The STW Ski & Snowboard thread. The 2015-2016 season

Stoner – Member
You two can be as nasty as you like. I’m the one sitting in the apres ski barso thhhhrrrrpppppp to the pair of you

How thoughtless. You’ve just posted to rub our noses in it. I bet you’re the kind of git that’d post photos of beers in the sun with the pistes as a background.

Barsteward

Some retro obsolete boardage for you.

Top is a Nitro 164cm wide, from c.2002. I bought it for $100 in an end of season sale in Whistler on a hockey club ski trip. I got it since it was cheap, and thought Id use it as a powder day board.

Interestingly it’s no wider than my main board. A 2000 Scott 160cm.

But the Scott has done probably 15 weeks over those years, and while I’d never noticed it losing it’s “pop”, it sits almost flat comapred to the virtually unused Nitro. The Scott barely 5mm above the floor, the nitro a good 12mm.

I’m going to take it out tomorrow morning and see how it fares.

I spent a bit of time late this pm wandering around some board shops in Morzine, I dont have a clue what most of the boards are supposed to be selling to me. CambeRock this, side cuts that, standard camber there etc etc.

However, there’s a couple of nice basic boards I like the look of. There’s also some “directional” ones, which given my aversion to switching might be quite a nice idea. Anyone got one?

I was skeptical of some of the fancy board designs but I like my Nitro ‘gullwing’ hybrid camber board. Worth trying a few if you can.

You should try Lib Tech NAS, Stoner.

Lib Tech NAS

no speakay inglesie

Jfgi.

😉

i prefer my feet on terraferma

but here is someone i knows photos to get you in the mood

ross the boss

Stoner – don’t take gifts from Greeks, or snowboard recommendations from Mr Skier. You might end up buying skis by mistake.
😉

The menace, more often than not, is a super-charged young adult on a flying missile — a snowboard.

http://www.vaildaily.com/opinion/letterstotheeditor/20396027-113/vail-daily-letter-dangerous-snowboarders

First time I’ve been called ‘young’ in a bit.

Or an ‘adult’ come to think of it.

Middle-aged teenager perhaps?

Definitely a menace, BAN ALL THE SNOW SPORT USERS EXCEPT OLDER FELLOWS ON SKIS!!!

I thought that generally this view has moved on somewhat, but some of the older resorts in the states seem to have frequent “open letter” whingers that are best ignored.

I think the problem is that of familiarity and predictability, if you’re a boarder then you can get pretty good at predicting what a boarder will do next, and likewise if you are a skier. Generally it’s the beginner’s decision making skills that creates the nervousness about what is happening behind them and leads to unpredictable manoeuvres, always best to give people who look unstable as wide a berth as possible I find. Skier or boarder.

It’s just mad how people have those views and that someone actually published them!

I have a confession – I hit a skier last year. First time after 12 years or so on a board.

Playing in the soft stuff down the side of the piste (still on piste) in the shade of the trees. Skier goes by me on my left (further on piste) looks over his left shoulder for his mates / family, and hockey stops to his right – bang in my line.

I had enough time to wrap my arms round him to minimise the damage from the impact (think the difference between a proper rugby tackle and a spear tackle) and down we went.

Crawled 5 yards back up the slope to shake hands and check everyone was ok and off we both went (after he’d found his skis another 5 yards up the slope).

I went into him, but he looked left and turned right without checking. Knock for knock on the insurance?

Do I qualify as young and super-charged?

igm , see that boarder doing a handplant on the skiers head, that’s you that is

Wish I had the skillz

It’s just mad how people have those views and that someone actually published them!

perfectly acceptable view, if you’ve just been taken out by an out of control Boarder(who didn’t even stop)…however having just done a week on pretty empty slopes, despite my casting some nervous glances over my shoulder on hearing the sound of an approaching speeding board, my closest call was with some twonk on skis, nearly taking me out, despite me being the only one on a 75m wide piste.

was hugely unimpressed! 😡

but you didnt get hit?

I can definitely recommend Courchevel 1850 for anyone lunching on a budget in the 3V. 😆

My current board is 160cm. At 193cm in my high heels how long a board should a piste basher be using these days?

@Stoner – Height has little bearing on suggested board length: board design, your weight, skill level, budget and desired use are more important. (not to mention the graphics!)

Weight is a good starting point as a longer board will distribute the rider weight and allow for more float* in powder.

However since you are only riding the groomers, a shorter board (perhaps even shorter than your 160) will allow for a more ‘responsive’ board on account of the shorter turning radius.

More expensive ‘top end’ boards tend to be stiffer (often too stiff for mere mortals) especially if you have to ride ice, chop and crud, so caution is advised if you’ve got a chunk of change burning a hole in your pocket!

WRT ‘directional’ boards i.e. a non ‘twin-tip’/swallow-tail board then these tend to be carve/race/powder boards so perhaps best avoided unless they are your thing.

A ‘directional’ twin-tip however is probably what you need (as apposed to a ‘true’ twin-tip for freestyle etc)

I’ve tried to keep this jargon free, but most online sellers have fairly good board guides to give you an idea. Best bet though is to go into a shop and talk to the guys in there – they are usually pretty good in the reputable winter sport shops.

*Many modern boards can made ‘shorter’ due to design changes in the nose etc.

@dd after 3 trips to Courchevel I’ve yet to find anywhere budget – whereabouts are you referring to or am I missing some humour here?

Cheers Digby, very useful.

I’ve had a surprisingly good morning on the big Nitro. Possibly down to the factory fresh base/wax. It seemed to run faster than the Scott with a shabby rewax. Floated nicely in the powder too.

At 95kg I don’t think I have much room to go a lot shorter than 160cm,but I’d like something that turns in a bit more readily.

No worries Stoner – have a great trip!

Yeah – at 95Kg you probably won’t see much benefit in dropping below a 160 … For comparison, I’m 85Kg in the niff and I ride a Jones 163W Flagship (with an extra set of holes drilled at the back), a 164W Mountain Twin and a 168W Solution.

Have a look at the video GrahamS linked to recently that discussed some of the recent shapes if you are looking for something more responsive/initiate turns earlier – you can then take that info into a shop

http://mpora.com/videos/AAdlp8no10

Stoner, Much the same size and weight and after much questioning and trying different boards at CasVegas I settled on a Jones Aviator 160 Wide (big feet too). So much more responsive, easy to flick about and generally a hoot to ride.
Was on a ~2005 K2 Nemesis and a K2 FatBob before.
Just need to get out to a mountain and use it. Damn life getting in the way!!

Cheers guys.

Out of interest, how wide is wide?

Both my Scott (not wide) and the NitroW are 27cm wide between the bindings.

That Jones sounds interesting. Will see if I can find one to fondle in Morzine.

I’m 6 2″ 79kg and have a 156 159 and 161. Quivers my boys quivers

The wide is not actually that much wider that the normal board, but it is just enough for my size 12s not to drag. I ride a +15, -10 stance or there abouts.
Waist is 26cm wide (not mine, the boards).

Ah, just seen the 26cm on the specs.

I ride +21 +6

Out of interest, how wide is wide?

Depends – but the general rule of thumb is that if you have size UK10 boots or larger, you should consider a wide board – especially if either of your binding angles aren’t very high (+/-) – i.e. close to zero degrees. The point is to avoid toe and heel overhang & drag when on an edge.

The width of the board at the widest part of the nose and tail is what is relevant when discussing a ‘Wide’ board.(the width in the ‘waist’ will determine the ‘sidecut radius’ and the boards turning characteristics).

Wide boards used to be thought of as a disadvantage, but many modern designs have seemingly got around it.

So generally speaking a wide board will compensate for big feet with little or no impact on performance.

I ride +21 +6

euro carving stance? Most folks have roughly 30 degrees diff in their stance – do you mean +21 -6?

As I said, and others above seem to agree, Jones boards are lovely. That’s why I have two and my wife has one. She said she didn’t need a new board until she rode it.

Oh god don’t start the stance thing again – we’ll have bluehelmet showing up telling everyone to ride zero/zero 😆

Crikey … I hadn’t seen that thread – I certainly didn’t expect to see a picture of Keith when I clicked on the link … 🙁

Zero/Zero? 🙂 Some fantastic comments on that thread! 😆

Being the absolute F****** genius that I am I managed to strip the skin off the top of my foot yesterday moving a sofabed…. 2 days before flying out to Avoriaz/Morzine…. Genius.

0/0 stance is…. interesting… I’m 17/17 proper duckfeet. My knees will explode and my feet will hurt apparently… (actually my foot will hurt but that’s got nowt to do with the angles…

Anyone know somewhere that sells bulk quantities of Compeed in Sheffield?

No, I really am +21 +6. I’ve tried duck but didn’t get on with it last time I tried.

Might have a go playing around again as this trip is the perfect time. Got to sort out a problem with heel lift in my old boots first though.

Aldi have spray bandage, but that stuff hurts worse that the injury 😯

New boots time, Stoner.
I made the mistake of trying on a few when I demoed the board. Soooo comfy.

No chance! Only bought a new pair of ski boots at the beginning of the season!

As it is I’m eyeing up some flow hybrids as well as a new board. I’ll have to earn some pocket money over the summer to treat myself for next season.

No, I really am +21 +6. I’ve tried duck but didn’t get on with it last time I tried

Well if it works for you and you are having fun! (that does explain some of your reluctance to ride switch btw – as it can be quite tricky when riding with positive angles)

Got to sort out a problem with heel lift in my old boots first though.

Try popping another insole in – this should reduce the ‘volume’ in your liners and remove the heel lift