New Gear for '06 - and injury prevention

It seems to get harder and harder to make gear.

Personally, I have had most of my problems with my ankles. Namely my Talus bone, which unfortunately does not have any connecting muscles and thus is prone to injury.

It's also very difficult to reabilitate the ankle - it doesn't get much blood flow, and so it takes AGES to heal if you damage it (just ask anyone that was relegated to couch time for three straight months).

So with that in mind, my attention turns to BOOTS.

Anyone that knows anything about snowboard gear knows that BOOTS are where it's at. Give me a shitty board, shitty bindings but good boots and I'll still be able to throw down (in my own modest way at least :))

[as a side note: if you're a newbie looking to buy your first setup, forget about paying big bucks for a board or bindings - unless you are really good the "performace differential" is all the same anyway - and spend all your time and money on buying the best boots you can]

So I'll be waiting to see what offering comes out from my favorite boot companies: Salomon and DC. (I like a nice stiff boot, but that doesn't mean I want to lose all feeling in my feet when I'm on my board)

And any exec from a company that wants me to test out you gear, get in touch. But be warned: I'll write up an honest review, so you better make sure your stuff cuts the mustard.

John

The Forum 8... Those Were The Days...

Do you remember when Peter Line used to snowboard?

Do you remember when that little "f" marked the riding of an elite group of snowboarders?

Do you remember when Mack Dawg was cool and robot food sounded like some kind of geeky dungeons and dragons shanagan?

Because I'll tell you something - I used to want nothing more then to ride for Forum snowboards. They were the cool kids on the block - what with JP nose pressing down 20 stairs... switch... and... everyone big upping each other ala "the resistance"

But I'm no longer clear on what Forum snowboards means to me... or anyone for that matter...

Does JP still RIDE? Cuz he seems to be on the team.

What the hell happened to Dufficy - Rossignol? Are you kidding me?!

Chad Otterstrom was there for about 5 minutes and then ended up on some team I've never heard of.

And then Laurie Heskari (did I spell that right?) comes out of no-where and is the next mega star. Didn't see that coming.

The whole thing makes about as much sense as Heiki Sorsa still not being on the Burton global team. What the hell is THAT all about?

Anyway, if you know something about this, leave your thoughts.

John

Flow Bindings... The Great Debate

Snowgo: "Going against the Flow
I have been happily using Flow bindings since I first bought my own snowboarding equipment in about 1997. I always used to recommend them to people on the basis that they were so easy to use and comfortable and that these advantages made it worth persevering with the odd reliability issue.
Lately though I have suspected that my bindings were limiting my performance and I began to wonder if I should try straps again.
I have just returned from a week in the Alps riding some new bindings (Ride Tomcats) which I picked up in the TSA sale and the old Flows are going on eBay.
I noticed two striking differences with straps"

Hmmm...

When click in bindings were all the rage, all I could was scratch my head... really... how much effort does it take to strap in: 5, maybe 10 seconds?

What's so difficult about that?

John

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