canmanski Posted December 27, 2013 Report Share Posted December 27, 2013 Hey there, I'm Bart. I'm 38. Living in Poland at this moment. I've always been a dedicated hardbooter, but since I've got family and kids around I had to change a few things... First of all, it turned out that there is no space in the car to take a few boards with all the kids/family junk packed. It also turned out that I can get about 2 hours worth of boarding in the morning - then it's skiing with kids and my wife's turn to enjoy a few carves... My wife loves skiing and snowboarding, so sneaking away for a day or two of fun is out of a question. And I love skiing with my daughter (and hopefully in 3-4 years with my son as well) as much as I love snowboarding. So leaving kids behind is out of the question. I had to look for a solution: single board for all snow conditions - most likely powder or groomers in the morning allowing me to do what I like the most - carving those stupid-steep slopes and at the some time providing some fun on the crowded flat 'family' slopes The only solution I found feasible was to become a softboot carver and I am actually enjoying it. No, really. Here's a sample of my riding (2 years ago - my first season as softboot carver): I think I'm getting smother now: Cheers Bart Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 28, 2013 Report Share Posted December 28, 2013 Bart, Nice turns!!! The only thing that matters is that you're having fun, which you clearly are soooo ... rock on!!:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtslalom Posted December 28, 2013 Report Share Posted December 28, 2013 Dont throw away your hard boot equipment just yet but i am very happy that you have seen the light. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canmanski Posted December 28, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2013 Hey, I've sold my hard boot boards - they were mostly F2's I've used for racing. I've kept boots and bindings - they are handy if there is opportunity to test new boards. I plan to buy some hard boot stuff in few years time. There are some new technologies out there - no point in keeping old stuff, unless it's classic/vintage/rare like my FreeSurf Highlander. Cheers Bart Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b0ardski Posted December 28, 2013 Report Share Posted December 28, 2013 I use the same boots to step from powder board to carving board to carving skis to all mountain board to powder skis all the time. If your gonna ski and board in the same day with a car load of the family's gear "going soft" Means extra gear and taking the time to change boots. nice turns by the way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canmanski Posted December 28, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2013 b0ardski, Thanks. Do you mean your Raichle 124? Or other boots? I've tried skiing in my UPZ RC10 with ski boot adaptors - but that means changing you heel piece all the time. And it does suck - the forward lean is different. Using shorties (Snow Blade) with my Raichle 225 wasn't too bad. I've put a spring system on them since and they would be way to soft for skiing... Cheers Bart Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b0ardski Posted December 28, 2013 Report Share Posted December 28, 2013 (edited) Raichle124(very soft 4 ski) & 324 and Nordica SBH snowboard boots, solomon snowtrip "soft" ski/AT and technica entrix (forward flex adujstmnt) ski boots. standard binders needed to board w/ ski/AT boots, ski boots are a bit upright for boarding, but I adjust technique. 5 position lean mech makes the 324 the best cross over if you can make the ski binders work Stepin heels on the Raichles will work with certain ski bindings; Best with look/rossi axial heel and older solomon toes w/adjustable wings and height. Set by hand because of undercut boot heel. Edited December 29, 2013 by b0ardski Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueB Posted December 29, 2013 Report Share Posted December 29, 2013 That's right, you need One Boot to Rulle Them All. Dalbello makes several models that work on skis and alpine board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lonbordin Posted December 29, 2013 Report Share Posted December 29, 2013 Another possibility is: http://www.skiboardsonline.com/p/simscipher.html Not saying it's the best way to go... but it is a possibility. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canmanski Posted December 30, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2013 Hi, Thanks for feedback. I generally like to keep hardbooting hard and softbooting soft, ie. I use UPZ RC10 for hardboots and Vans Aura (flex 5/10) for softboot carving. I've tried stiff softboots like Driverx or Malamute and found them neither comfortable nor stiff. All my softboot carving is done in Vans Aura. It's all about finding a compromise now. 1. I've thought about AT boots... My first board was an old Crazy Banana with ski boots and later some AT Koflach boots. That could be the one Boot to Rule Them All... it's worth testing this idea... 2. Skiboards with softboot binding look tempting. The only thing that worries me is that if you google 'skiboarding' you get this on the first page of the results: Skiboards are cool, I've used Big Foots for quite some time - they give me similar carving radius as my 5 year old daughter... I'm gonna look a around for something on this side of the pond. Cheers Bart Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shred Gruumer Posted December 31, 2013 Report Share Posted December 31, 2013 Tried it again last saturday...what a failed experiment that was Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canmanski Posted January 3, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2014 Hey, So... looking for skiboards on popular auction service I've found a mint condition Rad-Air Tanker 187, which I just had to have. For around $100 it was a bargain. Looking forward to riding Tanker in soft boots... It was a sign. Those skiboards are not for me :D Cheers Bart Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtdds Posted January 8, 2014 Report Share Posted January 8, 2014 Hey,So... looking for skiboards on popular auction service I've found a mint condition Rad-Air Tanker 187, which I just had to have. For around $100 it was a bargain. Looking forward to riding Tanker in soft boots... It was a sign. Those skiboards are not for me :D Cheers Bart Hi Bart, thanks for posting your video. Very impressive. Hope you will entertain some questions. 1. What binding angles are you riding your Coal? 2. Are your bindings symetrical tip to tail-- meaning do you ride and carve fakey? How are they set? 3. Is that Coal a metal board? Your weight in lbs? 4. Very impressed by lack of chatter on deep heelsides-- what is your secret? 5. Can you ride same angles in hardboots on the Coal and discuss why you prefer not to. ** question 5 is key as I have just started experimenting using hardboots on my palmer and kessler cross boards. Thanks JT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack M Posted January 8, 2014 Report Share Posted January 8, 2014 (edited) I had to look for a solution: single board for all snow conditions - most likely powder or groomers in the morning allowing me to do what I like the most - carving those stupid-steep slopes and at the some time providing some fun on the crowded flat 'family' slopes I'm 39 with skiing kids and wife. I have run into the same issues as above and for me the solution was a 163cm metal slalom board with a 21cm waist and a ~10m VSR sidecut. The wide waist and the deep sidecut give this board a wide nose that actually floats in powder. The tight sidecut is great on super steeps and fun on family flats. The tail has a slight kick and rounded corners. Originally I bought it to be my early season ice board, but it quickly became my do-everything board. It works great as a freeride board and a powder board. I ride it in trees, moguls, the park, spring conditions, ice, whatever. I don't see the need to switch to softies unless you want to get serious about tricks or if you get a lot of powder. Edited January 8, 2014 by Jack Michaud Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canmanski Posted January 8, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2014 (edited) Hi Bart, thanks for posting your video. Very impressive. Hope you will entertain some questions.1. What binding angles are you riding your Coal? 2. Are your bindings symetrical tip to tail-- meaning do you ride and carve fakey? How are they set? 3. Is that Coal a metal board? Your weight in lbs? 4. Very impressed by lack of chatter on deep heelsides-- what is your secret? 5. Can you ride same angles in hardboots on the Coal and discuss why you prefer not to. ** question 5 is key as I have just started experimenting using hardboots on my palmer and kessler cross boards. Thanks JT JT, 1. I ride 33/18. I generally ride in quite soft boots (Vans Aura flex 5/10) and I find that with bigger angles (more directional) I have too little side support. At the same time smaller angles (more square to the board) I do have some toe overhang on most boards. 2. I usually ride directional boards with setback. I do believe that directional boards with setback call for directional angles. I carve fakey as a practice drill. Unless I'm teaching beginners or teaching myself buttering/flat tricks then I ride my LibTech TRS Banana rocker with +12/-9 or similar setup. 3. I had to look it up. It's not metal (http://www.voelkl-snowboards.com/en/products/snowboards/freeride-all-mountain/coal-xt.html) . It's not even my Coal - I do not own one. It's a demo board. My weight then was 187lbs. I'm down to 169lbs this year and it feels much better... 4. That's a tricky one. Not sure if there is an easy answer to that one. I do have this theory about stable backside/unstable frontside. It seems to work for me. Might as well test it on others... Unstable Frontside: http://megustasport.com/index.php/riding/45-the-unstable-frontside Stable Backside: http://megustasport.com/index.php/riding/51-the-backside-chill I could be wrong on this one. It's just a theory. 5. I can ride Coal with hardboots at the same angles and often did. With softboots I prefer longer, softer flex boards with ridiculous torsional stifness. Like Radical Double Triaxx (probably the most fun board I ever rode in my life) or Swoard Dual. Coal was fine or even great but it was not my sort of board. Slightly too stiff. Not fun in soft snow. More here - http://megustasport.com/index.php/stuff/39-swoard-dual-vs-voelkl-coal I generally like to keep softbooting soft and hardbooting hard. There is a tendency to soften hardboots with spring systems or harden up softboots with plastic parts. Neither works for me. I hope this makes sense to you. Otherwise ask. Cheers Bart EDIT: just to add to 4: I try to be as active on frontside turns as possible - trying to keep my body over the board. On backside - passive. I just sit down on the snow and let the board work for me... Edited January 8, 2014 by canmanski Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leeho730 Posted January 8, 2014 Report Share Posted January 8, 2014 (edited) I have softened my hardboots and now I use hardboots for almost everything: powder, carving, freeriding, even basic freestyle... I use hardboots with the following boards: Donek Incline 160, Rad Air Tanlker 172, Swoard Dual 158 and use burton race binding, soft enough... Hardboots carve better, easier to put on, easier to strap onto the binding, and if desired I can change binding angles to better adapt the condition... Edited January 8, 2014 by leeho730 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Gendzwill Posted January 8, 2014 Report Share Posted January 8, 2014 Are those your articles, Bart? If so, you should use "toeside" and "heelside" to avoid confusion. Many people use the frontside/backside terms opposite to the way you do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beckmann AG Posted January 8, 2014 Report Share Posted January 8, 2014 very impressed by lack of chatter on deep heelsides-- what is your secret? that's a tricky one. Not sure if there is an easy answer to that one. ------------- Your Total: i prefer longer, softer flex boards with ridiculous torsional stiffness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtdds Posted January 9, 2014 Report Share Posted January 9, 2014 ------------- Your Total: Agreed, but Professor Bart rocks a Coal that has stiff flex and minimal torsionol stiffness. Enjoyed the articles and have some more basic questions. Sorry... 1. Yes, my heelsides hardbooting feel more controlled than toesides-- 60/57 degree angles. But when I switch to soft boot boards at 12/-12 duck angles with flow bindings, my toesides feel more powerful than my heelsides which tend to chatter when being very aggresive as Bart riding in the video. The two factors I consider are the difference in binding angle and perhaps the highback inclination? 2. Second question. Several of my friends teach snowboarding. When I got back to riding soft 8 years ago, they conviced me to ride binding angles perpendicular to the edge of the board, and coached me to align my shoulders and not rotate them open. I spent an ton of time working on my fakey riding and found this very helpful ( this is why I also try to even the binding placement tip to tail) For high backs, they suggested I set them forward enough that when I lock my knees, the front edge of the board just comes off a flat surface. For me this translate into a max position forward on many bindings. Please comment on these parameters? JT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canmanski Posted January 9, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2014 (edited) Agreed, but Professor Bart rocks a Coal that has stiff flex and minimal torsionol stiffness. Enjoyed the articles and have some more basic questions. Sorry...1. Yes, my heelsides hardbooting feel more controlled than toesides-- 60/57 degree angles. But when I switch to soft boot boards at 12/-12 duck angles with flow bindings, my toesides feel more powerful than my heelsides which tend to chatter when being very aggresive as Bart riding in the video. The two factors I consider are the difference in binding angle and perhaps the highback inclination? 2. Second question. Several of my friends teach snowboarding. When I got back to riding soft 8 years ago, they conviced me to ride binding angles perpendicular to the edge of the board, and coached me to align my shoulders and not rotate them open. I spent an ton of time working on my fakey riding and found this very helpful ( this is why I also try to even the binding placement tip to tail) For high backs, they suggested I set them forward enough that when I lock my knees, the front edge of the board just comes off a flat surface. For me this translate into a max position forward on many bindings. Please comment on these parameters? JT JT, Thanks. Coal is a stiffer board, agreed. But it's also pretty good torsionally. It's a very good board, just not my preferred ride... 1. The biding angle makes the difference. Duck is totally different to directional. Highback angle - I adjust it so it fits and supports my boot. 2. Yes. There are good reasons to ride duck. Like teaching/learning beginner to intermediate, freestyle, general slope fun. But when you decide to buy a directional board for carving - it makes no sense to me. If we assume that 'unstable toeside/stable heelside' theory works, duck is the worst case scenario - knees work perpendicular to the board, so when you flex/extend your legs you influence the angle of your board the most. As you mentioned - when you lock your knees the front edge comes off - your board is on the heelside edge. When you are in heelside turn, locking your knees will put the board on the edge the most... but you do not want to ride with knees locked. Can't be healthy. With duckfooted setup, the heelside turn promotes extension of legs through the turn (putting the board more on the edge) at the same time toeside turn promotes flexing of the legs through the turn. So the result turns are a weird mixture of cross-over, cross-under and Carving God knows what else. I've tried riding like this and it does feel quite OK and lets me be quite aggressive on duck stance... no pictures/vids of this yet, but i'll try to fix this season. Otherwise, when duckfooted I try to ride cross-under as much as possible. Are those your articles, Bart? If so, you should use "toeside" and "heelside" to avoid confusion. Many people use the frontside/backside terms opposite to the way you do. Neil, Yes, they're mine. Thanks for pointing this out. I'll update the lot. Any other comments are welcome. I have softened my hardboots and now I use hardboots for almost everything: powder, carving, freeriding, even basic freestyle...I use hardboots with the following boards: Donek Incline 160, Rad Air Tanlker 172, Swoard Dual 158 and use burton race binding, soft enough... Hardboots carve better, easier to put on, easier to strap onto the binding, and if desired I can change binding angles to better adapt the condition... Well... I think it's not all that simple as I made it look in the first post. There are more reasons that I have gone soft: 1. It's not permanent. I intend to ride hardboots - that will not change. 2. I have this personality thing. I have to teach people. Just love it and makes me feel better. I also want to convert people to carving, like some sort of a missionary bringing the Good News. It's a good thing I haven't lived in the Middle Ages - I'd join with The Crusades... There are number of people around that should be carving - I've noticed that when I'm on softboots I have a better conversion rate :) Quoting the classic "I'm on a mission from (carving) God". 3. I hate the elitist, close-minded attitude of some people in our local hardbooting community. It's a huge turn-off for me. Need to give myself a bit of rest from it all. Or change community... Cheers Bart Edited January 9, 2014 by canmanski Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
softbootsurfer Posted January 9, 2014 Report Share Posted January 9, 2014 3. I hate the elitist, close-minded attitude of some people in our local hardbooting community. It's a huge turn-off for me. Need to give myself a bit of rest from it all. Or change community... Cheers Bart Through the 29 Years here in Aspen and at Milkland..as well as ALL the EXPRESSION sessions I have been able to SEE and WITNESS some of the best HB Carvers on the planet...I have also been able through the years to SEE and WITNESS SB carvers such as our own Son and Friends, as well as many others, such as at the X Games ripping Hard Carves down to their venues lower on the mountain...It is simply not True that HB allow a Better Carve or more Perfect Carve...Tracks are the Facts and the Facts speak the Truth, there are many here on this site that realize this also, so it is a great place to hang out and Share the Stoke of Carving Lines down the Mountains. Carving is such a JOY, and the Smile at the End of the Line should be All that Matters :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack M Posted January 9, 2014 Report Share Posted January 9, 2014 Through the 29 Years here in Aspen and at Milkland..as well as ALL the EXPRESSION sessions I have been able to SEE and WITNESS some of the best HB Carvers on the planet...I have also been able through the years to SEE and WITNESS SB carvers such as our own Son and Friends, as well as many others, such as at the X Games ripping Hard Carves down to their venues lower on the mountain... I agree that anyone on almost any equipment can carve at Buttermilk and on lower sections of most mountains. It is simply not True that HB allow a Better Carve or more Perfect Carve... Hardboots allow better carving on steeper and/or icier terrain. If this was not true you would see softboots in PSL/PGS events. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canmanski Posted January 9, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2014 Carving is such a JOY, and the Smile at the End of the Line should be All that Matters :) Yes. Could not agree more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b0ardski Posted January 9, 2014 Report Share Posted January 9, 2014 (edited) where's that horse:smashfrea a good stiff lacey strappy setup feels and carves almost the same as a soft well dialed bail & buckle setup. I did a descriptive review of direct, same board (25 waist 173 am) same day comparison a few seasons ago and the only real difference at middle of the road angles (40/28 for both rather than 55/50 h or 20/-5 s) was a smoother more progressive flex in the plastic shells. however the difference in convenience between easy entry 3 piece 3buckle shell with stepins and laceup boots with plastic straps (analogue tech?) was a total deal breaker for the softys in my book. ps Plus I can ski in my Raichles. now if we could just get someone to make a DINtech heel;) Edited January 9, 2014 by b0ardski Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beckmann AG Posted January 10, 2014 Report Share Posted January 10, 2014 Tracks are the Facts and the Facts speak the Truth Tracks speak to outcome more so than to process. As such, a clean track doesn't say all that much about how a rider is getting the job done, or whether that rider has realized their potential. A ragged track, on the other hand, has use. Agreed, but Professor Bart rocks a Coal that has stiff flex and minimal torsionol stiffness. One could surmise that if he knows his preference as to flex/flex, he has a creative means of dealing with a less than optimal ratio. The video (not a critique): You probably notice that the toeside turns are longer in duration and hook harder, whereas the heel side turns break off sooner, and don't hook nearly as hard, if at all. More 'speed' is dumped on the toeside turn, as to attempt the same on the heel side will likely result in 'chatter' (making an assumption as to one possible definition of 'chatter'). Also note some of the 'speed wobble' on a few of the heel side turns; a reasonably good indicator that the board is not always running true on account of torsional distortion. A torsionally stiff board removes one variable from the equation so the skilled rider can direct the focus elsewhere. But when I switch to soft boot boards at 12/-12 duck angles with flow bindings, my toesides feel more powerful than my heelsides which tend to chatter when being very aggresive as Bart riding in the video. The two factors I consider are the difference in binding angle and perhaps the highback inclination? Good assumptions on both counts. A. Riding a negative angle on the back foot is a good way to prevent a full, rebound driven, elastic sweep of the board through a heel side turn. Consider that in order to do so, the pressure wave under the board needs to move from the tip right through to (and out of) the tail. With a negative rear foot angle, the wave stalls under the rear heel, somewhere near the mid length of the board. Any energy remaining in the system needs to go somewhere, so if the rider hangs on to the edge too long, the snow under the edge will probably blow out as the load spikes, leading to 'chatter'. B. If the highbacks are not set 'correctly' the board will most likely twist while on edge, and/or, the rider will not be in a good position to 'work' the board, on account of lost ROM or excess muscle tension. (In the event you don't already realize this, a board 'twisted in the cut' is trying to make a turn of two different radii simultaneously.) 2. Second question. Several of my friends teach snowboarding. When I got back to riding soft 8 years ago, they conviced me to ride binding angles perpendicular to the edge of the board, and coached me to align my shoulders and not rotate them open. Good for yarding a marlin over the transom, not so much for effective 'dynamic' carving. For high backs, they suggested I set them forward enough that when I lock my knees, the front edge of the board just comes off a flat surface. For me this translate into a max position forward on many bindings. Please comment on these parameters? JT All other adjustments being effective, you might try setting them up as follows: Standing evenly weighted on both feet, with your hips in line with (perpendicular to) your front foot, rock lightly back to feel contact under your heels. At the moment of firm but not excessive heel contact, you should feel the support from both front and rear highback at the same time. This is a baseline for sensible stance angles and widths. May not be valid in all sales territories. Season to taste. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.