nomorepark Posted January 20, 2010 Report Share Posted January 20, 2010 Hello Guys/Gals, Well, I never really thought I would be interested in Alpine riding or carving boards but lately I think it is the only way for me to get back out there and enjoy the sport of snowboarding. I am currently recovering from five hip surgeries and have had a bunch of other serious sergeries in the past years all from snowboarding(about 17yrs). I rode the park alot...rails, 45' jumps, pipe... did backcountry riding on the steeps and cliff drops. Since having my other shoulder totally reconstructed I decided I was done with getting too crazy...it lasted one day of riding and then I was back in the groove and not that long after the hip injury occured... I thought I was finished and actually gave all of my equipment to friends. Now I know I have to get back out there or I will be miserable. I am 5'8 155lbs, rode a 154 in pretty much everything. if it was really deep and I was going to be rididng alot of out of bounds stuff I would jump up to a 156. I want to still be able to ride the powder, bumps, and trees, but be able to lay down some serious carves on the corduroy!! I looked around on here and company sites to try and figure out what to get. I think hard boots would be cool to try. I would like to try and find used but I know thats going to be tough....its hard enough to find this stuff new. Looking for some recomendations on boards and sizes from you all! Thanks Sam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nomorepark Posted January 20, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2010 also, I have to admit...after watching some vids on here, I am pretty pumped to get into the hard boot carver world! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueB Posted January 20, 2010 Report Share Posted January 20, 2010 You'll find plenty of good used gear in our classifieds. Do you plan to do all you listed, on one board? It might work better to have 2... Other question is where do you ride mostly? Last but not least, your boot size (mondo)? Quite important in board selection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Gendzwill Posted January 20, 2010 Report Share Posted January 20, 2010 You are looking for an all-mountain carver and some softer hard boots. Not sure what size your feet are but this boot would be good for what you want to do, since this is what I use and this is what I do. Something like this would work for a board, although if I were you I'd keep my eyes peeled for something a little more modern like a Prior 4wd or Coiler AM. I'd try to keep the length at the 170 mark or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nomorepark Posted January 20, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2010 Thanks for the replys guys. I have no idea what size foot I have. I will measure tonight using the method on here. I wear an 8 in softboots but I know thats not acurate. I know that alot of park boards I didnt like because they were too wide for me and it made the board tougher to carve well with. Also, Im used to riding very low angles... +15 front, -4 back. And obviously that is going to be much much different on an alpine stick. BlueB...I would like something versatile to start with....I definitly understand why you recommend multiple boards, but for now I figure I can start out simple and build on that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueB Posted January 20, 2010 Report Share Posted January 20, 2010 Fair enough. Then I would suggest a shorter and wider board, that would let you ride pow/trees/bumps, yet still carve well. It would also let you have lower angles to learn with, to make the transition easier. Later when you get conmfortable with carving alpine style, you'll get a narrower dedicated carver, while still keeping the wider board for off-piste. I would say a narrower BX, or an All-Mountain carver in 159 to 165 range would do the trick. I have a Stuf Accelerator 164, BX shape, that might do it for you. I'll let go cheap. Drop me an email through my profile - your's is dissabled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave ESPI Posted January 20, 2010 Report Share Posted January 20, 2010 NMP, first, welcome; Second, This carving isnt "injury free" either. A good many of us come from similar backgrounds as your own, and also have experienced injuries while in hardboots. What you will find however, is that thru re-inventing yourself with an entirely new aspect and outlook of Alpine snowboarding, there is a huge segment you have been missing in your "parker" knuckle dragging days>.. mainly the style and grace of just laying down perfect turns of a 747 and swooping around the slopes like a F-117 fighter jet all in one board for me was the pinnacle of my personal experiences as a boarder for the past 15 years. I'd assume you are around 30 years old and fully realise now that those falls hurt a lot more than when you were 20, and don't heal as fast either. Noone says we have to "slow it down".. we just have to modify what we are doing and how ;) again, welcome, and lurk the forums, read articles, be a sponge of the knowledge (and off-beat humor) that this forum presents... oh and be sure to buy BOMBER* BINDINGS no matter what you decide to go with :D * shameless plug. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Gendzwill Posted January 20, 2010 Report Share Posted January 20, 2010 I wear an 8 in softboots but I know thats not acurate.The boots I pointed you at may well fit, but do measure.Also, Im used to riding very low angles... +15 front, -4 back. And obviously that is going to be much much different on an alpine stick.With your small feet, one of the all-mountain boards with 21.5 cm waist will let you run angles of 40 or 45 degrees or so. If you run a BX board you can of course go much lower but you'll want to have quite a forward stance or else there's not much point in making the switch IMHO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loc Posted January 20, 2010 Report Share Posted January 20, 2010 Welcome to BOL! Everyone's given you great advice so far. Check out the SoCal forum here and try to ride with some locals (I'm in West LA). We're similar in weight and height so I can loan you a board to try out if you want. I used a Prior ATV with 23.5cm waist to transition into alpine. http://www.bomberonline.com/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=16 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nomorepark Posted January 21, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2010 BlueB I unlocked that email thing so I should be able to recive now. Loc, thanks man! Thats super nice to offer. Im just taking my first steps now without crutches..been over two months! Hopefully the offer is still out there when I get the go ahead to get back on the slopes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NateW Posted January 22, 2010 Report Share Posted January 22, 2010 "All-mountain" alpine boards tend to be soft-ish, with relatively tight sidecut for their length, and they have an upturned tail so you can ride backward with no worries. IMO these are all things that will serve you well. It's still going to make bigger turns that you're accustomed to, but you'll get into the groove pretty quickly. Donek Axxess (I have two, one is custom) Coiler AM (I've had two... long waiting list for new ones) Prior 4WD (I haven't had one but I've heard good things) Keep an eye on the classifieds here, you'll probably find a used one at a fair price by the time you're ready to ride. Don't be afraid to go long... Length seems to mean a lot to softbooters, but IMO it's almost irrelevant in alpine boards. Sidecut and stiffness are much more significant. My off-the-shelf 182 Axxess carves tighter and skids easier than my customized 172. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueB Posted January 22, 2010 Report Share Posted January 22, 2010 Don't be afraid to go long... He wants to do trees and bumps on it, too. Shorter is better for those, at least for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NateW Posted January 22, 2010 Report Share Posted January 22, 2010 Good point. Long is relative... Coming from a 154 ("jump up to a 156") damn near anything with a narrow waist is going to seem pretty long. FWIW, I ride bumps on a 172 and I'm happy with that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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