qowah Posted December 30, 2009 Report Share Posted December 30, 2009 I've been riding (soft) for about two years, and recently my mind was blown away by a couple of carving videos and conversations with some hardboard folks at a nearby resort. I am dying to try it out now, and I'm going to ask for some advice, please :) I've read all through the Carver's Almanac and some forums and spoken with people, but I still haven't decided firmly on which gear to get. I am 5'11'' tall and weigh quite too much for the height -- 210 lbs. My current plan is to buy: a long-ish Donek Axxess or Prior 4WD -- I'm thinking 179 cm (is it too long? Should I go with a shorter one?). (I was also thinking of a SWOARD :), but I have some doubts about it from the learning perspective -- as I said, hard board and boots are all totally new to me.) Not the stiffest boots, e.g. DeeLuxe Track 325. Some step-ins (Bomber TD2 Intec?) Does this list even make sense? While primary goal is to try carving and love it, there's an obvious secondary too, which is to spend as little cash as possible :) Would I be able to find any of the stuff on the list used (I'm guessing, used boots+bindings are a possibility, not sure about the board, though, considering its length)? One more thing: I live in the SF Bay Area and the closest snow to me is Lake Tahoe. Am I right to assume there's no chance whatsoever to find any of the gear in offline shops? I'm okay with online/shipping, too, just wanted to check. I would greatly appreciate any help and/or suggestions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiveBomber Posted December 30, 2009 Report Share Posted December 30, 2009 I would recomend a slightly shorter board, with about a 11-13 radius. Also depending on your (boots size) I wouldnt get too wide of a board, I think a 200-205, reason is, if you boot angles are too low, I personally think you will learn to ride with bad habbits, IE, youll try to ride with a soft boot style, like the diff between riding a motorcycle and driving a car, if you get on a 4 wheeler, its not really a motorcycle. Basically the lower angles will keep you from feeling comfortable from roatating your shoulders forward, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ear dragger Posted December 31, 2009 Report Share Posted December 31, 2009 Since you're in the west, and I assume you're trails are pretty wide. you can get away with a 13m sidecut. If you go bigger, the board is gonna take a long time to finish a turn, and because you''re a beginner it will probably pick up alot of speed! Try not to get a GS board. They have pretty big sidecuts. if you watch there seems to be a good number of coilers getting sold here on the classifieds. Just beware that these boards are built specific. so the specs on the board are important. A 6.7 rating or higher should be good for you're weight. I think i saw a race carve on there the other day. You can go for other boards of course but a swoard should not be one of them (in my opinion). Don't go for a hybrid (4wd or whatever). You wanna carve, then get on a real carving board. Spend 300-400 bucks on a deck just not too much side cut. Go for 175-180 range as far as length. You can probably pick up an old set of trench diggers or cateks. but you could also ride a softer binding to start, like snow pros or burton plates. I will say it is a great thing to have toe/heel lift. It makes riding more comfy, and less fatigue. You'll find out pretty quick as to whether you like a soft interface or a hard one. I prefer a very hard interface. I want the board to move. have fun:biggthump Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Transistor Rhythm Posted December 31, 2009 Report Share Posted December 31, 2009 Why no Swoard? It's a pretty forgiving board for beginners, wide but grippy. Those laid down turns are for advanced riders ofcourse, as with any board. Some people here don't like it because it doesn't do some things as well as more race oriented shapes. But I guess it's pretty expensive compared to North American offerings. Boots and bindings seem to be a pretty good choice. I ride stepins even when I ride my Swoard, it's about the best reason to ride hardboots Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qowah Posted January 3, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2010 Thanks everyone, I'll probably go for a free carve board, then. Why no Swoard? It's a pretty forgiving board for beginners, wide but grippy. Those laid down turns are for advanced riders of course, as with any board. Some people here don't like it because it doesn't do some things as well as more race oriented shapes. But I guess it's pretty expensive compared to North American offerings. Honestly, I enjoyed watching those Swiss boarding videos, and I would certainly love to be able to perform those laid down turns someday. I even tried the push-pull technique from their website on my current freeride board and discovered I could actually carve on it, w/o laying down of course :). So, what are those things Swoard does not do well? I'm not particularly interested in racing, I'm looking more into doing complete half-circles. (It is pricey, of course, but I could reconsider my priorities if that'd result in a faster/easier learning curve.) Perhaps, I should go and ask the same question on the extremecarving.com forum to get diverse opinions :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charliekarr Posted January 4, 2010 Report Share Posted January 4, 2010 qowah, I live in SF, and drive to Sunnyvale M-F. I have some boards/bindings that may work for you, without breaking the bank. PM me if you're interested. If you find a Coiler at a good price though, don't hesitate! I'm keeping mine! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arclite Posted January 4, 2010 Report Share Posted January 4, 2010 I ride stepins even when I ride my Swoard, it's about the best reason to ride hardboots I second that! I would go for the swoard, especially if you have wide open blue runs available to you. The one thats closer to 170 is probably ideal, but you could get away with the 176. As you can see in my avatar and signature, I'm laying down my toesides. I'm on a virus X-treme carver 169, basically the same as the swoard, but with metal. It's only been 11 months on hard boots for me. And those pictures are from my 3rd day on the board. Starting with softer set-ups probably helped my learning curve, but a swoard to your flex with open runs and enough days on the season, and you'll be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qowah Posted January 4, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2010 qowah,I live in SF, and drive to Sunnyvale M-F. I have some boards/bindings that may work for you, without breaking the bank. PM me if you're interested. If you find a Coiler at a good price though, don't hesitate! I'm keeping mine! Awesome! I've sent you a message. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qowah Posted January 4, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2010 I second that! I would go for the swoard, especially if you have wide open blue runs available to you. The one thats closer to 170 is probably ideal, but you could get away with the 176. As you can see in my avatar and signature, I'm laying down my toesides. I'm on a virus X-treme carver 169, basically the same as the swoard, but with metal. It's only been 11 months on hard boots for me. And those pictures are from my 3rd day on the board. Starting with softer set-ups probably helped my learning curve, but a swoard to your flex with open runs and enough days on the season, and you'll be fine. This sounds very convincing (as well as your pictures), thanks! :) Going to do some market research... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Vu Posted January 4, 2010 Report Share Posted January 4, 2010 Hi qowah, I am a Swoard owner and live/work in Sunnyvale. Feel free to PM me if you want to meet/chat over lunch or evening. Cheers, Peter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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