best upgrade

[Zann]

boots, bindings, plate? board?

I'm a ski racer now addicted to getting good at alpine boardin and kind of bought stuff in a hurry to be able to get out on the slopes and wanted to ask the help of the equipment gurus this year to see if its actually suited to me.

i ride a 05 f2 speedster rs of the 173 variety

cateks with some toe lift in the front and lots of heel lift and inward canting on the back foot

i use my soft/comfy ski boots which are the dynafit titans

I'm 5'10" and a hulking 220lbs at the moment

my first few times out i seem to be having trouble with washing out the heel side turn. i initiate it well getting forward and starting the arc but the best way I've found to keep an edge it feels like I'm sitting on the toilet and i don't feel the power and control i have on the toe side turn.

what are the hips suppose to do during the heel side turn?

should i be trying a shorter board with a tighter side cut?

boots just wrong?

bindings too stiff?

any help would be appreciated

[www.oldsnowboards.com]

boots, bindings, plate? board?

I'm a ski racer now addicted to getting good at alpine boardin and kind of bought stuff in a hurry to be able to get out on the slopes and wanted to ask the help of the equipment gurus this year to see if its actually suited to me.

i ride a 05 f2 speedster rs of the 173 variety

cateks with some toe lift in the front and lots of heel lift and inward canting on the back foot

i use my soft/comfy ski boots which are the dynafit titans

I'm 5"10 and a hulking 220lbs at the moment

my first few times out i seem to be having trouble with washing out the heel side turn. i initiate it well getting forward and starting the arc but the best way I've found to keep an edge it feels like I'm sitting on the toilet and i don't feel the power and control i have on the toe side turn.

what are the hips suppose to do during the heel side turn?

should i be trying a shorter board with a tighter side cut?

boots just wrong?

bindings too stiff?

any help would be appreciated

Hook up with better more experience riders.

Don't blame the gear. It is fine.

If you NEED to change something in your gear profile, get boots.

[Zann]

all the blame is on me not the gear i was just wondering what my boarding related expense should be this season.

unfortunately i have never had the opportunity to see a hard booter in action otherwise i would jump on the opportunity.

[www.oldsnowboards.com]

Post videos so we can all argue about what you are doing right/wrong.

Have you read all of Jacks articles?

Hey Zann, I have a collection of videos on Utube , user name FINELINECLUB

Allot of different styles and some good and bad imagery for the brain.

This video is of a local guy that paid 40$ for his entire gear set up. His first day on an alpine snowboard.

<object style="height: 390px; width: 640px"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-zEjbqd3zs?version=3"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-zEjbqd3zs?version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="640" height="390"></object>

[www.oldsnowboards.com]

all the blame is on me not the gear i was just wondering what my boarding related expense should be this season.

unfortunately i have never had the opportunity to see a hard booter in action otherwise i would jump on the opportunity.

Boots.

Have you posted on the NY ride board??

No one around? Bummer

[Zann]

been reading on alpinecarving.com

but there seems to be a lot of some do this and some do that

been eating up the pgs footage but perhaps its not best to watch the racers

damn i wish i paid $40 for my setup :)

[dingbat]

my first few times out i seem to be having trouble with washing out the heel side turn. i initiate it well getting forward and starting the arc but the best way I've found to keep an edge it feels like I'm sitting on the toilet and i don't feel the power and control i have on the toe side turn.

what are the hips suppose to do during the heel side turn?

I had a similar problem when I got on a narrower board and set my bindings at higher angles. Squaring my hips to my front foot, not the board, and keeping my shoulders parallel to my hips, took care of the problem. Once I got used to where the edge was, I could rotate my hips and shoulders forward again without issue.

[jp1]

Zann, first, Welcome.

2nd, Boots !

You know from racing the importance of 'the BOOT' same here.

There's a fair amount of riders in your area, hook up with them if you can.

You came to the right place, there's a ton of helpful information & people willing to help here!

Good Luck

[Jack M]

Custom footbeds/orthotics. Do it now.

Board boots and bindings should be fine, assuming the boots are a good fit.

Try backing off to a more "medium" heel lift on the back foot, no inward cant, and an equal amount of toe lift on the front foot. This is usually a good "default" stance from which to experiment. Assuming your inseam is about 30", your stance width should probably be somewhere between 19" and 20".

[Guest]

+1 on the orthodics. Even for my softboot setup, orthodics really helped.

but honestly, there is no substitute for getting someone IN PERSON to see you carve and give you tips. Even on boards that weren't matched for me, I felt like my technique was the weakest link, not the equipment.

SUPER off topic: in that $40 video above, anyone know if that footage is from a go-pro? the clarity on that is really nice, so was the stability.

[kantmakm]

i second (third?) the boot upgrade. Way back when, I was super happy w/ Raichle flexon comps for carving (+they worked for 2 sticks too!). When they were dispatched for SB-313's my feet and my turns were a lot more happy.

now I have to balance tele/alpine/alpine boarding.

if only there was a boot for THAT

[BlueB]

As the matter of fact, as a ski racer, used to stiffness of the ski boot, you might not like the snowboard h/boot. I assume that your Titans are soter freeride boots - should be fine for your 220 frame. Ski boots are a bit straighter, so they require quite a bit of rear heel lift. As Jack said, try to ditch the inward cant.

Try to rotate into that heel turn more then you think you needed and look into the turn - lots of ski racers look mostly down the fall line. Drive your knees into the direction of the turn, especially the rear one - that should get you of the tolet.

[Zann]

thanks for the tips.

i will play with the bindings tomorrow and Ive got the orthodics covered :)

and on the camera note i got a epic action hd cam. although its fun to play with im not sure it could take video that good unless there was a lot of sunlight.

[Guest]

Just say no to inward cant.

Unless you absolutely have to.

[zoltan]

Best value for your money? Lessons.

To improve quickly and help diagnose problems, there's nothing like one on one instruction. Ask around to see where it's available in your area.

Additionally, when you're healside, resist the temptation to start looking down the slope. Force yourself to continue looking where you're going, and that will align your hips.

[Gecko]

Boots....comfort and control are your key goals