carverchick Posted October 18, 2007 Report Share Posted October 18, 2007 Hey Jon, Have you had a chance to try the Prior Pow Stick? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Dahl Posted October 18, 2007 Report Share Posted October 18, 2007 Hey Jon,Have you had a chance to try the Prior Pow Stick? No, not yey. Ya bringin' it out my way soon?? Hahaha, just kiddin'. I've been drooling on the French made carbon top swallowtails made by Phenix. I am open to the Prior, though. I would like to try the Spearhead first, 'cause I am curious about the shape. Almost bought one of the proto boards this summer, but they told me they were a bit soft for hardboots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carverchick Posted October 18, 2007 Report Share Posted October 18, 2007 I see. Well my boyfriend purchased a Pow Stick last year, and absolutely enjoyed it on hardboots. The first Pow Stick made was a bit noodlely (sp) but this years Pow Stick is a bit more stiff. I was so envious of my boyfriend last year and all the fun he was having on the Pow Stick that i purchased the 2008 version. So I'm pretty confident that this board will take me everywhere. The Pow Stick is primarily for deep powder, but can be ridden on crud, groomed trails and all else in between. Dang it! I wish it would snow already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thor VonRippington Posted October 18, 2007 Report Share Posted October 18, 2007 I have only seen one mention of lateral flex in this thread and to me it is the most important part of ridding hard boots in powder (or chop). Go soft and you have it.. like it or not.. but miss out on the stability of plastic. With hard shoes, it's all about the interface. Compare for example the TD2 step-in (vertually no lateral flex) vs. an Ibex with thinner bails. Granted... those two bindings are polar opposites but, a binding that alows more flex can give you better control in the deep. A TD2 with toe bails will give you a little more flex than the step-in... but you get the idea. Just my opinion, but I say check your binders and put your boots in walk mode if you need to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ealely Posted October 18, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2007 Well, Thank you very much for all these advices and comments! The next time I have a chance to ride in 'powder', i'll make sure to have the best 'binding set up' for a start, and then I'll keep in mind your advices about weight, surface area, edge pressure, etc. I know that my boots are too stiff and i need to make some changes for the extremecarving technique anyway so i should have more flex soon... Even though i am aware that SB is the best for powder for a lot of people, it is just not so convenient for me. I ride only a few days a year so days with powder are too few to invest and carry each time HB and SB gear (just in case); then, my ankles seem to not like SB much..probably i haven't find the boots that suits my feet, ankles and legs but I just don't have enough time to do the testing when i have a chance to go snowboarding.... If in the end, I find the Axis not easy for me to ride in powder i might consider to get SB but I really hope I'll find a way to enjoy HB in powder :p got already the Donek, the Swoard and an old asym board for rocks....no more space left for other boots and board unless I move my @$$ in a some mountain area in a near future :p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Dahl Posted October 18, 2007 Report Share Posted October 18, 2007 Fleabay has a nidecker 174 megalite, decent pow shape w/a good amount of taper. May look into it as an all around stick...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terekhov Posted October 19, 2007 Report Share Posted October 19, 2007 The Axxess is designed for on piste riding with the ability to do some off piste riding. i think opposite is just true. axis is a great offpiste board with some onpiste capability. simply THE board for hardbooter riding hard (like in HARD ATTACK flik). nothing beats it in universality - and I rode just some half-hundred boards to make that claim. axis 182 in bottomless supports my 90kg just fine. it is great in soft moguls too. drops, trees - just fine yes, ofcoz i find rossi undertaker198 slightly favoured in bottomless by me, but axis182 is a best compromise in any conditions on the mountain. if I need to take just one board to unknown mountain for not only groom riding - it will be axis. or coiler am, ofcoz. not happy with a uber-stiff 4wd 179 though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueB Posted October 19, 2007 Report Share Posted October 19, 2007 Ha, interesting opinion! Most of the past comments on BOL reffered to Axxess as the stiffest of those 3 and 4WD as probably softest... I didn't ride Axxess and rode Coiler AM 172 for very few runs. I found my 4WD 174 stiffer then Coiler. However, Coiler was built soft as the owner wanted it that way and I suspect that my 4WD is extra stiff or quad glass... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terekhov Posted October 19, 2007 Report Share Posted October 19, 2007 Ha, interesting opinion! Most of the past comments on BOL reffered to Axxess as the stiffest of those 3 and 4WD as probably softest... I own donek axis 182 from ~2002, and rode coiler 177am made for guy slightly larger than me, and usual stock 4wd 179 (don't know about quadglass though). coiler is considerably softer than axis, and 4wd179 is in the area of possible unridability - must drove increedibly fast to fully carve in soft and almost unridable on hard surface due to stiffness (me is 90kg!!!). I have one idea - that this 179 is made very stiff on demand, and than sold thru prior site's sale area without specifying that... so when my donek gone - I'll plan to coiler am (possibly summer 2008) made on stiffer side of things. and I mostly ride it in steep soft moguls, down-the-fall-line style. all of this three was tested in almost equal conditions on my lovely slope ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Dahl Posted October 19, 2007 Report Share Posted October 19, 2007 I hear you but I think you should talk to my boot fitter.He is really good. He is a podi and the official fixer of all Scarpa boot products. We talked about your situation a bit today but he needs vital details. Will be talking to the Scarpa guys soon on this important issues. They hang out here at the shop while we take care of their skateboarding needs and some of their backcountry needs, also. If you find yourself in Colorado, please make it a point to see Larry @ Larry's Bootfitting. Bola www.allboardssports.com 1-303-415-1600 I have a really tall instep bone on top of my foot, and my arches are a bit tall. I think one of the problems I have in soft boots is pronation. In my old Flexable Axel's I used superfeet beds. I noted that they pulled my foot back in the boot a fair amount, and took some pressure off the balls of my feet, which made them bearable. The Airwalks I used previous to them were better, but still had issues with partial numbness. I can't remember the name for it, but I think there is a bundle of nerves in the ball of my feet that get irritated. The golf ball treatment helps that a bunch when it acts up. Anyways, curious to here what the Scarpa guys say. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ealely Posted October 22, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 22, 2007 Sean has sent me some mounting instructions; binding on the front is ok but the other one needs to be more on the back; then the stance (now 46 cm) will be a bit larger (50 cm..hum maybe too large..)...will see if it's better that way in powder days. Thanks again for your advices...can't wait to ride again... :rolleyes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philw Posted October 22, 2007 Report Share Posted October 22, 2007 I did read the whole thread but it's really impossible to help much without seeing you ride. I don't know that board. I ride deep powder about 95% of the time in hard boots. Personally I just don't like hard boots, but I do like powder. So I'd take the "hard boots don't work in powder" with a pinch of salt. A simple solution would be for you to borrow a Fish, set it at the standard marked stance, and ride that for a day. Then you know your stance is good, and you know you have the right board. If you're still falling over, then you have a technique problem. You could fix that on hard or soft boots as you see fit. Most good riders nail it pretty quickly. The main thing is to *start* with a sensible board. Yeah I can ride my F2 Speedster past most people in waist-deep, but it's bloody hard work and: (a) I would not want to do it for fun; (b) it would be stupid to try to learn on something like that. So I'd cut the board/ stance variables and work on the rider ability. Once you can rip, you can choose your weapons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Algunderfoot Posted October 22, 2007 Report Share Posted October 22, 2007 Looks my sigificant other has chimed in regarding the pure off piste pleasure of the Pow-sticks. Myself, being a former skier, well versed in off piste skiing where soft boots havn't been an option since 1960, I don't buy the all or nothing soft boot argument. If anything, I find my board more responsive with the hard set-up and agree with some others here that hard boots in Pow can be just fine, even superior. If you think about it I know exactly where the board is at all times. On a soft set up in deeps, you need feel around for it. I learned early on that trees don't wait for me to feel my way around. With that said, I am of course on an '07 Prior Powstick, with plates, and run the BTS system. At the end of the day, it's personal preference, but this doesn't change the dynamics of the board, vs the conditions in which it was intended to be used. This is simple physics, if you want to stay on top of the snow you need to displace your weight with surface area, and / or dramatically change you riding position. If the board isn't designed with this in mind you'll be wasting alot of time and energy. The beauty of the Prior design is both in form and position, so that I can free carve in unlimited depths of fresh pow w/o changing my set-up or my position. This just builds on what I'm doing on the groomers, with no trade off, other than the size of my grin. All I do is run the same stance at slightly less aggressive boot angles. Fe and I did learn some tips from Sean (Pure Performance) at last years WCS (driving one's knees into each turn), which made deeper snow, on a pure carver, much more enjoyable, but still only up to a foot or two at the most, as this was still trencing turns and not floating them. At this stage, I can honestly say that whether it's a toboggan, 220 GS's, shaped skis, fatties, softboots on a free ride board, all mountain or carver, none even come close to the effortless maneuverability, speed, and freedom of riping off piste freshies, including trees, with a Powstick. It is the essence of snowboarding as I hoped for when I started, but never really expected. I only wish now that I could reset my odometer.....as I am sure that Fe will be blowing by me before long. Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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