Posts Tagged ‘f2 bindings’

F2 Speedster SL Worldcup 163

Monday, January 11th, 2010

While Dave, Billy and Will were out riding the GS gear, I was able to mount up a new F2 Speedster 163. This little rocket is built with F2’s “Worldcup” construction, which as far as I can tell, essentially means titanal. A glance at the sidewall shows my uneducated eye what looks like 2 layers of titanal. One layer underneath the topsheet, and one layer just above the base / edges. F2 has incorporated a decambered hammer-head style nose, and slightly decambered tail, and a bit of taper, like many other new-school boards. I didn’t break out the tape measure to get measurements, but the taper is visibly apparent. I’m not sure of the exact specs as far as sidecut radius, either as it looks like F’2’s website does not have this latest board listed…

The 163 is the shortes metal board I have ever ridden. I basically traded an old Rossi 190 for an old Burner 162 over the spring / summer, and have been riding the Burner a bit this year, so I was ready to try something metal in the same length range. I wasn’t actually able to get on snow until a while after lunch, so the conditions were perfect for trying out a new metal board.

As far as the ride goes… After getting off of the lift, I spotted an opening, pointed it to pick up some speed and pitched it into a heelside, and was in love from the first turn. This little guy holds an edge wonderfully, and is damp enough to eat up all of the afternoon chop as if it were first tracks. I felt confident cranking turns on steeper pitches where there was nothing but afternoon scraped, man-made snow (what we call ice here in UT, but the east-coaster just laugh at.)

This board likes to be ridden centered, like Will has mentioned in some of his posts about the Kesslers. Weighting the nose going into turns doesn’t make a lot of difference, it hooks up great with either riding style. It’s still got some pop off of the tail, though nothing compared to my old glass RS.

All in all, this has got to be the best F2 board I have ever ridden. We’ll have to see wait and see what the reports are from Dave, Billy and Will after they give it a go. I have no desire whatsoever to go back to riding my old glass boards at the moment… :(

Curt / Skully

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Posted in Curt / Skully, Gear Reviews, The Canyons | 3 Comments »

Kessler 185 PGS Review: First Impression

Thursday, December 24th, 2009

For the last two seasons I have been riding a slew of different boards like Virus, Prior, and even a pre-KST Kessler. With all the hype surrounding Kesslers I have been dying to get my hands on one to put through the paces, and finally yesterday I had my chance. The board is a new black top 185 that is mounted with a Vist plate and F2 bindings.

But before I breakdown the board let me give you some of my specifics:

Weight: 165lbs

Height: 5’8” (on a good day)

Stance: Goofy

Stance width: 20.5”

Front foot: 55o with toe lift

Back foot: 50o with heel lift

Years on hardboots: 20+

My first run was on a very easy trail and without much speed I was hesitant to how the board would react. Within a few turns it was evident that long gone were the days of forcing a board to turn. Unlike like some boards where you need to really move forward to initiate the turn you can just stay centered and let the board do the work. Back in the later part of the 1990’s my favorite board was a Rossi 193 but I remember how much fore movement was needed to initiate the turn. For me, the earlier and higher that I engaged the edge, the more that the whole board was pressured. Although I wasn’t lucky enough to have any ice to test this on there was plenty of inconsistent grooming. The suppleness of the Kessler combined with the lift from the Vist plate made for ride that felt as smooth as a Cadillac with the power and control of a Ferrari. No matter what type of snow or grooming I ran into this board had it for lunch. There was not one slip of the edge that I didn’t do on purpose. Even though we didn’t have any ice yesterday I could tell this board would rip through the bluest of blue ice days back at Whiteface. I couldn’t help but wonder what this board would do on Whiteface’s Mountain Run, Stowe’s front four, or Sunday River’s Obsession after one of the east’s famous freeze thaw cycles. The board railed turn after turn and asked for more. There wasn’t the need to make huge adjustments throughout the turn unless I wanted to or I got off balance. Again I just wish I had some blue corduroy to run this on. Overall, for pure carving, this is hands down the best ride I have ever had. I haven’t had enough time or variance of conditions to say if it is as versatile as the Prior (which I feel is the best all mountain race inspired board that I have ridden so far) but I am very impressed. For me the goal has always been to feel like water running downhill when I ride, finally I have felt that way. This board makes carving effortless.

FYI this whole set-up is now available at Hardbooter.com. If you are a weekend racer, an inspiring world cupper, or just someone who wants to ride what those girls and guys ride here’s your chance.

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Posted in Gear Reviews, Park City Mountain Resort, Will Garrow | No Comments »

Kessler 168 Review

Thursday, December 24th, 2009

I have been riding alpine for the last three years, starting late winter my first year.  However, I have been snowboarding since early 1990’s, but I  now refuse to return to my softboot set up. Before I go on, here are my specs: I am a female, 5’3”, 120 pounds, regular stance with width of 18.25, front angle of 50 degrees and back angle of 45 degrees. Also, my front binding has toe-lift and my back has heel-lift.

Yesterday, I rode a Kessler 168 with F2 bindings and UPZ RC10 boots. This set up immediately took my riding a notch up.  Prior to that, I had been using Prior WCR Metal 173 with Cateks and old Burton Fire boots. I was pretty happy with my set up with the Prior until I experienced the new set up.  I have to admit I was uncertain the first two or three runs with the Kessler as the boots were quite an adjustment for me compared to the old Burtons (which I suspect were bottoming out on me).

After the first few runs, I started feeling the benefits of the new set up – I was carving better than I ever had.  The UPZ boots were very comfortable although a bit stiffer than I was used to. My back leg shin felt constant pressure and is showing some bruising (ouch!) – and I have made changes to my back boot to make sure it is leans forward a little less than it did yesterday. That is my only complaint – but I am quite sure I have it solved with the slight adjustment. I’ll let you know when I ride again later this week.

As for the Kessler, I have only one three-letter word for you – WOW!  It just gobbled up the snow and made a mockery of the bumps and grooves in the snow.  Admittedly, the snow was soft yesterday so I was not really able to test it in more icy conditions (if it exists out here in the west and according to my husband, it doesn’t). I could immediately tell that this board is significantly different from the Prior I was using. However, I was really trying to adjust to my boots, so I don’t feel I am able to give you a more thorough review of the board.  Stay tuned for this….

The F2 bindings is a big step up from the Cateks I was using.  The bindings were so easy to get into compared to the Cateks and felt more flexible.  I think this flexibility added to the subtlety of the ride.

More updates later….In the meanwhile, get out and enjoy the snow!

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Posted in Authors, Flavia Fleischer, Gear Reviews, Park City Mountain Resort | 1 Comment »

Vist Plate Setup and Review

Wednesday, October 7th, 2009

In this video, Billy Bordy reviews advantages of the Vist Plate and goes through setup of the plate on an pre-inserted Sigi Grabner alpine snowboard. Hardbooter is the only reseller of the Vist Plate in the United States and therefore we feel a bit obligated to give the skinny on the product that makes an alpine snowboard perform like a Ferrari but ride like a Cadillac. The plate not only removes the rider for a significant amount of feedback that a snowboard gives but also places the binding interface above the board for increased torque and gives the ability to lower binding angles… for more torque!!

If you’re interested in purchasing a Vist Plate please visit HB.com

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Posted in Authors, Billy Bordy, Dave Tille, Gear Reviews, Videos | No Comments »