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What Does The Wolf Say?

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  • #2
    Helmet Bling

    I had a Smith Variant Brim helmet last season. Despite being warm and comfortable it didn't get along with my goggles, so it's gone to a better place.

    This year I'm going cheap, but classy. Modeled by Wilson, is the DK BMX helmet from the all encompassing Walmart, $29.95. The vents are permanently open, but that tends to be a blessing in AZ. Plus, it's the only lid I have ever found to fit my beloved Fishbowls....zman take note, yes Fishbowls. I'm still going to "rock my beanie" when the kids aren't looking.

    How can you go wrong with such classic branding;



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    • #3
      Custom RCs

      I picked up a pair of not new, but not used, 2013 RC off eBay during the summer. They came with the generally under appreciated "Death to the Luftwaffe" graphic. I think they could have been elevated with a Spitfire as the good guy. In the interests of world peace, I decided to customize them. They are covered with dark blue outdoor sign vinyl from Oracle, and applicqued with the RV*8 white Plotter cut stickers.

      Here is a link to Oracle on eBay;

      http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw...60%22&_sacat=0

      It comes in various colors and this size should cover a pair of skiboards with plenty to spare. I think they came out fairly well. They look slightly off center with the FF Pros, but line up perfectly once the boots are clipped in, or with the Spruce Risers.




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      • #4
        Originally posted by sempai
        They look nice. Was the Oracle vinyl easy to apply, and how well do you think it will hold up?
        It is fairly easy to put on but takes a little time and patience. You have to stick it as you peel the backing off and try to avoid wrinkles and air bubbles. I did my Summit 110s first in white and it was pretty straight forward. The RCs were not so easy because of the extra width and curvature. They do not look as smooth, but are acceptable. To trim the edges you just use a sander, it seems to seal the vinyl and make a nice clean finish.

        The vinyl sticks well and is "guaranteed" for six years outdoors, including sub zero temps. Don't think it will resist metal edges and better than the normal top sheet though. I prepped the Summits with primer and filled in the edges first. Because they are new, I just put the vinyl right on the top sheet on the RCs. It should just peel off if I want to change it. I'll report back when they get field tested.
        Just these, nothing else !

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        • #5
          5th Element LK Pros

          5th Element LK Pros

          I skied on the old long skinny skis back in the seventies and eighties before drifting away from the sport. It probably had a lot to do with living in the swamps of Louisiana. My wife, a much better skier than me, grew up skiing on the east coast and started going up to Sunrise Resort when we moved to Arizona in 2000. My knees were shot from competing in martial arts, so I stayed home with the baby whilst she took our eldest to ski on the weekends. Sunrise has a snow day care for toddlers, so when the baby was old enough to go there, I thought it might be nice to put the skis back on.

          A couple of days that season I rented skis and was happy just to cruise down the greens in one piece. Despite the curved ski revolution, those long skis just felt so clumsy. I could feel each turn pulling at my knees. I had fun but it was such hard work. Then I remembered that shorter skis turn easier, so I persuaded the rental shop to put me on 140s, to their disgust. Much better experience. Discussing my revelation with the wife on the way home she suggested I try skiboards, like her. WTF are skiboards, I said.

          She had a pair of old 99cm Fischer's, and neither of us had heard of RV*8 or Summit, so I went looking on the internet. I found the 5th Element LK Pros for $100 delivered and ordered them. They had a video review on skis.com about them and I found a blog form a mountaineer who uses them for descents. Good enough for me.

          They are 99cm, wood core, capped and slim. Definitely not a modern skiboard, but better quality than a foam filled snowblade. They really are a "mini ski", in construction and design. They do have composite bindings, which were adequate at the time. I used them that weekend and that is when I had my aha moment about short skis. Suddenly I could go, stop and turn at will. I graduated to the blues that day and the blacks the next. Pure freedom. I only actually rode them for three days, because the next time out my wife lent me her Fischers..............but that's another story. I still have them in the garage, and will probably never use them again, but to see them reminds me of the feeling of being on short skis for the first time.



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          • #6
            What happened to your pics? They aren't showing.
            Boards/Bindings:
            2013 Spruce Sherpas w/Tyrolia Peak 11s
            2023 Spruce Stingers w/Tyrolia Peak 11s
            2015 RVL8 Blunt XLs w/Tyrolia Attack 13s
            2020 RVL8 Sticky Icky Ickys w/Tyrolia SX 10s


            Boots:
            Salomon X-Pro 80

            Past boards: Salomon Snowblades, Line MNPs 89 & 98 cm, Five-Os, Bullets, Jedis, Spruce 120s, LE 125s, Ospreys, Crossbows
            Summit 110s, Nomads, Jades, RVL8 ALPs, BWPs, KTPs, Tanshos, Rockets, DLPs, Blunts, Condors, RCs, Revolts, Spliffs

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            • #7
              Originally posted by sempai View Post
              What happened to your pics? They aren't showing.
              I can see them.

              Is there a link or URL or are they just not there ?
              Just these, nothing else !

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              • #8
                Originally posted by sempai View Post
                What happened to your pics? They aren't showing.
                Better?
                Just these, nothing else !

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by Bad Wolf View Post
                  Better?
                  Yes, they're back!
                  Boards/Bindings:
                  2013 Spruce Sherpas w/Tyrolia Peak 11s
                  2023 Spruce Stingers w/Tyrolia Peak 11s
                  2015 RVL8 Blunt XLs w/Tyrolia Attack 13s
                  2020 RVL8 Sticky Icky Ickys w/Tyrolia SX 10s


                  Boots:
                  Salomon X-Pro 80

                  Past boards: Salomon Snowblades, Line MNPs 89 & 98 cm, Five-Os, Bullets, Jedis, Spruce 120s, LE 125s, Ospreys, Crossbows
                  Summit 110s, Nomads, Jades, RVL8 ALPs, BWPs, KTPs, Tanshos, Rockets, DLPs, Blunts, Condors, RCs, Revolts, Spliffs

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Taking the 5th

                    Following up on my post about the 5th Element LK Pros.......

                    I had a long conversation last night with another forum member about board choices and how we got into the sport. I started to realize that the 5th Elements were my "gateway" drug into skiboarding. As many of us were, I was frustrated with skiing and probably would have quit were it not for skiblades. Yes, skiblades, not skiboards. I'm not sure I could have handled a skiboard without the blade experience first. The 5th Elements were short enough and narrow enough to immediately free me of any thoughts of technique at all. I was able to turn and stop in complete control, and that's what I needed. From that point on my advancement was rapid. It only took three or four days to outgrow them; suddenly I wanted to go faster and steeper than they could handle. Skiblades gave me my aha moment, and a way to advance to skiboarding.

                    I bet a lot of the forum got their start on blades; Lines, Cannons, Grooves, Heads, Snowjams, Saloman. I know we have some great skiers on the forum who probably made the jump without a problem, but for me it was definitely a stepped learning process.
                    Just these, nothing else !

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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by Bad Wolf View Post
                      I bet a lot of the forum got their start on blades; Lines, Cannons, Grooves, Heads, Snowjams, Saloman. I know we have some great skiers on the forum who probably made the jump without a problem, but for me it was definitely a stepped learning process.
                      I started on Saloman Snowblades. I was perfectly happy riding the Snowblades for five years before learning about skiboards. I then switched to Line, and then to Summit, and then RVL8 and Spruce. I skied a lot of years before that but was awful at it. If I hadn't discovered shorties, I'd no longer be on the snow.
                      Boards/Bindings:
                      2013 Spruce Sherpas w/Tyrolia Peak 11s
                      2023 Spruce Stingers w/Tyrolia Peak 11s
                      2015 RVL8 Blunt XLs w/Tyrolia Attack 13s
                      2020 RVL8 Sticky Icky Ickys w/Tyrolia SX 10s


                      Boots:
                      Salomon X-Pro 80

                      Past boards: Salomon Snowblades, Line MNPs 89 & 98 cm, Five-Os, Bullets, Jedis, Spruce 120s, LE 125s, Ospreys, Crossbows
                      Summit 110s, Nomads, Jades, RVL8 ALPs, BWPs, KTPs, Tanshos, Rockets, DLPs, Blunts, Condors, RCs, Revolts, Spliffs

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Originally posted by Bad Wolf View Post
                        I bet a lot of the forum got their start on blades; Lines, Cannons, Grooves, Heads, Snowjams, Saloman. I know we have some great skiers on the forum who probably made the jump without a problem, but for me it was definitely a stepped learning process.
                        I started on something that was less than a high end skiboard and closer to a "blade" so I'll take that bet too. I think the "short ski" is an underrated and underused ski teaching tool. It is so much easier to learn technique on something less awkward and lighter than full size skis. I can't understand why the "short ski" Graduated Length Method (GLM)of ski training faded away. I have heard ski instructors say that the wedge turns & stops most use starting in the straight to long skis method are valuable lifetime ski skills and that as shaped skis got shorter and lighter GLM wasn't really necessary. But I really think it died due to elitism in the sport, pressure to sell more lessons, and pressure to sell more gear.

                        To a degree the ski industry is like what the cycling industry would be like if manufacturers refused to sell simple 1 speed cruisers to adults and training wheels for youth bikes. If cycling adopted the ski industry's model the only way to learn how to ride a bike would be to pay for expensive lessons and start on an 18 speed carbon fiber racing bike. Then of, course they would want to sell you a specialty bike for concrete, asphalt, grass, or perhaps an "All Surface" super bike. Not to mention coordinating cycling apparel (wait, they already do that)

                        In the end for me a question, closer to skiboarding, that one has to ask is how many of us start on "blades", found real skiboards, and have since left skiboards behind and moved onto long skis. I think there are hardcore skiboarders that will never leave the sport but others that master transferable skills and look to skis for more float, edge, or speed. There are plenty of forum members that have come and gone. Have sold their boards. Are they giving up the sport or, dare I say, graduating to skis. I'll admit I have found myself drooling over the Line Profits at my ski shop. 2-3 years ago I would have never thought I could handle them. Now, with a couple of seasons of well honed skiboarding skillls under my belt, I think I could clip right in to those "longer" skis and tear up the mountain. (Though I am not sure if I could bring myself to use poles. )

                        So if blades are the gateway to skiboards, can skiboards be a gateway to skis? After all they are all just F'ing skis!
                        Boards:
                        2016 Spruce tuned Head Jr. Caddys - 131cm
                        2013 Spruce "CTS" 120s
                        2010 Spruce "Yellow/Red" 120s
                        2018 Spruce "CTS" Crossbows - 115cm
                        2016 RVL8 Spliffs - 109cm
                        2008 RVL8 Revolt "City" - 105cm
                        2017 RVL8 Sticky Icky Icky - 104cm
                        2011 Defiance Blades - 101cm

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                        • #13
                          As an expert skier bought snow blades for some extra fun. Never looked back

                          Go Nexus
                          Crossbow (go to dream board)
                          Most everything else over time.
                          Go Android

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                          • #14
                            I started skiing back in the 70's and my buddies all bragged about how long their skis were. I never did relate to that. It seemed as if having 200's or 210's was somehow a badge of honor. Not being world class skiers I always felt that was being arrogant. Over the years my skis kept shrinking and then when snowblades came out I tried them and was hooked. I did buy one more pair of skis after switching to shorties, a pair of 152 Volant Chubbs. They ski about like Sherpas but with a longer turning radius. Now, I'm not sure how many pairs of shorties I have.

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                            • #15
                              How Wrong?

                              I came accross this article last night, it's dated March 2003. The author, Lito Tejada-Flores, has published several respected books, videos and DVDs and ski instruction. He must have been a paid spokes person. He couldn't have been more wrong.

                              http://www.breakthroughonskis.com/Pa...ruction29.html

                              I found a few old threads and reviews on the forum and they seemed to be popular, at least here. I guess they suffered a fate worse than death at the hands of the Traditionalists.



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