Newbie Question: First Alpine Board

[Mord]

So I've been just getting into alpine carving and I've attempted to carve on my current all mountain board with soft boots with moderate success. I've already changed the angles to both positives. I'm thinking of acquiring an actual alpine board and hard boots for next season. Which board do you recommend me going for, or generally what to look for in a board? I weight around 150lbs and is just under six feet.

Thanks!

[Eric Brammer aka PSR]

Focus on the Boots, first and foremost! Get those to fit 'right', then proceed from there. If your 'all mountain' board is as stiff as an Arbor A-Frame or Donek Nomad, consider just putting plates on that. You'll get a feel for the boots, and bindings, too. As for your 'first' Alpine board, I don't think that a wholly new board is the best thing to grab. At your height/weight, you still want some 'give' to the flex, and going moderately short (162cm-175cm range), with a sidecut  in the 9M-to-13M range might be a good idea (unless you ride Out West, then go a bit longer-ish).. Once you KNOW you want to Carve More, you can up the Ante and go with a new board, and maybe stiffer bindings. If it doesn't quite pan out, your 'big investment' will have been the boots. Oh, and the differential between old/new gear will pay for you to pay me to teach ya how (see, win-win going on here!) ;-) ...

Edited February 21, 2018 by Eric Brammer aka PSR
typo, again..

[Mord]

Right... I already have a pretty stiff board, so I guess I can start from there. How should I find the correct fit for my boots? According to the carver's alamanc, I should ditch the factory liners and get new ones? Is that something still relevant today? Is there a serious need to go to a bootfitters or can I get away with buying online? I live pretty much in the middle of nowhere, so I reckon it'll be difficult finding one.

Thanks!

[Eric Brammer aka PSR]

If you buy boots that're 'right' in shell size for you, a "stock/OEM" liner should be decent enough to go 'feel things out with'. A molded-to-you liner is better, IF Done Right (or, it can be much worse, ow), so sourcing a Bootfitter is a decent precaution, but may not be needed. I get it that Ohio isn't chok-a-blok full of Ski Shops, but they do exist in the Mid-West (hills, too, even!) . In 'just' the boots, you've started a long chain of 'If-Then' events, so take things one-at-a-time.

There's really good info on boots/fitting on this site, and that's out there for free, so, study.. Many of the voices on this site are experienced, and value their reputations, so you'll rarely get really 'wrong' info, but; there are those variables, and this IS an Individualist's sport.. Try stuff, ask questions, study prior info and past opinion, try stuff again with a tweak, repeat.

[Mord]

Hm. I have a couple of skiing friends. Perhaps I can ask them as well for bootfitting advice. They're all hard shelled boots, right? I guess I'll look around on this site for more info. Is there a difference between ski liners and snowboard hardboot liners? Also, should I look into second hand boot as well? I hope they won't lose their stiffness like soft boots sometimes do. 

Thanks!

[Buell]

From my experience as a fellow lighter weight rider, make sure that the board you purchase has an appropriate flex for you. Don't expect a board built for 175+ pound riders to be a good fit, at least until you are a quite good carver.

If you are buying new, this is easier to deal with than if you are buying used (requires more patience).

[pow4ever]

Another option is to check the local ride board to see if there are other carvers around. 
If you ride near Mad River Ohio:  There are a few great egg :-) 

[AcousticBoarder]

I would second starting at the boots. Make sure you get ones that are the right size for you, used is fine. If they have moldable liners, then great! There is a "rice" method somewhere around here that should minimize any problems if you decide to do it yourself. If you have problem feet like me though, a good boot fitter is invaluable. Very quick and basic boot advice: if you have a narrow heel, try and stay away from Deeluxe. Otherwise, some research and trial and error will help to get you your perfect fit, and buying used will make an trial and error a little easier on the wallet. You can always buy new down the road.

After that, used bindings and board. If you happen to be lucky enough to ride near other hardbooters you can get a feel for these before even buying them if you nicely ask, but chances are you cannot borrow their boots which is why they are important first! As with the boots, there's a lot of personal preference here, so starting used you can learn what you like, but as Buell mentioned, make sure rider weight is pretty close! If you have money to throw though, Sean (Coiler) or Bruce (Donek) could whip you up a good beginner board for your weight range. There are of course other manufacturers as well that might have something.

Edited February 21, 2018 by AcousticBoarder

[Aracan]

Definitely start with the boots. The first order of business is getting the correct shell size, determined as follows: Take out the liners and step into the shell. With your toes touching the front end of the shell, there should be 1-2 fingerswidth of space behind your heel. Less would be cramped, more would be dangerously loose.

Custom liners are only necessary if the stock liners don't work for you. You'll feel it if they don't. If they do, count yourself lucky and enjoy.

As for which board: One possible starting point would be Pureboarding. The TWO is built as a do-all board with the former softbooter in mind.

[workshop7]

Here is the link I used when I bought my Deeluxe boots.

http://bomberonline.3dcartstores.com/How-to-Size-my-Boots_ep_76-1.html

It worked perfectly.  Once you have the size figured out maybe you can find a pair on the "for sale" forum.  If you like this whole hard booting thing after trying it you can always buy better liners later.

[Mord]

4 hours ago, workshop7 said:

Here is the link

Right... thanks! It seems my mondopoint is 27. I'll go look around on the forum. 

7 hours ago, Aracan said:

One possible starting point would be Pureboarding. The TWO is built as a do-all board with the former softbooter in mind.

Hm. I don't really feel like buying a 1000 dollar board just to outgrow it in a couple of seasons. Thanks for the advice though. I'll focus more on transitioning. 

9 hours ago, AcousticBoarder said:

If they have moldable liners, then great!

Are most liners remoldable if I buy them second hand? I guess it'd be suboptimal to wear liners someone has worn before... do you think it's better to buy new ones or just using second hand ones?

 

7 hours ago, Aracan said:

With your toes touching the front end of the shell, there should be 1-2 fingerswidth of space behind your heel.

Thanks! I'll remember that for when I get my boots.

9 hours ago, AcousticBoarder said:

If you have money to throw though, Sean (Coiler) or Bruce (Donek) could whip you up a good beginner board for your weight range.

Well, I guess I'll go look at more expensive boards after knowing how to handle myself on a second-hand alpine board first. Thanks!

[Wolf]

MORD - Where are you in Ohio?  I'm near Canton and ride at Snow Trails.  Our season looks like a wash out for this year, but maybe I can help you out next year.  I have some older Raichle SB series boots size 26-26.5 which sound too small for you, but you might want to try one just to verify that the next bigger (27) shell is the one you want.  I could also fix you up with Intec step-in heels for whatever boots you end up with.  I also have some older non-step in bindings (Sno Pros, Burton race plates) if you want an "economical" option for bindings to get started.

[Aracan]

The thermo-moldable liners can be cooked about 5 times. However, with each iteration they lose some volume. If you don't need that volume, you can buy secondhand and re-mold them.

[Mord]

56 minutes ago, Wolf said:

MORD - Where are you in Ohio?  I'm near Canton and ride at Snow Trails.

Well, I'm usually in summit county, so I guess I'm not that far away from you. This season wasn't great, yeah. The weather was quite erratic this year indeed. Thanks for offering though! Much appreciated.

1 hour ago, Aracan said:

The thermo-moldable liners can be cooked about 5 times.

Well, I guess I can buy second hand, try remolding it, and if it doesn't work I can look into new liners. Thanks!

[AcousticBoarder]

5 hours ago, Mord said:

Well, I'm usually in summit county, so I guess I'm not that far away from you. This season wasn't great, yeah. The weather was quite erratic this year indeed. Thanks for offering though! Much appreciated.

Well, I guess I can buy second hand, try remolding it, and if it doesn't work I can look into new liners. Thanks!

Yep, I would try whatever liner comes in whatever boot you end up getting first. As Aracan said, if the liner is heat moldable, it can be cooked probably 5 times, usually when you buy a used boot the seller will mention how many times it has been cooked. You can also often adjust the flex of the boot in addition to the fit by changing liners, something to keep in mind as you progres.

[Zamboniman]

You might watch eBay for Burton alpine or carving boards.  For a starting out board it would be hard to beat a good 163 Alp made inAustria. Also inexpensive$100. Boots just to see if you are going to stick with this sport.

 

[Eric Brammer aka PSR]

So, they're ya go...Local and online Help. all Free, from these guys!!

Did you see in BST this ;  

About Perfect, IMHO. for You!  Or Not, considering your mass... 

 

Edited February 23, 2018 by Eric Brammer aka PSR

[rjnakata]

1 hour ago, Eric Brammer aka PSR said:

About Perfect, IMHO. for You!

OP is 150#...would this board be too much?

[Eric Brammer aka PSR]

Maybe.. 

 

[BlueB]

Try this, if not sold yet: 

 

[Mord]

21 hours ago, Eric Brammer aka PSR said:

About Perfect, IMHO. for You!

 

19 hours ago, rjnakata said:

OP is 150#...would this board be too much?

Turns out that I'm not 150 pounds, but instead I'm... 130 pounds. So... I think I'll need to look for shorter board. Thank you though!

18 hours ago, BlueB said:

Try this, if not sold yet: 

[Coiler Classic 165 T]

Well, it's got quite a queue on it. I guess I'll see. Thanks for the recommendation!

[rjnakata]

1 minute ago, Mord said:

Turns out that I'm not 150 pounds, but instead I'm... 130 pounds.

You're going to need to look for a low weight specific board (not necessarily shorter).  Boards of this type are usually custom made and will be sold with a weight range stated.  Some are listed as women's boards.