Guest Ninjette Posted November 1, 2005 Report Share Posted November 1, 2005 By the looks of some of the recent posts/threads it appears as though some of you are running plates on not necessarily alpine specific boards. From what I have read there are some valid concerns in doing this such as the inserts, delamination, weight, riding style and whether the board is able to support plates at all..... So here is my question.....which non specific alpine boards would be able to do this ? The reason I ask is that I work at a shop and am able to prodeal/proform boards from certain vendors depending on availability (unfortunately none of the vendors or boards are alpine/carve specific)... so here are my vendor options Ride, K2, Salomon, Palmer, Arbor, Burton, and possibly Winterstick and Nitro. I know that I will be dropping the money for some td2 as well as boots. (I am going back and forth between the SB 413 and the Lemans). I am still a beginner at this and have a regular carving board that a friend is letting me use indefinitely. But late last season, I had the opportunity to take out and all mountain carving board (a Speedcross 154) and I absolutely LOVED it. Being able to go in all kinds of conditions was awesome and it looks as though this is the direction I would like to take. I would like to go for a slightly longer board maybe 157 -158 as my regular freeride board is a 154 and a bit more length maybe kind of nice? At 5'5" 135, I am by no means petite nor am I an amazon so I do not think pulling out the inserts would be a problem..nor am I super aggressive (I need to take a lesson this year) So if I could get by with a new good freeride board that I could drop some plates on for this year and then eventually get an all mountain carving board that I could really appreciate and maybe more to my specs.... it may be a nice evolution of sorts? (I can generally get $500 boards from the above vendors for around $200-$250). My current freeride board w/softies is pretty much on its last season anyway before it becomes an early/late season rock board. Also we have been having vendor clinics lately so I have been trying to ask the reps about boards within their line that may support plates... although sometimes I get funny looks?? I have been also eyeing the Palmer Liberty Carbon..... Although many of you may not advocate doing this, but at the same time this stuff can add up to quite a chunk of change all at once........ so suggestions or thoughts on boards would be greatly appreciated ..... Thanks in advance B. :) BTW I already asked the Burton rep and pretty much just referred me to Chris Klug web site... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daneille Posted November 1, 2005 Report Share Posted November 1, 2005 My powder ride is a Burton Supermodel 161. I'm also fairly small and use plates and 413's with no board issues. I've always enjoyed carving on this board even though it is short. Daneille Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Gendzwill Posted November 1, 2005 Report Share Posted November 1, 2005 I've heard lots of good things about the Arbor A-frame. The stiffer Salomon decks have often been used with plates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derm75 Posted November 1, 2005 Report Share Posted November 1, 2005 I rode the A-Frame 166 for a couple seasons and used TD1's on it part of the time and it rocked. I got the 170 at the end of last season, I'm considering splitting it and running plates on it for the backcountry this year. They are well made boards, I have no concerns personally about the durability. I'm a moderately aggressive rider 5'10" 170#'s Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mackDan Posted November 1, 2005 Report Share Posted November 1, 2005 B amiga, As the only hardbooter in my group of riding friends, I have always been forced to ride off the runs, and definitely through new powder. As such, I've always gravitated toward boards that perform better all over the mountain, in the pow, in the spring slop, in the end of the day chop. I've found that wide freestyle boards and hardboots can make for a rough ride, and so have choosen my pow/all mtn boards from a bit narrower freestyle board, or wide apline boards. My Oxygen Super X 64, a boardercross board, is a great powder board, and pretty good for all over the mountain, but I don't think O2 was on your list. Before that, my all mountain powder ride was/is a Hot Shine 162, a wider soft alpine board. I'm 5'8" and 160-175 lbs. I think a little softer board is also good for all around riding, especially in chop and slop, but it depends on what you define stiff and softer as. I think some of the narrow directional boardercross boards would work pretty good, but I don't work at a shop, and can't demo everything in the rental stack. But you can, so ride some different stuff and let us know what works. I know Nitro made a directional all mountain alpine board about 10 years ago, not sure what they are making now. I have one friend that runs plates on burton supermodel, and several friends that rode them in softboots and always loved them in the powder, and they are a bit narrower. They are riding K2 zepplins now. Good luck, have fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJ-PS Posted November 1, 2005 Report Share Posted November 1, 2005 )... so here are my vendor options Ride, K2, Salomon, Palmer, Arbor, Burton, and possibly Winterstick and Nitro. I know that I will be dropping the money for some td2 as well as boots. ... Of those mentioned Palmer (any) or Winterstick (Tom Burt or ST)would be my bet for most plateworthy construction. But to be honest the most trouble came from earlier generation TDs, so with the new ones it shouldn't be as much of a problem. I won't disuade you from buying TD2s in their element, but when you are talking about all-mountain make sure you get the softest gel...I think it's yellow. However other options might make more sense at your weight. For instance Bomber also sells the Raichle X-bones which would be great for what you are looking at. They will also give you more flexibility and thus won't throw you when you're paying attention to your friends and not your technique. I've found the x-bones with the carbon fiber to work well on my Rad-Air LSD. And I've taken that in the pipe, park, blah blah blah everywhere. There are also plenty of deals to be had on great boards in your range of 200-250 in the classified section. They won't be new, but they'll be nearer to what you are looking for. I think D-sub has two boards that would be great for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-Sub Posted November 1, 2005 Report Share Posted November 1, 2005 the only board I have is the MLY 167...might be a bit longer than she's lookin for... salomon fastback is a fine ride Ive heard, stiff enough to handle plates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icebiker Posted November 1, 2005 Report Share Posted November 1, 2005 I ride a Supermodel 174 with Torque 3-straps and soft boots. Picked up a set of Reactors/plate bindings and tried them on the Supermodel. They worked OK, but made the board less lively, kinda "flattened out" the ride...in otherwords, no issues with insert pulling and so forth, but just didn't feel like a good match. For what it's worth, I'm 6'3', 190 lbs, size 14 feet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mark Jeangerard Posted November 1, 2005 Report Share Posted November 1, 2005 Hmm... I ride plates on everything. Never had a problem, but I'm not hucking 75 footers either. I do get into heavy back country though. The surprises can generate some force. One thing, (and I am slightly embarrased to mention it here) I use nylon bindings of a different brand on my BC and FS boards. They tend to flex a lot more than the Bombers. At this time: Supermodel 168 and 181, Donek Pow 161, new Burton some-thing-or-other 168 (Have yet to pick it up, bought it for price to teach on), Nidecker Project 164. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Pushee Posted November 1, 2005 Report Share Posted November 1, 2005 My board for trees, bumps, etc. is a K2 recon 162. Bindings are Xbone. With this setup, I tend to ride with the boots in walk mode. I'm heavier than you (155), so the bindings should handle your weight (135?), and I don't think you are likely to do any damage to a reasonable board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strider Posted November 1, 2005 Report Share Posted November 1, 2005 I ride my plates on my Atomic Don 167 and it works just fine. Its a stiff all-mountain board that I use for pow, trees, park, pipe, etc. I weigh in at 170, and ride more freeride like angles when on that board, 33 front, 28 rear. Even when I push it hard or miss a landing I don't seem to have any problems, although if I really nosed over on a landing I would be more worried about cracking off the nose than if I was using my soft-boot step-in highbacks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdgang Posted November 1, 2005 Report Share Posted November 1, 2005 I plan on running plates on my fish this year if we get some snow in jersey. I dont think I will have any problems with it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Dold Posted November 2, 2005 Report Share Posted November 2, 2005 I believe the concern with plates on freeride boards was more valid with the first Bomber Trench Digger designs coupled with older boards, the current "TD-2" design has a much larger footprint on the board, and shouldn't be a problem with modern quality boards, especially when ordered with the yellow (soft)E-rings. I used my old style TD's on a Burton Canyon a few times and it was really fun to ride. Definitely try plates on some freeride boards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ninjette Posted November 2, 2005 Report Share Posted November 2, 2005 Thanks for the feedback folks. I really do appreciate it. :) Seems like there are some very viable options. It would be nice to be able to strike a balance between supporting BOL while initially not being to harsh on my pocketbook so to speak...... also kind of interesting to hear all of the different combinations that you folks are riding. As I mentioned in my initial post we still have some vendor clinics coming up so I can ask some questions and hopefully get more info then. The last couple of years there as been a shop demo day up at Copper around mid-november - not sure if they are doing it this year but if so, it may give me an option to ride some of the boards..... although it would most likely be with my softies... I got the women's Salomon Optima boot on a closeout - which is pretty stiff for a softboot so I am curious to see how that does.... ....Just got off of the phone with a friend who's got a 158 Timeless that he's going to let me use-not sure if it's plate worthy but I have been wanting to check that board out for a while. B. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobdea Posted November 2, 2005 Report Share Posted November 2, 2005 its not set in stone that you have to use the proform through your shop, every company is different and has a different idea on who qualifies for the good deals. Some companies even hook up lifties, in my opinion that is a smart move since the people who are not in lessons see lifties more than any other type of resort employee in their day on the hill. So if its the F2 that you like or have your eyes on something else, make some calls and see if you can get a deal, just make sure you mention you are a full time shop employee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ninjette Posted November 2, 2005 Report Share Posted November 2, 2005 bobdea... Yeah- one of the guys I work with mentioned the same thing to me the other day...... but in this case, I guess you could say I have some integrity issues with doing that... :o B. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Posted November 2, 2005 Report Share Posted November 2, 2005 I don't know about the Timeless. I have a friend who weighs about 150 pounds and is an aggressive softboot carver. He destroyed two of those boards in one season (I think that was '01/'02). After he wrecked the first one, Ride sent him a warranty replacement, which folded in just a few days of riding. Ride replaced that one too, but he decided to sell the replacement deck on eBay and switch to Salomon. He hasn't had any trouble since switching. Maybe Ride has their durability problems under control now, but it wouldn't be my first choice to mount plates on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FTA2R Posted November 2, 2005 Report Share Posted November 2, 2005 Dan, what bindings was he using? I would like to try this with my Burton BMC 156. I am light, but still fear I may damage or put some serious wear on this board. It has 2 (short) seasons of riding on it. Anyone wanna chime in on BMC w/ plates? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linus Posted November 2, 2005 Report Share Posted November 2, 2005 I don't know about the Timeless. I have a friend who weighs about 150 pounds and is an aggressive softboot carver. He destroyed two of those boards in one season (I think that was '01/'02). After he wrecked the first one, Ride sent him a warranty replacement, which folded in just a few days of riding. Ride replaced that one too, but he decided to sell the replacement deck on eBay and switch to Salomon. He hasn't had any trouble since switching. Maybe Ride has their durability problems under control now, but it wouldn't be my first choice to mount plates on. My friend had Ride Timeless which is a stiff board for a softboot use. It was a most hardboot worthy freeride/freestyle board I've ever rode. And that board had about 100 days. IMO, only down side is it's a cap construction board which has been revised from this year with hybrid cap and sandwich construction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyYT316 Posted November 2, 2005 Report Share Posted November 2, 2005 I don't know about the Timeless. I have a friend who weighs about 150 pounds and is an aggressive softboot carver. He destroyed two of those boards in one season (I think that was '01/'02). After he wrecked the first one, Ride sent him a warranty replacement, which folded in just a few days of riding. Ride replaced that one too, but he decided to sell the replacement deck on eBay and switch to Salomon. He hasn't had any trouble since switching. Maybe Ride has their durability problems under control now, but it wouldn't be my first choice to mount plates on. I also used to break Ride boards. I had one back in 97, then broke that, they sent me another one and broke that. Then sold that one on ebay too. I just stay away from Ride now. I like my burton boards so I'll stick with that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Todd Stewart Posted November 2, 2005 Report Share Posted November 2, 2005 i'd have to say that the winterstick tom burt would be one of your best options. I'm sure a few other of thier models would work out too. I'm gonna try and mount an old pair of burton bindings on my old saloman 250. It's an old board so i don't really car if the plates trash it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Posted November 2, 2005 Report Share Posted November 2, 2005 Dan, what bindings was he using? I would like to try this with my Burton BMC 156. I am light, but still fear I may damage or put some serious wear on this board. It has 2 (short) seasons of riding on it. Anyone wanna chime in on BMC w/ plates? Hi Barry, I should have specified: he was using soft bindings, not plates. He broke both boards using soft bindings from Preston - I think the LX model. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 2, 2005 Report Share Posted November 2, 2005 I just ran plates on my piece of crap Ride System so I could hike ajax. Man I hate Ride boards. Love their bindings, but their boards suck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ninjette Posted November 3, 2005 Report Share Posted November 3, 2005 thanks for the rant of negativity on the Ride boards.... did not say that I was going to put plates on it... but did wonder whether it could handle it.. I am just happy to have access to try it out in general...... Personally Burton boards do nothing for me. Anyway, as a recent turn of events, it appears as though Prior has been added to our vendor list so that may change everything..... for the better :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-Sub Posted November 3, 2005 Report Share Posted November 3, 2005 awesome on the prior thing I know it wasnt on your list, but dont overlook steepwater. Klassen is a really good guy, and will likely help out a shophand Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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