Hardboots only or do you go both ways!

[BlueB]

I'm a die hard h/booter by harth, but also a s/booter by snow skool management's order...

[Puddy Tat]

Nice photoshop job on the kitty by the way. Sent it to one of my jibber friends with the subject line "Cool cats ride alpine boards".

Shouldn't the cat have been riding an orRennge Tiger board though. OK that was painful. I'll be leaving now.

Cheers

[patmoore]

Nice photoshop job on the kitty by the way. Sent it to one of my jibber friends with the subject line "Cool cats ride alpine boards".

Shouldn't the cat have been riding an orRennge Tiger board though. OK that was painful. I'll be leaving now.

Cheers

Oh jeez......

Look at the small animated graphic below the kitty and you can see where I got the RennTiger image.

I can't wait for the season to begin!

[Puddy Tat]

Oh jeez......

Look at the small animated graphic below the kitty and you can see where I got the RennTiger image.

I can't wait for the season to begin!

Pat,

Looking at my post again it appears I was flaming the image you created. That wasn't my intent. The "that was painful" comment was directed at my extremely bad pun.

Apologies,

Dave

[Miltie]

Haven't used softies in about 3 years due to foot discomfort. Scored a set of 32 Forecast boots with Intuition liners and some Burton Custom bindings for this season. Plan to use Uni-cants or Burton cants front and rear on an older Burton E-deck 163. Have a similar binding set-up for my powder board as well. Will see how it all works. Plan to start my days on the HB set up and then switch to soft set-up once the chop is developed or my legs turn to rubber.

[scotts.Scheinman]

ive been in hard boots only for the past 3 or 4 years. i wouldnt mind lacing up the softies for fun.

[Blackbird]

I hardboot most of the time,

I used softies for years but after going back to hard boots...

my soft boot technique has taken off in a big way...

became a much better snowboarder in general....

Still love Hardbooting more..... nothing like leaving pencil thin trenches in super hard snow/ice at big speeds..... nothing comes close..till the ski patrol come over!!! LOL

Love the Carve Kitty.......

Steve

[johnasmo]

It's literally all about the angle(s) you ride. I have a hell of a lot of fun riding both soft and hard, but it's physically like two different sports. Hardbooting is a toes forward stance (65, 60); softbooting is standing sideways (18, -3). Carving can be done in softies, but not at those angles, and doing it sideways, I just don't find as fun because it physically just doesn't work as well for me. Likewise, I find riding low angles in hardboots is a pain. I'd rather stand sideways in softies on a powder day because I find it more fun, and fun is the bottom line. Don't fight your gear -- ride what works best for the style of riding your doing on a given day and you'll have more fun. Surfers and slalom waterskiers are doing two different things with their bodies; softbooting and hardbooting are a similar dichotomy. They cater to two different ends of a spectrum of riding style. Some people pick one end of the spectrum or the other, some like the whole thing.

If you're into hard boots mostly because of the wimpy support offered by most strap-in soft setups, but are riding angles lower than 40 degrees, consider Flow bindings. Not those sold as "freestyle" or "all-terrain" models to park rats, but "freeride" models. The stiffer and bigger the strap, the better. They're by far the stiffest and most supportive soft boot bindings I've tried. I've never tried the Catek FR, but it's about the Flow design, not the materials. The M-Eleven model is really good for the money; the NXT-FX has the stiffest strap; Team is overpriced. They've generally gotten softer over the years, older ProC-FR models were sick stiff. Don't knock softies 'til you've tried a decent pair of Flows. (I should be a rep, I've got so many).

Now, this IS a carving forum, so I'll stop promoting the wrong side of the spectrum. You want to do laid out carves on hardpack? It's simply more fun in hard boots because it works better with your toes forward, and for those angles you need the binding and boots to be VERY supportive laterally; you're sideways ankle strength isn't enough to keep the board high on edge, and even the stiffest of soft boot setups is more flexible laterally than the softest hard boot setup.

[Dr D]

easy there tiger! reread that last paragraph. It says bodyflopping is more fun in hardboots. I ride with john regularly and he can go both ways with the best of them:eplus2:

No really, I could flip a coin and be as accurate as guessing what he is riding on a given day. He rips!

He won the most vertical feet contest with a freshly repaired collarbone one year. broke it got the surgery and was on the hill days later in a splint. He rode the whole last week of the season that way.

AND he's an old fart so show some respect:lol::lol:

[Pow]

I used to use softies for powder but now i cant stand them, i love my hardboots:1luvu:

[Pow]

no way man, back off, shes mine!

[Pow]

ohh, OT, but SBS, have you tried the donek razor? just wondering what ppl think of it

[johnasmo]

Yeah, what the Doc said. He was just asking what we ride most. I don't want to turn this into a thread about whether you can carve in soft boots. That's been talked to death. The answer is yes.

Carving can be done in softies, but not at those angles, and doing it sideways, I just don't find as fun because it physically just doesn't work as well for me.

The point I was making is that many of us ride both, but not with the same stance or angles or even riding style. Equipment matters. One size does not fit all. If you do want to be laid out, riding softies at 60+ degrees on a 180 waisted GS alpine board is not the ticket. Hardboots will make that ride easier. Likewise, ripping it up at 30- degrees on a 260 waisted Donek Wide is great fun too, but soft boots will make that ride easier because you actually want some lateral flex. Since I have both, I'm not just speculating, but sharing my experience, and I'm speaking just for myself, ankle and knee injuries can send you one way or the other as well.

P.S. I'm not being a hard boot bigot. Last season I was 33% hard boot, 66% soft boot. I pretty much only do the hard boots for carving on groomers. For everywhere else, carving or not, I have more fun in softies.

Now riding 30 to 45 degree angles is just wrong. It's like being bisexual. Just make up your mind already! [Just kidding, really, humor, ok? Whatever works for ya.]

[carvedog]

P.S. I'm not being a hard boot bigot. Last season I was 33% hard boot, 66% soft boot. I pretty much only do the hard boots for carving on groomers. For everywhere else, carving or not, I have more fun in softies.

You're prejudiced against hard boots cuz you guys make it snow so much up there. Otherwise you would realize that soft is ......well soft.

Now riding 30 to 45 degree angles is just wrong. It's like being bisexual. Just make up your mind already! [Just kidding, really, humor, ok? Whatever works for ya.]

Omniboarder. If it is snow - dice it. This does not carry over into personal sexuality ok? If it did I would be in real trouble.

Any angles, any board, any boots - all the time. Definitely prefer my hard boots in all conditions however.

[Dr D]

Yeah, what the Doc said.. If you do want to be laid out, riding softies at 60+ degrees on a 180 waisted GS alpine board is not the ticket. Hardboots will make that ride easier..]

That said I often ride a 185 Gs board in softies its a hoot to! IT just takes catek freerides and a third strap to pull it off:eplus2: excellent fun when the groom is to soft

Free your mind and the rest will follow:biggthump

[Justin A.]

I ride about 60-40 Teles/Hardboots.

I used to ride Hardboots 100% of the time, but I was bitten by the tele bug last fall and damn is it magical. Besides, I smell great when I wear patchouli.

I still race in my hardboots though, and if I spot another carver on the hill I scoot home and switch for the sake of carve-brotherhood.