# To Stomp Pad or not to Stomp pad



## Jack87 (Jan 9, 2021)

So I got myself way too many boards this season... And I hate the idea of putting stomp pads and covering the graphics! Been riding without. My one footed game is not as good as it was with my old board for which I had a stomp pad. That seems like a small price to pay not to kill the look of the board.

What is everyone else's opinion of the stomp pad game. Do you use it? Do you not? Why and why not and if you do show it off! Might help find one maybe I or others would consider.

PS I am sure there are discussion about this already. Didn't really bother to look for them. Figured its one of those that can happen over and over.


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## Oldman (Mar 7, 2012)

Don't use them. Pressure my back foot against my back binding and go. Just another skill to master.


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## Surgeon (Apr 13, 2020)

No pad, ever, under any circumstances, unless you’re an absolute beginner.


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## SushiLover (Sep 17, 2020)

I own a lot of boards just like you, my wife throws a fit every time I get a new board just like your GF, and I don't like using stomp pads because of the graphics. You and I have a lot in common bud!!


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## Jack87 (Jan 9, 2021)

SushiLover said:


> I own a lot of boards just like you, my wife throws a fit every time I get a new board just like your GF, and I don't like using stomp pads because of the graphics. You and I have a lot in common bud!!


Haha indeed! So I folded and ended up ordering me a Stale Fish. From your praise of the Powder Division Moontail this is basically what replaced it and seemed to have similar specs with a bit wider taper of 20mm instead of ~15. I might be dead soon if she finds out... But @t21 had what seemed like a great idea to get a ring to help not get in trouble... Are you saying the whole ring thing doesn't work as well as I assumed?

Link below to the conversation. 








Rome Stalefish 2021


Hi Ia m choosing between stalefish or Dancehaul. Whats your thoughts ? I am looking for a board thats fun and playful so i can butter but still good for carving and OFC the offpist aspect of it. And i am 174 cm and weigh about 85 kg which lenght would you rekomend ?




www.snowboardingforum.com


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## ridethecliche (Feb 27, 2019)

I have them on some boards, but I've found it's much easier to get off the lift if you put your back foot as far forward as you can and have it next to the front binding. I did significantly better doing that vs putting it next to the back binding. My topsheet on the yup is pretty slippery and I've eaten shit a few times coming off an icy lift. Much better this way.

Edit: I also came clean to my GF about the Otto... But I did say that I was going to sell some gear etc... which I'm honestly kinda planning to do anyway. Might wait till the fall though since now is probably not the best time to sell. I have two complete setups I want to sell with the bindings on it... a 154 disruptor with missions and a 158 omni with cartels. Fingers crossed they move quickly when listed. Was thinking of selling off my malas at some point as well.
eeee


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## Jack87 (Jan 9, 2021)

ridethecliche said:


> I have them on some boards, but I've found it's much easier to get off the lift if you put your back foot as far forward as you can and have it next to the front binding. I did significantly better doing that vs putting it next to the back binding. My topsheet on the yup is pretty slippery and I've eaten shit a few times coming off an icy lift. Much better this way.
> 
> Edit: I also came clean to my GF about the Otto... But I did say that I was going to sell some gear etc... which I'm honestly kinda planning to do anyway. Might wait till the fall though since now is probably not the best time to sell. I have two complete setups I want to sell with the bindings on it... a 154 disruptor with missions and a 158 omni with cartels. Fingers crossed they move quickly when listed. Was thinking of selling off my malas at some point as well.
> eeee


That is kind of what I found. I think my strategy changes depending on the lift and the direction I am going. I have not found a one size fit all solution yet without a stomp pad. It was nice to have on the old board when I was learning for sure. Have not really missed it since. The pressing against the back binding thing seems to be the least effective for me so far unless just skating a flat or something.


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## SushiLover (Sep 17, 2020)

Jack87 said:


> Haha indeed! So I folded and ended up ordering me a Stale Fish. From your praise of the Powder Division Moontail this is basically what replaced it and seemed to have similar specs with a bit wider taper of 20mm instead of ~15. I might be dead soon if she finds out... But @t21 had what seemed like a great idea to get a ring to help not get in trouble... Are you saying the whole ring thing doesn't work as well as I assumed?
> 
> Link below to the conversation.
> 
> ...


Halfway reading through your text, I said to myself "oh he's dead man for ordering ANOTHER board" but then I saw the ring part and I'm like oh never mind. You'll probably get a pass to buy a few more, LOL. Btw I ordered another board today LOL Salomon First Call 157 I'm definitely in trouble, I may not be sleeping in my house when the board arrives. Congrats on your new board. It has similar characteristic to Pow Div MT. I actually found a deal for you on the Pow Div but in Pintail same year as mine but I guess it's too late now that you got the Stale Fish. Go Rip!


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## Jack87 (Jan 9, 2021)

ridethecliche said:


> I have them on some boards, but I've found it's much easier to get off the lift if you put your back foot as far forward as you can and have it next to the front binding. I did significantly better doing that vs putting it next to the back binding. My topsheet on the yup is pretty slippery and I've eaten shit a few times coming off an icy lift. Much better this way.
> 
> Edit: I also came clean to my GF about the Otto... But* I did say that I was going to sell some gear* etc... which *I'm honestly kinda planning to do anyway*. Might wait till the fall though since now is probably not the best time to sell. I have two complete setups I want to sell with the bindings on it... a 154 disruptor with missions and a 158 omni with cartels. Fingers crossed they move quickly when listed. Was thinking of selling off my malas at some point as well.
> eeee


Keyword Kinda! haha me too me too!!! Might be my famous last words this time. Not sure how much longer I can go with using that line.


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## Jack87 (Jan 9, 2021)

SushiLover said:


> Halfway reading through your text, I said to myself "oh he's dead man for ordering ANOTHER board" but then I saw the ring part and I'm like oh never mind. You'll probably get a pass to buy a few more, LOL. Btw I ordered another board today LOL Salomon First Call 157 I'm definitely in trouble, I may not be sleeping in my house when the board arrives. Congrats on your new board. It has similar characteristic to Pow Div MT. I actually found a deal for you on the Pow Div but in Pintail same year as mine but I guess it's too late now that you got the Stale Fish. Go Rip!


I did find the pintail on amazon a few times for a ridiculously low price! It's gone now... but was so set on the MT. Stale Fish it is. Not crazy about the graphics but I think it will grow on me. Edit: Scored it for $337 out the door new and couldn't pass it up. So far the most I spent on a single board other than the GF's 2021 Feelgood.

Congrats on your new board! Hope you can find a roof to sleep under though.


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## dwdesign (Mar 30, 2011)

Do what makes you happy/comfortable. I hurt my bad knee again back in January so I'm about to add stomp pads to my boards with glossy topsheets (I haven't used a stomp pad since 1998). Pressure against the back binding is painful for my knee. It's too bad most stomp pads are so fugly.


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## ridethecliche (Feb 27, 2019)

Jack87 said:


> Keyword Kinda! haha me too me too!!! Might be my famous last words this time. Not sure how much longer I can go with using that line.


The odds of my needing to have more than 3 boards ready to go at once is very very slim. Yup is always going to be ready to go, probably the iguchi as well. Third board is going to be up in the air depending on conditions. I should be all set with a pair of EST bindings and 2 sets of cartel X's. Should save a bit of room too.

The kicker for me is with traveling. I just don't see the point of bringing more than 3 mayyyyybeee 4 boards on a trip. You spend as long figuring out what you're going to ride as you're actually going to spend swapping bindings. I took 4 boards and 4 sets of bindings on my last trip. That bag was heavy as hell too!


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## Rip154 (Sep 23, 2017)

same with griptape for skateboards and wax for surfing, only kooks use them. can buy large sheets of black marine flooring foam/surfboard traction for nothing on wish or alibaba if you wanna be stomp pad hipster and not buy something mainstream. one strip in the middle or on each side works ok. if you only use it for getting off a lift its not really needed.


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## ridethecliche (Feb 27, 2019)

@Jack87 there's a twinpig in your size (154) selling on snowboard trader for 230 shipped US if you're looking for more trouble !


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## Jack87 (Jan 9, 2021)

ridethecliche said:


> @Jack87 there's a twinpig in your size (154) selling on snowboard trader for 230 shipped US if you're looking for more trouble !


Dude don't tempt me! I been eyeing that sucker for so long! But to be honest I think I decided I'd rather go superpig. Although I don't have a true twin in the collection anymore just yet...


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## ridethecliche (Feb 27, 2019)

Jack87 said:


> Dude don't tempt me! I been eyeing that sucker for so long! But to be honest I think I decided I'd rather go superpig. Although I don't have a true twin in the collection anymore just yet...


I mean, it's 230 for a used board in solid condition. Could be a fun board to use during low tide season too! I've bought a board from the guy selling it. He's awesome. I can connect you if you want, no one has dibsed it yet!


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## Jack87 (Jan 9, 2021)

ridethecliche said:


> I mean, it's 230 for a used board in solid condition. Could be a fun board to use during low tide season too! I've bought a board from the guy selling it. He's awesome. I can connect you if you want, no one has dibsed it yet!


You're not helping by feeding my addiction you know that? Nah I think I have to pass. As tempting as it is. I don't think I have enough days left in the season to ride all the boards I picked up this year. I started season late due to foot injury (which by the way is still not healed but couldn't just wait for the whole season to pass me by). That's literally why I fell into this hole.. Since I couldn't ride i just watched videos and read reviews and searched for deals on boards. 

Really should save the money for next year's season pass at this point like @BurtonAvenger mentioned in his recent top 5 signs of board addiction video.


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## unsuspected (Oct 26, 2015)

The seller is a solid dude and for 230 is not much too think about 

I only use stomp pads if they enhance the board graphics.


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## drblast (Feb 28, 2017)

I like my crab grab "Seaweed" stomp pads. I have a board or two without them, and I don't really need them but boards sometimes do get slippery and if they can prevent me from falling and twisting my front knee just once I feel like it's worth having them on. 

I'd rather be a kook riding than cool in crutches.


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## drblast (Feb 28, 2017)

Jack87 said:


> Haha indeed! So I folded and ended up ordering me a Stale Fish. From your praise of the Powder Division Moontail this is basically what replaced it and seemed to have similar specs with a bit wider taper of 20mm instead of ~15. I might be dead soon if she finds out... But @t21 had what seemed like a great idea to get a ring to help not get in trouble... Are you saying the whole ring thing doesn't work as well as I assumed?


So you have a girlfriend who gets mad at you for buying snowboards. Then you decide to get married.

Now you have two problems instead of one.

Go to your quiver right now and pick out which half of the boards are your favorite.


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## MCrides (Feb 25, 2019)

drblast said:


> I'd rather be a kook riding than cool in crutches.


Preach.

There's a weird gatekeeping thing with stomp pads--guys more concerned with _looking_ like they ride well than with _actually_ riding well tell you they're for noobs only. Plenty of straight rippers use stomp pads because they want to remove every small chance of injury.

If you just don't want to ruin the look of the board, that's a great reason to not use one


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## Jack87 (Jan 9, 2021)

drblast said:


> I like my crab grab "Seaweed" stomp pads. I have a board or two without them, and I don't really need them but boards sometimes do get slippery and if they can prevent me from falling and twisting my front knee just once I feel like it's worth having them on.
> 
> I'd rather be a kook riding than cool in crutches.


Good point because you cannot ride with crutches... well at least not effectively.



drblast said:


> So you have a girlfriend who gets mad at you for buying snowboards. Then you decide to get married.
> 
> Now you have two problems instead of one.
> 
> Go to your quiver right now and pick out which half of the boards are your favorite.


Haha I see where you are going with this!

Edit: its more the lack of space than it is not wanting me to have the boards... i guess i need a big house to solve all my problems... Lord knows i cannot put them in storage during the season!


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## Jack87 (Jan 9, 2021)

MCrides said:


> Preach.
> 
> There's a weird gatekeeping thing with stomp pads--guys more concerned with _looking_ like they ride well than with _actually_ riding well tell you they're for noobs only. Plenty of straight rippers use stomp pads because they want to remove every small chance of injury.
> 
> If you just don't want to ruin the look of the board, that's a great reason to not use one


Yeah I don't care if I look like a newb to someone else or not... I been riding for 17 years (granted there was a ~6 year pause and just picking back up again now that I am in Colorado. (Not too many mountains in RI to rip it)... I consider myself a newb anyway!

I have a love hate with the stomp pads. They can be very useful! but they can also kill the aesthetics. If I can make it work or enhance the aesthetics I wouldn't hesitate to put one on. Do I need one no! but are they nice to have at times? Yes sure!... I am also rocking step ons now... So its pretty easy to to step onto my back binding and step out so one footing is not even big of an issue now a days.


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## Phedder (Sep 13, 2014)

I generally don't use them but I think I'm going to have to put one on my Dancehaul for spring. That topsheet is super glossy and *very* slippery, I don't notice it on any other boards but I could see an accident happening with melting snow. I'd say my 1 foot riding is pretty good but accidents are called accidents for a reason... If you feel you need one, throw it on. I don't like them generally for graphics sake as well, but I'll likely just add 2-3 of these which are barely noticeable.


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## bseracka (Nov 14, 2011)

I cased a landing in the early season and did something to my front knee. I keep telling myself it was just a bad bone bruise, or sprain, but I'm guessing it's really a partial MCL tear. Since the injury I've started using a stomp pad again to help reduce the twist pressure on my front knee when one footing. I


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## Snowdaddy (Feb 2, 2018)

I stomp pad all my boards. Even the Koruas that has a grippy top sheet.


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## WigMar (Mar 17, 2019)

I don't know, there's snow tire rubber on my boot soles these days. I can't remember one of my feet slipping out in a long time. Stomp pad if you want, don't hate on me for keeping my decks fresh.


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## SEWiShred (Jan 19, 2019)

I think top sheets have gotten a lot less slippery than they were. My buddy has a very old Ride Control board, sandwich construction, it's a pain to get off the lift on. I don't think top sheets are as slippery as they were in the past. 









I have this ugly son of a b*tch and it got the biggest custom hydroturf stop pad I could fit on it. I think stomp pads on new boards aren't worth it unless you're trying to hide something.


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## smellysell (Oct 29, 2018)

Rip154 said:


> same with griptape for skateboards and wax for surfing, only kooks use them. can buy large sheets of black marine flooring foam/surfboard traction for nothing on wish or alibaba if you wanna be stomp pad hipster and not buy something mainstream. one strip in the middle or on each side works ok. if you only use it for getting off a lift its not really needed.


I don't know anything about surfing, but grip tape on skateboards seems pretty universal? Honestly, can't remember ever seeing someone skate without it?

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk


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## SushiLover (Sep 17, 2020)

Snowdaddy said:


> I stomp pad all my boards. Even the Koruas that has a grippy top sheet.
> 
> 
> View attachment 157690


how do you like the first call? I just picked up the 157 which has a different tail shape than yours


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## Snowdaddy (Feb 2, 2018)

SushiLover said:


> how do you like the first call? I just picked up the 157 which has a different tail shape than yours


I like it. It's the board I've been riding the most this season. That's the 151. I also have the 162, but Like the 151 better. Works ok in powder, even if you have to lean back a bit. Soft, has a fun sidecut. Fun going into trees. Fun going up side banks... Was considering getting the 157 before it completely disappears but there are other Salomon boards I'd like to try first.


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## RayzTheRoof (Mar 10, 2014)

If you feel like it's useful, get it. Ignore people saying you should never use one. Some boards are more slippery, some people are nervous and uncomfortable getting off busy lifts, etc. Personally I don't feel comfortable on crowded lifts because I don't know which direction everyone is gonna go and if a stomp pad provides more confidence then go for it. My current board is grippy so I didn't feel like spending money on one though.


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## Jack87 (Jan 9, 2021)

Snowdaddy said:


> I stomp pad all my boards. Even the Koruas that has a grippy top sheet.
> 
> 
> View attachment 157690


Those look classy!


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## Jack87 (Jan 9, 2021)

SEWiShred said:


> I think top sheets have gotten a lot less slippery than they were. My buddy has a very old Ride Control board, sandwich construction, it's a pain to get off the lift on. I don't think top sheets are as slippery as they were in the past.
> 
> View attachment 157691
> 
> I have this ugly son of a b*tch and it got the biggest custom hydroturf stop pad I could fit on it. I think stomp pads on new boards aren't worth it unless you're trying to hide something.


My new Endeavor Alpha is a glossy sob finger print magnet I was so surprised by this..... Definitely needs a stomp pad! But I literally got the board because of the sexy aesthetics and a stomp pad would totally kill that... So slipping and sliding I will go.


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## Jack87 (Jan 9, 2021)

Off topic: 
@SushiLover the Pow Div MT has a 3D nose same as the Stale Fish right?.... I know it says 3D somewhere on the deck... Is that what it's referencing?


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## Craig64 (Jul 16, 2015)

Get a clear one.


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## F1EA (Oct 25, 2013)

I don't put much thinking into it.

I have a few boards that have reasonably grippy topsheet... those have no stomp pads. 
I have a couple that are pretty slippery... i think I have 2 or 3 boards with a stomp pad, then many without. Just put a cool Family Tree stomp pad recently on a Retro Fish... super slippery top sheet, but now it's great.

Also don't think you're gonna end up in crutches by not using one...


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## Rip154 (Sep 23, 2017)

smellysell said:


> I don't know anything about surfing, but grip tape on skateboards seems pretty universal? Honestly, can't remember ever seeing someone skate without it?
> 
> Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk


Sorry, should have made the sarcasm more obvious.


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## SushiLover (Sep 17, 2020)

Jack87 said:


> Off topic:
> @SushiLover the Pow Div MT has a 3D nose same as the Stale Fish right?.... I know it says 3D somewhere on the deck... Is that what it's referencing?


So the 3D on the Stalefish is more pronounced than the Pow Div. my deck says 3D rocker but you could hardly see it


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## DaveMcI (Aug 19, 2013)

Crab grab shark teeth are my fav


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## smellysell (Oct 29, 2018)

Rip154 said:


> Sorry, should have made the sarcasm more obvious.


Haha, I considered that might be the case, but hard to tell on the internet! [emoji23] Especially when like I said, I know nothing about surfing. 

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk


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## Mike256 (Oct 13, 2013)

I didnt use them until twisting my knee. I found the best middle ground between an injury and covering my board in rubber is one burton dot on the toe side and one on the heel side. With a black topsheet i cant even see them but it gives me some grip if i need it.


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## chomps1211 (Mar 30, 2011)

I use them. Not the slightest bit worried what any other steez judge muhther thinks about it.

I like my boards graphics,... anyone care to tell me _







WHICH_ of my boards has a stomp pad on it?


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## Mike256 (Oct 13, 2013)

The two on the right


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## Jack87 (Jan 9, 2021)

chomps1211 said:


> I use them. Not the slightest bit worried what any other steez judge muhther thinks about it.
> 
> I like my boards graphics,... anyone care to tell me _
> View attachment 157696
> WHICH_ of my boards has a stomp pad on it?


I can't find the stomp pads.


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## Donutz (May 12, 2010)

I can just see it on the Jones


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## Myoko (Dec 11, 2018)

I didn't have one on either of my boards for many years then thought I would throw a couple of those steel stud things on one and wish I didn't. It seems I am quite used to moving my back foot around and being stuck took me awhile to adjust. Been a long time since I have had a fall not strapped in and I do push the boundaries of it a lot being a lazy bastard, BUT it is always a worry as I would hate to fall off going fast to the net lift not strapped in.


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## ridethecliche (Feb 27, 2019)

As it's been icy some times, I've eaten shit getting off the lift especially when idiots just don't clear out of the way and entire families are standing around talking right in front of the lift. 

I have some boot fitting foam at home and might try putting some of that on the top sheet to help. 

I've been essentially starting from square zero again since I used to skate around regular but ride goofy...but now with some very directional boards I've been skating goofy too. The learning curve is super steep all over again... Just when I finally had it down lol.


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## tanscrazydaisy (Mar 11, 2013)

Here's my alternative to a stomp pad

Stomp pad alternative | Snowboarding Forum - Snowboard Enthusiast Forums


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## Jack87 (Jan 9, 2021)

ridethecliche said:


> As it's been icy some times, I've eaten shit getting off the lift especially when idiots just don't clear out of the way and entire families are standing around talking right in front of the lift.
> 
> I have some boot fitting foam at home and might try putting some of that on the top sheet to help.
> 
> I've been essentially starting from square zero again since I used to skate around regular but ride goofy...but now with some very directional boards I've been skating goofy too. The learning curve is super steep all over again... Just when I finally had it down lol.


Wait you're a goofy rider but when one fitting (skating on snowboard) you did it in regular? Like that's what felt natural when skating but goofy felt natural while riding?... But while on directional boards you feel forced to skate in goofy. Because that's how the board is setup so it feels weird?.....

Tell me if I have this correct....

That's interesting for sure... Never seen that before.

Why not still skate switch? Do your directional boards have no tail at all? Most (not all) can still be ridden in switch for short bursts... But switch skating is different from switch riding.

I'm intrigued and want to hear more ...

If you used stomp pads in the past on twinish boards it was next to your front foot?


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## SushiLover (Sep 17, 2020)

ridethecliche said:


> As it's been icy some times, I've eaten shit getting off the lift especially when idiots just don't clear out of the way and entire families are standing around talking right in front of the lift.
> 
> I have some boot fitting foam at home and might try putting some of that on the top sheet to help.
> 
> I've been essentially starting from square zero again since I used to skate around regular but ride goofy...but now with some very directional boards I've been skating goofy too. The learning curve is super steep all over again... Just when I finally had it down lol.


I got into argument with a skier group literally standing in the middle of the exit path at Breck. I didn’t have enough space and time to maneuver around them so I forced myself to fall luckily I didn’t twist a knee. It happened to me again with another dumb skier group at Jack Frost. I see it all the time I just don’t get why these people (always dumb skiers) choose to chat and hang out directly in the path of the get off. I made a promise next time it happens I will literally skate down and go through them and throat punch them.


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## ridethecliche (Feb 27, 2019)

I think resorts need to play something over the speakers at dismount areas telling people to clear the dismount areas. 

I've taken a few falls as well to avoid people blocking the runoff. I've actually come off a few times yelling "move". 

They should just start playing get out the way by snoop. That might catch their attention...


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## WigMar (Mar 17, 2019)

If I was a younger, rougher, and drunker version of myself, I'd have considered plowing into people standing around the lift dismount area. Why should I force a fall to avoid them? Let them deal with my 225 pounds crashing down upon them. I bet they'd clear the area after that. Thankfully, I'm not a stupid angry teenager anymore. They still exist.

There's absolutely no way I'd do that now. I'm not above yelling at people though. It's really the resort's job. There's staff in the unload station tower- all they would have to do is yell at people clogging the dismount area. It is clearly posted where I usually ride, but some people are oblivious.


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

At Bakes, they have cones that mark the area to where a person should ride to, so it keeps the dismount area cleared. But yea, act like a knobb and do bowling for skiers.

And I have stomp pads because, I'm geriatric and don't want to miss time on the hill that could be easily prevented. Boards are not like the Mona Lisa.


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## Jack87 (Jan 9, 2021)

wrathfuldeity said:


> And I have stomp pads because, I'm geriatric and don't want to miss time on the hill that could be easily prevented. Boards are not like the Mona Lisa.


Speak for your boards! Mine are! At least for a season or two until they are chipped from plowing into stupid skiers in the unload area and their damn skies.


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## ridethecliche (Feb 27, 2019)

Jack87 said:


> Wait you're a goofy rider but when one fitting (skating on snowboard) you did it in regular? Like that's what felt natural when skating but goofy felt natural while riding?... But while on directional boards you feel forced to skate in goofy. Because that's how the board is setup so it feels weird?.....
> 
> Tell me if I have this correct....
> 
> ...


Learned to skateboard regular but Mongo footed. Took lessons at Bolton Valley for my first time and couldn't even stand up on the board regular. Instructor got me to try goofy and it worked a lot better. 

When we moved to the tow rope I could barely stand on the board goofy. The operator got a huge kick out of seeing a 30 year old dude falling for half an hour straight. Instructor told me to try regular for the hell of it and that went markedly better. 

So I learned how to snowboard goofy but had to get around on snow riding regular. When I got the korua stealth I was sketched at the idea of dismounting on the tail so I tried to learn to get off goofy as well. It's having uhhh mixed results. If the unloading area is fine I'm mostly okay but if I get off too fast or there are people in the way (which is often) then I eat shit. 

Never used stomp pads doing things before and mostly stopped falling towards the end of my first season. Used to push the back foot against the rear binding. Feels like I'm starting all over... Because I am. I need to practice balancing entirely on my lead foot because I probably put too much weight on the back right now. I've tried putting my back foot next to the front binding now which helps but if the topsheet is slippery it goes to shit when I try to drag my foot to slow down. 

Might go and practice just skating for a while goofy. I my even grab my skateboard and try learning how to skateboard goofy. 

Honestly, part of me wants to just learn to snowboard regular so I might spend some time in slush season just riding 'switch'. Part of the issue is that I had a bad blown disc that led to foot drop on my left side so I had to do things very differently for a bit in daily life and my body is all sorts of confused. 

I know. It's a mess. 
😂😂😂

I should just swap my yup out to regular and Yolo it for a full day. I'm sure I'd be like 40-50% of the way there by the end of the day. It would make jumping so much easier as well. I could nollie before ollieing riding goofy lol. I don't think I'm willing to put in all the time to get back up to the level where I can ride trees proficiently regular. It would take at least 10-15 days if not 15-20. Might make the local hill more fun though. I have one beat to shit twin park board I have set up duck I should take to blue and just ride regular all day.


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## ridethecliche (Feb 27, 2019)

WigMar said:


> If I was a younger, rougher, and drunker version of myself, I'd have considered plowing into people standing around the lift dismount area. Why should I force a fall to avoid them? Let them deal with my 225 pounds crashing down upon them. I bet they'd clear the area after that. Thankfully, I'm not a stupid angry teenager anymore. They still exist.
> 
> There's absolutely no way I'd do that now. I'm not above yelling at people though. It's really the resort's job. There's staff in the unload station tower- all they would have to do is yell at people clogging the dismount area. It is clearly posted where I usually ride, but some people are oblivious.


Yeah... It's fun to talk about but I'd never really do it. I'd be really upset with myself for hurting a kid even if there was never any other consequence.


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## Jack87 (Jan 9, 2021)

ridethecliche said:


> Learned to skateboard regular but Mongo footed. Took lessons at Bolton Valley for my first time and couldn't even stand up on the board regular. Instructor got me to try goofy and it worked a lot better.
> 
> When we moved to the tow rope I could barely stand on the board goofy. The operator got a huge kick out of seeing a 30 year old dude falling for half an hour straight. Instructor told me to try regular for the hell of it and that went markedly better.
> 
> ...


One thing you can do is take the beginner hill a few times goofy but one footed to help with that balance. It's also pretty fun.

I did a "long" one foot run which was actually a short run but long for one footed yesterday from one lift to the other because I was lazy and didn't want to step on and step out... Haha. Anyway it was pretty fun and felt good.

Edit: you can do some flamingo 🦩 shit with back foot off the board too!


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## ridethecliche (Feb 27, 2019)

Good thing I've been doing yoga!


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## drblast (Feb 28, 2017)

On one board I have stomp pads up forward so I can practice switch one-footing. I like the crab grab cause I can litter my board with them and they're not too big or heavy.


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## WigMar (Mar 17, 2019)

I personally don't like stomp pads because they make me feel like I don't know what I'm doing every time I look down. Kinda like looking down and seeing training wheels when you're getting ready for a bicycle race. I feel like confidence is huge in snowboarding. If you look good, you feel good. If you feel good, you ride good. It's a pretty simple feedback loop. Stomp pads might as well be a leash for what it does to my self image and confidence. Crab Grabs tried to make it cool, but I'm not buying it- I've always hated those rails on skateboards too. 

Skating one footed is all about learning how to steer and control your board off of the front foot. My topsheet could be glass for all I care. I can't remember falling due to slipping out in many years, because there's barely any weight on my back foot. There's several places where we regularly ride hundreds of yards one footed. No one in my crew uses stomp pads.

Use a stomp pad all you want, I fully support it. Safety above style all day- I support helmet use. I just don't appreciate the stomp vibe and don't feel safer with them.


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## Jack87 (Jan 9, 2021)

I couldn't agree with your more about the mindset on Snowboarding and confidence. Huge role in progression for sure. I remember when I was first learning mostly on my butt until I told myself I'm sick of falling! Then I could actually stop without using my butt all from the confidence... And it's been like that since with S turns going edge to edge at speed and so on. You nailed it! 

I never associated stomp pads with being new. But I did come to a point where I'm thinking do I need it? I have not put one on any board since my original but I have a used board that has one on it from a previous owner. I think more often then not getting off the lift I did not touch the thing as it requires far more maneuverability to navigate than where the placement of it is. I think it is easier with foot on it for long steeper straights. It might be a placebo though as with boards without one hasn't really been an issue. There is just more confidence on the board with one.

As for balancing on one foot! You're totally right! Flamingo 🦩 down a beginner run. If you can do that no lift will be a problem pad or not.


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## chomps1211 (Mar 30, 2011)

ridethecliche said:


> Yeah... It's fun to talk about but I'd never really do it. I'd be really upset with myself for hurting a kid even if there was never any other consequence.


...No! Kids under 12-13 get a pass on that just cuz kids have the attention span of gerbils and r generally Stoopid & clueless! Adults & older teens r another story altogether! 

I've purposely ditched to avoid children on the offload & slope.

I will avoid adults on the slope simply to avoid my OWN chances of injury,.. That said, on the offload or if I see them coming at me on the hill,..?

...Clothesline the stoopid fuck! 🤷‍♂️


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## kimchijajonshim (Aug 19, 2007)

I don't really get people who get worked up over stomp pads. Whenever this topic comes up at Dig My Quiver, a handful of nega-kooks go off on epic rants. Who has so little going on that they have the emotional energy to get worked up about whether someone sticks a piece of foam to their fucking topsheet?

I do or don't depending on the board. I usually don't bother with matte topsheet boards, I can just push my back foot against rear binding. I put small ones on glossy lacquer topsheets. I'm fine 95% of the time, but in certain conditions those get quite slippery (tangent: board quality aside, I hate glossy topsheets). Last few glossy boards I've just used one mini claw or something equivalent.

I recently acquired a used board with a big ol' Dakine spike stomp pad on it. I rode it a day, and immediately went home, put a hair dryer to it, and peeled it off. Huge loss of board feel one-footing because it was too thick, and the spikes felt like they were going to dig out foam sections of my outsole. No bueno.

But in any case if I need traction, I'll add traction. Sometimes I one-foot a few hundred feet of vert off a lift when I'm too lazy to strap in knowing I need to jump on another lift line in 30 seconds. I'm not going to risk my knee ligaments and snowboarding future over my fucking ego.


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## HopWrangler (Feb 22, 2021)

Phedder said:


> I generally don't use them but I think I'm going to have to put one on my Dancehaul for spring. That topsheet is super glossy and *very* slippery, I don't notice it on any other boards but I could see an accident happening with melting snow. I'd say my 1 foot riding is pretty good but accidents are called accidents for a reason... If you feel you need one, throw it on. I don't like them generally for graphics sake as well, but I'll likely just add 2-3 of these which are barely noticeable.
> 
> View attachment 157687


I never saw the big deal about dudes flexing on people with traction on their top sheets. Just seems silly to me. I've come to enjoy using Dakine studs to add a little grip with my signature fish orientation. Does it ruin the graphics? Not on the boards I tend to like. Even if it did, I'm not on the mountain to look pretty, I already have wife.


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## WigMar (Mar 17, 2019)

kimchijajonshim said:


> I'm not going to risk my knee ligaments and snowboarding future over my fucking ego.


Ego and confidence are very different things. Do whatever makes you feel good brother. You using stomp pads when you want more traction gives you more confidence. That's exactly what I'm talking about, and I fully support it.


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## SushiLover (Sep 17, 2020)

This is the kinda shit I’m talking about!


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## Jack87 (Jan 9, 2021)

WTF! That's annoying as hell! Haha it's funny how it's only and always skiers.


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## HopWrangler (Feb 22, 2021)

SushiLover said:


> This is the kinda shit I’m talking about!


I've gotten to the point to where I have to say something when it happens. If they're just kinda in the way and loafing, usually it's a nice "_Hey guys, that's a terrible place to hang out_". When it's someone crossing the exit of the lift (like literally trying to ski across the face of the lift exit ramp, I go right at them. I am not bailing to avoid hitting them and having someone else come off the lift and crash into me. I figure it's going to be a softer landing for me if I land on them anyway. The only exception is when they're dragging their kids across, I try not to hit their kids but I will yell to get their attention. Two weeks ago, some guy was dragging his 3 kids, maybe 5-7 years old, right across the front of the exit ramp of the lift. 2 of the 3 lifts at our home hill have comparatively steep exits so you come off of the chair pretty hot. I yelled "heads up" as I came down and the guy literally had to yank and throw his kids behind him and out of my way. As I skated past him, I said "you have 30 feet between the lift and the boundary, yet you're crossing here 3 feet in front of the ramp?" and shook my head.

Just last week, same hill, different lift, my wife and I came off and both had to veer hard to the left to avoid a group of 7 adults and 10 kids at the foot of the exit. As I went past, I looked at one of the adults and said "_that's a terrible place to hang out_". They guy responded "_she just fell, chill out_" pointing to a little girl who had clearly not fallen. The lift had been stopped for about 45 seconds when my wife and I were 5 chairs from the exit and that girl was not on any of those chairs in front of us so if she did fall, it was minutes prior. I said "_well then, you pick her up and get her out of the way so no one crashes into her_." He started to get mouthy, telling me the chill out, so I turned and said "_look, that's just a terrible place to hang out. Someone is going to come off of the lift and nail your kid, it's weird that I'm more concerned about that than you are. Don't be an idiot_."


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## Jack87 (Jan 9, 2021)

HopWrangler said:


> Someone is going to come off of the lift and nail your kid, it's weird that I'm more concerned about that than you are. *Don't be an idiot*.


Exactly... your kid falling is less of an issue than someone literally hitting your kid. If they are not hurt, or laying on the ground or if the lift is still moving get the hell out of the way. 

I see no issue with someone falling and getting up but the number one concern should always be to get out of the way especially if the lift is currently moving.


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## HopWrangler (Feb 22, 2021)

Jack87 said:


> Exactly... your kid falling is less of an issue than someone literally hitting your kid. If they are not hurt, or laying on the ground or if the lift is still moving get the hell out of the way.
> 
> I see no issue with someone falling and getting up but the number one concern should always be to get out of the way especially if the lift is currently moving.


Exactly. And look, if someone legitimately falls coming off the lift ahead of me, I'm going to do my damndest to avoid crashing into them. No reason to add insult to injury and it happens to us all at some point (especially on snowboards, not sure I've fallen coming off the lift on skis in 30 years since I started).


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## MCrides (Feb 25, 2019)

Jack87 said:


> WTF! That's annoying as hell! Haha it's funny how it's only and always skiers.


Lol! I don't know where you're riding but tbh I usually find other snowboarders way more annoying than skiers 😬

Sitting down in the middle of everything, falling off the lift, sliding sideways taking up a whole cat track... I mean I'd never hold it against them but snowboarding is hard to learn.


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## Jack87 (Jan 9, 2021)

MCrides said:


> Lol! I don't know where you're riding but tbh I usually find other snowboarders way more annoying than skiers 😬
> 
> Sitting down in the middle of everything, falling off the lift, sliding sideways taking up a whole cat track... I mean I'd never hold it against them but snowboarding is hard to learn.


Oh right! I avoid the newb section of the Mountain. I been exclusively riding Copper Mountain last two seasons. The mountain is devided into 3 sections... the west side is the begginer side which i never go to.. I forgot about the newb shredderss! You're right those can be pretty annoying. I forgot they even existed thanks to how copper is segregated. 

The issue we are talking about here isn't new individuals but rather skiers who are generally oblivious.

Here is a map of copper as you can see on the right side of the map that is "west village" which I never venture over to if I can help it so don't run into the type of snowboarders you're talking about.


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## HopWrangler (Feb 22, 2021)

MCrides said:


> Lol! I don't know where you're riding but tbh I usually find other snowboarders way more annoying than skiers 😬
> 
> Sitting down in the middle of everything, falling off the lift, sliding sideways taking up a whole cat track... I mean I'd never hold it against them but snowboarding is hard to learn.


That’s a different kind of annoyance though. New skiers and snowboarders fall coming off the lift. Sometimes seasoned snowboarders still fall, skiers very rarely so. Snowboarders tend to know what it’s like to come off the chair and have to bail because skiers are loafing at the exit (it happens a lot), so it seems like they rarely do that (sometimes they still do, which boggles the mind).

On the hill, you do have the groups of snowboarders sitting in the middle of the hill for no reason. That’s insanely annoying, a good way to get hurt, probably justifies a spray, and something skiers don’t do. Sitting in the middle of the slope doesn’t create an issue for me, I can go around them. It’s annoying. Unless they’re obscured by a feature or the shapeof the slope, in which case it’s dangerous for everyone and something I’ll say something about if I have the chance.


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## Jack87 (Jan 9, 2021)

I think its just the nature of skiing to be oblivious to their surroundings. One of the things that annoy me and it's not like they can help it.. When I am going down a mountain and a skier just veers right into my line because they have no idea someone is behind them. Always pain to last minute avoid hitting them while they are entirely oblivious the whole time!!! and what's worse is sometimes they notice you at the end and look at you as if you were the one not in control not knowing they literally just turned into your line last minute. 

It's so funny the argument that was used against snowboarders and still is used to this day in places like Alta and Deer Valley is that snowboarders are the ones not aware of their surroundings. Haha the nature of snowboarding and standing sideways really does help know whats going on around you including behind... Standing forwards as a skier you're clueless.


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## MCrides (Feb 25, 2019)

Personally I'm watching anyone below me like a hawk. Ski or board, they're perfectly entitled to turn into my line if they're downhill of me and it's 100% my job to avoid it. Having said that, consistent turn shapes and frequent checks up hill are good habits to get into whether you're riding one plank of wood or two.

Turning heel side on a snowboard does come with a massive blind spot. If I'm making sweeping carves I'm checking the rearview mirror as I finish toe side so I can come across on the next turn without worrying.


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## Jack87 (Jan 9, 2021)

MCrides said:


> Personally I'm watching anyone below me like a hawk. Ski or board, they're perfectly entitled to turn into my line if they're downhill of me and it's 100% my job to avoid it. Having said that, consistent turn shapes and frequent checks up hill are good habits to get into whether you're riding one plank of wood or two.
> 
> Turning heel side on a snowboard does come with a massive blind spot. If I'm making sweeping carves I'm checking the rearview mirror as I finish toe side so I can come across on the next turn without worrying.


Yes you watch what's in front of you. That is correct hence why you're able to avoid them. Point being how annoying it is. A snowboarder is generally able to see up the mountain where a skier is not.

Turning heel side has a blind spot yes but it's not hard to still check. When side ways you turn your head and you can still see majority of what's there especially if you look both ways.


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## HopWrangler (Feb 22, 2021)

Jack87 said:


> I think its just the nature of skiing to be oblivious to their surroundings. One of the things that annoy me and it's not like they can help it.


As someone who has been skiing off and on for more than 30 years, I disagree. Skiing allows you to have a smaller blind spot and better awareness, actually. I think you’re being very generous to people with poor manners on the hill. When on skis, there is no reason for me to intercept someone’s line downhill from me or to not know he or she is there and see where they are likely to go. Hell, if it’s a snowboarder downhill from me, it’s actually easier to get an idea of what their line will be. Skiers have a lot more freedom of line choice, even as beginners, than snowboarders do until they’re upper intermediate.


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## smellysell (Oct 29, 2018)

I had a snowboarder pile right into the back of me the other day as I was traversing from the bottom of the beginner lift to the bottom of the magic carpet, so there are oblivious people riding everything. Could be he didn't know how to stop or turn based on where it happened too though I guess.

Also, while I'm definitely not an expert, I fell getting off the lift just the other day, it happens! 😂 Have never seen any of my buddies that ski fall getting off.


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## MCrides (Feb 25, 2019)

HopWrangler said:


> As someone who has been skiing off and on for more than 30 years, I disagree. Skiing allows you to have a smaller blind spot and better awareness, actually. I think you’re being very generous to people with poor manners on the hill. When on skis, there is no reason for me to intercept someone’s line downhill from me or to not know he or she is there and see where they are likely to go. Hell, if it’s a snowboarder downhill from me, it’s actually easier to get an idea of what their line will be. Skiers have a lot more freedom of line choice, even as beginners, than snowboarders do until they’re upper intermediate.


Yeah, skiing blind spots are much easier to manage, and first time skiers virtually never fall or get tangled with each other off the lift--where as I ride with a guy with close to a decade on a board under his belt who still fucking tangles his board up almost every time he gets off the lift. And snowboarding is simply harder to learn--it takes most new snowboarders a full season or more to ride pointing downhill with the same amount of control a pizza-ing skier can manage on day one.

I'm not trying to sound like that dude in the 80s Alta video, but I don't see a reason to pretend snowboarders aren't more annoying.


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## HopWrangler (Feb 22, 2021)

MCrides said:


> Yeah, skiing blind spots are much easier to manage, and first time skiers virtually never fall or get tangled with each other off the lift--where as I ride with a guy with close to a decade on a board under his belt who still fucking tangles his board up almost every time he gets off the lift.
> 
> I'm not trying to sound like that dude in the 80s Alta video, but I don't see a reason to pretend snowboarders aren't more annoying.


I think we’re mostly in agreement. Snowboarders in general, in my experience, are more annoying overall. I’d like to think that’s just an outcome of the lower average age and maturity level of snowboarders vs skiers (excluding children, of course).


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## Jack87 (Jan 9, 2021)

HopWrangler said:


> I think we’re mostly in agreement. Snowboarders in general, in my experience, are more annoying overall. I’d like to think that’s just an outcome of the lower average age and maturity level of snowboarders vs skiers (excluding children, of course).


I think your old man skier bias is coming out. Everyone knows skiers are the annoying ones. Better watch what you say in a Snowboarding forum.


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## MCrides (Feb 25, 2019)

HopWrangler said:


> I think we’re mostly in agreement. Snowboarders in general, in my experience, are more annoying overall. I’d like to think that’s just an outcome of the lower average age and maturity level of snowboarders vs skiers (excluding children, of course).


IMO it's just that snowboarding is harder to learn. The guys I see bombing every hill, 1mm away from eating shit at all times... yeah they tend to be young


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## kimchijajonshim (Aug 19, 2007)

HopWrangler said:


> Snowboarders in general, in my experience, are more annoying overall.


I agree with this. As much as I hate to admit it, I find myself getting pissed off at snowboarders far more often than skiers.



HopWrangler said:


> I’d like to think that’s just an outcome of the lower average age and maturity level of snowboarders vs skiers.


I don't agree with this. At least not at this point. Snowboarding used to the thing rebellious young asshole kids would do... at this point snowboarding been around long enough andrider growth was stagnant for long enough that now it's a thing that middle-age dads can do and their rebellious asshole kids can rebel against. That idiot teenage park rat with a bluetooth speaker playing music too loud wearing the tall-T and saggy pants is just as likely to be on two planks as one these days.

I get annoyed that snowboarders scrape snow off runs. Particularly pristine snow on steep pitches. Kirkwood has this epic run called the Wall, possibly the steepest run in Tahoe that doesn't require hiking / billy goating for turns... I have never taken a proper powder turn off that thing. Part of that is because the run is pretty exposed and gets wind scoured, but also because on a pow day it gets flooded by intermediate snowboarders who want to claim double-blacks and then Heelside Hero down the steepest parts of the run, leaving a wide swath of scraped pow destruction behind them. A skier in technical terrain MUST commit to the fall line. A snowboarder can fall back on the heelside hero as a crutch, and navigate terrain they have no business hitting, leaving it worse for those of us who can handle our business.

Also snowboarding lends itself to some annoying unpredictable behaviors from the unskilled… immediately coming to mind is the tendency of beginners to randomly revert from heel edge to heel edge in totally unexpected places. But generally the lack of control is what gets me. You see out-of-control newbie skiers too, but all else equal, a person with comparable athleticism, coordination, and fear control is going to have a hell of an easier time staying upright and in control on skis than snowboards.



MCrides said:


> Turning heel side on a snowboard does come with a massive blind spot. If I'm making sweeping carves I'm checking the rearview mirror as I finish toe side so I can come across on the next turn without worrying.


I do this as well because I don't trust the people behind me to figure out what my line will be, even if I have the right of way and generally am pretty predictable in my turning cadence (at least if I'm making big sweep turns at speed). Kind of sucks, disrupts my flow and takes my body out of alignment for a split second while I check my blind spots.


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## Craig84 (Mar 10, 2021)

Jack87 said:


> So I got myself way too many boards this season... And I hate the idea of putting stomp pads and covering the graphics! Been riding without. My one footed game is not as good as it was with my old board for which I had a stomp pad. That seems like a small price to pay not to kill the look of the board.
> 
> What is everyone else's opinion of the stomp pad game. Do you use it? Do you not? Why and why not and if you do show it off! Might help find one maybe I or others would consider.
> 
> PS I am sure there are discussion about this already. Didn't really bother to look for them. Figured its one of those that can happen over and over.


I didn't use a stomp pad for like 8 years but now I'm back into them! I got the Crab Grab mega claw and I for got what I was missing. 

Now I can mess around more and do one footed presses and focus more on balancing and less focusing on my rear foot against the binding. (If that makes sense).

Also that think about kooks someone wrote, ...I dunno. Pretty sure lots of pros use em. Scott stevens board is covered in pads.


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## drblast (Feb 28, 2017)

But how often does Scott Stevens one-foot? Pretty much never.

Such a kook, that Scott Stevens.


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## SEWiShred (Jan 19, 2019)

It doesn't matter skier or snowboarder, it matters if they are experienced enough to know etiquette and to be considerate around the hill. I've seen skiers and snowboarders plowing all the dust off the crust at the same time. It's a matter of people going on runs that exceed their skill level. They are noobs that don't understand the unspoken rules of skiing and snowboarding and they only care about themselves. Of course there are probably people who are not noobs who only care about themselves too. 

This year there were a lot of noobs, a lot of people trying out door sports for the first time. They were pretty much all rude, cutting you off, hogging the whole run going really slow. Always feeling like they need to go to the advanced stuff when they can't even handle the greens. I really hope things go back to normal, Alpine Valley where I ride was completely messed up this year, getting triple teamed by Madison, Milwaukee, and Chicago noobs.


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## Craig84 (Mar 10, 2021)

drblast said:


> But how often does Scott Stevens one-foot? Pretty much never.
> 
> Such a kook, that Scott Stevens.


No for sure he needs them for what he's doing. I think he's rad, I love his video parts. And yeah I don't care about ruining the graphics on my board. I cover it in stickers anyway so a stomp pad is no different.


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## HopWrangler (Feb 22, 2021)

Jack87 said:


> I think your old man skier bias is coming out. Everyone knows skiers are the annoying ones. Better watch what you say in a Snowboarding forum.


Well, I'm a snowboarder at heart. Really only skied primarily when I wanted to teach my kids or after each of two gnarly injuries made it too difficult for me to board.




MCrides said:


> IMO it's just that snowboarding is harder to learn. The guys I see bombing every hill, 1mm away from eating shit at all times... yeah they tend to be young


Snowboarding is more difficult to learn the basics, and it takes longer to do so, but I think it's easier to get up into upper-intermediate and expert after that initial hump. Skiing is easy in terms of the basics. You can pizza/snowplow down a black diamond within a few days on skis. Truly upper-intermediate and expert skiing, in my opinion, is a bit more difficult to reach.




kimchijajonshim said:


> I don't agree with this. At least not at this point. Snowboarding used to the thing rebellious young asshole kids would do... at this point snowboarding been around long enough andrider growth was stagnant for long enough that now it's a thing that middle-age dads can do and their rebellious asshole kids can rebel against. That idiot teenage park rat with a bluetooth speaker playing music too loud wearing the tall-T and saggy pants is just as likely to be on two planks as one these days.


I'll have to reconsider this. I'm not doubting my own observations, here in Pennsylvania where my home hills have been, the 12 to 24 crowd still dominates snowboarding. But that doesn't mean that occurs across larger snowsport areas and communities.


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## smellysell (Oct 29, 2018)

drblast said:


> But how often does Scott Stevens one-foot? Pretty much never.
> 
> Such a kook, that Scott Stevens.


Hey, I picked up on the sarcasm this time!!!


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## smellysell (Oct 29, 2018)

Also, while all the new people this year were annoying in ways for sure, I'm also glad my two small hills I frequent got some much needed cash flow into them after having to close early last year and a shitty snow year this year.


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## ridethecliche (Feb 27, 2019)

One of the first things out of my gfs mouth her first time on the hill in PA was along the lines of "wow, people here really can't ski/ride". If you've grown up riding in the northeast or out west, your perception of what's good and what isn't is very different. 

I would also argue that, in general, what the average person thinks of as an upper intermediate skier is actually way more advanced relatively than what the average person considers an upper intermediate snowboarder.


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## MCrides (Feb 25, 2019)

HopWrangler said:


> Snowboarding is more difficult to learn the basics, and it takes longer to do so, but I think it's easier to get up into upper-intermediate and expert after that initial hump. Skiing is easy in terms of the basics. You can pizza/snowplow down a black diamond within a few days on skis. Truly upper-intermediate and expert skiing, in my opinion, is a bit more difficult to reach.


I hear people say this, but then I spend a full day riding in Tahoe and see like, a handful of snowboarders, max, that even approach what I think of as upper-intermediate. But maybe my perception of skill level is just different since I don't know how to ski.

Personally, it took me a _long_ time to blast through the intermediate hump.


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## Rip154 (Sep 23, 2017)

Well, skiing is really easy, so you can go fast and look good even in tracked out conditions, and noone really notices until you can't stop and fly off some ledge into a yardsale.


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## SEWiShred (Jan 19, 2019)

smellysell said:


> Also, while all the new people this year were annoying in ways for sure, I'm also glad my two small hills I frequent got some much needed cash flow into them after having to close early last year and a shitty snow year this year.


My hill had a good year last year, this year they crushed it. But I'm not sure if they're going to spend money on stupid stuff, like fixing up the hotel, or if they're going to spend it right by improving runs, replacing old lifts, etc. I know hills who have gotten a lot of money and spent it all on fancy signs, remodeling the challette and dining areas, etc. and didn't do much to the hill at all.


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## ridethecliche (Feb 27, 2019)

Rip154 said:


> Well, skiing is really easy, so you can go fast and look good even in tracked out conditions, and noone really notices until you can't stop and fly off some ledge into a yardsale.


I see a skier and think 'damn theyre good' when i see them doing mogul runs with their feet totally together in control or when I see them riding feet together down more advanced terrain in a controlled fashion. Or the trees.

Going fast doesn't really impress me. As kijima said in his carving thread, speed can often hide bad technique.


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## SEWiShred (Jan 19, 2019)

ridethecliche said:


> I see a skier and think 'damn theyre good' when i see them doing mogul runs with their feet totally together in control or when I see them riding feet together down more advanced terrain in a controlled fashion. Or the trees.
> 
> Going fast doesn't really impress me. As kijima said in his carving thread, speed can often hide bad technique.


My hill is amazing for bad skiers. The black diamonds are a short straight run with enough incline to get up to 35/40mph. And at the bottom of the hill is a big creek. They are constantly bombing those runs, reaching the bottom, can't stop, and end up soaked.


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## WigMar (Mar 17, 2019)

SEWiShred said:


> My hill is amazing for bad skiers. The black diamonds are a short straight run with enough incline to get up to 35/40mph. And at the bottom of the hill is a big creek. They are constantly bombing those runs, reaching the bottom, can't stop, and end up soaked.


I saw a skier blast through a fence and yardsale into some trees the other day. He was going so fast I assumed he knew what he was doing, but he went to turn and just fell right over. It would have been funny if it didn't look so serious. Hopefully the fence slowed him down enough.


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## skibum458 (Mar 7, 2019)

drblast said:


> I like my crab grab "Seaweed" stomp pads. I have a board or two without them, and I don't really need them but boards sometimes do get slippery and if they can prevent me from falling and twisting my front knee just once I feel like it's worth having them on.
> 
> I'd rather be a kook riding than cool in crutches.


My sentiment exactly. At 63 YO I'm just happy to still be riding. I'm using Clicker Bindings so pad is more effective...


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## start_today (Mar 17, 2020)

I think this thread may have talked me into a stomp pad. Hopefully crab grab gives ya’ll a finders fee.


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## smellysell (Oct 29, 2018)

SEWiShred said:


> My hill had a good year last year, this year they crushed it. But I'm not sure if they're going to spend money on stupid stuff, like fixing up the hotel, or if they're going to spend it right by improving runs, replacing old lifts, etc. I know hills who have gotten a lot of money and spent it all on fancy signs, remodeling the challette and dining areas, etc. and didn't do much to the hill at all.


Did they not get shut down early last year?


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## t21 (Dec 29, 2010)

smellysell said:


> Also, while all the new people this year were annoying in ways for sure, I'm also glad my two small hills I frequent got some much needed cash flow into them after having to close early last year and a shitty snow year this year.


what two small hills?


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## smellysell (Oct 29, 2018)

t21 said:


> what two small hills?


Great Divide and Showdown

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk


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## kimchijajonshim (Aug 19, 2007)

MCrides said:


> I hear people say this, but then I spend a full day riding in Tahoe and see like, a handful of snowboarders, max, that even approach what I think of as upper-intermediate. But maybe my perception of skill level is just different since I don't know how to ski.
> 
> Personally, it took me a _long_ time to blast through the intermediate hump.


To your point, I don’t buy it when folks say “skiing is easier to learn but harder to master.” I’ve seen way too many “expert” snowboarders riding way too fast down black diamonds who can’t throw a clean carve to save their damn lives.

To be fair, the standard of riding in Tahoe particularly sucks. Too many flatlanders weekenders from the Bay and Central Valley, plus random out-of-state tourists. The best riders at Squaw or Kirkwood can go toe-to-toe with anywhere, but the median and mode riders even on black diamonds are generally riding with terrible technique. Even cruising around on a random non-pow weekday I’m lucky if I see more than a half dozen riders who can throw a clean carve.


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## t21 (Dec 29, 2010)

smellysell said:


> Great Divide and Showdown
> 
> Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk


I thought showdown closed two weeks after Redlodge? i was going to head out there after they shutdown hiking uphill in RLM. Never made it to great divide. Did you get the season pass on that one day deal?


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## smellysell (Oct 29, 2018)

t21 said:


> I thought showdown closed two weeks after Redlodge? i was going to head out there after they shutdown hiking uphill in RLM. Never made it to great divide. Did you get the season pass on that one day deal?


Can't remember when exactly they shut down, but it was well before they normally do, though both places held out longer than most.

And yes, I sure did, such a great deal. 

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk


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## t21 (Dec 29, 2010)

smellysell said:


> Can't remember when exactly they shut down, but it was well before they normally do, though both places held out longer than most.
> 
> And yes, I sure did, such a great deal.
> 
> Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk


Got mine this past sunday. I might go again this weekend depending on snow and road condition, and could be my last for the season there unless it gets the dump on like they had on MLK day.


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## smellysell (Oct 29, 2018)

t21 said:


> Got mine this past sunday. I might go again this weekend depending on snow and road condition, and could be my last for the season there unless it gets the dump on like they had on MLK day.


That weekend was pretty awesome. Hoping for at least a couple more good days. 

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk


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## t21 (Dec 29, 2010)

smellysell said:


> That weekend was pretty awesome. Hoping for at least a couple more good days.
> 
> Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk


Yes it was, sadly i missed that dump on that monday. I drove home sunday night on that slick ass road up to Clyde park. If i knew it was going to dump that night i would have stayed at the spring hotel and to hell with work


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## smellysell (Oct 29, 2018)

t21 said:


> Yes it was, sadly i missed that dump on that monday. I drove home sunday night on that slick ass road up to Clyde park. If i knew it was going to dump that night i would have stayed at the spring hotel and to hell with work


If you ever want to link up and ride up there let me know. 

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk


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## t21 (Dec 29, 2010)

smellysell said:


> If you ever want to link up and ride up there let me know.
> 
> Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk


Thanks,will do.


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## SEWiShred (Jan 19, 2019)

smellysell said:


> Did they not get shut down early last year?


They did, but late season places in SE Wisconsin don't really make any money, they mostly just keep them going for the season pass holders, and they'll give deals to try and get people who normally wouldn't go to their hill to try out theirs (I paid $18 for a full day pass at Tyrol Basin Tuesday, lol. Normally it's $50 on a weekday excluding sales)

They are make or break over Christmas break, MLK weekend, and President's Day weekend. They depend on people having days off of school and work and making a day trip out of it. It's not like a big resort where people make them legitimate vacations, taking time off work and pulling kids out of school. It's more of a convenience thing than it is a vacation. It's not "let's plan out a great family ski vacation, it'll be our yearly family trip!", it's more "hey it's cold and there's snow on the ground, let's drive an hour to the hill"

As long as it's snowy and cold on Christmas break, MLK and President's Day weekend, people will show up and the ski will have a good year, at least for a Midwestern resort. 

This year was absolutely insane, people had a lot of time and were getting tons of unemployment money from China Cooties. Most of the resorts in SE Wisconsin were limiting how many tickets could be sold, AV had to close down their parking lot after they converted one of their golf course holes into a parking lot. They weren't limited to just having school days and days off work, the kids weren't really even in school around here and a lot of people are laid off collecting unemployment. It's why it was crazy even on the weekends. This year will be a huge one for a lot of places similar to SE Wisconsin resorts. Unlike anything they ever had before.

Anything before Christmas break and after President's day is just a gesture they make to keep season pass holders happy in Wisconsin. 

It'll be interesting to see what happens if things go somewhat back to normal. If most people will move on from the sport or if there are a ton of new long term fans.


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## Jack87 (Jan 9, 2021)

I mean it's more than a gesture to keep them happy right? It's an obligation since they sold the pass with the promise to be open.


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## WigMar (Mar 17, 2019)

I've also been wondering how many of these new snowboarders are going to stick with it. Time will tell.


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## SEWiShred (Jan 19, 2019)

Jack87 said:


> I mean it's more than a gesture to keep them happy right? It's an obligation since they sold the pass with the promise to be open.


I have found they have no obligation. Wilmot waited last year until about Christmas to open up, they had a chance in November to blow enough snow thanks to temps and they completely passed. A lot of people were mad, some went to other places that opened early when we had the cold snap. Some even refunded their season pass. But they just kept going and don't really care. I noticed after President's Day most places out here don't care. If the base is low and in trouble after then, they just won't blow any snow even if they could. Sometimes they do, but it's pretty rare.

It just has to get a little warm with some ground popping up, even if they have more than enough snow to fill in the low spots, and they'll say they can't take it because of the weather. I've seen places here close in February because of the weather, a little rain on top of 20 inches of base and some 60 degree days is more than enough for them to just say "sorry the weather's bad! Closed for the season!" but their main driver is not making any money because there's mostly only season pass holders there and they're stuck running the resort. After the first rain and the first shot of warmer temps, the money stops coming in from rentals and ticket sales and they all give up pretty quickly. 

Most places out here will close even if there's plenty of snow left, because they are losing money. Tyrol Basin around here will fight to stay open no matter what, they will have dirt coming through the snow in runs and still keep going. But they are the hardest fighters against spring I know in SE Wisconsin.


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## MCrides (Feb 25, 2019)

kimchijajonshim said:


> I’m lucky if I see more than a half dozen riders who can throw a clean carve.


Yeah it's weird that like, 90% of Tahoe riders spend _zero_ time riding an edge. I'd bet a lot of snowboarders don't even know it's a thing that's possible to do.


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## smellysell (Oct 29, 2018)

SEWiShred said:


> They did, but late season places in SE Wisconsin don't really make any money, they mostly just keep them going for the season pass holders, and they'll give deals to try and get people who normally wouldn't go to their hill to try out theirs (I paid $18 for a full day pass at Tyrol Basin Tuesday, lol. Normally it's $50 on a weekday excluding sales)
> 
> They are make or break over Christmas break, MLK weekend, and President's Day weekend. They depend on people having days off of school and work and making a day trip out of it. It's not like a big resort where people make them legitimate vacations, taking time off work and pulling kids out of school. It's more of a convenience thing than it is a vacation. It's not "let's plan out a great family ski vacation, it'll be our yearly family trip!", it's more "hey it's cold and there's snow on the ground, let's drive an hour to the hill"
> 
> ...


Gotcha, way different here, other than the crazy crowds this year. 

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk


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## bob2356 (Jul 13, 2012)

Back to the subject of stomp pads, you can use a couple the little metal pyramids without trashing the graphic. All you need to keep your foot from sliding off. Keep the extras since they fall off once in a while.


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## HopWrangler (Feb 22, 2021)

MCrides said:


> I hear people say this, but then I spend a full day riding in Tahoe and see like, a handful of snowboarders, max, that even approach what I think of as upper-intermediate. But maybe my perception of skill level is just different since I don't know how to ski.
> 
> Personally, it took me a _long_ time to blast through the intermediate hump.


I think you have to do both enough to understand. I'm, not saying it's easy to get there on a board, but it is easier. With skiing, you can pretty much take on all but the most demanding parts of a mountain with some basic skills ... it's much, much harder to do that on a snowboard. Snowboarding forces you to learn in a way that skiing doesn't. Again, you can 1/2 snowplow (alternating one ski straight, one scrubbing speed) down a black diamond on skis and be fine (and safe) and nobody but better skiers will notice. With snowboarding, we have to largely abandon the basics and learn a new set of skills to actually travel down the mountain. You cannot ride your back edge down a long, steep, black diamond on a snowboard with any regularity, but you can snowplow/pizza down almost anything. We go from riding a single edge as a falling leaf to dynamic transitions from edge to edge down the fall line just to be able to handle blue runs that some guy on skis for 3 hours can shoot down.


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## HopWrangler (Feb 22, 2021)

SEWiShred said:


> My hill is amazing for bad skiers. The black diamonds are a short straight run with enough incline to get up to 35/40mph. And at the bottom of the hill is a big creek. They are constantly bombing those runs, reaching the bottom, can't stop, and end up soaked.


On skis, my GPS says I can get up to 60mph (+/- 3mph for error). Despite skiing for a long time, being able to ski in the trees and take on any hill without worry, I am not an expert (far from it). The same hills, on a decent board, I hit 40mph max.


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## may8705 (Mar 1, 2021)

Jack87 said:


> So I got myself way too many boards this season... And I hate the idea of putting stomp pads and covering the graphics! Been riding without. My one footed game is not as good as it was with my old board for which I had a stomp pad. That seems like a small price to pay not to kill the look of the board.
> 
> What is everyone else's opinion of the stomp pad game. Do you use it? Do you not? Why and why not and if you do show it off! Might help find one maybe I or others would consider.
> 
> PS I am sure there are discussion about this already. Didn't really bother to look for them. Figured its one of those that can happen over and over.


I just got my second board and was pissed that the stomp pad I ordered online didn’t come in the mail in time before leaving for my snowboarding trip this weekend. So today was my first day on this new board riding without a stomp pad. I did just fine. I’m pretty sure I’ll just send the pad I ordered back once I get home. No stomp pads for me from now on. Although I will say that I just started snowboarding this season and having the stomp pad on my first board was a huge help in getting off the lift without falling. Just feel like my skill set has improved beyond needing one at this point. If you do end up needing one get the Dakine Clear Spike Stomp Pad. Super grippy and since it’s clear it’s not too big of an eye sore.


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## Manicmouse (Apr 7, 2014)

may8705 said:


> If you do end up needing one get the Dakine Clear Spike Stomp Pad. Super grippy and since it’s clear it’s not too big of an eye sore.


Just don't kneel on it   Jeeesus they hurt!


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## MCrides (Feb 25, 2019)

HopWrangler said:


> I think you have to do both enough to understand. I'm, not saying it's easy to get there on a board, but it is easier. With skiing, you can pretty much take on all but the most demanding parts of a mountain with some basic skills ... it's much, much harder to do that on a snowboard. Snowboarding forces you to learn in a way that skiing doesn't. Again, you can 1/2 snowplow (alternating one ski straight, one scrubbing speed) down a black diamond on skis and be fine (and safe) and nobody but better skiers will notice. With snowboarding, we have to largely abandon the basics and learn a new set of skills to actually travel down the mountain. You cannot ride your back edge down a long, steep, black diamond on a snowboard with any regularity, but you can snowplow/pizza down almost anything. We go from riding a single edge as a falling leaf to dynamic transitions from edge to edge down the fall line just to be able to handle blue runs that some guy on skis for 3 hours can shoot down.


Yeah I kinda see what you mean here. There does seem to be a wider intermediate range on skis. Maybe this is why snowboarders seem to be more clustered towards the beginner end of the spectrum?


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## WigMar (Mar 17, 2019)

I think that once you get the basics of snowboarding down, it's easy to bomb around with just enough control to make it happen. I see a ton of snowboarders at this skill level. Once you can do skidded turns and the hockey stop, you can access a lot of the mountain. Many riders get really good at this style and never progress beyond loose bombing.

Getting past this point requires a back to basics approach- or it did for me at least. Learning how to really turn was a process. I had to go back to the greens and spend more time than I'd like to admit getting my carve on. There was a ton of bad habits built up over the years that had to be peeled away to reach that next level. In my experience, it requires diligent work and practice every time you bump up in skill level. I'm not sure the average casual rider who gets in less than ten days a year will ever have the opportunities to put in the consistent work required to break through those glass ceilings. I'm putting in work riding four days a week in my quest to become the rider I want to be.


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## MCrides (Feb 25, 2019)

WigMar said:


> Getting past this point requires a back to basics approach- or it did for me at least.


Yeah. I got pretty decent at carving on my own, and then signed up for a lesson thinking the instructor could clean them up a bit. Left the lesson miffed that we spent the entire time working on skidded turns instead, but then realized later in the day that she was totally right to focus on them, and that I had some fundamental technique issues that needed correcting before I could move forward.


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## kimchijajonshim (Aug 19, 2007)

MCrides said:


> Yeah. I got pretty decent at carving on my own, and then signed up for a lesson thinking the instructor could clean them up a bit. Left the lesson miffed that we spent the entire time working on skidded turns instead, but then realized later in the day that she was totally right to focus on them, and that I had some fundamental technique issues that needed correcting before I could move forward.


You're identifying a fundamental disconnect between the incentives of resorts and what it takes to train fundamentally strong snowboarders.

If you wanted to develop the best possible snowboarders, you'd start them from first principles and have them progressively build up their skills. Get every rider able to comfortable one-footing and skating before ever stepping foot on a lift. Put them on magic carpets. Get them to be able to J-turn on mellow terrain, bending their knees, weight forward, back straight. If you have good solid technique, at low/moderate speeds and low angle terrain, not having your back foot strapped should barely matter.

But lessons are expensive, time is limited, and people want to feel like they're PROGRESSING. So resorts are incentivized instead to get people to a minimum level of bare competence with shitty fundamentals so they can fall off the lifts the majority of the time, heelside down the mountain slightly out of control, etc. This eventually results in riders who are going fast down blacks with terrible technique and control, completely breaking themselves off in the park, etc. 

The back to basics approach requires a lot of patience and humility. Most riders, unless they were privately coached for extended periods of time, will need to basically rebuild their riding because no one ever bothered to teach them properly and they reinforced bad habits for YEARS after taking a few basic lessons. James Jackson had an interesting anecdote in his Bomb Hole interview, where he talks about having to basically re-teach the Ferguson brothers how to turn.


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## Phedder (Sep 13, 2014)

kimchijajonshim said:


> But lessons are expensive, time is limited, and people want to feel like they're PROGRESSING. So resorts are incentivized instead to get people to a minimum level of bare competence with shitty fundamentals so they can fall off the lifts the majority of the time, heelside down the mountain slightly out of control, etc. This eventually results in riders who are going fast down blacks with terrible technique and control, completely breaking themselves off in the park, etc.
> 
> The back to basics approach requires a lot of patience and humility. Most riders, unless they were privately coached for extended periods of time, will need to basically rebuild their riding because no one ever bothered to teach them properly and they reinforced bad habits for YEARS after taking a few basic lessons. James Jackson had an interesting anecdote in his Bomb Hole interview, where he talks about having to basically re-teach the Ferguson brothers how to turn.


This came up in the 'are lessons worth it' thread as well, and now that a bunch of my wider riding crew have taken their level 1 instructor cert their riding has improved immensely. These are people with hundreds of days on the hill, the vast majority of that going fast down blacks with the odd speed check, and miraculously surviving big park days. A few days of basic instruction and everything about their riding is so much cleaner. 

I'd say most local boarders fall into that camp here in Banff, being a resort town we get a tonne of people here for a season or two having not ridden much previously. Their friends 'teach' them how to ride with an emphasis on getting them to a point they can keep up with the group, not actually ride well to do so, and then these people go ahead and 'teach' the next seasons influx of newbies. They got 100 days last season so they must be an by now expert, right? 

Typing that I've also just come to the realisation that now I'm getting asked less often to help teach people specific things, because they know I'll break it back down to fundamentals first before teaching them what they've asked. They don't want that, instant gratification is the goal, not hard work and some harsh truths. The easiest example is revert carves, I've got a few spots on the mountain I'll pretty much always throw one because it fits the terrain well or there's a slow sign that's fun to carve around that way. The people asking me to teach them that can't do a toeside euro carve, can barely do a normal toeside carve, certainly can't ride out of it in a switch toeside carve or ride switch much at all. Once all of that is pointed out and began working on they realise how much work their is to do so they generally get bored and go straight to trying it without having the basics down and many spectacular crashes ensue. 

Basics are important people. You can't do Calculus and Algebra without knowing your times tables first.


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## MCrides (Feb 25, 2019)

kimchijajonshim said:


> The back to basics approach requires a lot of patience and humility. Most riders, unless they were privately coached for extended periods of time, will need to basically rebuild their riding because no one ever bothered to teach them properly and they reinforced bad habits for YEARS after taking a few basic lessons. James Jackson had an interesting anecdote in his Bomb Hole interview, where he talks about having to basically re-teach the Ferguson brothers how to turn.


There's something about snowboarding where people are convinced they'll just learn by feel given enough time, even thought that doesn't work for any other skill in life. I have a friend who's just atrocious, even though he's been on a board for like a decade. Like, still-sometimes-struggles-with-toeside-turns atrocious. He says he wants to get better, but isn't willing to take a single step backwards in order to take 10 steps forward. Not only will he not take a lesson, he won't even watch a youtube video or think about technique at all--he just has this unshakable idea that free form time on the mountain will get him where he wants to be.

Maybe if you're a world-class athlete, but since you're not, you might have to, idk, practice?

Edit: OTOH, I'm someone who obsesses about my hobbies. It's probably worth remembering that most people just want to have a good time and don't particularly care about getting above a passable level.


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## kimchijajonshim (Aug 19, 2007)

Phedder said:


> I'd say most local boarders fall into that camp here in Banff, being a resort town we get a tonne of people here for a season or two having not ridden much previously. Their friends 'teach' them how to ride with an emphasis on getting them to a point they can keep up with the group, not actually ride well to do so, and then these people go ahead and 'teach' the next seasons influx of newbies. They got 100 days last season so they must be an by now expert, right?


This was me and the crew I came up riding with in college. I took some lessons when I was like 12, then started riding again when I was 19. I was fucking atrocious, but I was less atrocious than the crew I rolled with, so I didn't know any better. I never took another lesson, something I regret. I achieved a high recreationalist degree of competence after 16 years, but I probably could have gotten there in 5-10 with a few well-timed lessons, and made the best use of my physical peak in my 20s. Being able to practice new tricks with a 20-something's recovery time would be pretty sweet.

I have a buddy I hadn't ridden with in a few years I rode with a couple days ago. I sold him his first board (Never Summer West) and he's been riding about 4 years now. I was asking him his competence in steeps, and he told me something to the effect of "double blacks ain't no thing." Also told me he landed a 360. Alright, let's see.

Rode with him... he was ok. LOTS to clean up. I basically spent the day correcting his form. He wasn't bending his knees enough, breaking at the waist, hunching his back, all your classic "I can get from point A to B but have bad form" symptoms.

He was also missing some really core skills for steeper terrain. He was trying to arc his turns as on groomers, rather than hop turn, nose roll, and down unweight, all the shit you need to do quickly transition edges in tight spaces in steep terrain. I took him to his first cornice drop and he was reaaaal tentative on the drop-in. He didn't drop and slid in parallel and hit cross-fall-line-- which was the right call given his level, but it took him a while to get off his toeside edge because lacked the confidence to turn.

Thankfully he was super coachable. He made a ton of progress in the 4 or 5 hours we were cruising around. To your point about instant gratification, he was willing to put in the work, he just didn't realize how much work he had to put in. So it's this shitty situation where people either don't want to put in the work or the ones that are willing aren't able to do so without dropping $$$$ on lessons from private certified instruction. He was just lucky that I happened to be free that Sunday and had the requisite skill, patience, movement analysis ability, and fondness of him to spend a day teaching him shit instead of chasing turns in chutes all day.


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## UncleHulka (Mar 6, 2019)

Rip154 said:


> same with griptape for skateboards and wax for surfing, only kooks use them. can buy large sheets of black marine flooring foam/surfboard traction for nothing on wish or alibaba if you wanna be stomp pad hipster and not buy something mainstream. one strip in the middle or on each side works ok. if you only use it for getting off a lift its not really needed.


Mate. Sorry, but you clearly don't surf. A surfboard without wax is like a cake of soap. Good luck trying to surf on that. Full deck grip pads were a thing for about 5 minutes 20+ years ago, but even then you still needed some wax. 

As for stomp pads, I tried the no stomp pad thing for a few years, but decided it wasn't worth it. It's just one less thing to worry about with a stomp pad. I just find a stomp pad that looks good on the board and put them on all my boards. Couldn't care less about "being cool", whichc seems the only reason not to have a stomp pad.


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## Manicmouse (Apr 7, 2014)

UncleHulka said:


> Couldn't care less about "being cool", whichc seems the only reason not to have a stomp pad.


Not needing one is a good reason to not get one.


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## Craig64 (Jul 16, 2015)

A stomp pad is there for a purpose to provide grip on the slippery fibreglass on the top of the snowboard (similar to deckgrip on a skateboard and wax/deckpad on a surfboard). A lot of boards are now going to a sprayed top with satin texture rather than polished topsheet as a pro environmental initiative. 

The OP was really concerned about how it upset the aesthetics of his top sheet. If this is a concern get a clear one or ride without one. Most of the time your board is partially covered in snow so falling in love with the graphics whilst riding shouldn't be a real issue here.

So if you want a work of art, buy a painting. A lot of advanced riders may have developed a technique that doesn't require a pad, good for you. In Australia as it hovers around +/- 0C a most of the time your board is generally covered in water rather than snow so stomp pad can be pretty beneficial here. As a result I'm probably pro stomp pad and have never had a stack or disaster as a result of the back foot slipping off the board. Now whether this is down to good rear foot position or a stomp pad....., it may be as a result of both.

I know with surfing if your wax is not tacky/fresh you can have all kinds of critical knee disasters when you're jamming aggressive manoeuvres with power.


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## Radialhead (Jan 3, 2018)

UncleHulka said:


> Couldn't care less about "being cool", whichc seems the only reason not to have a stomp pad.


Nah, words can't express how little I care about "being cool", but I've never had a stomp pad. I find having my back foot pushed against the binding gives me all the grip I need.


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