 Poster: A snowHead
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http://rideeasy.co/
Basically it's a hook for snowboarders so that the chairlift safety bar takes the weight of the snowboard.
I can see chaos ensuing when snowboarders forget to unhook, especially on those lifts with automatic safety bars.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Ha, yes. Or the faceplants resulting from an unholstered hook snagging another boarder or skier!
Reading the "About Us" I can see where they are coming from; 22 minutes on lifts with no footrests would be a helluva strain on my skinny knee.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Here in Austria there are very few lifts without footrests and those like that are usually quite short.
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If you can't support a board on your other foot you really shouldn't be boarding.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Yeah. Probably it's a product designed to be bought by people who know someone who snowboards and thinks they need some gift gomi.
It would hardly be difficult for anyone who really wanted to fasten their foot to a chairlift bar to do it without paying money. I doubt it would be strictly within the lift operators rules, and if someone tries to raise the bar on you it may be amusing to see what happens. And then there are those bars which are just alkathene pipes...
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so a metal locking cable reel down in the snow and slush zone... cue cable freezing and jamming entertainments.
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@philwig, I suspect that the hook is designed so that it automatically comes off if someone raises the bar. Can't imagine they got to this stage without at least testing that bit.
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It just hooks on to the bar. If the bar is raised it will just stay on it.
Mind you, I'd like to see someone raise the bar with a snowboard and someone's leg attached to it. Cue lots of WTF! moments.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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@olderscot, if the hook is designed right then it could slip off when the bar is raised. If the bar went straight up then it wouldn't work, but because the bar also goes back it should be possible to do this.
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Are boards heavier than I thought? I would have thought 1 ski boot + binding + 1 ski would be about as heavy as 1 board boot + binding + board.
On a chair with no foot rest a skier will have that weight on both knees.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@ecureuil, I'm not a boarder but I think the problem is that with only one boot in the binding the weight of the board pulls the foot in an unnatural direction. As opposed to us skiiers who have bindings slap bang in the middle of our planks so they are nicely balanced when hanging.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| ecureuil wrote: |
Are boards heavier than I thought? I would have thought 1 ski boot + binding + 1 ski would be about as heavy as 1 board boot + binding + board.
On a chair with no foot rest a skier will have that weight on both knees. |
Its more that the tail of the board always wants to hang down which lifts the nose and twists your ankle.
There is an issue but not sure that this product is the answer. Infact I cant believe the more upmarket resorts (probably American) haven't looked into snowboard friendly lifts as a marketing gimmick at least.
I'd never really moan about it though, just something snowboarders have to suck up. Comes from us infiltrating what is an infrastructure set up from decades of ski dominated slopes!
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No, they're not heavier than you thought. It's another "let's figure out something to solve a problem which doesn't exist". You do take the weight of the whole board on one leg, which I think you would find is slightly heavier than one half of your pair of skis, but it's no big deal. That's what foot rests are for.
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You know it makes sense.
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| Quote: |
problem is that with only one boot in the binding the weight of the board pulls the foot in an unnatural direction
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This.
Particularly if it's windy you can get your ankle wrenched about a bit. Also when you're sharing the lift with other skiers and snowboarders who ride the opposite way than you do and you're trying to get your gear to occupy the same space. I've often ended up with people resting their skis or board ontop of mine thinking they're resting on the bar which then adds the weight of their gear to yours hanging on your ankle.
Thing is - you don't need a skyhook or bit of kit to sort this out, just a bit of sense and cooperation between chair occupants and everything is fine. For chairs with no rests, you just rest the loose end of the board on top of your free foot.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| manicpb wrote: |
| I cant believe the more upmarket resorts (probably American) haven't looked into snowboard friendly lifts as a marketing gimmick at least. |
I think some of the more upmarket American resorts don't actually let snowboarders in 
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Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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The actual doing of it you may well enjoy as much as or more than skiing. The "admin" of it not so much though it's nowhere near as bad as poor downtrodden boarder threads would have you believe.
I usually rest my board on my rear foot and never use the foot bars - sometimes you have to orientate switch if you are goofy. Not hard.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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@Dave of the Marmottes, yeah, I'm not so good at bending over to touch my toes, so the strapping/unstrapping doesn't appeal. The comfy boots and sitting down in the middle of piste is positive though. Plus as I'm a 'lazy' skier I've often wondered if my style would be more suited to standing sideways. I'm going to give it a go at some point, it's just deciding when.
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@SnoodlesMcFlude, Burton are trotting out their new step-on binding system this season if you've been put off by the old ratchet straps. A bit of practice and you can clip in while moving. Proprietary system though so very specific boots and bindings which won't work with other kit.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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@Richard_Sideways, yeah I saw those, look really neat but just assumed they'd be silly cost.
I was originally put off by the number of people I knew that broke their wrists first time out  Then I spent a trip skiing while a mate boarded and he seemed to have more faff. And once I bought ski boots I was committed to two planks. Of course I was keen to have a go on a board at the EoSB but fell over and hurt my knee so didn't have the confidence to try something new.
Now it's just a case of waiting for the right time to give it a go. I don't want to try it either when it's rock hard or if there's loads of fresh. The 2018 EoSB might be best option, take advantage of the afternoon slush.
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| SnoodlesMcFlude wrote: |
Now it's just a case of waiting for the right time to give it a go. I don't want to try it either when it's rock hard or if there's loads of fresh. The 2018 EoSB might be best option, take advantage of the afternoon slush. |
It might not hurt as much, but consider the risk of drowning
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