t-nut Posted May 18, 2016 Report Share Posted May 18, 2016 Hi all, I'm wondering if some of you might be kind enough to make some suggestions on what (used) gear to look out for, for someone who is interested in getting into hardbooting and alpine snowboarding. I have long been an admirer of the turning arcs hardbooters make, and have pushed softboot carving to what seems to be the limit of my equipment. While I can comfortably lay out toeside carves at high speed on steep slopes, issues with boot-out have forestalled my development on heelside carves. I don't want to sit on the sidelines any longer and am interested in taking the plunge for next season! I am interested in free-carving, and in developing techniques which will allow me to carve on icy slopes. For a freecarving application, should I look for a hybrid sidecut? What waist width should I look for? I was thinking appropriate length would be anywhere from 170-180cm. My mondo foot size is 27.5 - 28 weight 160 I currently ride a '02 Burton Frontier X, 164cm. Any advice from the experts here would be much appreciated. I have been reading the forum and trying to gather information, but it seems there are many technical aspects to aware of in this sport, making it challenging for an un-initiated rider to make the right decisions when buying equipment for the first time. Thanks! -Tom 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donek Posted May 18, 2016 Report Share Posted May 18, 2016 Beginning carvers don't always have perfect technique. As a result they may start one turn with their weight forward and the next turn with their weight a bit behind that. With a variable sidecut this means the board feels like it rarely makes the same turn. As a result it's difficult to obtain consistent results and you could become discouraged. I would recommend a fixed or single radius sidecut. In our line this would likely be a Proteus if you are looking at something used. We will be releasing a fiberglass fixed radius sidecut board for next season with a modern camber profile and a flex that is friendly and forgiving. This board is currently in development and we will have the last prototype on snow next week. At this point we are still pondering model names. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t-nut Posted May 19, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 19, 2016 Thank you for the input, Sean. Yes, I suppose it will be a humbling experience learning to ride an alpine board. I'm sure the more unforgiving equipment, and adapting to the new stance will illustrate all those technical flaws, but this is all part of the appeal. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack M Posted May 19, 2016 Report Share Posted May 19, 2016 How tall are you? How long have you been riding softboots? Can you carve your downhill edge on your current gear? For your foot size and weight I was going to guess something about 20cm wide and about 163-168cm in length with a 10 to 12m radius. I agree with Sean, a variable sidecut or a full race shape with a long radius in the tail wouldn't be very helpful. Volkls and F2s are good used values. Just don't go below 19cm at the waist. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t-nut Posted May 19, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 19, 2016 Thanks jack, forgot to mention my height. I'm 6'1" and have been riding softboots for 16 years. I can carve my downhill edge toeside and really rail it around but I struggle with boot-out heelside. I've experimented with forward angles to mitigate this but found my soft setup doesn't seem to accommodate this style of riding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mig Posted May 20, 2016 Report Share Posted May 20, 2016 Thanks jack, forgot to mention my height. I'm 6'1" and have been riding softboots for 16 years. I can carve my downhill edge toeside and really rail it around but I struggle with boot-out heelside. I've experimented with forward angles to mitigate this but found my soft setup doesn't seem to accommodate this style of riding.What is the width of your '02 Frontier X 164? I have a 185 that I used to ride back then, and it is pretty narrow. Couldn't ride it with out Elevators or Palmer Plates with my usual stance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueB Posted May 20, 2016 Report Share Posted May 20, 2016 (edited) I was about to ask the same thing ^ Maybe you can set it with plates and 45ish angles, to have an easy and cheap entry to hard boots. Later when you switched to a dedicated narrow "ice-rider", the Frontier can remain as your hard boot all-mountain rig... If you went this way, I wouldn't go for very stiff bindings on the Frontier. Burton Race Plates would be just fine. Oh, and welcome to the forum! Edited May 20, 2016 by BlueB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t-nut Posted May 21, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 21, 2016 that's a good idea. Race plates seem pretty easy to come by. I'm not sure the waist width, can't find the info archived online and don't have the board with me right now. But yes, it is fairly narrow. 45ish angles would cut out the boot-out with my softboots. Hardboots would have a longer footprint though, right?I was looking at the bomber power plates to raise me off the platform, but I don't think they're compatible with the Burton 3D system. Perhaps I should look for these elevator plates or palmer plates? I do like the idea of using the Frontier with harboots though, I think it's stiff enough, and I don't weigh much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueB Posted May 21, 2016 Report Share Posted May 21, 2016 Hard boots normally have shorter footprint then softies. Sent from my SM-G900W8 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
www.oldsnowboards.com Posted May 22, 2016 Report Share Posted May 22, 2016 that's a good idea. Race plates seem pretty easy to come by. I'm not sure the waist width, can't find the info archived online and don't have the board with me right now. But yes, it is fairly narrow. 45ish angles would cut out the boot-out with my softboots. Hardboots would have a longer footprint though, right? I was looking at the bomber power plates to raise me off the platform, but I don't think they're compatible with the Burton 3D system. Perhaps I should look for these elevator plates or palmer plates? I do like the idea of using the Frontier with harboots though, I think it's stiff enough, and I don't weigh much. Power Plates attach to the cants, the cants can use either 3D or 4x4 center disks. So , yes , they can work with Burton snowboards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t-nut Posted May 23, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 23, 2016 That's good to know. Thanks to all who have replied, You've given me somw food for thought. Glad there's a community of people out there that appreciates the finer aspects of snowboarding :{\ <--guy with mustache Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueB Posted May 23, 2016 Report Share Posted May 23, 2016 3 mustache guys ;) Sent from my SM-G900W8 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beckmann AG Posted May 23, 2016 Report Share Posted May 23, 2016 ^Athos, Aramis, Porthos. Perhaps D'Artagnan has gone walkabout? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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