Getting my own board, need your assistance
@grunge: Hahaha, it’s trueeee. A bit wider waist is awesome for carving. Andy Aitken also said so. Even Jez is getting toe drag if he carves aggressively (that’s what he said). Plus wider waist = eurocarve with no drag ahaha 
^ LOL Not if I get a hardboot alpine board.
I’ve been considering that for like, almost a year now. 
I will never ride hardboot. Just from the look of it, painful and no fun haha.
The speed and lines I see them do tho’.... OMG!
^ yeah I’d start with +15 on the front and maybe 0 on the rear.
Please don’t… If you’re going to be putting beginners in non duck with +15 on the front, go at least -9 in the back… Or they’ll think switch is “too hard” and never do it. That’s how you get people stuck in beginner / intermediate zone of progression.
So you think 15/-9??
Like I said my GF will be there and she is learning from scratch so if I change it up I will be with her for the first few days and I will have time to learn and adjust too it. We have lessons for the first 4 days as well.
I always put my beginner friend at +18/-9 and they all like it. But +15/-9 is a good start too in my opinion. I’m not a fan of 0 or positive angles on the back foot for a beginner. Often they found it weird just standing like that and can lose balance easily compared to a duck stance.
Yeah walk a few steps, stop and check your feet, neither is straight so your bindings shouldn’t be either. Try 15/-15 and if that’s not comfy, fiddle I think…
Sorry guys I totally DISAGREE with what you’re saying.
You’re advocating a duck stance for beginners based on what?
What everyone else and pros uses? Why? Like, exactly why?
This is even more so when you’re trying to advocate that for girls.
Women’s body structure are completely different then men’s.
I’m just straight out calling BS here, not that I don’t think what you’re thinking makes sense.
Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not dissing you guys personally, no way no how.
It’s because I used to do it myself. I’d advocate +15 and a negative stance on the rear, usually -9 all day every day any time. (better if they can do -12)
I did it to the g/f, forced her to do it until she said it was painful, before I switched to a slight positive angle, and even then I was like.. “make it just +3, you’re going to make it harder on yourself if you do +ve angles.” Like I said, all day every day duck, and that’s how I learnt, that’s how I do.
Turns out she speaks to her friend who’s L3 instructor and on patrol, and he says yeah. most ppl have it wrong, +ve angles are the way to go and start, even more so for girls that it should’ve started at +24/+12. This is a guy with over 12 years on mountain.
I totally got chewed out for it, and honestly my basis?
“Well that’s what everyone else does, seems legit.”
Give me something more solid than what I thought and I’m in, plus I have something to get back to her and her instructor with.
But there isn’t anything solid.
Honestly, the best I found was this and this was a few years back:
http://www.carvers.it/f-a-q-2/snowboard-stance-inglese/
(this is a site copy of the original site which no longer exists.)
I believe it has the most comprehensive info on stances and even it says depends one what you’re doing, look at the freestyle riders going on -0.
For a beginner, it should be able to get them more comfortable with learning to board to their body structure, after that they should start playing with angles to get the best of what they’re doing. I think we just have the steps dialled wrong.
As for riding switch with +ve angles, riding switch isn’t meant to be easy, and I think you’re giving up a base fundemental for the mental placebo of “being able to ride switch.”
Because the last couple of times I rode switch with @skip11, I had my angles set at +24/+3 and +18/-9. I can ride switch okay because I put in the practice, whatever stance it is, riding switch is hard and you need to put in practice, which I still need to do.
I love you guys, but I definitely have a hardline stance on this, unless you have some science to back it up with or at least something solid.
Jeeezus, i just re-read what I posted and @skip11, I sound like Doc, from the you know where place.
But I still love you gaiz and still stand behind what I’d said.
I just wanted y’all to know that my firm stance doesn’t mean I dislike you guys, I just hate that I sound like doc as I’m generally a pretty chill guy.
So you think 15/-9??
Like I said my GF will be there and she is learning from scratch so if I change it up I will be with her for the first few days and I will have time to learn and adjust too it. We have lessons for the first 4 days as well.
Hey dude, read the link I have above see what you think, then I’d try:
+21/+6 (or +24/+12 for girls)
+15/0
+15/-9
I think you can’t go wrong if you pick from those sets. You and the girl will be changing it up later on, and you’ll know when you want to change it up. If you have to ask yourself if you should change it, then clearly it’s not the time to change it. =)
Yeah walk a few steps, stop and check your feet, neither is straight so your bindings shouldn’t be either. Try 15/-15 and if that’s not comfy, fiddle I think…
Haha this totally doesn’t apply to me! I’m pigeon toed… (my right foot is slightly inwards…) so snowboard binding angles id be like a +3 on the back and -9 on front almost… Yeh im goofy so my front foot is my right.. Lol
Now i ride -15 on the back and +18 on the front.. Haha took me ages to get used to standing like that!! But if they are moved from that I can usually tell right away..
@grunge: I’m not advocating full duck, only slight duck anywhere between -9 to -3. How do I know this, I asked them to stand sideways like on a snowboard and play around with their feet angle. Asked them what feels comfortable. All my friends I mount the binding to +18 -9, ask them to stand in them again ask how they feel. Almost all of my beginners friend find it comfortable on that angle. Yes a lot of the top pros and freeriders ride positive angle (Terje, Blair Habenicht, Gigi, Blauvelt) and that also doesn’t hinder them from riding switch but that’s different that beginner riders who may or may not be athletic and have the same skill potential.
Having the back foot positive means you need more ankle dorsiflexion to bend your ankle (which leads to bending the knee) which I’m sure all of you agree is a super important point for beginners. Not everyone has great ankle dorsiflexion (like me for example). Standing sideways with positive angle on the back foot is not natural and a lot of people can have issues with bending their knees, bending their ankles, or just gaining balance when standing up. Sideslipping and pendulum becomes a bit weird. Yes it does make turning easier. Another thing is that with both feet facing forward, they ride with a more open body position which is great for advanced rider, but for beginners I find it makes them counter rotate on their toeside more.
I’m all for positive angles stance if you’re advanced but not if you’re beginner. That being said I’m also against pure duck stance (e.g. +15/-15). I also agree with Jez that front foot should always be greater than +15. Neil McNab, instructor and backcountry guide from England (who’s also sponsored by Jones Snowboard) recommends +21/-3 or -6 for beginners in his book.
@Shoeless: Try +15/-9 first and see how it feels. Personally all my friends who are beginners are either at +15/-9 or +18/-9, and they all like it. I asked them if they wanna change it and they all say no. Me personally, I ride +21/-9
So you think 15/-9??
Like I said my GF will be there and she is learning from scratch so if I change it up I will be with her for the first few days and I will have time to learn and adjust too it. We have lessons for the first 4 days as well.
Hey dude, read the link I have above see what you think, then I’d try:
+21/+6 (or +24/+12 for girls)
+15/0
+15/-9I think you can’t go wrong if you pick from those sets. You and the girl will be changing it up later on, and you’ll know when you want to change it up. If you have to ask yourself if you should change it, then clearly it’s not the time to change it. =)
So you’re saying +‘ve on the back foot for girls? As a girl I think that would have really thrown me and made it so much harder for progressing. I did about a week +15/0 and then straight to 15/-15 which feels way more comfortable and natural.