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  • January 29, 2013 at 2:29 am #578158
    Ben Beckerich
    Participant

    Howdy

    I’m just getting back into boarding after about a 15 year hiatus. I’m an avid alpine climber, and tried to learn to ski in climbing boots, but it was an awful experience resulting in me walking off the mountain with skis strapped to my pack a number of times. I finally rented a split from my local shop and BAM… found my Cascade peak taxi. Love it.

    I’m 5’8 and 160lbs, always carring at least 20, sometimes as much as 40lbs, but generally always closer to 20. My resort board is an old Sims 152 with a subtle camber, and I ride it well. Use for the split will be as a Cascade peak taxi, and dealing with the highly variable snow conditions one can expect to experience year-round at altitude in the Cascades, and always in soft-ankled climbing boots.

    I have a pair of 11/12 season Blazes that I got for discount from my local shop. I didn’t realize how much the 12/13 seasons had changed, and I’m guessing they’re quite a bit lighter now, skeletonized…? Are these still good bindings for me, or should I eBay them and look at something else?

    As to the board- I’m leaning heavily toward the Jones Mountain Twin in a 157… I’ve heard it’ll be a fantastic all-mountain board, and that they’re light… but none of the manufacturers seem to list weight, so I have nothing to compare to.

    Anything else I should be looking at?

    Thanks

    -Ben

    January 29, 2013 at 8:38 am #665380
    FloImSchnee
    Participant

    @Ben Beckerich wrote:

    I have a pair of 11/12 season Blazes that I got for discount from my local shop. I didn’t realize how much the 12/13 seasons had changed, and I’m guessing they’re quite a bit lighter now, skeletonized…? Are these still good bindings for me, or should I eBay them and look at something else?

    Still awesome bindings, differences should be negligible.

    @Ben Beckerich wrote:

    As to the board- I’m leaning heavily toward the Jones Mountain Twin in a 157… I’ve heard it’ll be a fantastic all-mountain board, and that they’re light…

    Well, what is your riding style, what do you prefer in a board?
    Riding switch and doing a lot of freestyle moves vs. full speed charging.
    Treeruns vs. Open bowls etc.

    (the Mountain Twin is a freestyle oriented twin tip board, for instance, rather than the directional Flagship and Hovercraft)

    @Ben Beckerich wrote:

    but none of the manufacturers seem to list weight, so I have nothing to compare to.

    This is annoying indeed!
    At least Prior names weights. Their XTC (carbon) models are pretty lightweight as well.
    And their Spearhead board rides amazingly. So “surfy”…
    (but the wrong board, if you are up for a twin tip style board)

    January 29, 2013 at 2:39 pm #665381
    Ben Beckerich
    Participant

    Well, my BC/alpine descent style will probably be totally different than my resort style.. I’ve only splitted a few times, and most of that has been pretty firmly devoted to trying to stay on my edge and not die, rather than really tearing shit up. That’ll probably hold true for at leaßt the rest of this season.

    What about the Solution? Reads like a better all mountain vehicle

    January 29, 2013 at 3:52 pm #665382
    FloImSchnee
    Participant

    The Solution definitely is a great allround board! If you can still get one (at least in Europe they are almost completely sold out), don’t hesitate!

    Based on the information you provided, it’s pretty difficult to recommend a certain shape.

    I’d recommend to take some time to read what the manufacturers write on their websites about these boards:
    Jones Solution / Hovercraft
    Venture Storm / Zephyr
    Prior Spearhead / Khyber

    And apart from those, there are many, many other shapes available.

    February 1, 2013 at 5:10 am #665383
    Ben Beckerich
    Participant

    Went ahead and snagged a Solution, will grab a Voile factory kit and some skins at the local board shop tomorrow. Splitboard will probably take a week or so to get here… will be such a loooong week.

    And actually, since all I need are pucks and heel wires, I wonder if I can order these by themselves?

    February 1, 2013 at 6:48 am #665384
    ruapehu_explorer
    Participant

    yes, you can get just about everything individually if you only need part of the kit, although it adds up

    $64 (puck set)
    http://www.voile.com/voile-splitboard-parts/voile-universal-puck-set.html
    $36 (dual height climbing wires)
    http://www.voile.com/voile-splitboard-accessories/voile-splitboard-dual-height-climbing-heels.html
    $100 (entire hardware set w/o plates)
    http://www.voile.com/voile-splitboard-hardware/voile-universal-splitboard-hardware-split-bindings.html

    so the same price, might as well have spare touring brackets or donate them to a friend/the forum.

    free shipping on orders over $50 from voile, but since you’ll be paying the same for the whole kit vs those 2 parts probably make your decision based on being ok with waiting for your stuff to get to you and hoping it beats your board to your house (shipping is rather fast from them) vs the cost of sales tax but supporting your local boardshop.

    February 7, 2013 at 7:16 am #665385
    Ben Beckerich
    Participant

    Just need skins.. Local shop’s out.

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