Beginner, what to buy?

[raphael]

Ah....sorry for my insistence, but you suggest me to pay an alpine instructor or not? Here there are not instructor that can teach to carve, but maybe they can help me to learn the basics....
In the case you say yes, how many times (hours) you suggest to do?I pay ~32euro/hour, so I'm not happy, but I wouldn't want to take bad habits....

I'll give you my opinion, but i'd prefer the pros to second me.

If you never took any lessons, take some. If the instructor does not want to teach you on your alpine board, change instructor.

Whatever the instructor may teach you may be usefull, at least for your security and other's. Maybe later on you'll try to learn something different from what he taught you, but still he would have helped you gaining control and confidence.

I think taking lessons for less than 4 days is ridiculous.

This said, i'm sure learning snowboard swiss-style and with push-pull is much better. But i tou can't get better, and you never took lessons, take some it'll be usefull anyway.

[aventrax]

raphael, do you mean 1 hour per day, for "4 days lessons", or more?

Thanks again to everybody!

[raphael]

raphael, do you mean 1 hour per day, for "4 days lessons", or more?

Thanks again to everybody!

A one hour lesson may be a bit short. But there is no absolute need for full day lessons (i'm not even sure it exists).

My point is: it takes at least 4 days (well this is a bit arbitrary, just my guess) and 4 nights of sleep to secure the progress. This how i see it:

You learn some.
You try to adapt to the teachings.
You practice alone.
You sleep on it.
You practice again and found you're not doing so good, and you don't know what's wrong.
You see your teacher again, he corrects you, but this time you understand better what he shows you because you already tried by yourself.
And then all around again.

After 4 days lessons and practice, there's a good hope the lesson is learned, in the mind and in the body and that it'll last more than a week ( so you don't have to take the exact same lessons next year).

If you're a beginner this is important, because good snowboarding requieres your body to adapt to a very special sense of balance. It doesn't come good naturaly.

But again i'm not a pro. I'd prefer the real ones to correct or second me.

P.S: of course more than 4 days can only be better.

[aventrax]

Thank u raphael, I've understood

[István]

Hey Guys,

I love the approach brought up by McFussel. This is really about fun and feeling, so go out and hit the snow.

On the other hand I have to admit that I regret those days when I tried to figure all this out by myself. I could have saved a lot of time, energy and frustration.....

I was
- using the wrong equipment
- riding on slopes where it is almost impossible to carve continously
- doing the wrong techniqe for years.

This set me back for years and gave me a lot of dissapointment and frustration. Now I've been riding for almost 10 years, and I started on an alpine board and never had a flirt with softbooting. Still, the real rapid EC improvement started 3-4 years ago, when I started to communicate with alpiners.

And then came Extremecarving.com that enlighted my mind . Ever since then every day on good quality snow is a steep learning curve for me (practicing the discipline spread here, on the right equipment), not to mention the EC event in Zinal

So, as a conclusion: you can make the learning curve much steeper if you get some discipline from one that knows what to do, where to do, how to do and what equipment to use.

If you can find someone that really knows this sport.... that's the big quiestion!

Cheers,

István

[aventrax]

István I agree what you are saying. 100%.
Unfortunately I haven't got a friend or an instructor that pratice EC, but I think that I can find a good apline teacher. So I follow your councils and I'll take some lessons from him

Now I'm ordering bindings, so I'm asking you the final word about that.
Can I bought something better that Bomber TD2 Standard? I've seen catek/phiokka .....but TD2 ....

In case of TD2, you confirm 0° cant/lift disk, yellow ring? Anyone has experiences buying directly from their website, shipping to EU? Have I to pay some customs fee or not? As they says, DHL shipment (2-3gg) costs 61$, not very cheap but ....

I'm searching for Head stratos pro, but seem I'm searching for a ghost-boot here in Italy


Thank you.

[pokkis]

As you are beginner, i strongly would recomend F2 bindings due much cheaper price. You will not find difference when riding and if you later feel that you need TDs .. you have change then spend more cash on them.
F2s are great and reliable stuff, i have 5 pairs of them in use
But, yes, if you are heavily loaded with cash, then go with TDs

[raphael]

I second pokkis.
I've got some old nitro race bidings bougth second hand. I've used them for 4 years. It's still enough for me.

Don't go buying bidings which shipment alone exceeds the price of some good enough bidings. the bidings may get real old before you reach the level where you'll be able to feel much difference.
Get some cheaper but good ones.

Though i never tried them I'm sure F2's are good. F2 is doing real serious racing stuff. They are german so they will be easier for you to find. Go for these.

[frunobulax]

Though i never tried them I'm sure F2's are good. F2 is doing real serious racing stuff. They are german so they will be easier for you to find. Go for these.

1. In fact they are Austrian, which makes a big deal of a difference..
But I agree that it shouldn't be necessary to buy an expensive binding, I'd say F2 stuff will do fine. I guess the effect of bindings on the riding is often exaggerated.


2. I'm quite distrustful about carving instructors. Most of them don't know what this carving thing is all about, teach wrong techniques (for instance racing technique = counter-rotation) or try and convince you to give up hardbooting (see www.alpinecarving.com).
I'd prefer a) talking to a guy on piste whose style you really like and ask him to give you some advice b) meeting with the people here in the forum (ECS?). There's also a german forum (don't dare to write the URL here) which organises meetings a couple of times every year, soft- and hardbooters together, at one of which two of us have given some improvised carving lessons last year.
c) watching the videos carefully and having yourself filmed as well.

[aventrax]

Yes, I wouldn't want buy an equipment too "pro" for a beginner like me, but F2 are cheap only considering F2 Carve RS, not F2 Race Titanium.... this bindings at blue-tomato costs 219€ (without shipment) Vs 340$ (with shipment costs) of TD2 ones. But 340$ now are 272€, not much more than Race Titanium....

Yes, a cheap way are the F2 Carve RS 04/05 for 119€ at BT.... but I dont know if they are a good choice too....

[István]

Matteo,

Again, my 50 cent to the story: this whole thing is a hobby, something we spend money and time on. Because of this it is important that you enjoy riding down to the smallest detail. If having a TD2 is part of the good feeling, than buy it! It is indeed a very a good binding and a quite fancy one. (I don't have experience with the overseas shipping, 'cause a friend of mine brought it over in his luggage for me).

Having money and having high-quality equipment is not a shame, so don't feel bad about it.... Many things we buy in our lives exceeds or own capabilities (eg. my Yamaha R1 - who could say that he/she is able to fully control a bike with over 170 ps?)

So if you can afford, buy the best of each part of the equipment - it might not help you in the first days, but will be of your help while improving.


All the best,

István


ps.: Actually I'm thinking about the TD2 Titanium - of course it will not make me a better rider but it is an amazing binding!

[nils]

Just get the titanium bails, the rest is the same almost! We changed our bails for the Ti ones and its cheaper than buying the whole bindings.

Nils

[aventrax]

I agree with your opinion Istvan, TD2 are "rock solid", F2 instead looks so "plastic" (surely it is not, btw TD2 looks from another category)...., I dont like saving 60€ buying a F2 when I can buy TD2 :D

[aventrax]

Just get the titanium bails, the rest is the same almost! We changed our bails for the Ti ones and its cheaper than buying the whole bindings.

Nils

Are you talking about TD2 one? Standard--->Gold (350$)?

[aventrax]

Errata Corrige: I have a 8,5 size (USA size) on my burton ION. No problems should be with bindings/boot and the pack