jersey600 Posted February 17, 2006 Report Share Posted February 17, 2006 grab some popcorn, here is my story, i'll try and keep it short. john, 22yrs old, graduating college this semester. snowboarder for roughly 10 years. Have always been fascinated by freecarvers and hardbooters and have myself slowly progressed into a carver, rather than a park rider i suppose. this season really started to dig in the edge.. and i am loving it! still have a few questions though. I purchased an entire new setup this season as my old one was about 8 years old. Not completely sure I wanted to go hardboot, i stayed with a soft setup, however my board went from a 156 to a 164 and my angles have been increasing.. Still wondering if i should add a freecarving board to my stable. Not sure if this board is condusive to carving deep ruts that hardbooters do. I am able to do "the norm," i feel the board carving, i look back and see ruts in the snow, good. however i am not really able to carve complete C's. my carves are more the shape of parenthesis ( opposed to C. i find that i lose a considerable amount of speed attempting to do the full C - in going perpendicular to the slope and i have yet to attempt to carve the downhill edge, again the speed is so decreased by the time i try to get to that point. am i digging in too hard? is the board not stiff enough? i also attempt to do carves on the greens, i can get a great carve going but the whole time it feels like i should be going faster. leaning more feels like i would be on the ground, not sure what that means, technique is probably not correct. i was followed by a rider through some blues and greens yesterday and he complimented how smooth my carves were once we reached the lift. went along with him for a few more runs and it turns out he is a 58yr old who has been snowboarding for 20+ years. had a tough time keeping up with this guy! the compliment definitely gave me an ego boost and helped persuade me to become more of a carver and even a hardbooter in the near future. here are the board specs incase some of you are curious '06 Burton Custom X 164 1285mm effective edge 250mm waist width 8.46m sidecut radius bindings and boots are soft set up angles are 51/33 but those have been changing rapidly oh and i am 6'0" and roughly 185lbs could the soft set up be hindering me and keeping me from reaching full potential? the board? i would like to think not and that it is just my skill level that needs improvement in any case, let me know what you all think and it is nice meeting you all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bricky Posted February 17, 2006 Report Share Posted February 17, 2006 Absolutely, you need to try a full carving setup. Why not come up to the Windham carvefest, February 25-26. See the dual posts here and on the "ride board." I have various boards and bindings you could borrow and the Windham Mountain shoppe rents Alpine boards, boots and bindings. Bricky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snow|3oarder Posted February 17, 2006 Report Share Posted February 17, 2006 That story sounds just like what happened to me. Last year I bought stiffer softboots and had a revelation. I started to carve and never looked back. I got hardboots and an alpine board and have progressed. I think alpine equipment is worth buying. That said, I still use my freeride board (donek sasquatch 170). I think there is room for improvement on the freeride board. However, alpine equipment would permit you to do certiain types of turns more easily and to a more extreme degree. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skatha Posted February 17, 2006 Report Share Posted February 17, 2006 I have an 05 Feelgood ES 54 (135 lbs here) and a 03 Custom 49. My Feelgood ES and your Custom X are similar in that they both have the "infinite ride" technology which is simply that Burton made them as stiff as hell thinking that you'd enjoy riding them once you broke them in. I too had the same problem carving in the Feelgood-it just doesn't want to do it-especially after I broke my ankle and then I couldn't put enough pressure on the toeside to decamber the board. Then I went back to the Custom for the rest of the season-I didn't get diagnosed with the ankle fracture until last September, so I continued to ride. Despite the "all mountain" tag, I believe Burton makes it's boards basically for jibbers and park rats. It's especially evident to me looking at a board with a sidecut and comparing it to my Feelgood, which looks like a lunchtray There are many carving options-the Donek Pilots look especially tasty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jersey600 Posted February 17, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2006 awesome, well i am not sure i want to completely give up the soft set up just yet.. i could always sell it later on down the road. I think i will be joining some of you folks at Windham next weekend. I emailed them to see what kind of setups they offer to demo and should be hearing back from them soon. worst case i'll just increase my current angles... 51/33. the rear could be a lot more forward. however my knees dont like it very much.. whats up with that? in need of some cant i suppose? :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy D Posted February 17, 2006 Report Share Posted February 17, 2006 awesome, well i am not sure i want to completely give up the soft set up just yet.. i could always sell it later on down the road. I think i will be joining some of you folks at Windham next weekend. I emailed them to see what kind of setups they offer to demo and should be hearing back from them soon. worst case i'll just increase my current angles... 51/33. the rear could be a lot more forward. however my knees dont like it very much.. whats up with that? in need of some cant i suppose?:D I'm interested in hearing what kind of alpine gear they rent. A friend of mine wants to try it, but doesn't want to lay out the cash to get started. Rentals would be perfect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtslalom Posted February 17, 2006 Report Share Posted February 17, 2006 Jersey600, You don't have to go out and buy hard equuipment just yet. Learn to carve real well on your soft board. I notice you are from NJ. I live in Vernon and ride mountain creek all the time. Post the next time you will be riding Creek and I will hook up with you. Hard riding is great and you will love it but great carving can be done on soft boots. In some sense its alot more fun to do it in a soft set-up. Post on the local page NY-NJ-PA for times that you will be at Creek. I have all of next week off and will be riding alot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snow|3oarder Posted February 17, 2006 Report Share Posted February 17, 2006 In some sense its alot more fun to do it in a soft set-up. I agree...there is a different style to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJ-PS Posted February 17, 2006 Report Share Posted February 17, 2006 Carving alpine setup w/ hardboots and plates is a different discipline than freeride and softies. Your riding level will increase in both disciplines (when used interchangeably) faster than in only using one. A number of folks will tell you to go hardboot full time, and some have to because of injury or age. It is advisable to continue to do both as long as possible because there is a difference in the muscles, feedback, sensations, experience, etc. Plus if you are getting compliments on your riding, then it's time to push yourself up to the next level. If you can already carve softie, then Go for it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gleb Posted February 19, 2006 Report Share Posted February 19, 2006 Hi everyone. I'm Gleb and I'm a carv-a-holic. *Hi Gleb* Right now, i'm more addicted then ever because last night, something finally clicked, and I'm able to put some high speed, high g carves in. I was so excited! Good thing I'm going to get in 18 hours of carving this week:biggthump Defintly go for the hardboot. I never tried soft boots but i know for sure, i have twice as much fun as anyone else on the mountain when on my board. Just get a cheap board like mine, burton Ultra Prime or get a Factory prime. There are tons of these for sale. You won't regret it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chubz Posted February 19, 2006 Report Share Posted February 19, 2006 If you are anywhere near the above mtn, look us up and we would be more than happy to let you try some equipment. Trying to set up a carve sssion during the week soon, so if you wanna come up when we finally set it, let us know, at tleast you can come and ride with us to vcheck it out up close. Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jersey600 Posted February 20, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2006 im actually not too far from blue mountain, 2.5 hours or so. where can i keep up to date on when your next carve session will be? i would like to see the equipment up close and perhaps even try something out. wouldn't want to impose though as far as windham is concerned, i still havent heard back from them regarding their demo equipment. should be giving them a call sometime mid-week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chubz Posted February 20, 2006 Report Share Posted February 20, 2006 Just keep checking the ride board for PA. If we can scare up some boots (find out your mondo), I will let your try my old Volant. Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lonerider Posted February 20, 2006 Report Share Posted February 20, 2006 here are the board specs incase some of you are curious'06 Burton Custom X 164 1285mm effective edge 250mm waist width 8.46m sidecut radius bindings and boots are soft set up angles are 51/33 but those have been changing rapidly oh and i am 6'0" and roughly 185lbs could the soft set up be hindering me and keeping me from reaching full potential? the board? i would like to think not and that it is just my skill level that needs improvement in any case, let me know what you all think and it is nice meeting you all! From what you describe about you riding ability, you can still go way farther on "a" softboot setup... but maybe not the board setup you have now. First you probably want a stiffer binding (Rides are decent, but Nidecker 900 Carbons or Cateks Freerides are better). Stiffer boots are important like Burton Drivers or Salomon Malamutes. Also, I think the Burton Custom X is holding you back... Burton just doesn't make that great freeride boards in my opinion - the sidecuts are way too small. However, I don't think you necessarily have to go with hardboots to improve your riding. There are a couple of boards you could get that would be a LOT better. Here are some suggestions:Donek Wide 161 Rad Air Reto 164 Prior MFR 165W All of which will take hardboots as well if you decide to switch anyways. My comments are based on the fact that you can't to C-shaped carves - this is a technique issue... I love carvin C-shaped turns and I still do most of my carving in a softboot setup... even O shaped carves (I carve up and around like a rollercoaster loop). Getting hardboots can really help you learn to carve better - but realize that your problem is mostly technique and only minorly equipment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfinsmiley Posted February 20, 2006 Report Share Posted February 20, 2006 I took the Rad Air Reto Lamm 164 approach that Lonerider is suggesting, with the idea of riding it in both soft and hardboots. Well, after getting the hardboots theis season, I`ve not mounted the soft bindings/boots on it again. That board will let you go most anywhere on the mountian with carving style and speed that the X can only dream about. Its only draw back is that its to stiff to feel the deep powder and is downright scary on the rails. Keep the X, for the park orientated stuff, it`s a great board in it`s relmn. I`ve since picked up another Rad Air board, it`s a 200cm Tanker, with the same idea in mind, it can be used with both soft and hardboots. The Tanker rules the powder and rails the grooms with either set of boots/bindings. If your not quiet ready to go the full hardboot set-up, the catek freerides with Malamutes or Driver`s could really pick up your carving game, esp on a board with a 10Metre plus sidecut:)IMHO You`ve probably already noticed that most of the crew around here have "quivers". I think that`s the name of the game if you want to do one thing really well, ie. the park needs a park board, the deep powder needs a powder board and to carve trenchs you "NEED:rolleyes:" a carving board. Welcome to a new addiction....................................... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jersey600 Posted February 21, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2006 well i still havent heard from windham regarding demo/rental alpine equipment so i will be calling them tomorrow. reading through the posts it seems that 5 of you think i could/maybe-should bump myself up to a hard setup and not look back. then there are 3 of you who say to stick with the soft setup a little longer and increase my ability. sample size isnt that big so im saying it's still a toss up. so far i have been really enjoying my setup this season and wouldnt mind increasing my skills on the soft stuff. i refuse to believe that i cannot carve full C's into the mountain on my customX. i was fooling around with the binding angles last night and bumped it up a little bit. i set them at 54/45 and tried it out on the living room floor. stance seems OK albeit a little extreme for livingroom carpet carving. totally different on the mountain though so we will see if this helps me get those full C's at speed! i had an exam today, and still 2 more this week, so i'm thinking i might be at mountain creek on thursday morning to reward myself.. date is still tentative though we'll see if i survive midterms Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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