mm raisers and lowered the angles to 24/0. Though I can't lay down heel-sides because of binding-out, I can lay down toesides with my toes dragging, and it's fun enough finding that perfect angle where I'm over the board on heelside but not so far over that I boot out. it's great in powder :p

what is this! your smile is much too satisfied in frame 3 of heel-side turn! extreme carving is iron dedication! your mouth must be contorted like the yawning lion! obviously you are not in pain enough! wear sandpaper in your boots and try again! nice photos :)

That may be, but riding the tanker is a sublime experience, especially in deep powder. It's straight up fun. I'm sure the Dupraz is just as fun, and maybe more surfy, and may very well run circles around the tanker...but the tanker still bombs down powder slopes and carves groomers. :p Anyone know a place where I can demo a dupraz in Hokkaido?

jtslalom, thanks. There are tons of incredible carvers out here in Niseko, especially on the Annupuri International resort side. Every time I watch them ride I realize how lame my carves are :p -- and they have much lower angles! I went ahead and bought a pair of risers -- even if it is just technique, when I cut the board I shortened the effective edge by a lot, and binding/boot out on heelsides carves is driving me nuts :p After reading some replies here, I think I'm going to go kick the angles up in the forties and maybe move my front binding back just a little. I look forward to your videos. Be well, ride well :)

cheers D.T., I appreciate it. With D1s available so cheap, I wonder if I can justify buying one. Probably not since my tanker rides fine. Oh well.

thanks tigger -- anyone know the width of the shorter board?

I put the front down to 30 after my legs started hurting :p I have size 29.5 boots, so even with a 26.8 nosewith I have to ride at least 30, and even then I can feel my toes in the snow on sharp toesides, and get a bit of binding out on heelside. Ah well. I was looking for wider boards, but the 167 rad-air is only .7 cm wider, and anything more than 27 will probably feel too wide even if I can get lower angles. Enjoy your softies :) I agree with you about the versatality and flex you get with them.

does anyone know the waist width on either of the boards? thanks - -