John Gilmour Posted January 8, 2011 Report Share Posted January 8, 2011 There is in my opinion.. a time and a place for old gear. When you are learning a softer flexing forgiving checker pig G5, G6 or a F2 Roadster, or a F2 Beamer, Hot shine etc... all are so easy to learn on..I'd even prefer to see someone learn on them because they are easy to go from a skid to a carved turn.. But after a while...there are better tools to match your ability level.. I like riding crappy old stuff... mostly because... if I can figure it out... it is rewarding... I'm not looking to improve much more... go faster...have harder impacts, more complicated injuries...I am just looking to give myself challenge without upping the ante on my nemesis sudden instant deceleration to zero. SO I want to ride the a beat up Safari, the M5 with rusted edges, the old Asym Mistral, the incredibly ugly 1991 Dynastar Hudo Guru (great fun board). Its like pushing a 1986 VW Golf to 120% of its limits... reasonably fun- near edge of disaster; fun without much consequence.. However..the thrill I got blasting over the jump at Ruthies Run in Aspen..a run I have done maybe 1000 times... on the Kessler 168 BX and going higher, further, faster than ever before.... well those limits are broken typically only on better gear..And yes it was a thrill.. landed it clean in a carve...(until I came to a stop after tearing out of the rear inserts). But you sometimes need new tech to go further faster etc.... practice only takes you so far in a gravity limited sport where progress on the same gear is often made in sub 1 mph increments. Everyone should demo new stuff...even if it seems expensive... just check it out and determine its worth to you. You might clear out your neighbors garage on ebay and split the profits to buy a board.....or decide your misbehaving son really won't have any incentive to develop self discipline if you set up a trust fund for him. And... if like most of us... if you can't afford the board you want... For instance I want a UFC Freecarver Narrow, UPZ boots, and perhaps as a goof...Centurion Virus Skis (just because I want to see Deer Valley- even though I have not skied in 20 years) I can add them to my wish list... and wait and hope. Gives you a future goal to look forward to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tex1230 Posted January 9, 2011 Report Share Posted January 9, 2011 ...Centurion Virus Skis (just because I want to see Deer Valley- even though I have not skied in 20 years) you know they'll let you on with a skwal, right? (at least as of 2 years ago) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tackleberi Posted January 30, 2011 Report Share Posted January 30, 2011 I'm currently riding a Burton Ultra Prime 162 with Burton plates and Rossignol Raid boots. I've been away from riding for around 10 years pursuing another sport at the international/World Cup level, went to law school after that, and bought the Ultra Prime from Chris Klug's website when I was getting back into riding over the past few years after being frustrated about not being able to find alpine gear in the local shops. Just last week I took out my K2 SLX with Checker Pig bindings, and have a Burton M8 in the basement that is waiting for an opportunity to get up to Stratton and make the most of North American. I wish I had a set of soft boots, because I'd really like to see if my Safari Comp II is as much fun as I remember. This said, the reason I haven't updated since getting back on snow two years ago is the general inaccessibility of alpine gear in shops and mountains. It used to be any well-stocked shop would have the full line of alpine boards, boots, and bindings available for demo, and it was easy to find a demo day at the mountain where manufacturers had their alpine wares available for a few rides. The stuff available today is entirely different than what was on the market back when riding was a primary life focus, and at current prices, it is just too daunting to lay out the $$$ hoping the gear lives up to expectations. I do, however, have no doubt the newer stuff is improved versus the older stuff and look forward to when I can get on it. This said, finding this forum has been huge and I'll be chewing through it as I prepare to buy a whole new setup next season. But my answer to the OP's question is that carving gear isn't anywhere near as accessible as it once was, and the costs are far more than they used to be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boarderboy Posted January 30, 2011 Report Share Posted January 30, 2011 Nearby is a BOL post that's titled something like that. Supposed to have demo boots as well - Heads ?? Good luck! BB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tackleberi Posted January 30, 2011 Report Share Posted January 30, 2011 Thanks for the heads-up on Berkshire East...that's exactly what I was looking for, and not too far away. I'm currently riding Wachusett at night (need to update my location in my profile, no longer in CT), so it wouldn't be that much farther a drive to go demo some stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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