I finally tried out my carving gear.

[goofyfoot53]

Once I got my daughter’s softboot board set up, we both decided to try out our boards. I wasn’t sure whether we should be regular or goofy. I got a lot of conflicting advice, but in the end, the only way to know for sure is to try both ways. My daughter felt strongly that she would be regular so I set her up that way. However, because of my bad left leg, I felt I should put my strong leg in front. Although I surf regular because you surf off the back foot, I box and kickbox goofy and when I slalom on water skis I do so on my right leg, so I set my bindings up goofy. It was hard to figure out the angles because the Meyers do not have any reference marks. I positioned them so there was no boot overhang but because the board is 1cm narrower at the back binding, they ended up slightly pigeon-toed. Thus, I moved the front binding till they looked parallel to my eye. I did not change the spring tension on the release mechanism since I had no info to go on, but I should have.

Although neither of us had ever been on a snowboard before, my daughter did not want to take a lesson. Teenagers, of course, think they can do anything. Therefore, I searched for instructional videos and found most instructors in the videos gave very similar advice for beginners, starting with getting used to moving the board around with the back foot out, sidestepping up and down the hill, and gliding in the flats with the back foot detached, mimicking coming off the chair. Moving around felt okay although my daughter had trouble lifting the board with her left leg so she now wants to try goofy so her strong leg is in front. Since she has a softboot setup, I reset her to a duck stance so she can try both ways. We both had trouble gliding with the back foot out on a gentle slope. The board would turn toeside and wash out the tail. I felt like I was too far forward on the board but if I move the front binding back it will make my already narrow stance even more narrow. My stance is 45.8 cm center-to-center with the bindings in their outermost position. I finally decided to clip both feet in and try a turn. That’s when I discovered that I couldn’t reach the back binding to clip in while sitting on the hill. I had to move to a tree surrounded by a fence and grab a pole to steady myself. I jumped into the fall line and started gliding. I planned to make a toeside J-turn until the board stopped moving from going uphill. It was going okay but about halfway through the turn I saw I needed to tighten up the turn to avoid hitting a girl standing near the bottom. I increased the pressure on the front inside edge and suddenly the front binding released. I went down like a giant hand had yanked me, so fast I had no time to react. I tweeked my left wrist a little but it’s better already, 2 days later. However, I also have a pain behind my knee, on the lower inside that I didn’t notice till the next day. I may have over-stretched it or even banged it with my right boot, I’m not sure. At least I know now that the critics were right about the Meyers bindings. They can release one foot only, leaving the other vulnerable. When I got home I checked the spring tension, which has a range of 3 to 10. It was set on 4, which is apparently much too low for my weight, since I was at the bottom of the beginner hill so I wasn’t going very fast or turning very hard. I now have to decide whether I should crank up the spring tension, maybe all the way to 10, or just dump these bindings and get something else.

There were other problems as well. I believe I will need heel lift and cant on my back foot but I’m not sure about the front foot. I don’t think there is any way to do this on these bindings. Also, the Raichle 124 boots hurt my left foot so badly I couldn’t put on my ski boots after. I’m not going to be able to use these. The liners are shot anyway and the knob on one of the lean adjusters is broken off. Would I be able to use my ski boots, since they fit much better? Some websites claim that ski boots are much too stiff for carving. Mine have a flex index of 90, which is not that high by ski standards. If I can use them, I will crank the tension on the bindings up to 10 and give it another try. This time I won’t waste time on the bottom, I’ll just head up the lift and try to link some turns. My daughter now wants a lesson. I could probably use one too but no one here teaches alpine carving so I’m on my own.

[frunobulax]

Sounds like you need lots of advice..

First of all, have you tried your skiboot liners in the Raichles? Maybe you should do that.
Don't go snowboarding with your skiboots. They will very likely not fit correctly in the binding, and every modern alpine skiboot is too stiff for beginning to snowboard.

You should really go for some lessons with an instructor, both you and your daughter. For the first couple of days, it makes no difference if it is a softboot or a hardboot instructor.
He may laugh at you and your gear, but that doesn't have to bother you.
From what you're writing, there are a lot of problems you have to face, and both you and your daughter are very likely to lose your motivation or worse, get hurt.
Please dump these Meyer bindings. You cannot be sure if they work correctly, even if you crank up the tension to maximum. They must be very old, maybe fatigued, and the idea of a snowboard safety binding was never a good one.


I'm interested.. what did the instructional video say about the next steps?

[harald]

Congratulations with your debut. I totally agree with Frunobulax. Give up those bindings and try your skiboot liners in the snowboard boots. It is not good economy to save money on the cheapest equipment and get hurt instead. F2 Carve RS might be a good choice. They are solid and not too stiff. They also provide canting options.
One way of finding out whether you are regular or not is to put socks on your feet and slide on a slippery floor. The foot that comes natural to put first is the front foot on the board. I started with skiboots but found after a short while that they were far too stiff, and bought Raichle 323. That changed the whole thing completely. Even my Nortwaves 900 that are excellent for EC I find too stiff for my Swoard Dual. On that board the 323s work fine.
It is also a good idea to take lessons and spend some time on snow to get used to the equipment and learn how it works. Even if you are an experienced skier and surfer, you need to redevelop feeling for the snow, the stance and how the board works.