Guest thomas_m Posted April 14, 2004 Report Share Posted April 14, 2004 My wife has had left foot comfort problems with a couple different softboots this season. A fellow hardbooter suggested it might be the result of multiple sprained ankles over the years (she plays tennis every day). Regardless of the reason, I suggested she give hardboots a try. We ride together a lot and it's a pain(literally) when her foot starts bothering her. She has to stop and I feel guilty for having fun while she waits - defeats the whole purpose of riding together... So, she finally agreed to give them a try next season. I'll probably take advantage of Bomber's boot sale but was wondering about what to do for bindings and a first board. Obviously, starting inexpensive but reasonable quality is the goal since there's no telling if she'll prefer hardboots over the softies. She's 5'3", about 100lbs and very athletic. I doubt she'll ever ride really fast or try to learn to layout huge carves. She digs cruising the steeper greens and smoother blue runs. At her weight and usage, I think TD2's would be wasted. How about the X-bones, Snowpro and similar? For boards, I'm wondering whether something like a used Alp would be better than one of the short SL boards, Oxygen, etc. Or maybe even a Donek Incline? TIA, Thomas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nekdut Posted April 14, 2004 Report Share Posted April 14, 2004 Hey thomas, My girl is the exact same size as your woman. I got her some inexpensive boots off of bomber and a Burton Wire 147 which seems to be a good balance at the moment. Reasonably flexy, wide enough to be forgiving, but skinny enough to do some reasonable carves. Oh, this was from klugriding.com, you may be able to find something short and inexpensive there. Go check it out. =):D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-Sub Posted April 14, 2004 Report Share Posted April 14, 2004 Id guess that the more affordable bindings would actually be better, not just suitable read the reviews here...Xbone got high marks I think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lonerider Posted April 14, 2004 Report Share Posted April 14, 2004 Originally posted by D-Sub Id guess that the more affordable bindings would actually be better, not just suitable read the reviews here...Xbone got high marks I think? No one has officially rated Raichle/Deeluxe Xbones... but people have post (PSR in particular) that they are bad bindings (do a search). Check ebay for cheap deals... for a good "search" go to http://www.hardbooter.com and click on the Ebay icon, it will open up a window showing a bunch of alpine gear on Ebay. For instance it has this setup which I think will be good for you http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=36297&item=3671267605&rd=1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timinor Posted April 14, 2004 Report Share Posted April 14, 2004 Why not put the plates on her current board to start out. That way there are only 2 new variables instead of three. All- mountain boards perform very well with hard plate setups and are more forgiving as stated above. There are lots of great all-mountain boards out there. My 9 year old Nitro Fusion is a great board with soft boots or hard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Dahl Posted April 14, 2004 Report Share Posted April 14, 2004 contact me ofline. I've got a loaner board (153) and some Snowpro fast stepins I could loan. Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack M Posted April 14, 2004 Report Share Posted April 14, 2004 ...how much more she will enjoy an all-mtn carving board like a Burton Coil or Wire, a Prior 4x4, Donek Axis, or Coiler All-Mtn. I'd stay away from an Alp or anything with a square tail at first - not forgiving enough. Has she tried Orthotics? That could be the cure-all. It sounds like she has sensitive feet, in which case orthotics and moldable liners will be wise investments. TD2s wouldn't be wasted on her either, because they allow you to experiment with many different combinations of cant and lift. Actually the board can be your last purchase. Try hardboots on her current board. If she hates it, then you know you don't need to buy another board! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest thomas_m Posted April 14, 2004 Report Share Posted April 14, 2004 Originally posted by Jack Michaud ...how much more she will enjoy an all-mtn carving board like a Burton Coil or Wire, a Prior 4x4, Donek Axis, or Coiler All-Mtn. I'd stay away from an Alp or anything with a square tail at first - not forgiving enough. Has she tried Orthotics? That could be the cure-all. It sounds like she has sensitive feet, in which case orthotics and moldable liners will be wise investments. TD2s wouldn't be wasted on her either, because they allow you to experiment with many different combinations of cant and lift. Actually the board can be your last purchase. Try hardboots on her current board. If she hates it, then you know you don't need to buy another board! Thanks Jack. Given what/how she like to ride, I think its a good fit too. She's tried moulded insoles but not liners. Boot-fitability will be a big advantage of hardboots, I'm thinking. Her problem is localized on the top of her left foot just above the arch. She's currently riding a fairly soft Option Paloma 147 'all-mountain freestyle' board. We'll give that a try and/or take Jon up on his offer of a loaner. Maybe even try out one of Sean's demos at Mt Hood next month. Plenty of time before next season... If she really gets into it, I'll spring for a custom all-mountain for her weight. I recently got a Prior 4WD myself which has been a great beginner board. I learned early on that doing fun sports w/ the wife means doing more fun sports. The only problem is that she's usually better than me if she really tries... <g> T. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike T Posted April 14, 2004 Report Share Posted April 14, 2004 Originally posted by thomas_m I learned early on that doing fun sports w/ the wife means doing more fun sports. The only problem is that she's usually better than me if she really tries... LOL- I'm in the same boat! And my wife always "really tries". Last year I picked up a Nidecker Rave 150 for her, which she rode a couple of times. She found it *less stable* than her softie board (Donek Incline 150). Her feet are small enough such that the Incline gives her almost no overhang in softies at 12/0 angles... so just trying her hard boots in a forward stance on her Incline wasn't really an option. I wound up getting her the Coiler FC 165 women's model. The flex feels just right - stiffer than her Incline but not too stiff (surprise, surprise, flex on a Coiler feels just right) Unfortunately she's been off the snow this seaosn with an injury so I can't report how she likes it yet :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Posted April 15, 2004 Report Share Posted April 15, 2004 Hey Thomas, I've got a Nidecker Next Step that I'd be happy to let you have for $35+ shipping from Portland, OR. I picked it up last year on eBay 'cause they were scandalously cheap. It's kind of an entry-level carving board I guess - it's in storage in my folk's garage right now, but I believe it's a 159. It was just too soft for me - I wanted a twitchy little slalom board and that is definitely not what this board is. I've ridden it about 3 times for a total of maybe 5 hours - there's a scratch or two but basically it's in great condition. Let me know if you're interested. I can get you pictures the next time I'm in Portland, or if you're in the area and you'd like to take it for a test ride, let me know. Cheers, Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andreac Posted April 15, 2004 Report Share Posted April 15, 2004 Hi guys, i am 5'2" 110lbs and here's what i do... i started riding alpine 5 years ago and i began with an option 151 free carve, raichle 223 boots and burton race plates.... the option was a nice soft board to start with, especially going from a softie setup... Oxygen boards, and the prior 4x4 are also nice softer carving boards.... as for boots you really have no option other than raichle/dee-lux (new name) and so may i suggest defintely take jack's advice and get thermoflex heat moldable liners... they will defintely make a huge difference in comfort... finally, Td's are definitley wasted on us lightweights... i love the burton race plates, and i found a new pssion in snowpro's this year. also dave morgan is going to be selling some softer step-ins next season, if she doesn't want to have to deal with standards... i do love both the burtons and the snowpro's and think they are ideal for her height and weight. so now i own a volkl renn tiger, a burton alp, and an oxygen apx, but i really only ride the volkl... and getting a coiler made for next year, but don't do something like that until you know she loves it b/c they are custom made and should be appreciated by their owners.... hope this helps somewhat... tell your ladies to email if they have any questions about women and riding and tak advantage of jon's offer, he's a super nice guy! good luck, andrea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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