Softboot vs Hardboot carving technique

[Rob Stevens]

3 hours ago, ShortcutToMoncton said:

Hello Rob, out of curiosity what is your preferred board/bindings/stance/angles? And what do mean by hit up the middle? I’m trying to figure out how your riding is different. 

I’m also super interested in a do-it-all type of board & setup, but personally I no longer have the opportunity to ride off piste and/or out of bounds as much as I did 15 or 20 years ago. So for me it’s probably more nostalgia than a reality.   

I probably get along best with volume-shifted boards. Something that I can carve the lower angle runs well, but still ride everywhere else, including proper powder days. This year, that board is a Stranda “Shorty” 164 Wide. Binders are Drake “Podium” FF’s. Vans boots… noting special, but well-fitted with Intuition liners and footbeds. The shell length is also quite short and it was that point that sees me in them.
For angles, I run 28 in the front always, with some minor adjustments to the rear. Currently, I’m sitting at about +2, from 0 last year and -2/3 the handful of seasons before that.

I do like the powder shapes as with the bigger noses, you’ll have more board in front of your front foot, allowing you to keep your speed up in rougher terrain, softer snow and higher entry speeds into turns. The shorter tail adds manoeuvrability. The wider waist width is the key for higher edge angles as many have pointed out. In the case of my board, it measures out just below 28, so with my 27.5 boot at the binding location (reference stance front and all the way back at the rear) I have no overhang to speak of.

The things from above that I’d say are “performance-oriented” to the carving space would be that extra width, the overall much better construction of the Stranda vs. an “off-the-shelf” board, and those bindings… the Drakes are metal baseplates with carbon highbacks. I don’t run a lot of forward lean (less in front and more in back which allows a “softer” entry into a turn), but when my leg engages them, they stay put. If I use less tension on the straps for powder, the baseplate response is still there. They are very hard to find, but still out there. I’ve had two pairs over 10 years, occasionally replacing ladders and buckles, but nothing else.

Before I die (or pass from this sport) I’d like to have a metal board with the same overall shape. I’d go a touch wider and 170 in length. It would have early rise from the front foot, or at least decambered in the front with camber from there all the way back. “Race” core construction to round it out. My Stranda “Cheater” 170 Wide looks like that kind of board, but isn’t quite there. A wider nose, or at least a more tapered tail, a 10 or 11 M sidecut and a “ballsy” flex with metal dampness would do it. This would make for a board that wasn’t quite as easy a driver as the Shorty, but would still freeride well in that “Matt Goodwill in Alaska” sort of way, while likely and significantly upping its carving game. To make it worth my while, I’d drop from around 240 lbs where I am now, to probably 220. While my legs are strong, my core is comparatively weak, so I need to work on that too. At 6’2”, the stronger core and lighter weight (where 15 of that 20 lbs would come right off my middle) would allow more inclining and less angulating simply to hold the G’s from a James-like carved turn on black runs. There is no substitute for fitness.

I hope you get a chance to ride mountains again, Shortcut. We don’t have much time here and at 54 with a pessimistic outlook, I’m thinking about it more and more. 

Make it happen if you can. Make it happen, even if you think you can’t.

 

Edited March 4, 2023 by Rob Stevens

[Odd Job]

I notice almost no difference. I ride 50/45 hardboots and 9/0 12/3 softboots.

99 days this season, and about half on softboots.

[lordmetroland]

2 hours ago, Rob Stevens said:

Make it happen if you can. Make it happen, even if you think you can’t.

 

That’s some Yoda s*** right there. Makes me want to strap on a blindfold and plunge into the tight trees.

[BlueB]

7 hours ago, Rob Stevens said:

For angles, I run 28 in the front always, with some minor adjustments to the rear. Currently, I’m sitting at about +2, from 0 last year and -2/3 the handful of seasons before that.

Pozi-pozi! Rob is starting to see the light In couple of years we'll have you on 45/30, you won't need those extra wide boards any more  

Kidding aside, with that future metal copy of the board you ride, you might find some unwanted side effects in freeride situations. Have you tried Ride Timless metaltop, from several seasons ago? 

[b0ardski]

45 minutes ago, BlueB said:

Pozi-pozi! Rob is starting to see the light In couple of years we'll have you on 45/30, you won't need those extra wide boards any more  

I settled  here in the middle 30 yrs ago. been 45* f since all boards were 0/45.

Duckfoot hurts my hip/knee and full alpine with no splay makes me feel like the shoes are tied together. surfs up and switch is is no problem.

don't listen to me though I think laces and straps suck to use.

Edited March 4, 2023 by b0ardski

[Rob Stevens]

On 3/4/2023 at 3:49 PM, BlueB said:

Pozi-pozi! Rob is starting to see the light In couple of years we'll have you on 45/30, you won't need those extra wide boards any more  

Kidding aside, with that future metal copy of the board you ride, you might find some unwanted side effects in freeride situations. Have you tried Ride Timless metaltop, from several seasons ago? 

Hey Boris. 

What are the unwanted side-effects you’re talking about?

I haven’t been on a Ride in a few years, but still have my Yukon 164 Wide in the quiver. I liked that board, but will probably pass it on as it doesn’t see the snow under me anymore. “Wide” back then meant a number still sub 26 WW.

 

[BlueB]

23 minutes ago, Rob Stevens said:

Hey Boris. 

What are the unwanted side-effects you’re talking about?

I haven’t been on a Ride in a few years, but still have my Yukon 164 Wide in the quiver. I liked that board, but will probably pass it on as it doesn’t see the snow under me anymore. “Wide” back then meant a number still sub 26 WW.

 

I guess your Yukon is not a metal one... The torsional stiffness really goes up with titanal layers, might reduce the ability to twist in tight situations. Also, they are heavier. 

The said metal Timless, I demoed few years ago, was close to 27 ww, carved absolutely great (race board good) but didn't twist. My metal Elan Vertigo is also a bear in trees, or difficult moguls. 

[Xargo]

7 hours ago, BlueB said:

The said metal Timless, I demoed few years ago, was close to 27 ww, carved absolutely great (race board good) but didn't twist. My metal Elan Vertigo is also a bear in trees, or difficult moguls. 

I have two of these. The smallest (153) and the biggest (167). I first got the big one and liked it so much that I got the smallest one to jib around with as well.

Recently I've been riding the big Timeless more again and I made this kind of comparison which I think fits this topic quite well:

So the first run is with Contra ECC using +47/+57 angles and the second run is with Timeless using -25/+25 angles. Boots are the same and that's what I really really like about this combo, no need to change boots when going from alpine to duck.

... and just to further illustrate how the boot material really isn't the point, here's an older vid with a Timeless softboot (Salomon Quantum + Malamute) setup. The stance is narrower but otherwise close to the vid above:

The 167 Timeless is 275mm waist so that forces me to go pretty extreme angles with the duck setup so now I'm trying to order my dream duck stance carving board which would be around 300mm waist with a bigger sidecut radius. Big Timeless is 12m but I'm pretty sure it doesn't take into account the smaller radius sections near the nose and tail which I don't really like since they can hook nastily when riding like this. 16m should be fun.