Category: Gear

Booster Strap is highly recommended…

I was not happy with the cheap Velcro top calf strap on my Salomom Performa 6.0. Some days I would get shin burn if I did a lot of skating and it seemed like I was always trying to tighten the stock top cuff strap while in the lift line. So I decided to upgrade to The Booster Strap from Skimetrix.

Skimetrix.com

First off they are pricey at $24 to $42 online and double that at local ski shops. For this reason, I have resisted buying them until now. Then I needed to decide which version since there are four from junior, standard, race and world cup. The difference between them is the number of layers of thick elastic at the front of the strap. The more elastic layers; the stiffer the strap. The chart on the order page helped, and I ended up with the Race version for my weight and intermediate ability.

Given the great service I have been receiving from Tognar over the years, they got my order. I highly recommend that you check out their web site if you have not done so already for the most extensive offering of tools, boot fitting aids and instructional information I have found on the web.

tognar.com

Installation was a piece of cake. The most difficulty was to mark where to put the hole in the strap to make sure it would be positioned properly. Do this with your foot in the boot and get someone else to mark the hole location for you unless you are more flexible than I am. Then using an awl (a center punch with a handle) I pierced the narrow nylon portion of the strap that wraps around the back of the boot trying to limit the amount of fibres I cut, and mounted it with the existing hardware. After mounting my straps, I realized that the strap is fairly forgiving as to hole location because of good overlap with the front of the cuff. But remember to keep the adjust cam on the outside of your legs, not between your legs.

On slope review with 120 Spruce longboards:

The flex felt just right and my boot felt very comfortable even when I tensioned them as much as I could. The strap stayed tight requiring no adjustments through the day, and I had absolutely no shin burn. Then when it was time to take the boots off, it only took a light push on a small lever to release the strap.

On the slope, I felt that I had better edge control and a rock solid interface between my foot/legs and my boots. It felt like my boots and skiboards were now part of my body and that I was in total control of my skiboard’s edges.

I would recommend the use of the BoosterStrap to anyone experiencing shin burn or looking for a rock solid interface between boot and their body.

(Rider) Slow – Intermediate Skiboarder

Zardoz Notwax increases speed…

This stuff really works! i took a few runs on the revolts without this applied, and i noticed on the flats, like always, i would slow down a lot and have to skate a lot to just keep moving. Then i put on a coat of Notwax, and the next time i hit the flats, i was able to just cruise through, and was going twice as fast as i was before. There was no noticeably large change on the steep runs, although i could tell i was going a little faster. Where this really works is on flats, it keeps you going, and cuts down your need to skate a lot. I love this stuff!

(Rider) Rob Kraebel – Intermediate Skiboarder

Spruce Mountain Powder Plates are nice, but too thin…

The Spruce Mountain powder plates are a great idea and a great way for you to adjust the place setting of your bindings on the board. It works both on 4×4 inserts as well as the 4×10 binding pattern.

It comes with pre-drilled holes for you to be able to adjust the placing of your bindings mostly to set them back for powder days. Just a few simple turns of your screw and you can take off your bindings, slap these on your boards, and put your bindings into the plates at any back position you’d like.

There was a downfall with the plates I used. After some use and a little bit of tree skiing the screws pulled right out of the plates and stripped the hole, making the plate useless. Making these plates a bit thicker might have made it less likely for the screws to pull out.

Other than the one issue these plates are a great asset to anyone looking to do some powder skiboarding!

(Rider/Skiboardreview.com webmaster) Andrew Deehr – Intermediate Skiboarder

Spruce Mountain Power Plates are a must…

Spruce Powder Plates: An absolute must for anyone who plans to use Spruce Risers in powder. Turns a good day, into an amazing day. Even when coming back onto the groomers after hunting powder stashes on the glades 3 days after the snow stopped falling I really didn’t notice the setback too much on the groom. I can’t speak about when it’s harder though.

(Rider) Mitchell Kuntz – Expert Skiboarder

Spruce Mountain Powder Plate makes mounting bindings versatile…

The Spruce Powder Plate for their Spruce bindings allow the Spruce binding to be mounted into various setback positions on a skiboard. The advantage of such a system is that this allows the Spruce binding to be specialized for the rider to be mounted further back on a binding, hence making going through powder conditions less work. Usually with a normal skiboard binding, they are mounted dead-center, and when they are mounted dead-center, for one to use a skiboard in powder, they need to lean back in order for the tips to stay floating on the powder. By using the Powder Plates, this is less of a task. Also, with the Powder Plates, it makes adjusting the setbacks very easy. If one doesn’t like the mounting, all you need to do is take a phillips head screwdriver, unscrew the binding, then screw it back in with a further back setting. With so many settings available, makes the Spruce binding even more versatile that it already is.

(Rider) Edward Ho – Expert Skiboarder

Snow Jam Pro Coil Leash are very sturdy…

The SnowJam Pro Coil leash is hands down the best leashes that I have ever used. It’s convenient, versatile, and well made. Mine stay attached to my boots, so it doesn’t matter what boards/bindings I’m on, I can always just clip on the leashes and go. The metal clips are easy to use even with gloves, and are very sturdy. I’ve personally had these leashes save me from having to chase a board down the hill after I maladjusted a binding, and I’ve seen them save others from the same thing. The coil itself is very strong and retains its shape even after being stretched out almost completely straight. I threw a board off hard once casing a jump, and the leash still came back into shape. I know some people don’t like leashes if they hike the park, but the coil leashes solve that by allowing you to take your boards off and hike with the leashes still attached. This is also helpful if you are hiking back up to drops in the woods since you don’t have to worry about losing a board if your grip slips. All in all, I highly recommend this leash to anyone and everyone who skiboards now matter if you’re into park, groomers, or backcountry. They are a great value for the price, and I’d be very surprised if you don’t like them.

(Rider) Tim – Intermediate Skiboarder

SBOL Padded Skiboard bag makes a perfect fit…

This bag is perfect for my KTPs. It’s a tight fit but works out perfectly. The R8 Monkey bag felt really big to me (probably because I’m short). I love this bag’s short handles and shoulder strap. It makes carrying my boards in one hand, and boots in the other so much easier. Highly recommended.

Rider – Courtney – Expert Skiboarder

RVL8 Skiboard bag could use pockets…

 

Very nice.

It holds two pairs of skiboards with non-release bindings on. If there are no bindings, I think it’ll hold tons of skiboards in it. The bag is very firm and good looking!!

It does not have any extra pockets for little stuff though.

And if you have release bindings, it was little hard to fit in there. I had to face binding side of skiboards each other and put them on. If you have a release bindings, you might wanna take them off, or get a bigger bag.

Rider – Jeaho Park – Intermediate Skiboarder