Snowboarding problems (Feet)

howsyourdad1 – Member
Interesting about boa laces. I avoid them and always prefer laces or Quick pull systems . I find boa systems clumsy and got lots of ‘hotspots’ with them. Also harder to fix when they do break.

I can never get laces tight enough and am much happier with “quick pull” systems as you can really lean on them without giving yourself a rope burn. Think my next pair of boots will be a dual zone Boa of some description. Would love to try Vans at some point.

Would love to try Vans at some point.

Mine are Vans from a good few years ago.

Vans seem to have a bit of a mix at the moment. Only a couple of models have dual-Boa, but they also have a few with Boa+laces which is interesting.

http://www.vans.com/shop/mens-shoes-snowboarding-boots

yep lots of it is personal choice of course. Single boa is rubbish though :). i used a triple boa boot for a season, a k2 one, that was great but it had really high quality inners too.

But I love the ability to quickly slacken them off at lunch time or for the walk back to the chalet

no lunch for me, decreases snowboarding time ! (although that is changing now ive had kids!)

I was that keen once. In the 90s.

These days I am there to be on holiday.

If that means, as it did last year, sitting on a balcony at 2400m gazing at the Alps whilst enjoying a rare steak, a glass of red wine and some quality time with the missus then so be it 😀

GrahamS – Member
I was that keen once. In the 90s.

These days I am there to be on holiday.

If that means, as it did last year, sitting on a balcony at 2400m gazing at the Alps whilst enjoying a rare steak, a glass of red wine and some quality time with the missus then so be it

I know the feeling, a snowboarding holiday used to be a week or two off with mates somewhere exotic with 4 of us in a room, up for first lift and lets find something interesting. Now it’s cruising the blues & reds with the occasional black/cheeky bit of pow off the side if I’m lucky. Life moves on and now I can’t wait to be able to introduce the kids to the snow.

Life moves on and now I can’t wait to be able to introduce the kids to the snow.

It’s great – our eldest had her first skiing lessons in Italy when she was only 3.
This is her with me on my board:

She’s been to France twice since then and is very keen to go again this season (though we’re not sure we’re going to manage it 🙁 )

I’m still a first lift man, but I don’t feel the need to skip coffee/lunch or drag it out to the final lift if there’s nothing worth riding anymore. Plus the last run down is such a gong show it’s usually best avoided. Anyway, you can get a seat in the bar if you turn up a little earlier.

Obviously, if it’s puking all that goes out the window and I ride until I can’t stand up anymore.

I’m still a first lift man

Depends on conditions for me. If there are freshies to be had then first or at least early lift up, but if it’s bulletproof I’m happy to take my time and let it soften up a bit.

If the runs are bulletproof head to the park first thing before the jumps get trashed throughout the day . Harder landings though !

An interesting article by a very good coach (I’ve had tuition with Chris) about the use of high backs or more the dependence on them and using your toes to make a heelside turn

That article makes some interesting points. I note it was written a few years ago when there was a bit of a trend away from highbacks for a more surf/skate inspires feel. Some manufacturers were making softer highbacks and some riders were removing them altogether – which felt quite liberating in powder.

However I found the lack of a highback or a soft highback led to a loss of control/edging on steep/icy/technical terrain so whilst it was interesting to experiment, I went back to a stiff highback with forward lean.

If I forget to put my forward lean back on when transitioning from skinning to riding on the splitboard, I tend to notice pretty quick – especially if it’s something like a entry to a couloir and I have to be on my heels rather than my toes

Most of the people I ride with get some element of foot pain, epecially the first run of the day which we just put down to not being relaxed and tensing up the foot.

I found I have a tendency to try controlling the board with my feet rather than the boot which give me cramps.

Best way I found was to have the bottom of the laces not too tight but the middle (heel) and top tight enough so that I can lean on the boots to turn with my foot still relaxed.

I allways slacken off my clipped-in foot a few notches in the lift queue to give it a break as well.

I have never really looked at my stance as a cause and found that to effect my knees more than feet.

Of course, if your boots are a bad fit and too loose/tight then that will obviously case you problems any way but, as long as they feel snug and confortable, I doubt they are the problem.