Sup yall,

Looking at taking a trip end of June. Currently have a s***load of FF points thanks to my obscene spending habits, so flights are free, looking at something like the below for the rest of the deal.

Anyone else planning a ski-trip ?

8 Day Ski-New Zealand Holiday: Total Price $NZ 3,122


Package price is based on 2 adults holidaying together and includes:
- 7 nights accommodation (1 bedroom apartment) at Heritage Heights Apartments, Queenstown.
- 8 days car hire. Pick-up Christchurch or Queenstown. Drop-off Christchurch or Queenstown. (Subaru Legacy 2.0 litre 4WD wagon including collision damage waiver insurance)
- 5 days Lift Pass for each adult at Coronet Peak and The Remarkables ski fields in Queenstown (includes lift pass only)

We're both taking our own gear so all-up should be nice and cheap

Yep, will be going skiing for my first time in June.

Dad booked it last week, we were going to hit up Queenstown but I went to NZ for my 21st last November, so we're hitting up somewhere down south in Australia (no idea where he selected?).

if its your first time, make sure you have money for lessons, otherwise unless your some kind of sport genius itll get frustrating really quick


snowboarding for the ultimate win

last edited by Spock at 13:31:43 13/May/08

this is chub you're talking to, the guy can do anything

without the need for money too!

this is chub you're talking to, the guy can do anything

Exactly, I'll go pwn the double black diamond courses straight up.

Does anyone know - with regard to transferring FF points between people.

When you go to transfer points (it says family only) but it has an option for domestic partner / defacto. IE. Can my girlfriend transfer points to me ? Or do we have to get married before we go skiing ?

well i only had that sandboarding stack to go by

jmr - I'll be there from 18 - 26 June;) Let's party QT stylez!

Haha f*** yeah, where you staying? Fergberger meetups

I'm curious, how many of you guys who are going this year have your own gear?

And how about instead of show us your PC setup, show us you dressed up in your gear with your preferred mode of transport.

I almost went to Japan in February and almost decided to go on an August NZ trip this year but since I'm not going at all I am left living vicariously through others.

woowoo

Departure 13th of Sept - Return 22st Sept

5:15pm flight out of Brisbane to Christchurch, to pick up our cars and make the trek to Queenstown.

- 8 Nights Accomodations in this rad home
http://www.homeforhire.com/MiniSite/Home.aspx?HomeID=91

- 8 day car hire

- Snowboard/Ski hire + lessons for those that need it

- 5 day ski pass (can be extended over there if needed) for all mountains in Queenstown

40 minutes from the mountains :( I guess that's one thing Australia snow has over NZ.

yeah fug dat, i'm going back to charlotte's pass next year.

f*** Billy lets stay there, how many people you going with ?

http://www.homeforhire.com/HomeImages/Home000091_2_Elegant and comfortable lounge_copy.jpg

Just came back from Skiing in Finland.
Along with the other stuff I did around Europe (2 months in total) I now have 0 money and 0 holidays.

Wish I could go somewhere local for a Ski trip in our winter, but cant :/

Also, Snowboarding for the lose. I hire Boots/Skis but have all the other gear.

Does anyone know - with regard to transferring FF points between people.

Just get her to buy both tickets? Then you give her cash for it if they're 'Her' points.

jmr - just me and r_mazing. We checked out this penthouse place that looked f***ing SICK. I can't remember the name of the place we're looking at staying at the moment but it was pretty lush and really close to town. We just paid our airfares - $435 return each! WOOT

screw skiing bro, come train Pradal Serey in cambodia with me

f*** thats expensive... went to andorra this year, £490 all up.

Just came back from Skiing in Finland.

who goes to finland? theres no mountains!

Also, Snowboarding for the lose. I hire Boots/Skis but have all the other gear.

what? skiing is so gay! if you have to hire kit, you're not good anyway, so dont talk about boarding.

I'm curious, how many of you guys who are going this year have your own gear?

me, and then some. got 2 boards, two jackets, two pants.

And how about instead of show us your PC setup, show us you dressed up in your gear with your preferred mode of transport.

me (red jacket) dressed up *and* preferred mode of transport. i win this thread!
http://www.clicktoprint.eu/images/xray.jpg

f its your first time, make sure you have money for lessons, otherwise unless your some kind of sport genius itll get frustrating really quick

get out of it. i went with my school years ago. we did a lesson for about half hour. a mate and i got sick of it real quick. we decided to just go up to the top of the 'beginner' slope and have a crack. by the time we got to the bottom of the run we could ski enough to have a cracker weekend.

of course we had a few good bingles but if you dont eat it hard you arent trying hard enough.

lessons are for fags. by the end of day one, you should be able to get down the mountian.

day 2, start carving better, heals to toe side and reverse.
day 3, keeping up with everyone going a slow pace.
day 4, enjoying it, keeping up at a decent pace.
day 5, trying to get checky, getting air off little kickers, racing.

if not, give up

Yeah f*** lessons

I need to pickup some bindings for the better half, anyone recommend Brisbane retailers? Thinking flow

g'f and I are flying Brisbane to queenstown 5th August and back 23rd August. Snowboarding for the win.
We'll be spending most our ski/boarding time in Lake Wanaka as Nana has 2 houses there also bought and keeps a car for when we visit
Cant wait!

Agree about Lessons.
I recomend getting one lesson if no one your with knows how to board but its just practise doesnt take long to get some carve happening :)

last edited by Fnukle at 13:02:07 14/May/08

I'm jealous of all you guys going soon. I went to NZ last year and stayed in Wanaka for 10 days, skiing Cardrona and Treble Cone. It was my first time to NZ and I have to say that the NZ ski fields s*** all over what Australia has to offer.

I started the trip on skis (having done so on previous trips), but tried boarding for the first time in the last couple of days and had a blast. Both equally fun for different reasons.

My girfriend has some burton Lexas. I am not a fan.

I have read some good things about the Rome Madison's and I think Ride Vxn's.

Go to Snowboard.com and read the binding forum. Should help you out.

Helcopter pictures cost like $700 in NZ. I had bad snow when I went Heliskiing. Last year's August powder dump on the Remarkables was far better.

Buy your bindings from america online and save $$$.

last edited by danthepirate at 13:21:19 14/May/08

burton p1 carbons for the win! burton customer service is awsome. broke a high back, they just shipped me new season bindings.

Would be keen on meeting up with anyone that is heading over this way

My girfriend has some burton Lexas.

My wife runs them on her gtwin, she has mentioned that she wants something a bit more responsive, just waiting for some demo days to try out something different.

Pow board
K2 Union 164
Burton Custom Ltd's

Park
159 Lib TRS with Magne-traction and BTX
Ride beta's

Aiming for 80 days + this year.

So its colder than last year, and the general vib around town is that its going to be an awesome season this year. The remarks have put in a new run, coro has a s***load of snowguns. And best of all snowpark has nightriding which is f***ing awesome.

never been to NZ boarding personally, but heard it was very average at Queens Town last year.

Went to Perisher last July which was pretty good (well as good as Aus can get) and every lift was open, around 50 or so from memory. Blue cow FTW.

However after treating myself to boarding in whistler mid Feb and getting snow every night, i don't think i'd even waste money going down to perisher again. 28cm dump in one night makes for wicked powder runs in the morning :)

Id definately be getting lessons, dont listen to these pro's. you'll pickup alot of bad habits if you don't get shown how to board properly. even after a few seasons of boarding i got plenty out of an intermediate lesson last time i went.

also - mooby wins the thread.. wish i had cash to do a heli drop :)

Demoing is a luxury I wish I had.

I have some burton missions (hate them - not responsive enough) and some rome Targas (love them). I have an option freeplus 159 that I wish was a 156 (Should be my pow board) and a Burton Tadashi Fuse 154 (should just be my park board but I have only really ridden it in pow and it works better than my option). So really I have 1 setup (Tadashi + Targas).

Ive got a Salomon Fastback 163
Had it for a couple years now, prolly time to get something fresh

Need to get Joy a shorter board again her cheapie we got her to learn on is crapola

whistlers gets good snow, but i found it small (compared to europe). do 3 valleys france, 600kms of runs! you hardly do the same run twice in a week

lol if whistler is small 3 valleys must be huge. Between blackcomb & whistler, I was very amused for 7 days doing different runs almost everytime.

An interesting point after boarding in a couple of diff countries is the standard of blackruns.. or lack of. A black run in Australia is probably a difficult blue run in canada, and going down a double black in canada is pretty damn scary :)

Black Run in Finland (Levinski) is similar (or easier) then Black in Aus.
I was repeating runs after 4 days, there for 10.

Off Peast ftw. Even was hitting up the Snow Park towards the end :)

An interesting point after boarding in a couple of diff countries is the standard of blackruns.. or lack of. A black run in Australia is probably a difficult blue run in canada, and going down a double black in canada is pretty damn scary :)

massive dont agree. reds are where its at in europe.

http://www.snowtrip.co.uk/images/pistemap.jpg

vs

http://www.jacksonhole.com/JacksonAssets/images/18/trail_map_large.jpg

I have some theories about the different steepness of runs for the same grading.

As far as I am aware, I think the width of the run factors into what it is graded (wider = easier) but think Australia, which really doesn't get the same snowfalls of the other countries and then think about the speed difference and difficulty of an icy trail to one with some nice fresh snow on it.

Pretty much what I'm saying is why grade a trail in canada that is identical to a trail in Australia the same when in reality one is going to be icy and sketchy most of the time and the other is going to be well groomed or covered in fresh snow most of the time.

note how many medic huts there are in the first pic haha. terrain looks wicked.

well said dan didnt really think of that before, snowfall in the area would definately have a huge impact on grading a run.

everyones got their opinion, but most of the black runs in Australia seemed to be piss easy to me.

i hate you all. wish i could. only been skiing once when i was 4 :(

Who's bought stuff in Queenstown ?

I'm thinking I might just buy a board over there

In my opinion the only time a sane person buys gear is in end of season sales (unless you break something while at the snow). Right now for Aus and NZ its ramping up to peak season. However, in America, its end of season.

So for example, a well known site is Sierra Snowboards: http://www.sierrasnowboard.com/tag/cheap-snowboards-0.asp. Now I have never bought anything online from overseas - I have only bought online in Aus.

So all their 2007/2008 boards are going for 50% off. From looking at their prices, it seems that our rrp over here is approximately double the rrp for a board in the US.

One of my mates picked up an all Rome setup online from a US store (all pretty much their high end stuff): Anthem, Targas, Some random boots for under a grand (Including shipping and everything).

From what I have seen of NZ their prices are the same if not worse then ours.

last edited by danthepirate at 10:23:52 16/May/08

So I would be pissing money away to buy now - should I just hire again ?

What have you got now and how much gear are you thinking of buying?

How often do you plan on going?

Board / Boots / Bindings

At least 2 weeks a year I estimate

Well if you can get your board, boots and bindings for 1k, simple mathematics works out that it takes 33 days for it to be worthwhile playing the numbers game ($30 Aus rental a day).

However, when you buy gear, its yours, you choose it all, not some random shop dude handing you some random board.

My suggestion is buy gear, but buy it online from the US right now.

Only thing with boots, go into snowbiz in the city, get them to size you up fit you a boot, and if they dont have any boots that fit you that are like 50% off, walk out and buy it online.

However, I bought my boots from snowbiz (I have strange shaped feet though) and any time i want I can walk into the shop with my boots and request a free refitment (It took 2 refitments to get them right).

Thanks dan, some goot tips there

I will try and get into snowbiz

There is a s***load of 07 gear still for sale here at the momment. Mate of mine picked up Burton SL10's for $300 with co2's for $249. I picked up 08 hails for $249, and ride beta's for $300 locally

Any places youd recommend ?

One thing you should remember about snowbiz is that Brisbane is not at the snow.

Most of the staff are Snow Bums that pretty much follow the snow in the world, but there is a good chance they won't have ridden what they are trying to sell you (they can't really demo the stock they have and the shops they may have worked at overseas may carry different brands).

Here: http://snowboard.colonies.com/forums/forum/19/ is a good place to read up and ask questions on what board to get.

Most then likely they will be of more help then they guys at snowbiz (apart from the boot fitting).

What sort of board are you after? A general ride the groomers, possibly some powder if you get lucky and a play in the park occasionally type board?

Yep, bang on

got dates yet? BUFFALO BAR QGL MEETZ!

I'm thinking about taking a 1 on 1 lesson this year to teach me how to hit the jumps and parks properly.

20-28 June

What mountains? Last time we just hit Remarkables because it was the closest. Depending on conditions, I'd be happy to spend another 4 days there.

I've got a go-anywhere pass I think

Hmmm... where did you get it from? On the LAST day last year I realised I coudl ahve been getting a student discount. I paid each day separately because some days we didn't get to the mountain until after lunch when it got really cheap. From memory I was paying ~$50 a day?

Quest has a 2nd store that doubles for their rental center they still have alot of gear left. There is a Ski sale coming up in two weeks at the QT convention center.

www.torpedo7.com.au
www.dogfunk.com
www.the-house.com

I am keen for a QGL meet at buffalo or even harry's pool bar next door as it not as busy and makes for a good meeting spot.

Or... we could get s***faced at whoever's place is the biggest, then head out!!! It'll make the night cheaperer. We went to Harry's to watch some Australian soccer... but lol as if they had it on. From memory there was no one there as well.

Sure let us know when you rock up, or even head into big bear and ask for Jase. My place is more than than large enough for drinking shenanigans

last edited by HerbalLizard at 14:50:15 16/May/08

Sounds awesome, what the hell is big bear though

That would be my work

Is it a bar?? If so, f***ing sweet as!

Also, do you know any natural hot springs within a couple of hours drive of QT? Google only comes up with ones one the coasts that are 5 star resorts and a little out of my price range.

I'm getting so moist from all this NZ chat.

Nope its not a bar teleco/it sales.

Hot springs there is olsen baths at arthurs point some f*** all distance from queenstown or hanmersprings.co.nz/

Dan, what do you think of the Rome Agent ???

FYI a new snow gear shop opened up just recently and are having a big sale this saturday. 47 Compton Rd in Logan or thereabouts.. not 100% on the street number. either way, definately worth checking out as snowbiz is a ripoff with crap gear.

Not having ridden the agent but going off what people have said, its meant to be a pretty solid park board. More for people who spend more then half their time in the park. From what I thought you were wanting to do with it I would have thought that in the Rome line, the Anthem would be more up your alley.

Again, I havent ridden either, I am just going of what other people have said about the boards.

I don't know what is so crap about Snowbiz's line of gear. Last time I checked they sold Ride, Rome, Nitro, Option, Burton, Forum and possibly K2 - Yes there are a load of brands they don't sell but thats a decent selection. Yes they are expensive, but this is Brisbane after all.

last edited by danthepirate at 23:06:58 22/May/08

Stealthy do you know what it's called?

They don't have crap gear but they sure as s*** are a ripoff

dan - that's the style of riding I'm aiming for, and having had a solid season surfing I think this trip should be developmentally awesome

Tried a mates agent fairly solid when I rode it, until he told me it started to de-lam earlier this year on a trip to Canada. He ended up picking a lib which I ended up buying off him but it now has a crack in the topsheet. So I just brought a Bataleon The Hero 160 for $200 kiwi dracmar this morning from trademe (ebay clone)

Its snowing here at the moment and its really puking up the mountain coronet looks better than it did all of last year, and they haven't even fired up the guns. Should put up some pix if I could be f***ed



last edited by HerbalLizard at 11:29:52 23/May/08

Do it, see you in 29 days (but who's counting)

What you think of the Salamon Relay Series bindings

What size are you in bindings?
Have a look here too
http://www.torpedo7.com.au/division/snow/menu/22-BI/title/Bindings

I will have to ask around, there isn't that many people about riding solomums bindings. They look like they would be really stiff though. I will also drop into r&r in my lunch break on monday when I am in town next and see if they have them in stock

last edited by HerbalLizard at 11:40:51 23/May/08

last edited by HerbalLizard at 11:59:19 23/May/08

Dunno, about to go into snowbiz to sus out pricing. US around 10.5 in a shoe. Will report back in like an hour. Ta

I have these http://www.dogfunk.com/dogfunk/ROM0065/Rome-Targa-Snowboard-Binding.html bindings from a couple of years ago. Really comfy (convertable toe strap) and rediculously adjustable. I have used them on both my stiff freeride board and my floppy park board and they seemed to work well on both (I seem to prefer stiff bindings though).
These
http://www.dogfunk.com/dogfunk/ROM0067/Rome-390-Limited-Edition-Snowboard-Binding.html are similar (i havent ridden them) but are meant to be a little less stiff compared to the targas.

I think 10.5 is just getting into large sized bindings.

nah 10.5 is med

I thought 10 for most makes of bindings is like the end of the med and the start of the large. So you'd want to at least make sure that your boot would fit in the med binding.

KO Just tried on a few boots at Snowbiz

Definitely the most comfortable for my foot style was the:

Thirtytwo Lashed, in a US10.

DC Superpark, in a US10 was pretty good too, bit more heel movement - being a park style boot.

Not sure which I prefer

The heel movement is a problem of the single boa boots. Simply because when you tighten it, it typically tightens all along the boot at once. So unless you have massive ankles you may get heel lift. I have single boa boots that try to get around it with the a pump that pumps up the heel. The other way around it is dual boa. Dual boa and boa + pump are both a fair bit more expensive. Boa has the advantage of fast tighten and loosen and easy adjustment.

As long as the little lace thingies lock the lace in on the 32 id go the lashed. Just cause on laces you can tighten the lower and upper foot different and its been hell to try to get my boots fitted comfortably with a single boa lacing system. But then again I have a wide foot and skinny ankles so it might just be me.

A side note, I think the Salomon lacing system is considered one of the best. My girlfriend has a pair of salomon and even on the horrible rental salomon boots it still works really well. I havent had much other experience with other lacing systems apart from other horrible rental boots and some nitro boots one of my mates has (didnt have the locking thingies).

Yeah, I just read what I wrote - specifically the Not sure which I prefer part, and I definitely preferred the 32.

Looking at getting everything from dogfunk, f***ing snowbiz is such a ripoff, but I can't find the 390's in a L/XL anywhere so I have emailed them about pricing..

What board are you looking at getting at the moment?

As far as what you should be looking at, you are prabably after boards classed All Mountain or All Mountain Freestyle.

Rome Agent

How heavy are you and what size are you going for?

Remarkables opens 21st. I'll be there.

85-90 depending on whether I am lifting or running

160cm

Yeah, sounds about right.

Also, you could probably put the targa's on that board if need be.

How do they ride compared to the 390's

I liked the Flex in the highback of the 390's

Well mine being the first generation targas are a bit different to the current model.

Just looking at the bindings, mine seem to look like the current arsenals which are meant to be stiffer again then the current targas.

I went from a pair of burton missions to the targas, so thats my only real comparison (apart from rubbish hire gear). The targas compared to the missions are really responsive and really comfy.

I have put them on a stiff freeride board which was not very ridable with the missions on and the targas made it quite rideable (I am a few kgs below the minimum weight for the board).

On my Tadashi which is quite flexy, I found they were good (I didn't try the missions on this board cause I don't like them) but the only times I rode this board was in powder and on groomers and it was fine. The Tadashi would be more suited to a softer binding but I couldn't really justify buying new bindings (I was considering getting the 390s). I am pretty sure the agent is a bit stiffer then the Tadashi anyways.

Have you ridden the 390s?

last edited by danthepirate at 16:14:23 23/May/08

Nope, give me a month ;)

shoulda been more specific; snowbiz has a crap range of gear. looked through all their stuff before going to Canada and the majority of the stuff over there i hadn't seen in any shops around brissy.

new snow shop on compton rd is called snow scene i think.

also - the burton lace up system seems pretty good to me, just pull two tabs (one for lower zone, other for higher) never really had any dramas with mine. The GF has a pair of DCs and she really hated the twisty thing that tightens em up, ended up going to a ski-boot shop in whistler and they put in a raised heel bit in for her made a world of difference.

Yeah it'd be good to see some mervin boards and neversummer, but then again you wouldn't buy them cause they are too expensive from snowbiz.

To get my DC boots with boas right required a custom footbed and 2 refitments. On the last refitment I got a heel wedge as well.

But as i said I have strange feet (wide foot, collapsed arch and skinny ankle)

Coronet got 40cm today, Remarkables has had 20 in the past 2 days! CMON WINTER WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

f*** YES:
http://www.nzski.com/resources/cameras/theremarkables/Alta/200805250945.jpg

Coronet has waist deep powder across the whole front face, mates where riding it today. Can't find f*** all info about those bindings, no one knows anything about them. But check out union bindings, I was looking at them today and the whole range look really solid, built like a brick s*** house. Also found a new gearsite www.buysnow.com which doesn't seem to have a problem shipping Burton or ride / k2 internationally

Also stay the f*** away from boa, I haven't meet a person yet that hasn't broken em irrespective of brand k2, 32, DC they all seem to break. And its a clip thats at fault 90% of the time. The other issue is that you can't seem to get them tight where it matters and everyone different, but the result is the same and it 's normally in the form of heel lift.

Speed zone is great there are a couple of brands that do it Burton's system is nice it works and works well. But you can break the retention clips, and the SL9's and ions both had issues with the cord snapping so hi r48 warranty. Ages ago I had Burton rulers and they where really easy to get on and off in the carpark, they were just right I could tighten the f*** out of them, but after two seasons on them I started to get heel lift and they packed out a fair bit. Normally for that style of boot your gunna be up either a 1/2 or full boot size. I Swapped to hails this year and went down a boot size, and subsequently dropped down some board sizes too from 164 to 162 to 160.

I think for most people that are on a riding holiday then mid range gear does the job, if your spending more than 30-40 days on it then spend the money and get something that will do the distance. Then again you don't have to spend the earth to get a set-up that works. Infact my flatmate brought a board from Queenstown refuse tip for $2 a 150 hyperlite, and yes I will still ride it this year for a laugh

last edited by HerbalLizard at 21:32:10 25/May/08

last edited by HerbalLizard at 21:35:14 25/May/08

How long is the drive from QT to Coronet? I'm happy going back to Remarkables for 4/5 days for convenience.

30min's in a hurry

what!? that's to the top?

Yeh, remember it's the closest but the busiest. Car park can get full.

Base to top 30mins easy, 10 mins drive from town to the base. They have brought in a carpool system so only people that have 2 or more in the car will get preference parking. Its supposed to cut back on locals ducking up in the afternoon or before work to sneak in a couple of runs by themselves

Ah nice

I'm prolly ordering my gear tomorrow, only problem is they don't have the bindings.

Any tips on where I can get 390's in a L/XL ? Reaaaaaaly don't wanna pay $349 at f***ing snowbiz

How about $149.99usd + shipping
http://www.buysnow.com/catalog/detail/VfpN6

Mmmmm, they're the SE ones though..

Could be worse you could be riding the LE's during gay ski week

OK, Opinions needed

Boardhttp://josh.net.au/sb/agent.PNG 390 Stdhttp://josh.net.au/sb/390-1.PNG

390-Yellowhttp://josh.net.au/sb/390-2.PNG 390-LEhttp://josh.net.au/sb/390-3.PNG

last edited by jmr at 11:47:43 26/May/08

Personally I think the yellow's

Can anyone tell me the name of that ski/snow place near chalk there ???

Hey dude when are you ordering your s***? I'm at uni now so can't get on MSN, but I'm thinking about getting new goggles and maybe gloves and some other small s***.

Haha just ordered it last night...

Had an item out of stock (Holly's pants) so I don't think they've shipped, if you want to add something to that order

Get on meebo.com quick

Nah don't worry about it - I think I'd actually be better of going to a shop to check the fit of the goggles on my face. I really hate the ones that don't fit perfectly and let air into my eyes:/

I bought some in NZ last Oct for like $100 or so - they're not _too_ bad over there

$100 goggles... wtf... do they have windscreen wipers or something.

Ahahaha thats cheap man

lol pretty sure the pair I've had for ~8 years were about $20... and they work fine, but when I first got them I stupidly wiped the inside with a nylon beanie and scratched them:(

I had these mad downhill MTB ones from back when I used to ride, which I spent a bit on knowing that I could change the lenses for snow ones... Then the f***ers stopped making different lenses

Edit:

Haha found em

MT HUTT METHVEN
##1007 159.50 NZ DOLLAR
$135.69

last edited by jmr at 11:02:56 29/May/08

For your goggles go to the oakley shop at dfo.

$100 Oakley wisdoms with the reflective lenses (i think they are the most expensive oakley sell). They retail for $200 +

If you want to pay less, go for a cheaper model or go with normal lenses.

I have some wisdoms and when i bought them probably 4 years ago i found they were the most comfortable and had pretty much the biggest field of view. A lot has changed since then with other brands but thats a damn good price for a decent set of goggles in my opinion.

Also the shop near the chalk is snowscene.

last edited by danthepirate at 11:48:31 29/May/08

Ummm... so what do the more expensive goggles do? Mine were 100% UV protective and fit really well...

All of this depends on personal preference and whether you actually currently have any of these problems with your current goggles.

They will usually have better venting and fog up less.
Typically the lenses are better - things are clearer and not distorted.
Potentially more comfortable - they use multiple layers of faom of different densities and the foam is hopefully more durable.
The design means your field of vision isnt cut off.
Possible the strap design is better - easier to adjust.
You can remove the lenses - have a lens for bright sunlight and one for cloudy days

I had cheapo 100%UV ones which broke one day on the field, I went and bought oakley ones (at huge cost on mountain) and was surprised at the difference.

Mainly relating to clarity and field of view. But this way years ago.

Oakley crowbars with blue iridium lens + got hi yellow and clears for night riding. Wife is using Dragon DXS silver mirror + amber and clears.

I have got to say dragon have it down for a decent frame and lens combo for next to nothing. But I like the oakley lenses better.

JMR how did you go with your bindings?

Haven't got them yet
At the moment, the only place that has the standard colours left is Snowbiz, etc

All the places in the US, dogfunk, modernskate, buysnow, etc only have the LE..

What do 390's retail for over there ? I was half thinking of buying them from somewhere in QT if they've got them in stock. The manager of Outside Sports was awesome last year when I bought some gear, so I would like to support her, but they don't sell Rome.. Do you know of anywhere ?

Ummm... so what do the more expensive goggles do?

The differences in the lens will allow you to see more of the contours of the snow, when there is a complete white out you can't see f*** all 2ft in front of you it really helps.

The mirror tints help on bluebird days when they reduce squinting (even wearing googles), there are heaps of different flavours too, Oakley has iridium blue/pink/fire + they do polarised which looks almost black up close for about $350 ish rrp. Dragon, electric, von zipper, smith, spy and IS all have different variations as well.

Green, yellow & to a less extent amber help when visibility is poor, and the light is flat.

Generally when you buy a better pair of googles they fit your face better, fog up less, its easy to get replacement lenses, there will be a better chance they will fit your helmet if you wear one. Been there tried a cheapies, they do the job for someone that's going up on a bluebird day maybe once or twice, then the foam packs out the straps f*** out. But seriously at $150-200 its nothing, plus alot of the brands will have clears available then you can use them for night riding (snowpark this year has night riding f***ING A) use em for downhill or moto if that's your cup of tea. I have seen people riding with them on while wakeboarding in the lake.

JMR I will duck into outside rorts and do a price check, I gather rome 390 standard or SE but not LE

There are some things that you need to spend coin on and thats boots, boots googles and outerwear. Boards/skis and bindings will come and go sure they are one of the more expensive part of the kit but normally the other stuff lasts alot longer I'm still riding on gear that I was using in 04




last edited by HerbalLizard at 06:08:37 30/May/08

Ok dropped into outside a couple of minutes ago. Spoke to Stephen Counsell who didn't know much about the gear or sizing So I had to guess they have 1 pair of the green black S/M and four pairs of the Black/Grey in S/M they would not move on the price at all $399 was it. I would hurry up though they are running out pretty quickly as the mountain opens in 7 days.

Phone 00116434410074 or +6434410074

I have never really looked at Rome bindings at all, but the heel cup and base plate looked and felt pretty rock solid, what was concerning was the cap strap it feel like a piece of glad wrap covered in foam and wrapped with vinyl, I would guess you would get maybe 2 weeks worth of riding them before replacing it, not a massive issue just replace them with another brand. They will have a mad heel side lean, but pedal operation will suffer because you will flex the capstrap upwards causing you to lift your boot off the baseplate for toe side turns.

Thanks heaps for that man

Unfortunately, I'm a L/XL (US10)

Rome Bindings
S/M L/XL
US 6-9 US 9+

Prices in OZ/NZ are absolutely insane.. They are $149 in the states, 2.3 times cheaper what the fark

We checked the NZ dollar last night and Aussie is s***ting all over it. I might take my old pair of goggles to NZ and if the weather isn't perfect I'll spend the NZ cash to get a new pair.

$100 goggles... wtf... do they have windscreen wipers or something.

lulz $100 ain't expensive. i picked up these babies when I was in whistler over 07/08: http://www.spyoptic.com/category/61866/ORBIT they're much cheaper now than they used to be =(

more expensive goggles just tend to be more comfortable, they don't fog unless you f*** up, good uv protection and/or swappable tints (different colors are better for different situations, e.g. clear for night riding, yellow for overcast, orange for more sun, crazy reflective uv s*** for sunny).

though a regular $50-$60 set will do you fine unless you've been riding for a fair few seasons.

Does anyone have a second hand pair they want to sell me?

On the topic of Rome toestraps. My original toe straps on my targas were full leather on top and with some sort of tough spandex on the back. The leather top ripped off (5 days boarding) as when you did up the toestrap the strap was meant to go behind the leather bit but often it got caught. I got them replaced (free under warranty) by the current targa ones (seem to be on 2 seasons bindings) which are 2 bit of plastic with that foamy stretchy stuff between it and with that bit of leather on top. I have 5 days on the new ones and they are fine. I am inclined to agree that the 390 ones preobly aren't the most durable looking in the world but when the break just warranty them (rome is meant to be good with warranties) and when they stop giving you free 390 straps get some targa straps.

On the topic of goggle lenses I have some straight persimmon (the lighter orange ones) and some hi - intensity blue lenses. My goggles came with the persimmon lenses which are general all round lenses and then i convinced myself that it would be a good idea to get some hi - intensity blue lenses because they would be useful when it got cloudy (but really I just wanted them because I thought the looked good). In the end I pretty much only wear the hi-intensity blue ones now because most of the time I find that the weather alternates between sunny and cloudy and the extra visibility and contrast I get is worth a little bit of squinting now and then.

last edited by danthepirate at 09:12:26 30/May/08

f*** it, I think I am just gonna get them from SB

Are the 390's $350 at snowbiz?

Ya

I have found you some Large 390's online - no idea if they ship to Aus though, you can have a look if you want.

http://www.modernskate.com/modernskate/product.asp?dept_id=90592&pf_id=PAAAIAFBFGEJIBFB&ad_id=froogle&key_id=Rome390LimitedEditionBindings2008

http://www.shoptheblend.com/rome-snowboards-390-binding-snowboard-08-pr-16493.html

http://www.nordas.com/ec/item.aspx?prodid=43170

http://www.thejibshop.com/Rome-390-Bindings-P2808C405.aspx

what about second hand goggles mofo

Prices in OZ/NZ are absolutely insane.. They are $149 in the states, 2.3 times cheaper what the fark

GOT MARKUP Yeap they are thieving f***ers alright, and the selection of gear is s*** house. I ended up ordering a foursquare Aaron jacket with a puffer liner and sessions 10k pants of some type forgot the model from dogfunk it arrived in 5days and cost me $325 nzd. Where as the local retailers here couldn't get the size and they wanted $699 for the jacket alone. If your about m/l in bindings and about 70-80kgs I would have a good look at ride's bindings, the only downside is that you can warp the base al baseplate and the bolts that hold the heel cup may need tightening every 3 weeks or so.

I just flicked off my rides on Monday and ended up going back to Burton and some 07 p1's turned up today $379nzd not the cheapest I could get them for but at least its not rrp. Got to say compared to the rides they weigh a f***ing ton but no issues with flex warping or anything but yet to ride them, I am thinking about heading up with the wife and my flatmate's tomorrow for a bit of a hike

Ta Dan, although:

Modernskate: only have the LE's which look gay

Shoptheblend: Out of stock

Nordas: Apparently have them, but exxy at $190 (have emailed them enquiring)

Jib Shop: Out of stock

B.Hardball I have a pair of anon theorem's around somewhere you can have them for a bottle of Canadian Club or $30

Rediculous neon colours is where it's at. If anyone has seen pics of the 08/09 boards and outerwear you will know how scary people will be looking in a year.

Hmmm... if that's the case... I have a ridiculously fluro jacket from about 15-20 years ago that I might dust off and use this season:)

Herbal - sounds like a decent deal if they are still great quality. At this stage we're getting to QT the night of the 19th June.

Yeah there is nothing wrong with them they fog up for me too often and I barely used them anyway

So what colour bindings should I get, I need opinions !@

Wouldn't get too caught up in the colors if you reckon you can rock out on the LE's then do so. I would be more worried about how a binding rides first then worry about the color second. I would be more than happy to check with outside if they have L/XL if you want. The other option is put $400min aside go into one of the stores here and demo the f*** out of everything you can get your hands on. Get them to knock the demo rent off a new pair its the reason why they have demo gear.

One of the lads at alta came in and told me they got some Burton and Ride demo's available, I know that rorts have flows for demo not that you would bother.

Hmmmmmm

Seriously the only time someone is going to see your bindings is when you are carrying your board from the carpak to the hill, or when you have it sitting somewhere at lunch asking to be stolen.

If you are riding its going to be covered with snow or your pants. So really the question is: Do your pants match your board???

Just buy the damn limited editions.

last edited by danthepirate at 14:13:29 30/May/08

Yes Dan

Did you end up getting em or what?

Ya, yellow

Rediculous neon colours is where it's at. If anyone has seen pics of the 08/09 boards and outerwear you will know how scary people will be looking in a year.

haha dunno where tou can get stuff like that here but when we were in whistler we'd always check out the op shops and s*** in vancouver and there was one up in whistler where you could find the funniest s***. fluro retro one-piece snow suits and s***. every friday or 2nd friday we'd all get wasted, put em on and go riding then we'd go out to the bars in them. good times =)

My stuff that I ordered from Dogfunk arrived at 9.30am this morning. Ordered it Thursday night

Absolutely awesome, I hope snowbiz go broke

My fluro jacket is fkn awesome then... I've always been too embarrassed to wear it, but I just got it out and I'm like "awww yeh... this is what all the faggets in the valley wear."

Still no snow:(

Herbal, can you PM/email me your email and mobile so I can meet you in QT to buy those goggles?
superwill@gmail.com

(yn)(yn)(yn)(yn)(yn)(yn)(yn)(yn)(yn)(yn)(yn)(yn)

lmao

My stuff that I ordered from Dogfunk arrived at 9.30am this morning. Ordered it Thursday night

you get stung by customs? dogfunk rock.

No I didn't, yeah I was very impressed with them, will definitely buy from them again

B.Hardball pm and email sent.