Guest NS Racer Posted September 27, 2004 Report Share Posted September 27, 2004 Just want to hear some opinions as to what people are using when they are not hard booting. I am looking for a soft boot set up for play days away from my 184PR, But I still don't want to be skidding my turns all the time. All comments and ideas welcome Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-Sub Posted September 27, 2004 Report Share Posted September 27, 2004 Id bet a Donek Incline would suffice or the axis, but...thats still more of an alpine board Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike T Posted September 28, 2004 Report Share Posted September 28, 2004 ... or Wide or Sasquatch depending on your boot size and softioe stance. I have the Wide 161 and it's very carve-friendly. Other options: Salomon Fastback, or older Salomon models - 550 or FRS. That's all I have personal experience with that I'd recommend, but here's a list of other boards that have been recommended to me: Rad Air Tanker Rad Air LSD Prior MFR F2 Eliminator Voelkl Cross Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-Sub Posted September 28, 2004 Report Share Posted September 28, 2004 man I just went and checked the donek site...now I want a **** incline. heh. funny **** innit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Matt D Posted September 28, 2004 Report Share Posted September 28, 2004 I don't know about the doneks... you guys in the USA love em cause the price is far more reasonable for you than it is for a canadian. NS racer... I assume you ride at wentworth or martock right? I would suggest a prior. If you have you instructor cert, you can get an awesome deal on 1, and if not, they are still reasonably priced for canadians. I am ordering an AMF for my "play days" when I just want to go for a fun ride, with nothing to serious going on. I like to carve too, so I know where your coming from. I discussed my idea with Chris Prior at ECES last year. I was having so much fun on my burton dominant, but I found it lacking in the edge hold department. Chris told me he could put together an AMF with a soft flex along the length while keeping torsional stiffness, and overall carvability. do you have a budget? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lonerider Posted September 28, 2004 Report Share Posted September 28, 2004 Originally posted by Matt D I don't know about the doneks... you guys in the USA love em cause the price is far more reasonable for you than it is for a canadian. I have a Donek Incline right now and it's very good as people have said. I definitely wanted to look at some Prior freeride/freestyle boards though, but the prices for the new boards are tad high for us in the States (higher than almost any board you can buy here). Are there sales or something (aside from used/demo equipment... which is what I might do for my next board). Will Prior send you a demo board to try out for free? I'm a little confused though... a Donek is $360USD, even with a 1.5 exchange rate that's still only $550CAD... Priors are selling for $700 CAD. Are there a lot more taxes in involved? Even with GST, it should be less (but I'm not a Canadian so I've purchased stuff in that direction). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flash Posted September 28, 2004 Report Share Posted September 28, 2004 I ride a Palmer Carbon Circle when I ride soft boots - great all around board and still very carvable. Has alot of pop. The Catek Freeride set-up is sweet. Donek is also coming out with their new Phoenix line - same usual super Donek edge hold, but a bit softer with more sidecut that the Incline. Better for bumps and pow. Flash Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMWOOD Posted September 28, 2004 Report Share Posted September 28, 2004 Lets all have a look outside the box, shall we... http://www.steepwatersnowboards.com/ http://www.glissadesnowboards.com/home.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeW Posted September 28, 2004 Report Share Posted September 28, 2004 Been a long time fan of Lib Tech Emma Peel 157/159 (depending which plates they decide to use for the year). they're consistently 8.0 meter sidecut which I so dearly love -- squirrely style of turning/carving, esp in halfpipe riding. Recently ordered 159 Scotty model of 04/05 Lib Tech. 8.2 sidecut radius should satisfy my cravings for squirrely turns. Debating on whether to get a Burton P1 Carbon bindings or Catek Freeride bindings or both for 04/05. Burton's big plus is the adjustment of the highback to parallel to the edges regardless of the angle it's tilted towards (I ride duckfeet). Catek's is of course, a nice hard carve esp can be used on alpine with 3rd strap or booster straps. Minus of Burton would be the angles for use on race boards, as well as Catek's feasibility to use on halfpipe riding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-Sub Posted September 28, 2004 Report Share Posted September 28, 2004 Originally posted by AMWOOD Lets all have a look outside the box, shall we... http://www.steepwatersnowboards.com/ http://www.glissadesnowboards.com/home.htm actually just signed back on to mention glissade Ive always wanted one...back when they made the connosieur board with the character holdin the big ol' bud... I was up at wave rave in august, and they had I think three Glissades (that I saw...) 175, 185, and 195 I believe. they also had a Klassen custom Prior at around 176...and a few of them steepwaters (Klassen's company I believe) all were on sale for very good prices. almost walked out with a glissade or two:) man...if I didnt have a little self-control Id go broke buying snowboards Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bubba Posted September 28, 2004 Report Share Posted September 28, 2004 I have a Forum 157 with Ride Team binders that I use for teaching. Carves excellent and is a fun, smooth board to ride. Worth a look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rick ferguson Posted September 28, 2004 Report Share Posted September 28, 2004 Small toy's for little boy's What is up with the pinner boards? So many "MEN" riding short boards in a forum of railing. Just curious , who rides a board that short and claims to be a carver? I've seen so many people looking to buy sub-160 boards! Is this a crew of the midget militia? Get off the green and step into the black!Go big or go home!! Just an opinion , don't get your panties in a bunch:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest AlpentalRider Posted September 28, 2004 Report Share Posted September 28, 2004 geez guys, do you even freeride in softboot setups? Most of the recommendations given are just like the hardboot setup rofl. If your gonna softboot, then why ride something just like your hardboot setup? If you're looking for a good softies setup for freeriding and backcountry I would recommend the following boards in a length between 162-167 for a 160-220 pound rider: Burton Raven 163/166 (Johan Replacement for 05) Option Signature Series SM (Stiff Motha) Head Intelligence (excellent board with microfiber tech) Ride Timeless (soul carving) For bindings, I would personally stick with the Burton P1 Carbons. Gonna be hard to find a better fitting and performing binding out there. For boots, buy what fits your foot. Fit is #1 when it comes to them. Try on Salomon Malamutes, Burton DriverX, and Nothwave, those 3 are sweet freeride boots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-Sub Posted September 28, 2004 Report Share Posted September 28, 2004 glissades, donek inclines, and the steepwater boards arent anything like alpine boards. some of them are definitely directional, but...a bit of an exaggeration there and about the short boards...I have a 161 for SoCal days and 178 oxygen somethin or other for powder, so yeah, i have some "mens" boards:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NateW Posted September 28, 2004 Report Share Posted September 28, 2004 Just want to hear some opinions as to what people are using when they are not hard booting. Converse Chuck Taylors, the best sneakers money can buy. More seriously, I'm pleased to see the > 10m sidecuts on the steepwater boards. If by some terrible circumstance I had to ride in soft boots, I'd look for something like that. I'd still be yearning for hard boots and a good all-mountain alpine board though. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lonerider Posted September 28, 2004 Report Share Posted September 28, 2004 Originally posted by AlpentalRider geez guys, do you even freeride in softboot setups? Most of the recommendations given are just like the hardboot setup rofl. If your gonna softboot, then why ride something just like your hardboot setup? I agree in general... that the whole point is to get something that is NOT like a hardboot setup... so if you are hesistant to ride in a "normal" setup (which is softboots for 99% of the world), you hardbooter purist opinions are kind of at odds with the purpose of this post. I'm still mainly a softbooter myself (60/40 split). The Donek Axis is still a hardboot board in my opinion (yes blah blah blah Catek Freerides, blah blah Nidecker, blah...), but the Incline is not - is a little stiffer and crisper than the Ride Timeless (which was also a nice board). Still a little carve-centric, but not bad in the park/pipe. Definitely mediocre on rails, in the the trees, in powder in my opinion. The Prior AMF is a freestyle board that is meant for the whole mountain (different from the MFR). I haven't tried it, but I would like to. Salomon boards that Mike T mentioned at definitely in the freeride/carving end, The Definition is a true carver, but the Forecast is more versatile. But again... they are nothing like an alpine board to my limit hardbooting experience What else... well I don't like Forum boards in general (even for freestyle). I have a Neversummer Evo for freestyle, which is great for park and pipe... very mediocre for anything else the Premier or SL would be better for an all-around board. I've never ridden a LibTech so that's a (?) for me as I don't have an opinion. I don't like Burton boards in general either... BUT the Custom is a decent board according to my friend. Dragon is a nice board that I've ridden... good carver, lightweight... just some question of them breaking easily. AlpentalRider, have you actually demo'd the Head board? I mean the K2 Electra had a similar "general" idea a couple of year ago... but most people (including myself) couldn't really feel much of a difference. I would avoid the Voekl Cross or F2 Eliminator as they are BX boards (again not in the full spirit of softboots). I'm not sure about the Steepwaters and the Rad Airs either. Here is my current board selection (I'm 5'8" 150 lbs) Alpine: Madd 170 with TD2 Stepins (hopefully) Freeride: Donek Incline 155 with Catek Freerides Freestyle: Neversummer Evo 155 Powder: Burton Fish with Burton P1MD bindings On the two ends... I feel like the Madd and the Fish are exactly the type of boards I want for those disciplines. In the middle, while I like the Incline and the Evo... I wouldn't be against replacing them with one or two boards in the future if I find something better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ncermak Posted September 28, 2004 Report Share Posted September 28, 2004 Hayes Brothers.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strider Posted September 28, 2004 Report Share Posted September 28, 2004 I still freeride in my soft setup quite a bit, but prefer a really stiff board torsionally and in the tail so I can still rip with it. My all time favorite was a Salomon Freeride 164. I currently have an Atomic 167 that I really like a lot as well. They changed all the names for this years boards so I'm not sure which model it is now(was the one with the mugshots on it), but I can say that it has a lot of snap, good balance in the air and didn't cost all that much. I rode a Nidecker the year before based on my happiness with my race board, but it lost its camber after a half season and then was like riding on a wet noodle. Hope some of this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobdea Posted September 28, 2004 Report Share Posted September 28, 2004 173 and 181 were primo in the pow and held up very well everywhere else and my 173 took a insane amount of beating and still held up just fine donek sasquatch 170 great at speed decent in the pow but a terror to land on if you are not perfectly lined up this board is stiff and requires allot of input to be ridden well but is rewarding if you put enough into it Ride yukon 169? killer deck if you weigh under 230 or so I loved mine but at moderate speed it was a little floppy at high speed it was scary killer in the park though I now wish I had not dumped it because it was so easy to ride and it was soft and nimble good for the eastcoast trees lib tech dough boy 193 killer for those wide open pow runs hell in the bumps I wish it was not so turny for its length a board that long should be expected to be more stable at high speeds it was rather nice to land on as well if I had to choose a softboot setup to do it all it would be the never summer legacy 170 or 174 they are not too stiff ,super damp,easy riding,well built and will trench as well as any freeride setup out there a legacy could not replace a longboard or my donek Sasquatch though if I had smaller feet I would suggest a Burton Johan those boards are great Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest johann Posted September 28, 2004 Report Share Posted September 28, 2004 f2 eliminator. woot! 164 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeW Posted September 28, 2004 Report Share Posted September 28, 2004 Originally posted by bobdea lib tech dough boy 193 killer for those wide open pow runs hell in the bumps I wish it was not so turny for its length a board that long should be expected to be more stable at high speeds it was rather nice to land on as well Oh you got those? Ive consider gettin' those boards. Just a bit wee-bit too long for me. Im 5'10" and 200 lbs. I know that Mike Olson rides 'em considering how tall he is (HE IS TALL!) and he says he loves to ride on 'em. Im debating whether to get Dough Boy 193 or Grocer 180. We'll see. Turny-- 11 to 9 sidecut progressive. That's a bit turny. Is it still turny when youre carving on them ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Gendzwill Posted September 28, 2004 Report Share Posted September 28, 2004 Originally posted by LeeW Oh you got those? Ive consider gettin' those boards. Just a bit wee-bit too long for me. Im 5'10" and 200 lbs. I know that Mike Olson rides 'em considering how tall he is (HE IS TALL!) and he says he loves to ride on 'em. Im debating whether to get Dough Boy 193 or Grocer 180. We'll see. Lots of love here for the Rad-Air Tankers which come in similar lengths. I've got a used 200 I picked up at the end of last season that I can't wait to try out. I think it's an 11 m sidecut. If you do a search you'll find lots of posts about them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rick ferguson Posted September 29, 2004 Report Share Posted September 29, 2004 Nice to see some freeride post's in the OVER 160 range! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh Posted September 30, 2004 Report Share Posted September 30, 2004 Good discussion, good ideas. My last true freeride board was the 159 LibTech Emma Peel. I could carve frontside, but backside would not come around with the angles that I was using. I was 70% carving and 30% freeride (three years ago). Problem was: whenever I got on my freeride setup on the groomed, I wanted the carving sensation. Fast forward a few years: I now own a Prior 4x4 174cm (awesome board) and I still have my freeride powder board Santa Cruz Flame 164cm wide (old standby). Then, I had to score a Burton Fish 156cm cause it was on sale (159cm was not available). Again, after seeing Rick Ferguson carving on his O'Sin 4807 178cm, I had to buy one too (only $150 for new in the wrapper). The long and short of it is I no longer enjoy softbooting. Plus, with a quiver like mine, there is no reason to softboot. My 0.02... Hugh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philw Posted September 30, 2004 Report Share Posted September 30, 2004 I guess I can't really answer the original question as although I've ridden soft boots they, well, just too soft. I don't know what the "free" word means - it's used and abused by any marketer who wants a positive word. For powder I just clip the boots in a Fish and get on with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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