Przemek/Brooklyn Posted February 12, 2007 Report Share Posted February 12, 2007 Hi I am looking for advice. Currently I am using HB for carving and SB for backcountry, but to be honest i feel it is too commplicated and take too much time and effort change and it is pain in the ass to travel with extra boots. Here is my question: can hardboots work ok in powder for freeride. If yes what kind of board do you use for this? Do you lower angles in HB setup for powder? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Posted February 12, 2007 Report Share Posted February 12, 2007 Yes! I've been riding hardboots for everything for about 5 years. It may be overkill to use hard boots in powder - you don't really <i>need</i> that much response, but if you're used to hard boots, it's more comfortable, and like you said, why bother carrying multiple boots around? I ride powder/trees on a O-Sin 4807 178 and if I'm going somewhere a little bit tighter, sometimes a 162 Arbor Munoz freeride board. I ride much flatter angles than on a carving board - basically I try to put the heel and toe of my back foot right at the edges, and then put the front foot 5 degrees steeper than that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike T Posted February 12, 2007 Report Share Posted February 12, 2007 I ride soft "when I feel like it" but hard on most powder days. I hear what Phil Fell and others are saying "right tool for the right job" but I guess my powder riding just isn;t advanced enough for hard boots to be the wrong tool? In any case I use a BTS with blue springs on my Suzukas, so no walk mode or anything is possible, but I do leave the upper two buckles several notches looser on a powder day than I do on a groomer day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Dahl Posted February 12, 2007 Report Share Posted February 12, 2007 There are several of us using some sort of hardboot/freeride board combo. Last trip up to Stevens Pass, I found another guy using A/T boots on a freeride board, an Arbor 166, he was on Catek OS2's. I was on my F2 with Snowpro race bindings and Dynfit TLT4's. Very common around here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-Sub Posted February 12, 2007 Report Share Posted February 12, 2007 I have yet to have the "balls" to dump my soft setup entirely. Next full season somewhere I will be doing a lot of testing/deciding. 2 seasons ago at bachelor I rode my hardboot setup 95% of the season, but it was a pretty dry season so not that many full pow days. last year I rode 30+" of fresh at mammoth with my Head boots, TD2s, and Prior AWD 182 and LOVED it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bumpyride Posted February 12, 2007 Report Share Posted February 12, 2007 Unlike most guys here, I'm riding Hardboots (Raichle 123's 3 buckle) in the walk mode, and I'm almost always off piste. The walk mode gives you much more latitude than does the ride mode, so I see it as the perfect powder tool, and as a bonus you get the extra control when you need it. As far as angles go, it depends on the board. Wider board equals lower angles, narrow board equals steeper angles. I ride the stiffist and shortest board that will do the job. If the powder is deep then a more relaxed board does the job. Boards I ride are as follows: up to 4" 156 Burton Ultra Prime 66 & 45 degrees 4 to 6" 156 Burton Coil 66 & 45 degrees 6 to 8" 164 Burton Coil 54 & 33 degrees 9 & more" 156 Burton Fish or 168 O'Sin 4807 Both 45 & 30 degrees This is on wetter West Coast Snow so when it really gets deep the O'Sin works the best, but is a beast on the groomers, and from what I hear doesn't last all that long on a bigger aggressive carver starts laying it down. It also sucks big time when it gets cut up and lots of ruts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abakker Posted February 12, 2007 Report Share Posted February 12, 2007 in hardpack i ride my track 325s locked out with OS2s on an f2 speedster or coiler purerace, in powder i ride the same boots in walk mode on a tanker crown 177, and if i am doing alot of all mountain/trees i ride a rad air reto 164. i use hardboots for everything because in my mind, they are the right tool for every job. the quality of the binding and boot is so much higher, and the boards that you tend to use with hardboots definitely perform better. in softboots, i could never find a binding or boot that really worked for me and felt comfortable. at that point i almost quit snowboarding until i got hardboots. the rest is history. Alex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Stevens Posted February 12, 2007 Report Share Posted February 12, 2007 If you're on a splitboard, both types of boots present the same problems. Neither save you the effort of taking the binders off, splitting or joining the board and remounting. I also would go soft for the lighter walking weight. With snowshoes, I don't suppose either would be a net gain or loss (except the weight thing). If you're looking to save yourself lodge-time and lighten your travel bag (worthy goals), either learn to carve in softs, or go the route the others are suggesting and scrap the softs, altogether. You could also get a sled and shed the binders completely. Now THAT will save you some time and weight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave* Posted February 13, 2007 Report Share Posted February 13, 2007 I havent ridden in softies in quite a few years now and probably will never again unless they have a major "breakthrough" in their boot and binding technology. I spend most of my time in various raichle/deelux HBs of varying flex depending on mood I am in, what happens to be dry , and what board I am planning on riding. Spend about 50/50 locked or walk mode again depending on board and what I am doing, need to get the BTS set up , I have a couple RABs but they stick me with to much forward lean for my tastes. Angles vary depending on width of board, splay and stance always the same. I havent been doing much B/C stuff the past season or two but for that I would be using my Nordica TR 12 AT boots, they have proven to be my favorite AT boots for snowboarding as when in "ski" mode only a back flex stop , the cuff does not completly lock out like on the scarpa/lowas etc, this in my opinion gives the best feel for boarding, adjusting buckles and powerstrap allow just the right amount of forward flex, work really well with my Karhu approach ski set up. Any of the Nordica TR series might be what you are after TR 9, 10, 12 , of note they dont work well with stock bombers TD 1s or TD 2s secondary to clearance issues at the toebox unless mods to boot or binder. Have a splitboard set up but for my purposes the approach skiis have worked better for me. Dave* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vapor Posted February 13, 2007 Report Share Posted February 13, 2007 i've pretty much tried it all. in the end i prefer 325 hardboots on all my boards be it groomers for carveing or powder and trees on my freeride deck. the only time i use something different is with the splitboard where i use scarpa t2 tele boots(mad scientist here) as i agree with rob stevens about transition times and weight. i've never been able to fit a sled in my back pocket when going to rogers pass ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Dahl Posted February 13, 2007 Report Share Posted February 13, 2007 I also would go soft for the lighter walking weight. My Dynafit TLT4 boots w/thermo liners are 2lb 14oz per boot. I have yet to see a soft setup that will perform for splitting that weighs less. Now if you are talking SB series boots, that is a whole different ballgame. My modded SB123's were over 4 lbs per boot with thermo liners and shortened cuffs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Stevens Posted February 13, 2007 Report Share Posted February 13, 2007 Don't forget the metal plate bindings you'd use. My C60's are pretty light, bringing the overall weight for both boots and bindings to a pretty low number as the 32 TM2's are a very light boot on their own. I do think the approach skis are the hot ticket and softboots would be at a disadvantage to hardboots for that application. Once again, you probably should not take my word for it anyways, as I mostly noboard off a sled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sinecure Posted February 13, 2007 Report Share Posted February 13, 2007 I ride my hard boots in pow all the time. I've tried softies a few times and hate it. I just put them in walk mode. I really should get some BTS for them and soften up the spring settings in pow. One of these days. My only problem is on really wet/heavy/sticky pow days it can be hard to clip into the intec heels because snow gets stuck in there. I should probably put some sort of scraper in my pocket on those days. Or maybe spray Pam on them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miguel Posted February 13, 2007 Report Share Posted February 13, 2007 I ride my hard boots in pow all the time. I've tried softies a few times and hate it. I just put them in walk mode. I really should get some BTS for them and soften up the spring settings in pow. One of these days.My only problem is on really wet/heavy/sticky pow days it can be hard to clip into the intec heels because snow gets stuck in there. I should probably put some sort of scraper in my pocket on those days. Or maybe spray Pam on them. For the snow try a Dakine "Spike" stomp pad. It has huge nubs and works great at removing snow from boots. I ride a Prior Khyber with hardboots in the walk mode for for powder and other "soft snow" days. It's also a great board and settup for bumps and trees. For a powder board it'll also hod an edge on hard pack incredibly well. Miguel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Przemek/Brooklyn Posted February 13, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2007 Hi Thanks for constructive comments. I will definetly try hard boots on freeride board. I just need to find appropriate board (cheep and used) i want to have somthing disposable so i could go on powder mix with rock and wood. My curent soft freestyle board is just too small. Going the other way (soft boots for carving) is not an option, would never work on east cost ice. Thanks again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derf Posted February 13, 2007 Report Share Posted February 13, 2007 If you want one, I have an additional scraper I don't need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Przemek/Brooklyn Posted February 13, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2007 I am looking for longer freeride around 160 to 170, relativly wide, radius around 14 m, under 80$. Do you have anything like that? I could potentially treaded it for Jester 167 carving board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave ESPI Posted February 13, 2007 Report Share Posted February 13, 2007 I've ridden in soft for years, and now in hard boots. I honestly could never give up the softboots entirely. it is a completely different style of riding and feel. After a few hours of hard boots, I'm tired and want to "die". Teaching lessons in hardboots is all but impossible with kids in soft gear also. We have to remember that hardbooting is a rarity. I was out on my carver sunday and inthe early AM it was great. once the hill got skied off, it was impossible to carve as there really was nothing to get an edge into cept shear ice.......... and well that just doesn't work. I switched back over to a nice comfortable softboot and a wide board 152 and had a blast the rest of the day. Proper tool for the Job ;) As to using hardboots on a free-ride board ? sure why not. I'd love to try a big mountain powder board with hardboots. I bet the feeling and control would be epic ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-Sub Posted February 13, 2007 Report Share Posted February 13, 2007 I am looking for longer freeride around 160 to 170, relativly wide, radius around 14 m, under 80$. Do you have anything like that? I could potentially treaded it for Jester 167 carving board. There isnt a single "freeride" board on the planet with an scr of 14m. Hell, there arent even any 160-170s with that sort of radius! Was that a typo? Im having Sean build me a 175 hybrid thatll have a 13m...I assume once it is done it will be available to the public Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Przemek/Brooklyn Posted February 13, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2007 No it was not a typo it was my ignorance, I didnt check specs for freeride board i just took speck from my swoard witch i think would be a perfect freeride board if softer, rounded tail and bit wider. My appologies. I was just thinking that board like that would be perfect all around board: carving on blue slopes and powder. Pluse it would be great if you could adjust binding angle on the slope (without screwdriver) Like a preprogram two positions carve and powder. What is tipical radius for freeride and why? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-Sub Posted February 13, 2007 Report Share Posted February 13, 2007 standard is about 9M, for maneuverability. longest SCR on a freeride board I know of is Steepwater. The 171 has I believe 11.36. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Przemek/Brooklyn Posted February 13, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2007 Aha so it is smaller. Does radius metter when you in powder ? from my experience not so much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-Sub Posted February 13, 2007 Report Share Posted February 13, 2007 my first response would be "no" but...Im guessing it affects the turn slightly, but nowhere near as much as on groom since youre not using the edge. I always do this, but I'll do it again. If you want a freeride board that carves well, definitely take a look at steepwater. They're available in two widths, and 3 or 4 lengths up to 171. Really solid boards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Przemek/Brooklyn Posted February 13, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2007 well it looks like a nice 'mom and pop" brand. It was hard to find more informations about they boards so i am not sure what make them carve better then other board. Also i dont think i could buy it under 80$ But thanks for recomendations. In the endof the day i am looking for powder and rock tool and not carving tool. Of course would be nice to have one board perfect all the time but it is just a dream. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-Sub Posted February 13, 2007 Report Share Posted February 13, 2007 $80? wow. wal-mart sure has changed things. calling steepwater mom and pop is an insult. Theyre built by one of the best hardcore freeriders in the world. yes...it was the wrong board to suggest to you. If you just want a rockboard there are plenty of beaters on ebay! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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