Splitboard.com Forums

Don: I am dreaming right along with ya! Someday...
Meanwhile cutting up $700.00+ AT boots have yielded good results for me.
there is a review of the Maestrales over at Wildsnow.com, it is mentioned there that the last is the same as the F-1, 3, and lower volume than the Spirits.
The new Garmonts look interesting too, I wonder how easy it would be to get a good flex out of an overlap boot like this though.
The nice thing with the Maestrales is that the buckles are fitted with bolts rather than rivets (easy to remove the likely redundant lower buckle) and the forward lean mech is on the exterior of the boot, making mods easier. They also have an adjustable cant (my Dynafits are fixed, with built in positive cant-great for skiing, not so great for snowboarding).

Hi Barrows,

Thanks for the link to the review on Wildsnow, definitely an intriguing option for next year. One thing that concerns me is the rearward lean in touring mode. While obviously great for touring, in most situations I don't lock my boots into ski mode and the rearward lean would make for nasty locked-knee healside edging.

Do you use the locked ski mode on your boots? If so, what angles are you running? The reason I enjoy the BD Methods so much is that they restrict rear lean even in touring mode which allows me to ski in tour mode running fairly flat angles (10/20). On the really steep nasty stuff I'll flip into ski mode for the extra edge control. Only problem with the Methods is weight, hence my switching to F3s for big days.

I like a bit of forward flex while boarding, especially in the pow. Just wondering how you are managing that.

I have to ride with forward lean in my boots. Most AT boots these days lock the cuff from flexing forward (as you note) or back when you dial in the lean. Like you, I believe that forward flex is essential for good snowboarding.
Here's is what I do: most AT boots have a simple bar, with one or two holes in it, and a pin that engages in the one of the holes to lock the cuff-I mod the hole that provides the right amount of lean by grinding it into a slot with a dremel. The slot allows the boot to flex forward, as the pin will now slide to the top of the slot before stopping. It only took about 4 mm of grinding to get my Dynafits to flex forward almost to where the buckles would bottom on each other (on the Dynafits there is also a molded in stop on the inside of the cuff that will keep the boot from flexing forward, I removed plastic from where this stop hits the lower boot shell to allow the boot to flex forward-if one just mods the lean adjuster, the boot will still be very stiff in forward flex). See info from Karkis and myself in the Zzero 3 threads on mods if interested in more details.
My angles are usually around 27-30 degrees front, and 15 degrees back-depending on board width, and around 21.5" wide.

Thanks Barrows, makes perfect sense. I'm right now trying to decide to mod up one of my existing setups or wait until next year since I may pick up a new set of boots. Both the new Scarpa and BD boots look great at a lower price point.