Softboots made harder

Hey..

I had an idea that apparently worked out rather well.

This is only my second season, although I'm progressing well.

I ride with Burton Step-Ins, From what I understand, the Moto a stiff
boot in itself.

I've noticed that from the lack of an upper boot strap, that my boots
would loosen during the day/night, leaving me with less response on my
toe-side. To correct this problem, I had an idea of putting an
additional strap around the very top of my boot.

I went out and bought 2 x 1 meter lengths of standard webbing, and
bought some very strong (yet cheap) buckle/clamps, and made a new
strap. I used the new straps to batten down the tops of my boots.
Since I had the additional support up top, I didn't need to lace all
the way up. I used the additional lace length to make a few stragetic
wraps lower down the boot.

Bottom line, my boots are now VERY tight, and very stiff.. It seemed
to work remarkably well, giving me a greater level of control.. while
I still have the convenience of the step-in system.

It's only a matter of time untill I find myself in proper hard boots.

To be honest, I don't like the idea of having to wear hardboots. One
of the appeals to snowboarding was the fact that I could wear more
comfortable boots... but I can really see how my carving would
improve if I was able to have much steeper binding angles. For you
hardbooters out there, are they much trouble when having to skate
across flats?

I had a great night last night. There's something oddly rewarding
about carving until your legs are so noodled that you have a hard time
getting back to your car. I was so exhausted, I had to keep switching
which hand was carrying my board.. =)



One more thing.. as far as my softboot carving is going: I feel that
my toe side is pretty good, but I still have trouble setting my edge
on the heelside. I'm currently at +15 Back, +30 Front (goofy), and at
the widest stance my board will allow. Any other subtle tips I could
use to improve my heelside carves? Next time I will be upping the
angles of my highbacks.. but I can only set them so high before the
angle prevents me from actually getting into my bindings..

Any advice is appreciated.

I went out and bought 2 x 1 meter lengths of standard webbing, and
bought some very strong (yet cheap) buckle/clamps, and made a new
strap. I used the new straps to batten down the tops of my boots.
Since I had the additional support up top, I didn't need to lace all
the way up. I used the additional lace length to make a few stragetic
wraps lower down the boot.

Heh - sounds like you made a home-made version of a SkiMetrix Booster
Strap:

http://www.skimetrix.com

Cool!

For you
hardbooters out there, are they much trouble when having to skate
across flats?

I don't find it any easier or harder to skate across flats. In terms
of comfort, I find my soft boots decidely more comfortable for walking
in, but more comfortable for riding (and skating). I use the exact
same footbed in both hard and soft, but my hard boots have a much nicer
liner.

I had a great night last night. There's something oddly rewarding
about carving until your legs are so noodled that you have a hard time
getting back to your car. I was so exhausted, I had to keep switching
which hand was carrying my board.. =)

I love that feeling! Fortunately at my favorite riding spot, I can
ride almost all the way to my car on most days!

One more thing.. as far as my softboot carving is going: I feel that
my toe side is pretty good, but I still have trouble setting my edge
on the heelside. I'm currently at +15 Back, +30 Front (goofy), and at
the widest stance my board will allow. Any other subtle tips I could
use to improve my heelside carves? Next time I will be upping the
angles of my highbacks.. but I can only set them so high before the
angle prevents me from actually getting into my bindings..

Have you tried narrowing your stance yet? A narrower stance might give
your hips a little more freedom to move which might help your heelside.
As you narrow you might consider also narrowing the gap between your
angles - say move feet an inch closer together and try 27/15 or 30/18 or
maybe even 27/18.


Anyone know of a really good pic of someone doing a heelside carve in
softies? Here's a toeside that blows my mind:

http://www.bomberonline.com/VBulleti...=7822#post7822

Mike T

On 18 Feb 2004 05:11:57 -0800, (Edmunde Lee)
wrote:

Hey..

I had an idea that apparently worked out rather well.

This is only my second season, although I'm progressing well.

I ride with Burton Step-Ins, From what I understand, the Moto a stiff
boot in itself.
Edmund..got any pics/diagrams of this setup?

Spiff

On Wed, 18 Feb 2004 14:36:37 GMT, "Mike T"
allegedly wrote:

Anyone know of a really good pic of someone doing a heelside carve in
softies? Here's a toeside that blows my mind:

http://www.bomberonline.com/VBulleti...ostid=7822#pos
t7822

Great shot. I don't get anywhere near that although it feels like it to
me, the camera never lies! :-)

Heelside - are we allowed to stick our bum out in softboots and low
angles? ;-)

- Dave.

--
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http://www.vpas.org/ - Snowboarding the worlds pow pow -
Securing your e-mail

The Snowboard FAQ lives here - http://rssFAQ.org/

Heelside - are we allowed to stick our bum out in softboots and low
angles? ;-)

Define "sticking out!"

You want to keep the butt "over" the heel edge as much as possible,
where "over" is relative to the heel edge and not the snow. "As much
as possible" as certainly more in an alpine stance because you're facing
forward. Follow this link and scroll down to the pix with the lines
drawn over them:

http://www.bomberonline.com/VBulleti...pagenum ber=2

The diagrams show the impact of small changes in position.

Follow the link on copek's post on the "Excessive Leg Strain Carving at
High Speeds" thread for more on heelside turns, in softies, at low
angles.

In copek's Bomber thread, there's a pic of a fellow in a heelside turn,
just not really laid out. Note the back is straight - even though the
butt is hanging over the edge, it's not "sticking out" because the back
is straight up from the butt. That's what you want. I need to get
someone to video me carving in softies, becase I'm pretty sure my softie
heelside needs some work!

Mike T

Anyone know of a really good pic of someone doing a heelside carve in
softies? Here's a toeside that blows my mind:

http://www.bomberonline.com/VBulleti...=7822#post7822

There was a fantastic shot of Vin from Out of Bounds making a heelside
in softies. He was flat to the snow, body forward, CMC style. From
what I remember, he rides with really extreme angles, 55f/45r.
Personally I don't think my boots/bindings would work right that
forward, but I guess it's the only way if you wanted to do a race
style carve all the way down to the snow.

I went out and bought 2 x 1 meter lengths of standard webbing, and
bought some very strong (yet cheap) buckle/clamps, and made a new
strap. I used the new straps to batten down the tops of my boots.
Since I had the additional support up top, I didn't need to lace all
the way up. I used the additional lace length to make a few stragetic
wraps lower down the boot.

Heh - sounds like you made a home-made version of a SkiMetrix Booster
Strap:

http://www.skimetrix.com

Cool!

Holy cow.... I wish I could see the buckle on the SkiMetrix closer..
I swear it looks almost identical to the one I bought (for $2). The
whole strap costs less than $4. (CND)

What I'd really like to find, is a small, yet strong, rachet
mechanism.. I'm going to be keeping my eyes out for that. The strap
made a BIG difference.


Have you tried narrowing your stance yet? A narrower stance might give
your hips a little more freedom to move which might help your heelside.
As you narrow you might consider also narrowing the gap between your
angles - say move feet an inch closer together and try 27/15 or 30/18 or
maybe even 27/18.


I did have it closer together, it didn't feel too great... but I'll
probably try it again.. with steeper angles as well. My stance now is
very comfortable, but I'm willing to try some new stuff. At least I'm
at the skill level where I can mess with my bindings, and still be
able to ride with some control, even if the settings are no good at
all. I tried a -30 +30 duck.. =) that didn't last too long.

Next trip... steeper back binding angle, increase the highback angle,
and perhaps narrowing the stance.

Thanks for the tips

Holy cow.... I wish I could see the buckle on the SkiMetrix closer..
I swear it looks almost identical to the one I bought (for $2). The
whole strap costs less than $4. (CND)

Just a basic cam buckle. Here's a photo of mine:
http://www.tovino.com/misc/booster.jpg

They probably make a bundle off those things! I noticed they do have a
registered patent, I'm not about to go look up what it is though (I
spend too much time here as it is!)

What I'd really like to find, is a small, yet strong, rachet
mechanism.. I'm going to be keeping my eyes out for that. The strap
made a BIG difference.

I've been using the strap on my hard boots for a year now, it mostly
reduces shin-bang by keeping the upper part of the cuff snug, but it
does give them a bit more rebound for starting turns with more
authority. I do recall smeone on Bomber using them on softies -
you've inspired me to try it too.

I did have it closer together, it didn't feel too great... but I'll
probably try it again.. with steeper angles as well.

Yeah, I've found that once I've got my stance dialed, changing one
aspect of it for a performance reason usually means changing another
aspect to get the comfort back.

Examples:

In a freeride / freestyle oriented stance, If I want to narrow my
stance, I find I need to reduce the difference between the angles
(splay) and if I want to widen it I need to increase the splay.

I use less splay with the same stance width in an alpine stance than I
do in a freeride / freestyle stance, but even within an alpine stance,
the same rule still applies.

I still tweak my stance sometimes in order to help me work on a specific
skill or get rid of a defect in my riding - but once I've done that I
usually go back to my default stance, and make sure I've still "got"
whatever skill I just worked on in the default stance.

"Mike T" wrote in message .. .
I went out and bought 2 x 1 meter lengths of standard webbing, and
bought some very strong (yet cheap) buckle/clamps, and made a new
strap. I used the new straps to batten down the tops of my boots.
Since I had the additional support up top, I didn't need to lace all
the way up. I used the additional lace length to make a few stragetic
wraps lower down the boot.

Heh - sounds like you made a home-made version of a SkiMetrix Booster
Strap:

http://www.skimetrix.com

Cool!

Hey Edmunde, that sounds really neat, how easy was it to do? I am
interested in making my boots stiffer as well. Would all the parts be
available at a store like Home Depot? What type of buckle/clamp did
you get? What is difficult to fashion?


For you
hardbooters out there, are they much trouble when having to skate
across flats?

I don't find it any easier or harder to skate across flats. In terms
of comfort, I find my soft boots decidely more comfortable for walking
in, but more comfortable for riding (and skating). I use the exact
same footbed in both hard and soft, but my hard boots have a much nicer
liner.

I've found skating to be basically the same, made even easier as you
are riding such a high angle that you don't have to twist you hipes
forward as much (assuming you like to kick off on the toeside).

--Arvin

On 18 Feb 2004 05:11:57 -0800, Edmunde Lee said (and I quote):
It's only a matter of time untill I find myself in proper hard boots.

To be honest, I don't like the idea of having to wear hardboots. One
of the appeals to snowboarding was the fact that I could wear more
comfortable boots... but I can really see how my carving would
improve if I was able to have much steeper binding angles. For you
hardbooters out there, are they much trouble when having to skate
across flats?

Hard boots are no harder to skate with. In fact, they're usually
much easier 'cos of the high binding angles. I find I can always
outskate softbooters because I can push with far more power and
efficiency due to the fact that I'm basically facing forward anyway.

In general, I find hard boots more comfortable while riding because
the hard shell distributes pressure more evenly than the typical
strap binding. I can't pretend they're better for walking,
although they are sometimes better for walking up steep snowy slopes
because they allow you to kick a toehold. I find the worst thing is
how slippery they can be in an icy lift line, especially when skating
to the point where you get picked up by the chair. I once slipped
over when trying to stop at that point, and it's not a good place to
be lying on the ground, with a heavy steel chair coming along to
clonk you on the head.

I've since developed a very cautious shuffle when getting into
postion for a chair.

One more thing.. as far as my softboot carving is going: I feel that
my toe side is pretty good, but I still have trouble setting my edge
on the heelside. I'm currently at +15 Back, +30 Front (goofy), and at
the widest stance my board will allow. Any other subtle tips I could
use to improve my heelside carves? Next time I will be upping the
angles of my highbacks.. but I can only set them so high before the
angle prevents me from actually getting into my bindings..

Yep, higher angles on the highbacks might do thr trick. If the
trouble is setting the heelside edge, you might also try pulling up
with your toes at the beginning of the heelside turn.
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