FTA2R Posted December 29, 2003 Report Share Posted December 29, 2003 Hi everyone, I do not own an alpine board but I have been very interested in one for at least a year. I have been reading the message boards (and some of the articles) here for some time but I still have a few questions (I've started calling all the local shops, but you all are much more knowledgeable obviously). FYI, I am currently riding a Burton BMC 156 (fairly stiff for a non-alpine) and continue to work on my carving. 1. If I were to buy an alpine, should it be longer than what I'm riding now? (I'm thinking probably not) 2. I'd love to rent (or borrow) a board, but I don't think that's possible (here in the DC area, anyway). Seems like the best way to go is buying used? That being said, should I be suspicous of used boards going for $50? What can I reasonably expect to pay for an "entry-level alpine" (new) or used setup? Pls advise on setup recommendations. Also, I do not weigh a lot. Silly questions, but I'd like your thoughts here: 1. Overall, I'm a strong intermediate. Am I "good" enough for an alpine setup? I can carve decently on my board now (only been out 2 times this year, though). 2. I have obviously never been on a hardboot setup. Is the difference b/w hard and soft like night and day? thx, Barry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack M Posted December 29, 2003 Report Share Posted December 29, 2003 First, have you seen the Welcome Center here? For your first alpine board, getting a board similar in length to your existing board is fine, just don't go any shorter. Don't be afraid to go ~5cm longer. Or go 10cm if you are good at carving your soft gear and want to go faster. If not, don't go too much longer because you don't want the length of the board to inhibit you. Personally I wouldn't spend less than $100 on a used board. But if you're just looking to test the waters and aren't sure if this is the sport for you, a $50 deck might do that for you. Just be ready to replace it as soon as you get off the green circles. Bomber has some package deals for new equipment if you want to spend a bit more. Are you good enough? See if you can do the Norm drill on your soft gear. If you can do that and carve thin lines on both left and right turns, all the way around the carve, you're probably ready. The difference between hard & soft. Yeah, they're two different animals, but if you can get into the mindset that you're learning a new dimension of this sport, and not try to use softboot technique (standing and facing sideways) on your hardboot setup, you should do well. That is, don't fight the equipment or the new alignment. Let us know how it goes. -Jack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Houghton Posted December 29, 2003 Report Share Posted December 29, 2003 Before you get a whole bunch of opinions in response to your questions, go and read Jack's articles on selecting boards and so on. You can find them on the Bomber home page, well worth the read. I can't help but give you my thoughts, yes you want a longer board than what you have, too hard to learn on a short alpine board, go mid - 160's at least. Yes, reasonable boards can be found cheap, and no, its not a lot different than soft boot. As similar as driving a Hyundai and a Ferrari, they are both cars aren't they? You will find that it's great fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FTA2R Posted December 30, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2003 Hi Jack and Chris, Yes, I'm familiar with the Welcome center. I read most of the articles carefully and did some other checking around and it appears (and I could very well be wrong here) that some of the boards mentioned are outdated. Apparently none of the following boards mentioned in some of the Welcome Center articles are made anymore (or are not available to the general public): Burton Fusion, Burton Coil, Volkl Spline, Morrow Indy, and F2 Breezer. I also noticed that the article classifies the F2 Eliminator as "boardercross" (and thus able to be ridden in a hard or soft setup). F2's site doesn't specifically recommend a hardboot setup for either of the Eliminator models (so I wasn't sure about that one). I was looking at Prior 4WD...suitable for a 1st Alpine board? Could I go with a freecarve? Other than some cheap boots, I didn't really the Package deals you mentioned- pls point me to them. Thx. An article said this re: freecarves: "These are good choices for people who want to get into carving and can afford two whole setups." What exactly does "2 whole setups" mean? 2 complete Alpine setups? One of the articles mentioned trying an alpine setup on my current board (freeride)- this will not hurt the board in any way? Yes, I can do the norm. Chris, mid 160s I'm a bit hesitant b/c I don't know if I could handle that, especially as I'm very light. Please let me know your thoughts. Thx. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FTA2R Posted December 30, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2003 Well it looks like you can purchase some Burton carving equipment @ http://www.klugriding.com/. Also, found some interesting stuff on ebay.... Barry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChR1s Posted December 30, 2003 Report Share Posted December 30, 2003 I haven't had much luck trying to deal with KlugRiding. An order I placed for some bindings a while back seems to be in limbo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FTA2R Posted December 30, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2003 well the site certainly LOOKS nice and gives a professional impression, more so than ebay. Do you know if these are boards that have never been used, or were demos? "Seconds are cosmetic blems only" - not sure what exactly that means. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack M Posted December 30, 2003 Report Share Posted December 30, 2003 Originally posted by Barry Hi Jack and Chris, Yes, I'm familiar with the Welcome center. I read most of the articles carefully and did some other checking around and it appears (and I could very well be wrong here) that some of the boards mentioned are outdated. That is true. That particular article needs some sprucing up. F2's site doesn't specifically recommend a hardboot setup for either of the Eliminator models (so I wasn't sure about that one). <i>Any</i> quality board can be used with hardboots. I was looking at Prior 4WD...suitable for a 1st Alpine board? Could I go with a freecarve? The 4WD is an excellent choice for a first alpine board. Just to clarify, it is an "all mountain carving board". Sometimes people call them freecarve boards. This is sort of true because they are great for freecarving, but that doesn't tell the whole story. There are freecarve boards such as the Donek FC and Coiler Pure Carve, that are neither race boards nor all mountain carvers. They are shaped like raceboards but usually have a different flex and shorter sidecut radius. Other than some cheap boots, I didn't really the Package deals you mentioned- pls point me to them. Thx. I must have been thinking of last year's deals. Oops. An article said this re: freecarves: "These are good choices for people who want to get into carving and can afford two whole setups." What exactly does "2 whole setups" mean? 2 complete Alpine setups? I meant that if you can afford the opportunity cost of not selling your existing gear, then you can take a closer look at freecarve boards (freecarve meaning not all-mtn). That way you'll have 2 setups - your existing setup and a dedicated carving setup. If you are like many who have to sell their existing gear to afford purchasing new gear, an all-mtn carver is the best way to go because then you're keeping more all-mtn performance. Unless of course, you don't care about that. One of the articles mentioned trying an alpine setup on my current board (freeride)- this will not hurt the board in any way? Your BMC should be able to handle it just fine. -Jack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Brown Posted December 30, 2003 Report Share Posted December 30, 2003 If you want to hook up at WT sometime, I've got a board or two you could try. Boots would be the issue - mine are mondo 26s (9.5 street shoe). Now, if it would just go back to being winter around here - geesh 50s and all the fools gushing over the great 'spring like' weather! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FTA2R Posted December 30, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2003 Jack, thx for answering all my ?'s in detail. I do understand the whole "FC but with a softer flex" thing. As you can tell, I was up very late last night checking all sorts of carving links, etc. Mark, Thx for the offer! I might take you up on that. At this point, though, I'm thinking I'm gonna buy something off of Klug's site- prices seem reasonable (assuming condition is fair). I don't currently know my mondo side, but I'm sure yours is bigger, so that may be an issue. Re: the weather, yeah, the S. PA resorts need some snow pretty badly. I'll let you know. Thx All, Barry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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