2017 Ickys - And So It Begins

[Bad Wolf]

I have SuperFeet Green insoles in my Waymaker 80 boots but I took out the factory insoles first.

I have either foot beds or custom orthodics in all my skates, hiking boots and work shoes, and they make a huge difference for me. But I'm starting to think that they are working against me in ski boots. The way they shape your foot, plus the forward lean in the ski stance is stretching out the muscles and tendons along the bottom of my foot to the point of pain and cramping. Once I took out the custom foot beds and put in a flat liner I had instant relief. Who knew.

[Gromit]

Sure.

The hat was great. Light to wear, good fit with my goggles, warm and comfortable. I wore a light skull cap underneath. Yesterday was pretty warm, we got close to the fifties, and I did notice that the hat held a little moisture. It might be nice if it vented a little better, but I can fix that with a drill. To be fair, my helmet has the same issue, even with the vents open. Of course, if you don't overheat like I do this wouldn't be an issue. I did test the hat's protection by hitting myself on the head a few times with my my skis. I felt the inserts gave very good impact protection. I'm in the camp that believes that helmets don't protect you from concussions, so I am more than happy to use a product like the Crasche Hat that will protect you from soft tissue damage and fractures. To sum up, l'm going to switch from using my helmet to the Crasche Hat this season. It will also be great to travel with as it packs flat.

The Crasche web site says, "The inner layer of neoprene rubber has a series of air chambers. These air chambers help cushion the impact, and help spread the force of the impact over the entire insert.". Might not be a good idea to drill any extra holes? Why did you wear a skull cap under the Crasche?

[Bad Wolf]

The Crasche web site says, "The inner layer of neoprene rubber has a series of air chambers. These air chambers help cushion the impact, and help spread the force of the impact over the entire insert.". Might not be a good idea to drill any extra holes? Why did you wear a skull cap under the Crasche?

Good point. I was thinking of trimming the tips of the segments off to create a "chimney" at the top? Yes I wore a light scull cap. I keep my head shaved so i need something to act as a buffer.

[Bad Wolf]

Is this the new understated BW... dark and brooding?

I know

The blue pants are from my fat wardrobe. I need to loose a few more of my summer pounds before I can get into my neon volcano red pants. The Crasche Hat does come in orange, but I wanted to wear it skating, so went for the blue. If the hat continues to please I'll probably order a brighter color to ski in. And the top, that was on sale at the end of the season and is light enough for our warmer days.

Sorry I let you down

[rickylink]

I know

The blue pants are from my fat wardrobe. I need to loose a few more of my summer pounds before I can get into my neon volcano red pants. The Crasche Hat does come in orange, but I wanted to wear it skating, so went for the blue. If the hat continues to please I'll probably order a brighter color to ski in. And the top, that was on sale at the end of the season and is light enough for our warmer days.

Sorry I let you down

I have the same summer lbs to lose.

I've lost half the weight i gained in Italy with jjue & Liz this fall.

'Tip' lady's Jazzercise at the senior center 3x weekly! Your bright leggings will fit right in! [emoji15] [emoji16] [emoji15]

Rickylink >>)))°>

[Bluewing]

I have either foot beds or custom orthodics in all my skates, hiking boots and work shoes, and they make a huge difference for me. But I'm starting to think that they are working against me in ski boots. The way they shape your foot, plus the forward lean in the ski stance is stretching out the muscles and tendons along the bottom of my foot to the point of pain and cramping. Once I took out the custom foot beds and put in a flat liner I had instant relief. Who knew.

I had a similar issue with my new Dalbello Panterra 100 boots last season. The boot fitter at the shop where I purchased these at put an aftermarket footbed in with a hard plastic piece in the arch and beginning of the forefoot area. I got foot pain, cramping and was generally not happy with the boot fit. I went back and the boot fitter fiddled a bit but it wasn't any better the next times out. After a day of constant foot pain at Elk Mountain I stopped at Idlewild Ski Shop near Elk. The boot fitter there said the hard plastic was the source of the discomfort since it would not conform at all to my foot and was forcing my foot to conform to the footbed shape. He dropped in a pair of Downunder foot beds without any plastic and instant relief! The boots felt nearly perfect at that point. I only had to tweak the heel ramp angle a bit and the boots were just fantastic.

Bad Wolf - if your footbeds are stiff or have hard parts, try getting something like a Downunders for ski/snowboard - http://www.downunders.us/index.php/d...ski-snowboard/

[valmorel]

Similar experiences for me. Anything hard in the footbed seems troublesome on ski boots.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

[Bad Wolf]

Bad Wolf - if your footbeds are stiff or have hard parts, try getting something like a Downunders for ski/snowboard - http://www.downunders.us/index.php/d...ski-snowboard/

Thanks for the link Blue, they do look promising.

And, BTW, it's really nice to have you back on the forum adding content and opinion.

[Bluewing]

Thanks for the link Blue, they do look promising.

And, BTW, it's really nice to have you back on the forum adding content and opinion.

you are making me blush

[Wookie]

I have either foot beds or custom orthodics in all my skates, hiking boots and work shoes, and they make a huge difference for me. But I'm starting to think that they are working against me in ski boots. The way they shape your foot, plus the forward lean in the ski stance is stretching out the muscles and tendons along the bottom of my foot to the point of pain and cramping. Once I took out the custom foot beds and put in a flat liner I had instant relief. Who knew.

My wife had a similar problem with her prescription orthotics in her boots. The issue, as you note, is that the stance on skiboots is forward up on the toes and worked counter to the orthotics. To correct this our local bootfitter added a heal lift in the boot under the orthotic to correct the stance. This immediately shifted her foot back into the sweet spot of the orthotic and relieved all her pain. It also correctly located the widest part of her foot in the widest part of the boot eliminating pinched toes. Everyone's feet are different but it might be worth exploring.

[Bad Wolf]

2017 Ickys - And So It Begins

One Board To Rule Them All And In The Darkness Bind Them

I got a lot of time on the Ickys over the Thanksgiving holiday. I know I promised I wouldn’t gush over them too early in the season, but I have to tell you, these skiboards are truly fantastic. They were ridden in a variety of conditions, everything from perfect groomers, to bumps, to scraped off hardpack, to mounds of piled up powder. They handled it all with style and ease. All I am missing is how they perform in powder, but that only happens a couple of days a years, so...


Simply put, the Ickys make me a better skier. I’ve owned many skiboards over the last several seasons, and whilst I have enjoyed them all, they also had characteristics that didn’t suit me. The cambered boards had too a bumpy a ride for me, the wide boards were hard for me to get on edge, I felt that the rockered boards were a little squirelly and I had trouble keeping the long boards together. The Ickys seem to have fixed all these issues for me and then some. I feel more comfortable and confident on the Ickys than I have on any other skiboards.


I rode them in the set back positions with my custom HDPE risers and Attack 13 bindings. As a side, note I am now using poles as they seem to help with my balance and timing. That’s about the only good thing that has come out of my visit to the Dark Side.


Here’s the breakdown;


The flex is stiff enough to hold an edge on hard pack, but soft enough to also give a smooth forgiving ride. The conform nicely in the bumps but still manage to give you good fore/aft stability.


They have great bases that glide quickly and are easy to skate on.


However you choose to turn, the Ickys make it easy. The narrow width makes the effortless to edge and the rocker makes for smooth turn initiations. There is enough camber and stiffness to give you great edge hold and stability in the carve. So whether you want to slarve your turns or get them up on edge, the Ickys will not disappoint. They are easy to flat spin as well.


They are a very stable platform to stand on and track beautifully without any wobble or chatter. I always felt confident that the boards were underneath me and in my control. They also seemed very easy to keep close together and ski parallel.


If you didn’t know how long the board were, it would be hard to tell from how they ride. They have the fun and agility of the 88 cm Blunts, with the stability of the 120s.


In short, they made skiboarding easier and more enjoyable for me. I think over time we will describe them as a true all mountain, all condition skiboard. They could be the answer to my search for my perfect setup, one board that I can take anywhere, in any conditions, with the confidence to tackle whatever the day can throw at me. Who could ask for more?


In other news, the Crasche Hat and Atomic Waymaker boots still prove to be two of the better equipment choices I’ve made.

[sempai]

Let's have some video of you riding the Ickys.

[Wookie]

Let's have some video of you riding the Ickys.

Yes, video please.

And (while I know it doesn't matter, other than graphics) don't you have them on the wrong feet? Even though they are simple graphics I am a bit OCD about my graphics matching up when I ride. This partly why I like graphics that are the same on both boards rather than spread across two boards.

[Fedfan]

Oops

...I am a bit OCD about my graphics matching up when I ride. ...

LOL. You would have hated to see pics of the first time I rode the Yin/Yang Blunts. Needless to say, I was mildly embarrassed when I took them off and realized what they should depict.

[sempai]

Even though they are simple graphics I am a bit OCD about my graphics matching up when I ride. This partly why I like graphics that are the same on both boards rather than spread across two boards.

Sometimes I ride the Blunt LX instead of the Blunt XL.