DiZy Kay Posted February 21, 2007 Report Share Posted February 21, 2007 I am pretty new to snowboarding. I feel like i am ok on a softboard, but i am interested in carving. I don't think i am ready to jump ioonto hardboots yet and i was wondering if a softboot boardercross type board would be a good transition. Also i was wondering if anyone could point me in the right direction to find a good set up for real cheap because i am a starving college student. Oh and gleb pointed me to this website he is actually who helped me learn the softboard stuff originally and is the one who kinda pointed me towards carving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack M Posted February 21, 2007 Report Share Posted February 21, 2007 Hi Dizy, For some reading to give you an intro to the sport, click the links in my signature. It is definitely possible to learn snowboarding in hardboots, but if you would rather start in softs, that's totally fine. In which case, a Boardercross board or a Prior ATV (if you have medium sized feet or smaller) are your best bet. Check out our classifieds for the cheap stuff: http://www.bomberonline.com/VBulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=3 Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Algunderfoot Posted February 21, 2007 Report Share Posted February 21, 2007 Hey 'Dizy' Carving a snowboard is not unique to slolam/race/carving style snowboards. I ride with an 'Older' carver, who insists on a standard soft set up, and is on an old Rosi floater. My suggestion to you is to point your bindings more forward once an a while, say 50 degree F and 45 degree R (corrected, my bad), make sure you have some decent edges, particularly if you coming out of the park, and have at it. There are also some hard sided, soft style boots which you may be able to find on the cheap. We have also noticed that many of the adolecents at our local hill, are doing the same thing. Some are really laying some trenches. They have obviously been inspired by watching us hardbooters, just like I was years ago.... I would highly recommend that you do go to the hard boot / plate set-up if and when you decide on a dedicated carving board, otherwise you won't be getting the most out of the board. Equally important, is to keep your first set-up cheap / used, as you will want to quickly upgrade, once you have figured out how much fun the sport is, further developed your technique, and have had a chance to demo various boards, to find the one(s) that our suit you. Good Luck! Alg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxguitarist Posted February 21, 2007 Report Share Posted February 21, 2007 i'm in a similar situation..i picked up snowboarding quickly due to having longboarded (skated) for a few years. on the rental gear, i kept on dragging my toes while carving. i tried running 25 degrees front, 15 degrees rear, and it helped. i'd start with something mild like this for your first time with angles. I wound up diving into it, bought a F2 SpeedCross, just bought some boots off the classifieds here, for a great price, and now i just need to find some bindings.. short version: try 25/15 (or more) on your twintip & softboots to see how you like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack M Posted February 21, 2007 Report Share Posted February 21, 2007 My suggestion to you is to point your bindings more forward once an a while, say 45 degree F and 50 degree R Uhh, no. You don't want more angle on the rear foot, unless you are naturally very pigeon toed. When you want to carve your soft gear, just set up your bindings so you have zero or almost zero boot overhang. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pebu Posted February 21, 2007 Report Share Posted February 21, 2007 Actually you'd do that if you were the opposite of pigeon toed. I kinda did a double take when I saw the 45/50 too. That seems like it'd be very uncomfortable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Przemek/Brooklyn Posted February 21, 2007 Report Share Posted February 21, 2007 Feels like it would be much easier to learn how to carve on hard boots and then go to soft .... It is much more chalenging to do this other way. Problem is that most of the people are not willing to invest in HB setup. Last weekend there was a softie who after watching me on Outer Limits in Killington ask me how he could ride like that. I answer him it was imposible to do this on soft setup on this slope (icy, narrow, steep) but he should try to change his angles and try blue slope. He definitly lost his enthusiasm after hearing this. Kind of unfortunate.............................. but maybe not, it is kind of nice to be unique. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr D Posted February 21, 2007 Report Share Posted February 21, 2007 Uhh, no. You don't want more angle on the rear foot, unless you are naturally very pigeon toed. When you want to carve your soft gear, just set up your bindings so you have zero or almost zero boot overhang. I would assume he meant the opposite of what he typed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiZy Kay Posted February 21, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2007 I had pretty good foot position on my soft board but its really tiny and i have tried to carve a bit, but i am on the east coast and have a ****ty board. Gleb is a buddy of mine and he said he would let me use one of his boards to try it out a bit. Idk if i really wanna move all the way to hard boots any time too soon and i feel like that would end up costing me a ton of money. My plan now is to use my soft boots and bindings that i already have and throw them on an ok cheap board. My biggest issue now is that it is hard to find a cheap enough board when you don't know where to look. Also i was actually at killington this past weekend and all i can say is i don't have the skill to get through all the mogles, but because there was so much bowder it was a good time flying off them and tumbleing down the mountain. Any idea why killington has so many mogles?? sorry about the off topic question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack M Posted February 21, 2007 Report Share Posted February 21, 2007 My biggest issue now is that it is hard to find a cheap enough board when you don't know where to look. http://www.bomberonline.com/VBulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=3 With a little luck, you could be into a full setup (board, boots, bindings) for $200. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Przemek/Brooklyn Posted February 21, 2007 Report Share Posted February 21, 2007 Killington had tons of moguls becouse there was a lot of soft fresh snow on thrusday 2 feet and then on sunday 8 inches. Even when it is groomed in the morning, surface is too soft to stay flat, as the skidding skiers and sideways softies going downhill all day like a pregnant pengwins. There are two things you could do to carve this conditions : 1 get up very early they open K1 gondola at 7 30, you will be able ride groomed slopes at least till 11 2 Get really good at riding ice; SuperStar is so icy and windblown that new snow does not want to stick to it. Even on soft day you can carve white ice around 3 30 when all new snow is gone. I know it sounds crazy but it is true. Double dipper next to canyon lift has similar qualities. I went to Killington last weekend and was quite good i did a lot of carving and a lot of powder. Espacially Monday was great for carving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gleb Posted February 22, 2007 Report Share Posted February 22, 2007 Glad to see you finally made it on the site. I'm gonna put him on my oxygen supercross. It has a pretty good edge and is one of the most fun boards I own. Its not as stable as my Madd but you'll have a blast. Plus you can hit the jumps with it with ease. Waterville monday? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carvedog Posted February 22, 2007 Report Share Posted February 22, 2007 Oh and gleb pointed me to this website he is actually who helped me learn the softboard stuff originally and is the one who kinda pointed me towards carving. Don't think that a little name dropping is going to help you out here. But go ahead and fill out your profile and let us know your weight, shoe size etc and you may be surprised at the offers of help that may come in. there was so much bowder it was a good time flying off them and tumbleing down the mountain.Any idea why killington has so many mogles?? All I can say to this is TWD. ( I used to have this on the nose of one of my boards when learning) Tumble With Direction. Good luck and welcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiZy Kay Posted February 22, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2007 I way 160ish and my vans are a size 11 or 29 but i think i can fit into something a bit smaller and i am about 5'10" ish. But like gleb said i am gonna try to use is oxygen either this weekend or this comming wednesday and see how it feels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gleb Posted April 17, 2007 Report Share Posted April 17, 2007 dizy + softies + beat up madd = sick carving A gang of pharmacists and us future pharmacists took advantage of an empty last day at loon. He was nailing turns this past weekend. It also showed me how soft my beat up Madd BX is. Its flexier than my friend's Burton Vapor. I'm guessing the Madd has had like 100+ days, so its expected. He was railing it left and right on the oxygen sx before too. He tried pointing his bindings forward up to 60 or so on the oxygen but with the soft boots, leaving it at high 40s to 50s made more sense. Hardbooting next season will kick ass! Great progress this season, for both of us. Loon kicks ass. Next time, think twice before thinking a mogul run (angel street) will be fun. Keep poppin them pills and heal that ankle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiZy Kay Posted April 17, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2007 Originally Posted by GlebNext time, think twice before thinking a mogul run (angel street) will be fun. especially when the board ur on can bend in half and your ankle feels like bending with it. I think i'm def carving now idk how great, but gleb says i'm doin good. Hopefully my ankle will get better by next week and i can take a trip to killington. No more riding the madd although it was fun the thing is way to flexible and can't handle any speed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Bmax Rog Posted April 30, 2007 Report Share Posted April 30, 2007 Soft boot set up worked for me this winter. Lib-tech 193, Vans Fargoes and flows. Went from (goofy) 25/0 stance to 45/39, came back 1 inch on the front foot stance width. Carved superb from the off. Tried 54/45 but too steep, toeside turn initiation started to get sketchy in crud. Came back to 45/42. Smoking! Try it, but keep your angles< 45 degrees. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gleb Posted May 1, 2007 Report Share Posted May 1, 2007 Welcome to bomber bmax. Do you hardboot at all? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eastcoasticerider Posted May 1, 2007 Report Share Posted May 1, 2007 I have talked quite a few people including ski instructors, hockey players etc. into trying snowboarding and entry level carving techniques by introducing them to the Burton Amp 6 line of boards. there sone on ebay right now at http://cgi.ebay.com/Burton-AMP6-w-step-in-boots-Bindings-FAST_W0QQitemZ200105279300QQihZ010QQcategoryZ36297QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem it is smooth riding with softies or hardboots ,actually very fun to ride around in hardboots and plates witht he boots in relax mode. Anyhow it has an oldschool geometry but is definitely a squaretail carving board.Look around for one in the dusty backrooms of local snowboard shops or on ebay or I like to try differrent locations of Craigslistings.....Seattle....oreegon...colorado etc. pick one up and gradually move the bindings into a forward stance.You will be amazed at how fast you can pick it up when you go from a twintip design to an actual board designed for carving, but with forgiving geometry.If I can find one I will relay the sticker info off the original board I have.Its from 1995!!!......old school still rules Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boarderboy Posted May 1, 2007 Report Share Posted May 1, 2007 Size 11 Burton Freecarves - old, low-cuff, 3-buckle, hardboots yours for cost of shipping. Used thermoflex liners in em but may be able to find original, unused liners if you're interested. Happy surfing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AKBoarder Posted May 1, 2007 Report Share Posted May 1, 2007 Man you guys are great here. Lots of good info, it will def help me out when I do change over to a carving board, HB and plates. Also I am heading south this summer to MA and looking forward to the eastern hills. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Bmax Rog Posted May 1, 2007 Report Share Posted May 1, 2007 Gleb, Hi, not hardbooting-yet. Just wait for next winter, but, and its a biggy, I weigh 120kg, (that's 265 in american), plus fairly strong with it (ex power lifter), which means I need a BIG board. Weedy little 175 matchsticks just don't cut it (been there, tried those, sank without trace in slightest hint of powder). So that means custom i guess. $$$$££££!!!!! The wife might need some persuading... Reason(s) I tried it with softies is/are:- The Swoard guys seem to be modding their boots to get as soft as poss, even though they are hardshell (thinks: why not use stiff soft boots..?) The Swoard guys use low angles, seems to be just enough to avoid boot-out (thinks again: why don't I just increase my angles as far as I dare..) The Swoard guys (yup, them again), have a wide board with even flex along it, which, surprise, seems to be what I'm riding at the moment.. So (Thinks again: why not Not blow $1000 on a new alpine set up this year and see if I can carve on softies. Answer: Yep, sure can. In fact, it's fantastic. I don't know if it's the length of the Lib Tech (193cm) or the stiffness of the Fargos (they are VERY stiff), but I found i was carving by the third turn of the first run of the year. Everything just got so much easier than skidding everywhere, and i found turn initiation was sooo easy. My heelsides are now better than my toeside turns (surely some mishtake there...?)-go figure, I'm not complaining. I'm not pretending for one second that my set-up will carve as well as an alpine rig-it's just in my experience, anyone who says you can't carve, and carve HARD, on a soft set up is talking bollocks (thats a Brit expression, by the way...) rgds Rog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AKBoarder Posted May 1, 2007 Report Share Posted May 1, 2007 I'm not pretending for one second that my set-up will carve as well as an alpine rig-it's just in my experience, anyone who says you can't carve, and carve HARD, on a soft set up is talking bollocks (thats a Brit expression, by the way...)rgds Rog ^^^^^I agree with you there. I can carve like crazy with my soft set up. It ends up usually being a tight fast carves not like the Huge euro carves in see in all the Alpine pics on here. I tend to slow down alot when I do try that. I am lookin to fork out the bones for a new setup though it will be nice to expierence the difference in styles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pow Posted May 1, 2007 Report Share Posted May 1, 2007 Softies can carve great, but not as fast as hardboot boards. As long as your carving, you're right on. and here's an extremely helpful article written by Jack Michaud: http://www.bomberonline.com/articles/toesideproblem.cfm ^should even out your heelside/toeside balance. Ohh, and since youre in the market, a shoutout to my favorite boardmakers, who currently make heavy duty custom boards, and a couple production boards over 190 cm: www.pogo.biz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gleb Posted May 1, 2007 Report Share Posted May 1, 2007 to go big and stiff, you don't need to go custom. I believe the Undertaker comes in a 198 and they go for pretty cheap. I don't know bout its stiffnestt though. I know you can definitely rip it up on a soft setup but I guess the transitions are tougher. I don't really know since I went from skiing to alpine. Also, consider using ski boots if you're looking for a really solid bumpy ride. AkBoarder, see ya around the cape this summer. Its gonna be a hot one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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