Phil Posted November 2, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 2, 2007 There were probably more options that I could have listed, but try to stick with the ones that are there. It is my poll and I will do what I want with it. :o ;) Sorry for those who do not fit my categories. I am doing "research". Those of you who started in hardboots are of no use to me. Thanks for joining the conversation, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Brown Posted November 2, 2007 Report Share Posted November 2, 2007 My first ever lesson, in softboots of course, was from a grey on a tray in hardboots... Rode sloppy soffties with boot-outs. I ask the shop guy and he says "you'll never have a problem with boot overhang as you'll never get the board up on edge that far." Busted my ankle and needed more support in a boot. Stumbled upon BOL looking for a stiffer setup and the rest is nirvana ---- well, perhaps I could suck just a little less... I found the transition overall fairly easy and I actually started to carve turns --- what a concept! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Smith Posted November 2, 2007 Report Share Posted November 2, 2007 "Duck" sucked Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiveBomber Posted November 2, 2007 Report Share Posted November 2, 2007 "a grey on a tray in hardboots" ?? hmm???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Posted November 2, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 2, 2007 You know, a grey on a tray in hardboots! It's public domain, now, Mark! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullwings Posted November 2, 2007 Report Share Posted November 2, 2007 Where the option for "I was a straight liner hill bombing jackass and the transition was difficult." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest naj Posted November 2, 2007 Report Share Posted November 2, 2007 hell on the first day...the following days were smooth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carvedog Posted November 2, 2007 Report Share Posted November 2, 2007 I voted for difficult. It just seemed hard to me get the gear, get it dialed and make it feel like I wasn't a completely wanker. Maybe I am. Surprised to see how many started with sorels and ski boot liners. God those hurt even with good liners. Added elfgen tongues to relieve pressure on my arches. Went to Koflach Superpipes and kept the tongues and that was my setup pretty much until I went hard. My first day on plates I used some mountaineering boots that were too soft so that the cuff around my calf would completely collapse. Very good for freestyle but did not work so well with the weird track style ( looked kind of like a bear trap ) plate binding, one of the scariest days I ever had on the mountain. After trying a couple of other setups I went with Ride plates ( imagine a binding that was just like a Burton heel or toe plate aluminum block bolted straight to the board ), so it wasn't too adjustable but on that Mistral 167 Ecstasy I felt like a God of snow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trailertrash Posted November 2, 2007 Report Share Posted November 2, 2007 do you mean switching to hb's and carving? some people ride hardboots and don't carve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Posted November 2, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 2, 2007 Trailertrash, That is actually what I mean, but for what I am trying to see, it doesn't really matter. I just want to know how people felt about the switch. A lot of people who aren't carving don't know that they are not carving - or don't care. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willywhit Posted November 2, 2007 Report Share Posted November 2, 2007 http://www.snowboard-mag.com/node/5070 andy "dog" coghlan took various forms of payment for gear at the Boarding House in Burlington, VT- if you were there, you know what I mean. :rolleyes: Just because you carve, doesn't mean you have style Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest GeoffG Posted November 2, 2007 Report Share Posted November 2, 2007 I'm not really too sure how to answer that poll...like many others, when I started proper gear wasn't readily available--I used sorels with skiboot liners for several years, and found it very comfortable. Had an old 165 Gnu AntiGravity board, heavy and stiff, black with green graphics (this was mid/late 80s), mounted with Gnu bindings with rigid highbacks and a sort of tongue over the front of the boot. I actually made some hard bindings from an old Spademan plate that I drilled and mounted, and rode in skiboots...without any type of risers or cant, it was uncomfortable and I went back to the softboots. As a skier for many years, racer, and ski instructor by the time I started riding , my self-taught style was very much carving as opposed to skidding or jibbing...it just felt right. Over the years I did move on to better gear, proper softboots and strap bindings, but then I found an old Mistral Ecstasy asym carving board on sale, and picked up some K2 Snowboard boots (the ones with the Vibram sole, basically AT boots with the word "Snowboard" printed on the side). That was a revelation, and started my current carving gear collection... Mind you, in there I was still skiing, instructing, telemarking, patrolling, riding freeride in the powder...not a whole lot of time or $$$ to devote to any one niche...nowadays, I mostly carve or tele ski, depending on location and conditions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thor VonRippington Posted November 2, 2007 Report Share Posted November 2, 2007 Had an old 165 Gnu AntiGravity board, heavy and stiff, black with green graphics (this was mid/late 80s), mounted with Gnu bindings with rigid highbacks and a sort of tongue over the front of the boot. :lol: I rode that board... same sidecut and flex pattern as my coffee table! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-Sub Posted November 2, 2007 Report Share Posted November 2, 2007 1989 or 1990, 1st day sorels on a rental LOOK board. 2nd-6th or so rented those Kemper boots with hard lowers. Got some Sorel Scott Downeys for one season...they sucked. Burton Freestyle from about 1991-1995 when someone loaned me a pair of UPS boots and a PJ7. Still rode softboots most of the time, but the transition felt natural as my friends and I were real keen on carving turns properly in softboots anyway. My friend Che was so fluid carving a soft setup but never made the transition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willywhit Posted November 2, 2007 Report Share Posted November 2, 2007 not to nitpick but the antigravity was a 166. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Posted November 2, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 2, 2007 I thought that the Anti was a 156 and the Kinetic was a 166? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Prokopiw Posted November 2, 2007 Report Share Posted November 2, 2007 carved skis.. stepped on a board with the intention of using hardboots easy transition.. After 20 years of absolutely no skiing and never having carved even one turn on skis with my limited skiing skills on straight skis back in the 70s/80s,I found carving on modern skis to be a surprisingly easy transition from hardbooting on boards.STILL 98% boarder though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carvedog Posted November 2, 2007 Report Share Posted November 2, 2007 After 20 years of absolutely no skiing and never having carved even one turn on skis with my limited skiing skills on straight skis back in the 70s/80s,I found carving on modern skis to be a surprisingly easy transition from hardbooting on boards.STILL 98% boarder though. During a PSIA clinic I tried out some blade skis ( the shorty things ) and ripped them in my Burton Fires. Almost beat the ski school director in a little race course that we did. Not that I know squat about skiing, just drove my knees inside and let em rip. And I could carve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tap Posted November 2, 2007 Report Share Posted November 2, 2007 we'll see....have ridden soft boots for 15+ years and love it. I only got the carving board to keep things interesting. Will be using it with AT boots. you guys who ride hard boots in deep pow just mystify me...i don't get it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eastcoasticerider Posted November 2, 2007 Report Share Posted November 2, 2007 I saw a BUrton Amp 6 in a store and thought wow! That shape really makes more sense than the big round nose and tail design....It was actually easier to learn on than a lunchtray of that era(94-95) i used the 3 strap Torque binding and that was that.......fun fun fun.....I still ride the Amp once in a while....really fun in powder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEJ Posted November 2, 2007 Report Share Posted November 2, 2007 Ditto above. Asym alp with Torques and Burton Comp.s at 45/45. I was already half way there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spaamport Posted November 2, 2007 Report Share Posted November 2, 2007 I skied until I was about 12, switched to snowboarding when i was 13 and rented for a season a soft boot/ freestyle board setup. It was a Mad Duck (I think) 154 or something similar. The next year i bought a bigger, heavier, wider board (a '94 K2 Fat Bob 162) but upgraded to 3-strap bindings. Big disappointment. The board was an ogre to turn, even with the extra support of the shin strap. And those K2 boots were terrible. I had major heel lift issues. Two seasons later I got my first race board, a '95 Oxygen asymetrical slalom 159, but kept my soft boots and 3-strappers for a season because I couldn't afford a 3-way overhaul. But it was like going from driving a dumptruck to a miata - and it was clear that i was going to have to cough it up and buy hard boots and plate bindings soon. The following year I got Burton Boiler boots and Burton Race plates and I still use those bindings and I just retired the Boilers this year for a new pair of UPZ RSV's. The switch from soft boots to hard back in '97 was cake. it takes a few days just to get your settings and your angles to where they feel the most natural, but in terms of adjusting to the gear itself, if you've been dreaming of having more response in your ankles, then it will simply be a matter of your board actually doing what you've thought it should be doing all along. If you're already a proficient freeriding snowboarder, I think the biggest hump is just getting your stance width, your rear foot cant, and your angles right for your body and for what makes you comfortable. The rest should be natural. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin A. Posted November 3, 2007 Report Share Posted November 3, 2007 I'm with Allee, there's no option for "got my ass kicked then it was awesome" My first day out in hardboots, my new-at-the-time Coiler kicked my ass something awful. I fell more times that day than I have probally ever in all my years of snowboarding. I went home bruised, sore, stiff, and wobbly all at the same time, then went out the next weekend, and since I knew to expect that the board would whisk me off to mach 9.6 in about 300 feet, I did a whole lot better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fastskiguy Posted November 3, 2007 Report Share Posted November 3, 2007 Haha, no mention of "what" you were carving....but a switch (addition?) from sith lord ski carving to alpne snowboard has been great! Same physics, just easier to lay it way over. Harder to find gear. What is this soft boot to which you refer? ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b0ardski Posted November 3, 2007 Report Share Posted November 3, 2007 we'll see....have ridden soft boots for 15+ years and love it.I only got the carving board to keep things interesting. Will be using it with AT boots. you guys who ride hard boots in deep pow just mystify me...i don't get it. I ride the pow, trees & carve the groom on stiff all mtn boards w/10 yr old intec stepins & 14yr old magic raichle 123's, they flex nice. I;ve killed a couple good boards w/ this setup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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