Dave*

I have one ( a 165 fusion, black and light blue) that has been floating around in my stable for a bunch of years. If its $100 and in good shape you will get your moneys worth. The fusion is a good all arounder, powder/crud/low level carving it can do it all within reason of what can be expected of a "softish" 9m SCR board. Mine has a fair number of days on it and hasnt lost its pop unlike some of the other burtons I have used. As I am a bit of a chunky fella I would have liked some extra beef built in to the Fusion but then there werent to many guys with my build lining up on the BX tracks back then LOL. The Salomon FRS of that vintage mentioned by Neil G is another keeper, I still have mine , not much base left and edges beaten to hell, the old FRS was one of my favorites for a few years. Stiff and snappy, it rode like a really fat "oldschool" slalom deck. Its a shame that the generic board builders have pretty much stopped building these BXish style decks. D*

The infamous "Rattrap" and not the burton version. Locally made here in Vancouver back in the day ( 90's ) by Trident Sports who were primarily a windsurfing outfit if memory serves correct. I still have a set, they are bulletproof that is for sure. Easily tunable if you are willing to stack washers or make shims ( cutting board works great, as does micarta slabs) I have the 2nd generation identical to the pictures from Carvingmontana that utilize the cable system , the first generation had a turnbuckle system if my hazy memory serves correctand had a tendency to develop stress risers in the heel bail, corrected in gen 2. Stiffness/feel wise they sit right between the burton racepate and a TD2 with yellow rings, Best designed toe bail ever, aluminum , so very burly yet low profile off the front of the boot.. Zero similarity to a Catek for canting etc. The bail blocks are more akin to a burton bail block with shimming underneath for cant/lift etc, Bail blocks bolt to base plate utilizing stainless "tee nuts" inserted into a series of holes in base plate that also has a thin rubber gasket between plate and board. Cable adjustment a bit of a pain to get set up initially for boot length, once set never touch again .

AT boots work very well for snowboarding with one caveat. That caveat : not the greatest for aggressive carving* IMO and that is due to flex . * with some mods this could be fixed, if anyone knows how to rig a BTS to the backside of a set of Nordica TR 10-12 series AT boots let me know. I have found that the walk mode is too soft in most cases and the Ski mode is to stiff for my tastes ( especially in the Scarpa denali ), for a chunky sized guy I like a medium flex boot. All other riding scenarios they will work pretty good and in some cases better than your Deeluxe/UPZ etc HBs. AT boots I have owned/ridden in 1) Scarpa Titan, a soft flex , 3 buckle denali ankle pivot rivets failed after about 60-80 days riding time, warranteed so upgraded to the Scarp Denali 2) Scarpa Denali ( the red shell version) a stiffer flex 4 buckle, tough as nails, way to stiff for my tastes when in ski mode ( for boarding), 3) Nordica TR 10 and 12 , still own a few sets. 4) Raichle 121 ( technically a "SB" boot,the bevelled heel/toe version of the Raichle Concordia ) these were my starter HBs. I rode em till they died, shell way outlasted the liners, I honestly think I would not be happy in them now, but at the time for the skill level I had they were perfect Of those boots my favorite has been the Nordica, my 27.5 shell is close to the binding length of a Deeluxe Suzuka shell in 28 mondo that both boots can be used without monkeying with binding length. The thing I like about the Nordica is the walk/ski switch doesnt stiffen the cuff, it only stops the back rotation of the cuff, If a BTS could be rigged to these boots I would be in heaven. The Nordicas after a touch of shell work fit me like a glove in a small (for me) shell size and are very comfortable, walking= traction out the yinyang and the vibram sole seems to last forever. The only reason my AT boots were collecting dust the past few seasons is that I got a taste of the BTS ride and dont want to give that up so its been all Raichle/Deeluxe SB/AF series HBs for me the past few years. .........Almost forgot to mention that depending on boot size etc the wider toebox may not work on TD1/TD2 with out some mods either to the boot or the binders. Never a problem on the Burton Raceplates/Trident Rattraps etc

Chris Klug actually came and spoke at my hospital today as he alluded to in that interview. Very entertaining and humorous speaker with a good message, very passionate about his cause , transplantation and the various foundations he has started and supports. I was very impressed that he would take an hour plus out of his day 2-3 days prior to the big show and speak as he did. Not something I have seen before in this Olympic media frenzy that is swirling thru Vancouver currently. Had a very quick chat with him afterwords, seemed like a pretty cool guy, briefly played the "whistler name game" and once again confirmed to myself that the world of alpine snowboarding is only 1-2 degrees of separation from the big guys of the sport down to us lowly peons. Dave*

I have had a few inadvertent binding releases. 2 "dual" footers, terrain park jump and landed on shedded ski left behind, board stopped , over the bars, headfirst belly slide, both toes dug in and popped the bails, also one chair lift foot rest catch on front bail, leash saved the board. 1 highspeed front footer, ( old trident rattraps ) that I didnt set the bail tension quite right. 2 rear footers, one from shearing the rear bail block bolts on burton race plates on a small cornice drop , one from peeling the inserts out of an old oxygen supercross, No injuries in any of them

a) Could you tell that to the "kids" I work with b) I am built along the lines of a beer keg with legs LOL One thing that also needs to be addressed in relation to edge hold is flex patterns and SCR for different riding styles , body weights, and skill levels. This helps translate back to that nebulous term "feel", if it doesnt feel good you probably wont have the confidence to stick it in to get the edge hold you need. A classic case of this : BlueB and myself have swapped boards alot over previous seasons, there are a couple of his decks that he can make work very well (ie Virus ), a board I just couldnt wait to get off of, different strokes. BlueB's take on my Fatjack , Ahhhh hell he probably loved it, crazy guy loves anything that slides on snow... As to the Swoard and nose fold. We have one local guy who has a 3-4 year old Swoard, he has no issues with his riding style, I have given it the flex test and think I could ride it okay but would have to stay very centered or I would be paying for a very expensive broken board, ergo havent pushed for the test ride , I think it would break in front of my lead foot on the heel side edge like the rest of my broken board collection which numbers about 5 . ( If Swoard wants to send me a few for destruction testing I would be more than glad to assist) D*

Of the local HBers in my neck of the woods I think I ride the "funkiest" HB stance 31"ish inseam, 22" stance width, 5-8* splay and a flat flat combo. I jump from 19cm to 27cm waist width no problems. Have never had shin bang with my cowboy/caveman stance, I am very particular about my boot fit though The advent of BTS made life even better. The only time I ever got close to shin bang was a bunch of years ago before my skills caught up to my gear, stiff boots in the "lock" position that I was unable to flex properly caused some shin issues for a while. D*

Plus 1 on the Arcteryx, I have a few jackets and one set of the sidewinder pants. Work great, could use bigger pockets if you are a packrat like myself, on the upper end of the abrasion resistance for ski gear ( although they do and will wear if dragging knees/hips etc), I have yet to get wet via jacket or pants by Arcteryx in the same climate as Crucible and BlueB. The past couple of seasons abrasion resistance has been my holy grail in gloves and pants,( I save my Arcteryx stuff for the nasty wet.) A shooting buddy has steered me to this local company to look into http://www.rubbersidedown.ca/inc/sdetail/569 for pants that might hold up for a much lower price, ( they also make a winter glove similar to my beloved and no longer made Icon Patrols) havent made it out there to look at in real life but its on my to do list D*

I think this is my first visit to BOL in about 6 months, lots of catch up to do.. Best edge hold??? 1) Just like BlueB , I agree go metal, smooths everything out, just like a car suspension if your tire aint on the pavement you got no grip. 2) Edges i) very sharp ii) zero base bevel, 2* edge bevel, a little hooky but nice bite 3) Favorite of what I own and have demoed, Prior 179 Fatjack , wider waist, metal construct, came out of the mold with a flex just right for a 200 plus pounder, 11.9 scr, great hold and very forgiving to screw ups, my easiest board to throw a Dave* style euro down, a side benefit is decent float in moderate fresh ( would be better with a taller nose) and it can rip trees quite well. BlueB has ridden but he needs to throw an extra 40 lbs on himself for optimal results. A close second is my 2009 179 Prior WCR metal prototype, ungodly edge hold, just not very forgiving ( it is uber stiff, Chris basically gave it to me for "free" as being unsellable with that flex pattern), maybe if I bulk up a bit more See photo by Beagle of the Fatjack doing its thing untitled 5 - Copy.bmp

That hits the nail on the head. I am a "chunky" type , about 230-240#, I spend alot of time off the cord and boonie bashing ( more so than most of the local HBers I think its safe to say) I have been running Blue/Blue with one turn of preload top & bottom, with boot cuff set to neutral angle. This has proven to be a very capable all mountain/powder/carving setup for me, although I have always favored a "softer flex" to my Hardboots. Its only been this season that my hardpack riding has progressed to the point where I might jump up to red/red for carving, I still think that would be too stiff off piste for my tastes. I credit BTS with being the single biggest technological help to my riding , surpassing metal boards IMHO. Think of BTS as your motorcycle/mtn bike suspension , the heavier you are the stiffer the spring you need, get it to stiff and you have a harsh ride, get it to soft and you bottom out all the time and still get a harsh ride from the "clunk" at the end of your travel.

These actually smell worse than they look. Toughest gloves I have ever owned.

I guess I am one of the henchmen,, LOL Boris is to sophisticated for lowbrow "broomstick" techniques, he uses mind altering psychotropics with brainwashing KGB style, followed by a strict regime of humiliation techniques on the soft booter minions until they comply and are assimilated....Resistance is futile Boris its time for intecs with a camoflage outer soft boot on top of your HBs with some intec setp ins hiding underneath. Maybe a velcro strip along the back so that after you pass you can rip the softie shell off your HBs stripper style ( is there a brass pole in the new pub up there?) in front of your evaluator, I would pay money to see that. Good luck Buddy Dave**

Sorry I missed you guys sunday, bumped into Rod the S.Booter and his buddy Alex on lap two over Eagle side rode with those guys for the day. Spent morning to early aft over on Raven, #1 & #3 buffed to perfection very few people over there,,

Post Mortem Part Two. Its a good thing you guys rode herd on me yesterday and didnt let me escape. After our group disbanded I began poking into some of my old powder stashes, there was a fair bit of dry champagne knee deep stuff to be had, sadly by around 3 pm my legs were rubber and I felt I had to remove myself from the arboreal setting for my own safety. Should have been on the ATV. Not sure whats happening nowadays, back in the old days when staying in whistler I would never have left untouched powder like that nor would any of the other locals of the era. All in all a great day, except when I was navigating, blubird skies, hero cord, dry powder, good crew to ride with, and Prior hooked me up with some used red spring BTS and more Ptex scraps to work with. Seen some of the old faces down Priors shop too, Chalmers and Yoda both stopped by while I was in, had a good BS session with them.

Hope you can make there Mr Roboteye. Dave* ,, mulling over the board choices.........

Ola Guys If this friday is still a go...... My two cents is to hit whistler side , go up via the creekside, that shaves about 10-15 minutes off for those of us coming up from the city. Avoid the gong show of the village I say. I like to be parked by 0800, boots on by 0805 and in the lift line by 0810 to go up from the valley floor.. remember they start up loading at 0815 hrs , advertised is 0830.. I would suggest a meeting time of 0930 at the big light board between the roundhouse and the top of the Green/Emerald chair. If you show and leave you can post a message on the dry erase board. average round trip lap time from green chair is 8-9 min ( 5.5 min chair ~ 2-3min run ) , red chair is 12-15 min depending on route taken, you can plan accordingly . For those that dont know me, I am easy to spot, I wear the only fluoro orange with black tiger stripes full face helmet that know of in these parts. TM sent you an email response aboot 2 hrs ago Dave*

The stated sole length on my SB series ( mondo 27 ) is 295 mm. The stated sole length on my AF 700 ( mondo 27 ) is 299 mm. Fit wise I cant tell the difference in length ( my bindings can) the AF series definitly a touch more wiggle room thru the toebox. For the record I generally wear a 11-11.5 american size runner, one foot clocks in at 28.5 cm the other at 28.3. I still have some 28 mondo in SB and AF and if I remember correct they are 303mm and 309 mm respectively. I used these boots before I figured out with a thin liner that I could go a full shell size down.

Lets See, whats been forgotten/left behind Season pass Helmet in parking lot Gloves goggles 1 wrist guard ( I often end up with 2 rights or 2 lefts at the hill ) Boots Wallet/money Board on roof of truck...... Probably more but that comes to mind immediatly

Yesterday morning ( saturday ) at 0830hrs the groomers were just finishing flattening out the BX coarse. Things would have been very soft. Rode the chair with one of the coarse marshall guys at about 1030 hrs and asked when the PGSers would get to practice , Apparently the FIS rep had looked at all the safety fence set up that morning wasnt happy and made them redo all the fence work. That held up the practice session until about 1230hrs on very soft cord ( hadnt been salted/fertilized yet), they got about an hour and a half of laps, no gates, a surprising amount of arm flailing going on, one of the girls from work watched them practice with me for a few minutes, her comment was they must be the Bulgarian team. I am embaraased as a local that Cypress booted all the PGSers off the hill ( not just the Canadian Team as we had heard) , its sad that the actual site where the event is held wont allow the athletes to ride on its mountain, they all had to go over to grouse to practice is the story per the coarse marshall guy. Even the half pipe was set up from a spectators standpoint as a bit of a gong show. IMHO doesnt bode well for the olympics. Hung around and watched the final throw down of the half pipe, Sean White had the gold wrapped up with his first two runs it turns out, he still busted huge on his last run .

Friday Feb 27th .... Whistler I have that friday off, so I can go, no office chair strapped to my buttocks on that day ( cheating a bit with this post from work right now) Keep me updated... Whistler via the creek or Blackcomb via the village, meet at what time and where? Gotta run, things to set up Dave*

I voted other.. When I started out my goal wasnt necesarilly to "eurocarve" but just to get lower,, (well that just caused a whole mess of bad habits that I am still trying to break away from to this day) As I am what you might call a slow learner , and having no real instruction/mentors it took a long while to progress. Biggest breakthroughs came at each speed/skill increment so I could sort of tag along behind better carvers than myself ( Thanks Mr Roboteye , my first "sensei", must have killed you with the waiting back in the day).. I remember that and try to give back when I can ( sometimes even if they dont want it , Sorry CO.Beagle) I personally used each body part drug as a benchmark of improvent. As skills progressed got to ride with better riders again so skills would take a big jump up. I will never forget the first time I bounced my butt of the snow a few seasons back. That kind of set me up for seasonal goals of forearms on the snow , double hand drags, armpits in the snow, once you get them down on to something new to improve on. My new goals , maintaining carve on black groomers, east coast style "ice" carving, and as much as I hate them cross unders, and I still gotta get that toeside dialled. Maybe some more time in the park , and just to scare myself silly carved turns in the halfpipe/cutbanks ( was playing a bit with that last year, its freaky getting your head lower than the feet on a carve) My own as laid out as I can get turns still to this day arent what would be a true "euro carve" near as I can tell from my body mechanics, BlueB could comment better than me, I never get to see myself ride. A few notes: My standard carving speed on a med pitch blue on an 11.9 scr per radar gun is around 50-55kmh ( found that out last week) If you want to turn some heads and profile for the ladies, nothing beats a few big laid out body parts on the snow turns on some hardpack when everyone is skidding. Believe it or not if the snow conditions are right I spend way more time boony bashing in the trees than being on the groomers.

Jan 31 2009 minus 2c Abrasive hardpack, medium grippy, Parking lot issues going to get worse with impending events, lots of construction on eagle side, PGS etc all closed off. CO-Beagle out and about , no others seen Run of the day Raven 1 Crappy surprise of the day, Rainbow/Horizon with all the sharp little rock shards on top third.

Roy,, I guess this is why Dave* is not an orthopedic surgeon ( " ahhh hell, you probably just tweaked the tendon"), I was impressed you weren't crying or carrying on to much considering in retrospect the damage, major league "Man" points for Roy. Get well soon, to tell you the honest truth probably better bone than tendon/ligament it heals quicker. Drink yer milk and stay away from my devil juice , the soda pop, I think the carbonation destroys bone or so the rumor goes. Make sure those boots are fitting perfectly when you get back at it, boot fit is not a guaranteed soln but will help a lot with prevention of these injuries. Off Topic: Watch out for new Comp virus the "resycled\ntldr" it slid right past my 2009 Norton A/V . Dave is down to email from work right now.

I would have to say a 1/16 ratio decimates whistler , many thousands of acres and on any given day very few Hbers, so probably 0.4HBer/1000 acre

The Jan 23rd Report Got up early to bluebird skies, about minus 5 at parking lot at 0845 , warming to about minus 1 C by 1230. Some hero hardpack corduroy with some lines of cord I have never seen over on eagle chair bottom half. Bumped into Rod the softbooter right off the bat, made some fast laps for an hour over on PGS, easy to tell where I had been by the snot trail left behind in my wake. Legs ran out of gas by 1000 hrs , apparently two weeks off riding with 8 days of flu and no eating can decondition you quite quickly, so had a quick coffee break, then bumped into Beagle, ran a few laps with him before quitting time at 1230, he is improving rapidly. Treading carefully the last 1/2 hour in high traffic areas due to skidders polishing down to the underice layer. Its amazing how quickly the snow pack is deteriorating , bare spots and cut banks exposed that I was not expecting this early. Off piste had a decidedly "scrapy" sound to it, I didnt even try.