tpalka Posted January 14, 2005 Report Share Posted January 14, 2005 I recently purchased a pair of Salomon Pocket Rocket skis, and just had an idea -- curious if it's at all feasible. I dislike travelling with a lot of gear -- so I was thinking... what if I drilled four holes into each ski, sunk snowboard inserts into them, and then mounted just the TD2 toe bail and the heel step-in piece? Pocket Rockets are 90mm wide at the waist, which seems plenty for the bindings. That way I could fly with one pair of boots, one pair of TD2's, a snowboard, and an unmounted pair of skis, and be able to both ski and carve with that setup. I've been telemark skiing for a long time, I haven't alpined in years... but in order to not carry extra gear, I'm willing to switch back :) Silly? Ridiculous? I'm curious what other think. Thanks, tom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gawdzira Posted January 14, 2005 Report Share Posted January 14, 2005 You want to mount non release bindings on ski's? One of the patrollers who are on this site might correct me but I believe that it is a requirement at ski resorts in the US that ski's have releasable bindings. That reason would not be why I would choose not to do that. I would choose not to do that because I don't like people looking at x-rays of me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
www.oldsnowboards.com Posted January 14, 2005 Report Share Posted January 14, 2005 Tom, playing with a similiar idea on the new "LINE" brand of twin tips. They actually have an insert pattern built in for their new innovative bindings. You of course understand no one is going to give you their blessing on such a set up. No release, not designed, blah , blah. However, I like the idea of being able to "Switch out" quickly without changing boots. Forward lean is pretty aggressive on most alping boots and a bit soft in comparison. I rode my ski boots on plenty of alpine board over the years though. What the heck. Willing to take the risk? "Good on ya Mate". The idea of being able to jump on some fat twins for a couple of steep pow runs followed by some rippers on a big full on alpine board is pretty tempting. Understand your flow here. Bryan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Posted January 14, 2005 Report Share Posted January 14, 2005 Riding pocket rockets without release bindings would be a sure way to limit your ability to continue walking the rest of your life. :D O.K. seriously - do you really want to ski non-release bindings? Sounds crazy to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hagen Posted January 14, 2005 Report Share Posted January 14, 2005 ...arn't most telemark bindings non-release? I mean, unless you break them... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slow Eddie Posted January 14, 2005 Report Share Posted January 14, 2005 Originally posted by gawdzira You want to mount non release bindings on ski's? One of the patrollers who are on this site might correct me but I believe that it is a requirement at ski resorts in the US that ski's have releasable bindings. That reason would not be why I would choose not to do that. I would choose not to do that because I don't like people looking at x-rays of me. Releasable bindings are not a requirement - otherwise, most tele skis and virtually all snowboards would not be allowed on the hill. All equipment, however, must have smoe means of preventing it from becoming a gravity-powered missle should it detach from your feet, hence brakes on alpine ski bindings and leashes most everywhere else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
www.oldsnowboards.com Posted January 14, 2005 Report Share Posted January 14, 2005 Here is a somewhat poor photo of what I mentioned. True, "Ski-Boards" are not required to have releaseable bindings and are typically plates. Of course they are much shorter , leverage is undenieable. At your own risk , sounds good untill your hurt? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Randy S. Posted January 14, 2005 Report Share Posted January 14, 2005 Look at the Bomber Splitboard bindings. But what about release? Seems pretty scary to me. Every once in a while I want my skis to release. No chance with snowboard bindings. Cool idea though. Have you considered AT bindings and boots and traditional bail snowboard bindings? That way at least you'd only have one pair of boots to travel with. Randy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slow Eddie Posted January 14, 2005 Report Share Posted January 14, 2005 is actually a 4x4 hole pattern. In fact, didn't Bomber Industries make a binding specifically for this application? Now, converting one of those to Intec-compatible would be cool. For a while, Dalbello marketed a boot for skiboarding that was virtually identical to the Reactor/Furnace boot they were making for Burton - right down to the beveled toe and heel. Talk about being cross-compatible... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tpalka Posted January 14, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2005 Releasabiliity is definitely an issue -- esp. with a ski like Pocket Rocket that you just want to take everywhere and go big :) But, like Hagen mentioned, both telemark and carving setups don't release. Although there are releasable tele bindings, they are generally heavy and not that great for backcountry, so I just use the popular G3 bindings on my one pair of skis and use that everywhere. From that perspective, I'm not losing anything by not having releasability. The splitboard bindings look pretty neat -- but still not releasable, and I'd have to travel with them. I suppose that the coolest thing would be to have some kind of a randonee-like plate that hinges on the toe and that detaches under high loads. The plate would raise the binding for better carving, and be the releasable platform. I'd move the toe/heel assembly from the TD2's to it when I wanted to ski. But that'd be another binding altogether :) Bryan hit the nail on the head -- hitting some deep steep powder on skis and then railing it elsewhere on a board would be a sweet combination on the right day. That's my thought with all this... I'll post more if I do try it. Thanks for all your thoughts! tom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
www.oldsnowboards.com Posted January 14, 2005 Report Share Posted January 14, 2005 Sounds like a Fritchie "Dia Amir" would be ideal. I have a pair on my B/C boards. Not sure if they will adust out (height wise) enough to allow a Raichle to fit? Someone proabably knows this already. They have a sliding AFD that works will with AT boots. That would probably be the safest option. I got out a vintage pair of TD1s (narrower and smaller dia disc) Hole don't quite line up. But it looks way cool (to an alpine, snowboarder, skier nut case that is). Step in would be a big plus. I would go with the shortest pair I could get away with. Speaking of bastardizing gear. Anyone mounted up a set of Skwals as a pair of mondo carving / powder bad boy skis?? That should turns some stomaches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chubz Posted January 14, 2005 Report Share Posted January 14, 2005 Randy S. I found your shot of the boots and bindings to be very cool. Now that I know what it feels like to be attached to "Bomb Proof" Bindings and hardboots, I have appreciation for what the pic represents. If you could do it in B&W and frame it, I think you have something. Reason being, without these components, the joy you get from laying down turns does not exist. Later Greg PS Don't mind me, I have had a few La Fin Du Monde's by Unibrou out of Quebec. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Randy S. Posted January 14, 2005 Report Share Posted January 14, 2005 I took that picture up close of Kevin McMillan's boots and Catek bindings. He uses AT boots because I think he also skis a bit. It came out way better than I expected. Since I shot it at 6MP, you can zoom in on the drops of water on the toe bail if you want (not on the version above, which I had to shrink to meet size restrictions). It is a very fun picture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chubz Posted January 14, 2005 Report Share Posted January 14, 2005 Can you email me that original 6 at gregory.troxell@zurichna.com? God bless those who have "the eye" Greg PS and bless beer as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fleaman Posted January 14, 2005 Report Share Posted January 14, 2005 If you have some spare change hanging around, you can pick up a pair of UPS boots and get the optional Din toe and heels that fit regular ski bindings. When you want to board, you just switch back to the regular snowboard fittings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Gendzwill Posted January 14, 2005 Report Share Posted January 14, 2005 You might want to check out the Line Transfer boot - it's essentially a little bit stiffer Raichle SB shell mounted on a DIN sole. Apparently you could swap in SB tongues for a softer flex. See this thread for more detail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northcoast Posted January 14, 2005 Report Share Posted January 14, 2005 tpalka... Not so crazy of an idea. I just bought a pair of skis similar to bigfoots. They were dirt cheap and included bindings similar to the splitboard bindings. My idea was to have something I could throw a pair of kicker skins on and use as approach skis. I also wanted a pair of junk skis to mess around on when I'm playing with the kids. If you want to put TD-2's on the skis you could check with Fin and see if the tele adapter plate would work. ________ Gang bang japanese Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gecko Posted January 14, 2005 Report Share Posted January 14, 2005 Originally posted by Randy S. Look at the Bomber Splitboard bindings. But what about release? Seems pretty scary to me. Every once in a while I want my skis to release. No chance with snowboard bindings. Cool idea though. Have you considered AT bindings and boots and traditional bail snowboard bindings? That way at least you'd only have one pair of boots to travel with. Randy OK Randy those are kinda cool boots, how do they fllex compared to snowboard specific boots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tpalka Posted January 14, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2005 I'll talk to Fin next time I see him. See, I am really happy with my carving setup -- I have the Suzuka Deeluxe, TD2 stepins, they feel great and so I don't really want to replace them. I'll consider doing that in the future, but for now I was just looking at being able to stick with my carving setup and just get a little extra by being able to share the gear I already have with a set of skis. It seems like going with an AT setup would be the way to go when I change setups next time... tom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Randy S. Posted January 14, 2005 Report Share Posted January 14, 2005 Originally posted by Gecko OK Randy those are kinda cool boots, how do they fllex compared to snowboard specific boots. I don't know, they aren't mine. I haven't ridden with AT boots since I got my first Raichles around 1994. Before that I had a pair of Dynafit Tourlites that were fine, but a bit soft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MozzMann Posted January 14, 2005 Report Share Posted January 14, 2005 The Pocket Rocket's are a longer version of what some guys ride here, They are about 24 inches long and you ride them like rollerblades . I have use my newly aquired TD2's on these as I dont have any other binding or regular ski boot , Man what a blast . Your call but conditions where you are would be way different from those we experience in Australia. Mozz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Posted January 15, 2005 Report Share Posted January 15, 2005 Solomon Pocket Rockets start at 165cm last I knew. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benno Posted January 15, 2005 Report Share Posted January 15, 2005 sorry to hijack, Anyone here carve in tele boots and could tell me what it's like? I have a similar situation in that I have trenchdiggers on my board and bishops on my tele skis, and it'd be great if I could use just one pair of boots! but then I'd have to get new snowboard bindings.... I want some intec tele boots and bindings dammit! Benno Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tpalka Posted January 19, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2005 Thanks for all the thoughts. By the way, the Pocket Rockets are the Salomon fat skis -- 185cm, with 90mm under the foot, so these aren't the shorties that some people use. I actually saw a few people with the short skis (ski-dogs they call them?) and a rigid binding this past weekend. I decided not to pursue this idea for the following reasons: 1. releasability is an issue, much like KenW summarized -- although I can still get hurt on tele's, it's a bit less likely than on alpine skis. 2. the skis are very soft, and regular alpine bindings have a certain amount of flex built into them, allowing the ski to flex underfoot. I suspect that mounting the TD2 toe/heel directly to the ski would either stop that flex, generating weird patterns on the ski, or keep working the inserts out as I'm powering the ski on a turn. Perhaps the solution is to go the other way -- try to adapt the TD2's to a tele boot (I use a Scarpa T-2), so that I can both ski safely and be able to enjoy the TD2's on a carving board :) tom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Randy S. Posted January 19, 2005 Report Share Posted January 19, 2005 Umm. Have you visited BomberTele? Supposed to be one bad-ass tele binding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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