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Your experience when switching to hardboots.


Phil

How was your switch to hardboots?  

111 members have voted

  1. 1. How was your switch to hardboots?

    • I was a skidder and the transition was difficult.
      20
    • I was a skidder and the transition was easy.
      26
    • I was a carver and the transition was difficult.
      12
    • I was a carver and the transition was easy.
      53


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The only problem I had with soft boots was the boot-out. Saw some hardbooters and thought, hey, that's cool. So I cranked up my angles, which I did not like at all in softboots, but I kept my toes and heels out of the snow so I was happy... for about a day. Then I got hardboots, and sure, I went down quite a few times that first day, but hey, that's to be expected.

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For me it was just a natural progression. My first soft boot setup felt too sloppy to me. So I switched to some Burton Torque bindings with a third strap over the shin bone and felt better. But I still felt like I wasn't able to hold as good an edge as I would like. Then I saw a friend with hard boots on a snow board. Started on hard boots and never looked back!

I will admit though that I didn't relly make great gains until I hooked up with Bomber and the community here.

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I saw my first plate binders in '88 when I was learning to ride in sorels w/skiboot liers. Trying to find gear that wasn't crap consummed my life. I rode every board the shop could get in and by '90 bought a new K2 TX 170. Best carving board I could get at the time. I modified strap binders to accept my Terminator tele's. Toe drag's a drag. In '92 i bought Nodica sbhard (AT boot w/lateral flex) and ignored the lace-up garbage they try to stuff down our throughts. Found new clickers & skylords new in for $100 in '02, tried'em 3 days and sold'em. Synopsis; What transition.:freak3:

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I've never ridden in a production soft boot. When I started riding the only boots available were Sorels and the like. Unhappy with pain and terrible performance, we harvested liners, tongues, and other parts from old ski boots to use in/on the sorels. By the time actual snowboard boots came along, our modified sorels had evolved into something way better than what was being produced. It was obvious we were emulating hard boots and then wa la... there they were. The transition was a happy time.

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Even though I've only been on a hardboot setup for one season, I found the transition for me was quite easy. Not sure why, perhaps it was because I felt more secure with boots that I "could feel". My softboots always felt loose.

I did have my heiney handed to me a few times on hardboots, but I looked at it as if I :biggthump was earning my merit badges :)

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I have a large albiet ageing collection of body slam & brain stem plant merit badges. Some days the dues is steep.:smashfrea

Brain stem plant - hee hee, I still get those regularly. I sometimes worry that I'm going to end up with a brain like Chris Benoit.

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I didn't mark the poll as I was a rank beginner on a single plank.

I'd been skiing for years and decided to try snowboarding. First day out was on a soft setup. I hated it! No where near the responsiveness that I had on skis with soft boots.

Found a shop with a demo hardboot setup. That was much better. Really enjoyed it. Ended up buying that demo board cheap as I was the only one to have ridden it. A Burton M6 (still have it).

So I never really spent much time in softboots.

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Similar to Thor's experience except having owned two pairs of production softies prior to giving up softies forever.My very first sorels had pawn shop skiboot liners with plastic reinforced tongues after which I also laced actual skiboot tounges into the sorels as well.The next softboots were Airwalk Extremes with the little velcro stiffening ribs and I hardly rode those boots before going back to Flexon Comps.

My last pair of softies were DCs with the pump bladders and Nidecker 900 bindings.Best performing and least painful setup I ever had but still not good enough ,especially considering that while carving between jumps during freestyle accredidation at Vail in 04 I ripped the sole off of the rear boot from the heel to the midfoot.I bought that setup just to get freestyle accred and when I offered to rent boots for the remainder of the weekend the examiner said he'd heard about me hardbooting in the park and said just to finish in hardboots. His evaluation form enclosed with the accred diploma stated I rode park better in hardboots and I should just stick with them if that was what I was comfortable with...A very rare and nonjudemental examiner with a great attitude.Needless to say I haven't been on softes since and I still love the park.Long live Damian!:)

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Was riding a burton safari 165 with the 3 buckles & sorels w/ skiboot liners. Saw the burton movie w/ the PJ boys and started riding w/ burton 5 holes and my Rachlie flexons. I was skiing at the same time and lucked out with good ski boots that worked for snowboarding.... Rode on ski boots for many- many years ( the horrror!!!!)

Jim

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Rode soft boots for my 1st season then went to a pair of Raichle snow boarders/121s in like 1995. I still rode free ride directional boards like the Rossi Levitation and the Damion Dagger but had No clue how to carve. Just liked the power and response of the hard boot. Did not commit to a carving board till 2001. Thanks to people like Tony Z, Eric Brammer, Alex J and Steph and of course the Carve Father crew I think I can carve a turn or 2, 7 years later :eek:

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A real man would have started the FS accred. in hardboots.;)

I would have but, politically, I thought I would not be allowed to pass even though I was already training/examining in hardboots before getting out of the loop a few years prior.I took it as good hardboot karma that Greg, who was a kickass softboot carver, happened to be the lead examiner that weekend.

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I rode softies for about 14 yrs. 11 of which were in some Morrows that made Sorrels look like Sazukas. I can't tell you how many times I jammed my ankle on toesides in those deathtraps. Got some Dialogues (Salomon) and loved the support, but like Alee, the toe drag would eat me for lunch. I'd been carving mostly in softies for a few years, not full laid out but definitely not skidding...unless I meant to.

After popping in and out on Bomber, I decided to go for it. Only have half of a sucky season on hb's but this year looks much better...I got a RT on the way:biggthump .

The transition was easy as far as the technique...so far. Getting used to the higher angles was the only stumbling point...that and towards the end of the season, I didn't get much good carving conditions. The first half was decent, but I was still in softies. I did have a blast laying some decent troughs on my 4807 in softies...till it tried to break.

J

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Ok, I started (before they had production boots) in Sorels with ski boot liners. Then went to Burtons with the stiff liner when they came out for about a month (maybe more like a season) until the Burton Freestyles came out....... I rode those for oh, until the leather got dry rot. Then I got a pair of Northwaves.

The funniest thing is we used to ride our boots only laced half way up or so.

Oh yeah, somewhere in there I got my hard boots, about 6 or 7 years ago now.

In Minnesota you NEED to actually carve to be good at freestlye, otherwise you cannot hit anything with any decent control.

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