enderzero

If you are a total newbie Then you should definitely focus on getting comfy boots. Bad boots will make you want to quit boarding. But do not overlook the board. A renter or beginner board will be totally fine for the first few times (I don't know...maybe 10 times). But when you get hooked and want to get serious about the sport shelling out the bucks for a nice board with lots of pop will make all the difference. Having good gear does push you to be become a better rider.

Yeah, Marijuana deregulation is sweeping the country over here...well that may be a little bit of an exageration. In San Jose, California, the mayor and city council recently staged a give away of marijuana to medical patients. The Federal government is sticking to its guns on it being a cardinal sin...thanks Dubya.

Wow oddis, sounds like you know your shit. What's your story? Been ridin a while? As for the Nidecker's, my buddy rides them and swears by em. Interestingly though, he wears the toe straps across the front of the toe (pushing the heel back into the cup). Anyone else tried that?

Such a wonderful idea to put a rope tow next to a pipe or kicker group. When will American park designers wise up and implement this?

I can't speak for Japanese resorts but they still have a few T-bars at the two best resorts in N. America; Whistler and Vail. Only a couple though. They suck on snowboards. You have to just sorta stick one side behind you and hold on well. Also, unless you are a mad one-footer I recommend strapping your other foot in. Inevitably someone always thinks they don't need to and ends of falling all over themselves and knocking over the other poor people. As for the Strap in versus Step in debate, it has been pretty exhaustivley talked about in the last month if you look around the forum.

Akibun- I have to defer to the Canadians on the board, but I identify as an American (I am from the USA). You can't really say USAer...USAjin... Do any Canadians consider themseleves Americans? Both citizens of the USA and Canada (and Mexico) can say they are "North Americans," but I think citizens of the USA have sort of claimed "American" as their own moniker. As for "Yank" or "Yankee," it doesn't bother me at all. It is traditionally reserved for people form the North East part of the USA though.

Hello all, First I just want to say that I am really enjoying the forum. I have been on a number of boards/list and this group far outshines the mostly dimwitted conversation that is prevalent across the internet. As for me, I currently am living in the USA but I am dying to get out and live abroad. I was in Japan for a few weeks this spring and absolutely loved it. I’ve been studying the language pretty intensely since then. Therefore I would like to try living in Japan for a while. Some preliminary research on this site and others, and some conversations with people that have

Live in Seattle and love it, but it's not a world class city. San Francisco, London, Tokyo, Vancouver.

As for FLOW bindings, there is a lot of hype about em and I do see a number of people running them. From what I hear it is a good alternative for the person that wants the ease of a step in with the feel of a strap...but they really only work well if you run them with FLOW boots. Other boots don't fit quite as well. Personally I have never had a problem taking the 4 seconds to strap in IF I don't strap in on the chair. Plus I think its damn fun to come down a really steep exit ramp on one foot.

I agree. Please specify that it is okay to view results without voting when making a poll.

I have been riding Teams for the last two years (both the 00-01 & 01-02 models) and absolutely love them. All the Ride bindings had a problem in 00-01 with the plates bending after 30 or so days of hard riding but that was totally fixed with better plates last year. Ride is a totally cool company too. They sent me the 01-02s free because I bent both the plates on the 00-01s. I have also run Silence, Drake F60, and Tech Nine bindings. I even prefer the Ride LXs my buddy has on his board to any of those. The thing that is so great is the huge comfy straps. The Burton straps seem k

knee slappin good fun

Funny you should bring this up. The best food I have ever tasted was grape soft-serve ice cream I had in Arashiyama, Kyoto. Amazing! Has anyone out there found Grape Ice Cream anywhere else in the world?

"Going fakie" or "riding fakie" is a term for riding with the opposite foot forward. A snowboarder will ride his or her board with either the left foot forward (regular) or the right foot forward (called "goofy"). The preference must be decided before setting up the bindings on the boad as almost all board are designed to go a particular direction. This is not to say they cannot be ridden both directions, like the old split tails, just that the most speed and response is achieved in a particular direction. When a goofy rider goes down the hill with his left foot forward or a regular ri

My favorite American beer changes frequently. I am, however, particular to hometown brews Redhook ESB and a micro called Mac & Jack's African Amber (definitely had a little too much of that last night). I had a beer in Amsterdam called Domelsch which I was especially fond of. Haven't seen it outside of Holland though. Interestingly it seemed in Germany that the two most popular beers were Corona and Fosters. As for Japanese beer, I haven't had the pleasure of sampling the micros, but of the macros I've had I am fond of Asahi Suupa Duraii...although I could never seem to get dr

Quite a thread here. It’s a little surprising that so many progressive views are expressed. I wonder (at least in Americans’ case) if someone that is willing to leave their homeland and live abroad is more likely to be less supportive, or at least more skeptical, of the actions that person’s country’s government takes. A few thoughts: - Most Americans are clueless as to what is really going on. The majority of Americans just don’t care. I talk to them everyday. On top of that, I would say the majority of those that do care, or are at least interested, are misinformed. They get

Hey all, I am from the USA, living in Seattle. I am chompin at the bit to get out of here and see the world. I really wanna go to Japan for this winter and I can't think of anything cooler than workin and livin where I can snowboard. Anyone got any tips for actually finding the job from home? Any sites you have found useful? How is working as an english teacher? I have heard bad things. My Japanese is intermediate level and I am not too worried about a visa, just a place to stay and something to do. Fell free to email me directly enderzero@yahoo.com. Thanks