Member russman

I work at Karakoram, so take what I say knowing that I’m a part of the team that developed the TipLock.

The TipLocks are amazing. They actively clamp the tip/tail of your splitboard together with a significant amount of force. When used in unison with the Ultraclips, the entire splitboard is extremely tight, and absolutely rattle free. The thing…[Read more]

I saw these in person at the SIA show last week. I do appreciate the concept and the willingness of Deeluxe to create something new and innovative, but this boot most certainly is NOT a splitboard boot.

1) There is no walk mode.

2) No tech toe.

3) It weights about (literally) 5 pounds PER FOOT. Its ridiculously heavy.

I did hear rumors…[Read more]

@taylor I truly am sorry you feel I’ve been biased against AT boots. It is true that we all have opinions, and I’m likely as guilty as anyone in having biases. This being said I do work very hard to analyze topics from a critical thinking standpoint. I did a master’s in biomechanics, and at this point have spent about a decade studying snowboard…[Read more]

@buell + @96avs01 fair enough dudes. I forgot to mention Keffler. Three companies.

Marketing bs? What have you done for the sport?

I uprooted a highly lucrative career to do this and attempt to make splitboarding a far more viable option for snowboarders globally. It’s fine if you don’t want to use certain products, but think about who you yourself are bashing.

Yo dude, first of all I’ve always provided full disclosure. Either here or on other social media outlets, I make it extremely clear that I work at Karakoram. Secondly, if you actually read my posts, you will NEVER find bashing or bad mouthing of other companies or specific disciplines. Check your facts.

The “AT boot Vs. Softboot” debate is a…[Read more]

Hey guys I love these conversations! If we all think back to even just 10 years ago, its absolutely incredible how far our strange little “sport” has come. Isn’t it?

I’d like to get a new video put together that addresses the comments regarding snow and ice accumulation on the interface. When you go from warm and wet down low, and then find…[Read more]

I’ll pipe in quickly, but full disclosure, I was the first ever full time employee at Karakoram, and am therefore “probably” a bit biased.

This being said, I’m biased for a reason. The whole philosophy of the company is one of mega high performance. You won’t find a binding that drives the edge of the snowboard harder into the ground than any of…[Read more]

Hey Buell,

I just want to circle back to this thread and ask you Amplid guys how you have found the durability of the Milligram? I just picked up the 163, and I’m super stoked to give it a solid review!

The lightness and softer flex, of course, raises durability questions for me. I’ve gotten 3 huge seasons out of my Jones Carbon Solution(s) in…[Read more]

I totally agree….

If small innovators could enter the game, I feel that we would see rapid boot evolution on both the soft and hard sides of the political snowboard isle.

Hey guys!

Thought I’d dig up this old thread. With all the chatter about hardboots on SB.com, I thought I’d see if anyone out there is still more interested in a technical “mountaineering” style boot for general splitboard and alpinism needs.

I have the Fitwells, new Jones boots, have used the K2 Aspects, the Deeluxes, and countless other…[Read more]

Taylor, your comment about AT boots being better in pow sounds a lot like creative justification! Of course flex all depends on the boot…If you’re comparing a brand new pair of Salomon Malamutes, then sure, the AT boots are softer. But look at the new K2 Taro Tomai boot. There’s a reason the industry is still married to softboot technology.

I…[Read more]

I will agree with your original post that cutting grams absolutely matters. In fact, it makes an absolutely profound difference. You can look at any study on elite XC running: The less the athlete carries, the less Oxygen is required to perform the task.

Analysis of weight on feet VS. weight on pack:

In graduate school I studied oxygen…[Read more]

This is a really good question.

And for the sake of keeping Splitboard.com a SPLITBOARD website, and not just a “hard booter’s website”, I think questions like this are important.

I’ve weighed quite a number of boots, and Tommaso is right, you can’t find a “real” boot with a Vibram sole and heel welt for under 1,000 grams.

I just got a pair…[Read more]

This is a really good post with a good question…

In my experience, splitboards “used to be” a major detriment to shredding performance. However, in recent years we’ve really dialed things in.

In full disclosure, I was the first full time employee at Karakoram, and I still go to work there every day with a singular goal: Make splitboarding…[Read more]

Hey Swalbster,

Just want to thank you for your comments about Adam. He, Liz and myself had a really amazing pose years ago, and its been extremely hard coming to terms with the fact that I’m the only remaining member.

Thanks so much for your words buddy,

Russman

Hey Colin,

I don’t think that will be an issue. There are already so many threads on here that discuss the differences between hard boots and soft boots. I feel that the “hard v. soft” discussion is more of a thread by thread topic, not a general forum topic. Although many on SB.com use hard boots, the vast majority of splitboarders out there…[Read more]