sphynx Posted February 1, 2019 Report Share Posted February 1, 2019 (edited) Hi guys, Longtime lurker first time poster and all that. I've decided to do a full trade in on my current set up of gear, which for the most part in 6-7 years old. (Mish mash of old nitro soft boots, old K2 fatbob/2013 Lib Tech Dark Series C2 Power BTX etc) I want recommendations from the very knowledgeable community on here. Looking at moving towards a softboot carving setup, I'd rate myself as around an intermediate carver but want to go to the next level. I'm quite a big guy at 6"5 & 215lb's. I wear a US 12 snowboard boot (300 mondo). So really leaning on some other larger boot guys as to their preferred setups and experience with boot out on the range of carvers available. It's obviously going to depend on my binding angle setups, but being only an intermediate, I'm probably going to be on the lower end of +/+ rather than most of the setups I've read that are run here. At this stage I've been potentially looking at a Fullbag Diamond Blade or a 2019 Nidecker Tracer (Anyone have a new tracer be able to tell me the waist at the inserts for the 161W?) Now O-Drive bindings and one of the Ride Insano, Burton Driver X or Salomon Malamute boots depending on fit (I'm a US 12, C-D boot fit). Open to every suggestion available though. Was also looking into the Gecko plates, would this be a good option for the Tracer as an example to reduce boot out? What differences in ride ability should I expect with them? Also, anyone paired them with any of NOW skate tech range of bindings? This will be used in the hardpacked conditions in Australia with some trips to Japan mixed in. Any help would be awesome. Edited February 1, 2019 by sphynx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TLN Posted February 1, 2019 Report Share Posted February 1, 2019 I was using Malamutes for years, last seson tried Driver X - it was totally painful and I hated it: stupid liner tongue design, broke laces twice and etc. Got new malamute and not going back. Malamutes are a tad bigger then Driver X, but also roomier. I have em both in US11, but my street size is US11.5-US12. For 215-220lbs you might need a longer board. At 220 I'm riding 173 Chairman and perfectly fine. Consider BX boards: way more fun if you can handle and not doing any freeride my $0.02 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveo Posted February 1, 2019 Report Share Posted February 1, 2019 (edited) Video of you riding? Hard to recommend anything to someone without knowing what they are or are not capable of. Also when you mention your angles. Does that mean you're running +3/+6? Or 21/9? Or? Boards But at your foot size and 'low' angles those two boards you mentioned are garbage. Too narrow. There is a thread here recently discussing wide boards. I'm too lazy to find it since I'm not researching for myself and I'm on my phone, might be worth looking for that. There is a huge list of recommended boards in it for big footed, big guys. My first recommendation is emailing Marcel at Oxess and discuss your needs with him and get him to build you a custom board from scratch, which meets your needs. You're guaranteed to get what you want then, but with such a high end board, comes an equivalent cost. Bruce from Coiler doesn't go over 27.5 wide according to his website, but he would be my second choice after Oxess. Might be worth emailing him since his website might just be approximates. Again guaranteed to get what you want. The best value for money by far. Just his gear doesn't podium at Olympic giant slalom, slalom, snowboardcross and aerial events. There was recently a thread about Sean at Donek recommending a twin to two people who don't ride switch. So just be sure you know exactly what you want if ordering from Donek because the advice may or may not be reliable. But in general, after reading that thread, I'd recommend against Donek if you are relying on a discussion of your needs with the builder to specify your board prior to purchase. Bindings I tried Flow NX2-GT last season and found I needed them so tight to ride that they would hurt my feet and I loosened them on the lift. Wasn't any faster than a regular binding as a result. I couldn't quite get them dialed, and my preference is for a super tight binding, so chances are it's my fault and not the bindings'. No snowboardcross riders use them afaik. Good response. Loved the preloaded highback. Love and hate mixed reviews. Some very experienced riders here use them, @svr comes to mind. NOW O-Drive bindings have mixed reviews. Love and hate. Some very experienced riders here use them, @Jack M comes to mind If I could choose again, I'd go Nidecker Carbon. Pierre Voultier used them for the snowboardcross win at Pyeongchang. Maybe they're as good as my old Nidecker Carbon 900, which I think were great. Ride El Heffe are supposed to be strong. I think the new Phiokka MIX softboot bindings look damn good. Don't think released yet. Boots Burton Driver X I found supremely comfortable. Salomon Malamute are a tad wider and break down faster. If I could choose again, I'd probably try Deeluxe Edge. Whatever you do, I'd replace the liners with actual good ones. Palau, Intuition or maybe even Zipfit- something high volume due to softie shell design. Custom footbeds are a must for me. Geckos I've got a set and they work, don't think they're worth full retail. But I'd dial in your set up before considering those. Edited February 2, 2019 by daveo 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sphynx Posted February 1, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2019 (edited) 28 minutes ago, daveo said: Video if you riding? Hard to recommend anything to someone without knowing what they are or are not capable of. Also when you mention your angles. Does that mean you're running +3/+6? Or? Boards But at your foot size and 'low' angles those two boards you mentioned are garbage. Too narrow. There is a thread here recently discussing wide boards. I'm too lazy to find it since I'm not researching for myself and I'm on my phone, might be worth looking for that. There is a huge list of recommended boards in it for big footed, big guys. My first recommendation is emailing Marcel at Oxess and discuss your needs with him and get him to build you a custom board from scratch, which meet your needs. You're guaranteed to get what you want then. Bruce from Coiler doesn't go over 27.5 wide according to his website, but he would be my second choice after Oxess. Might be worth emailing him since his website might just be approximates. Again guaranteed to get what you want. Just his gear doesn't podium at Olympic giant slalom, slalom, snowboardcross and aerial events. There was recently a thread about Sean at Donek recommending a twin to two people who don't ride switch. So just be sure you know exactly what you want if ordering from Donek because the advice may or may not be reliable. But in general, after reading that thread, I'd recommend against Donek if you are relying on a discussion of your needs with the builder to specify your board prior to purchase. Bindings I tried Flow NX2-GT last season and found I needed them so tight to ride that they would hurt my feet and I loosened them on the lift. Wasn't any faster than a regular binding. No snowboardcross riders use them afaik. Good response. Liked the preloaded highback. Love and hate mixed reviews. If I could choose again, I'd go Nidecker Carbon. Pierre Voultier used them for the snowboardcross win at Pyeongchang. NOW bindings have mixed reviews. Love and hate. One very experienced rider here uses them, same as some others with Flow. Kind of like Flow. Ride El Heffe are supposed to be strong. I think the new Phiokka MIX softboot bindings look damn good. Don't think released yet. Boots Burton Driver X I found supremely comfortable. Salomon Malamute are a tad wider and break down faster. If I could choose again, I'd probably try Deeluxe Edge. Whatever you do, I'd replace the liners with actual good ones. Palau, Intuition maybe even Zipfit. Custom footbeds are a must for me. Geckos I've got a set and they work. But I'd dial in your set up before considering those. Awesome, thanks mate. 1. Sorry, no video's. It's summer here at the moment and I spent 3 weeks at St Anton over Christmas, so won't be able to film anything for at least 5 months or so. 2. Should of clarified, open to running a +20-30/+5- > +10 to reduce boot width to get on a larger range of boards. I'm hoping to at least try out hardboots in the next 18 months, but want to spend a bit of time working on +/+ technique first. 3. I've been considering a Coiler BXFR, custom to my weight etc. As I don't need it until the Canadian/USA summer, I don't mind the backlog atm. I'll look into the others, thanks. 4. Nidecker Carbons were on my list when looking at the Tracer., as well as the El Hefe's. I have circa 2013 Flow NXT G2's on my current board. I don't love them tbh. I'll read up on the Phiokka MIX, thanks. 5. Thanks, I'll put the Deelux's on my list of considerations. I was looking at Zipfits for any new boot I was going to get. Edited February 1, 2019 by sphynx 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveo Posted February 1, 2019 Report Share Posted February 1, 2019 2 minutes ago, sphynx said: Awesome, thanks mate. 1. Sorry, no video's. It's summer here at the moment and I spent 3 weeks at St Anton over Christmas, so won't be able to film anything for at least 5 months or so. 2. Should of clarified, open to running a +20-30/+5- > +10 to reduce boot width to get on awesome shorter boards. 3. I've been considering a Coiler BXFR custom to my weight etc. As I don't need it until the Canadian/USA summer, I don't mind the backlog atm. I'll look into the others, thanks. 4. Nidecker Carbons were on my list when looking at the Tracer., as well as the El Hefe's. I have circa 2013 Flow NXT G2's on my current board. I don't love them tbh. I'll read up on the mix, thanks. 5. Thanks, I'll put the Deelux's on my list of considerations. I was looking at Zipfits for any new boot I was going to get. All g. I'm partial towards titanal boards with P-Tex topsheets for max dampening. I think it is worthy of consideration if you go down the custom route. Coiler is a great choice, best value for money in the world I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobdea Posted February 2, 2019 Report Share Posted February 2, 2019 Coiler BX FR mine is 275 wide. best softboot ride ive had . 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobdea Posted February 2, 2019 Report Share Posted February 2, 2019 Bindings, nidecker carbon, el hefes, now o-drives and Jones Apollos are what I’d look at. The Apollo is a softer version of the o drive. In a size 12 boot 275 width should be close to the sweet spot. Maybe 28. i ride a 11.5 boot and 275 is as wide as I can go without losing power. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sphynx Posted February 2, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2019 So according to the Donek site 268 is the recommended width, this is with a rear +12 binding angle. The Diamond Blade might be an option in that case at 265. The Nidecker Tracer at a 160 waist might be a bridge too far, despite them listing a US 12 as the top size in the 161W. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobdea Posted February 2, 2019 Report Share Posted February 2, 2019 Also, worth note, the nose that is on my board works better in crud and powder than other BX type boards I’ve had.... it’s 163 that floats pretty damn well Yeah, I don’t agree with that calculator! If you were here I’d let you try my boards. in an 11 or 11.5 I don’t like anything less than 27 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveo Posted February 2, 2019 Report Share Posted February 2, 2019 (edited) 10 minutes ago, sphynx said: So according to the Donek site 268 is the recommended width, this is with a rear +12 binding angle. The Diamond Blade might be an option in that case at 265. The Nidecker Tracer at a 160 waist might be a bridge too far, despite them listing a US 12 as the top size in the 161W. Don't use that calculator, it's garbage. Should be taken down or redone. Gives wrong angles for soft and hardboot. That's too narrow. I used US10.5 and my mate's 26.5cm wide board was too narrow for me at 33/18. My board was a 26cm waist and I put geckos on it and still booted out. And I don't even get that low. Edited February 2, 2019 by daveo 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lonbordin Posted February 2, 2019 Report Share Posted February 2, 2019 Ah a wee lad (I've got you by 30#s) looking for board advice. As @daveo mentioned there's a thread going here- I don't dislike Sean's calculator... Gotta start somewhere... It is a tad on the skinny side. Frankly you can't go wrong with custom... Coiler, Donek, Thirst... Really the Canadian to USD makes it hard to pass up Bruce's fantastic creations. @bobdea's Coiler BXFR is sweet looking.... I like the Ride Insanos then Salamon Malamutes. Deeluxe has some new carving softboots that the reviews say are stiff but I've yet to touch those or read feedback from any carvers. I have older Malamutes and I wish there were even stiffer boots. I bought the Flow NX2-GT from @bobdea and I like them, he didn't... They do take a good bit of initial setup and tweaking. I would agree you could go longer. Lastly I caution taking advice from folks less than 200#s... they just don't understand the exponential nature of the levers we are... Especially watch for those UK leprechauns! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobdea Posted February 2, 2019 Report Share Posted February 2, 2019 10 minutes ago, lonbordin said: Lastly I caution taking advice from folks less than 200#s... they just don't understand the exponential nature of the levers we are... Especially watch for those UK leprechauns! Word, pretty much just had the same convo on dig my quiver. A lot of folks barely know what carving is. A boot and binding combo CAN be too stiff.... been there, I’m not aware of any boots now that would qualify as boots have gotten better and softer in the right places. there were a couple softboot stepins that felt like you were wearing shitty ski boots attached to bricks. bindings have gotten softer too, the nidecker carbons I’m told are way less harsh than the old 900s for example. The part that sucks is you’re looking at $400 bindings $300-500 boots. that said, if you get a Canadian board the exchange is killer right now. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sphynx Posted February 2, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, lonbordin said: Ah a wee lad (I've got you by 30#s) looking for board advice. As @daveo mentioned there's a thread going here- I don't dislike Sean's calculator... Gotta start somewhere... It is a tad on the skinny side. Frankly you can't go wrong with custom... Coiler, Donek, Thirst... Really the Canadian to USD makes it hard to pass up Bruce's fantastic creations. @bobdea's Coiler BXFR is sweet looking.... I like the Ride Insanos then Salamon Malamutes. Deeluxe has some new carving softboots that the reviews say are stiff but I've yet to touch those or read feedback from any carvers. I have older Malamutes and I wish there were even stiffer boots. I bought the Flow NX2-GT from @bobdea and I like them, he didn't... They do take a good bit of initial setup and tweaking. I would agree you could go longer. Lastly I caution taking advice from folks less than 200#s... they just don't understand the exponential nature of the levers we are... Especially watch for those UK leprechauns! Thanks man. i was 197 and 119kgs in November, I’ve dropped almost 20 in the last few months, I had an amateur fight before Xmas, intent to keep it off this time. I'm going to flick Coiler an email on Monday regarding the BXFR. Edited February 2, 2019 by sphynx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveo Posted February 2, 2019 Report Share Posted February 2, 2019 8 minutes ago, sphynx said: Thanks man. i was 197 and 119kgs in November, I’ve dropped almost 20 in the last few months, I had an amateur fight before Xmas, intent to keep it off this time. Win or lose? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sphynx Posted February 2, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2019 8 minutes ago, daveo said: Win or lose? 1st round TKO. my way. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveo Posted February 2, 2019 Report Share Posted February 2, 2019 35 minutes ago, sphynx said: 1st round TKO. my way. So, you won? Or the TKO was your way? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sphynx Posted February 2, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2019 17 hours ago, daveo said: So, you won? Or the TKO was your way? Yep, I won. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sphynx Posted February 2, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2019 (edited) Anyone be able to comment on the Oxess RXR range in softboots @ it’s 184 waisted width? is that range even soft boot capable or too stiff? anyone got Marcel’s direct email? Edited February 2, 2019 by sphynx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveo Posted February 2, 2019 Report Share Posted February 2, 2019 Not a chance in hell mate 1 minute ago, sphynx said: Anyone be able to comment on the Oxess RXR range in softboots @ it’s 184 waisted width? is that range even soft boot capable or too stiff? Why RXR of all boards? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sphynx Posted February 2, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2019 5 minutes ago, daveo said: Not a chance in hell mate Why RXR of all boards? Pretty much the only production board 260+ In their range. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottishsurfer Posted February 2, 2019 Report Share Posted February 2, 2019 SG soul 159XT is 275mm waist its a pretty good board if you want a wide soft boot carver, pretty forgiving and wont beat you up to much Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveo Posted February 2, 2019 Report Share Posted February 2, 2019 13 minutes ago, sphynx said: Pretty much the only production board 260+ In their range. What? I think you're mistaken. You just said it is 184 waisted... Oxess are all custom. Better to email Marcel. You'd probably get something with a BX shape with a with a 12m scr. He can build any width. There are a range of different construction materials to use to get what you want. Plus he can change any specification to match your needs. You could just tell him what you're looking for in a board along with your details like weight, height, shoe size. And then discuss from there. They're not what I'd consider cheap though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sphynx Posted February 3, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2019 2 hours ago, daveo said: What? I think you're mistaken. You just said it is 184 waisted... Oxess are all custom. Better to email Marcel. You'd probably get something with a BX shape with a with a 12m scr. He can build any width. There are a range of different construction materials to use to get what you want. Plus he can change any specification to match your needs. You could just tell him what you're looking for in a board along with your details like weight, height, shoe size. And then discuss from there. They're not what I'd consider cheap though. No idea why, but I read it as 284! Despite writing 184. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveo Posted February 3, 2019 Report Share Posted February 3, 2019 14 minutes ago, sphynx said: No idea why, but I read it as 284! Despite writing 184. LOL! Maybe you can Bruce from Coiler and Marcel from Oxess and see what you like Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sphynx Posted February 3, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2019 1 minute ago, daveo said: LOL! Maybe you can Bruce from Coiler and Marcel from Oxess and see what you like Yep will do. report back on options. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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