Hi,
I have been looking for snowshoes and I just thought of the idea of skiboards. I am just looking to do some easy stuff this winter in AZ, and was thinking that skiboards would be cool. I can use them like snowshoes because they are short, and like skis on the downhill for some easy stuff. I think the bindings might work with mountain boots like the LS Nepal Evo? I'm not much of a skier, but I'd like to do more stuff this winter and I'm broke so cheap is nice too. Any thoughts?

There are splitboards, but they are pretty expensive; they take skins for the ascent, and are connected together as a snowboard for descent. They seem to work well.

Years back (2004?) I tried the Kahru fat skis with skin strips. They were slow going downhill, slipped on anything steep for ascent, and the sloppy universal bindings offered minimal control, no matter how I tried to adjust them.

If you get skiboards, you will definitely want skins.
http://www.skiboards.com/index.php?main_page=page&id=1

Hello, I am new to this forum . I am a long time backountry skier that has become interested in the use of skiboards in the backcountry. Primarly, I was interested in a snowshoe type snow sliding device that had excellent control on the descent. Recently there have been a lot of advances in skiboards and skiboard bindings that have allowed me to cobble together what I think is an excellent solution Here is a thread describing the current set up I use . It is an ultrawide rockered 110 cm skiboard ,mounted with a three strap skiboard specific snowboard boot binding , and used with snowboard boots, skins and ski crampons
http://www.skiboardsonline.com/forums/s ... hp?t=12186
I also moderate the backcountry section of the Skiboardsonline Forum that has additonal information about using skiboards and short skis in the backcountry.

Thanks jjue, I wish that had been around 8 years ago.

Thanks jjue, that looks like a great solution. Do you think it would be possible to substitute mountaineering boots for snowboard boots in those bindings?

Would Silvrettas be useless on a set of skiboards?

Andrew Rankine wrote:Thanks jjue, that looks like a great solution. Do you think it would be possible to substitute mountaineering boots for snowboard boots in those bindings?

The main issue with mountaineering boots is that they are often a bit narrower then the snowboard boots and there might be too much slop and a poor fit in snowboard bindings .. easy to test it out , just tae your mountaineering boots into any snowboard shop and try putting them in a regular sized snowboard binding and see how much slop there is if you tighten the bindings down ... I think some would work and some low profile montaineering boots would not .. the other thing is the third strap is pretty high and the mountainering boot would have to be as high as a snowboard boot which many mountaineering boots are not ...

Ben B. wrote:Would Silvrettas be useless on a set of skiboards?

I have used a variety of bndings on skiboards including AT bindings as well as telemark bndings , i think silverettas would be fine .. the issue is that there are certain skiboards that are designed for drilled bindings and other skiboards that are too thin to be drilled safely .. it is important to check with the manufacturer as to whether the particuar skiboard will accept drilled bindings such as the silverettas ... there are also issues with binding position mount ..
one very nice thing about the Rockered condor is that i can have the binding center mount for climbing as well as for descent ... i have found that other traditional skiboards work better with bindings set back about 4cm from center for descent to avoid diving the tips in soft snow.. unfortunately, the rockered condor skiboard I use is not designed for drilled bindings like the silverettas .. it has 4 inserts to mount bindings like a snowboard does ..
One complete skiboard /non release touring binding solution that works with mountaineering boots is the HAGAN NANOOK . Here is some information
http://www.skiboardsonline.com/forums/s ... hp?t=10554
I have not purchased this option , because it does not have the flotation in deep snow for climbing or descent that I need

Andrew Rankine wrote:Thanks jjue, that looks like a great solution. Do you think it would be possible to substitute mountaineering boots for snowboard boots in those bindings?

edit: whoops, I was thrown off by Moapa's early comment about splitboards. For the mini-skis under discussion here, ignore the part about riding heelside

I've done this. At the time I couldn't afford snowshoe boots. Actually I used leather workboots; mountain boots would probably be better-suited (stiffer and thicker, with more insulation that would act as padding) but are similar enough for purposes of discussion.

First, it's not very comfortable. Snowboard boots have a lot of padding, notably on the shin; my boots had none. If you crank the bindings down very tight, your feet won't move and you wont' get impact bruises, but you're going to have a really tight binding pressing on your shin all day long.

Second, fit and control are not ideal. The narrowness of the boot wasn't really a problem - crank down the toe binding and the boot won't move. But your foot position won't be the same, because the soles are a different shape and thickness. The heel is a particular problem. Snowboard boots elevate your feet; you'll feel the difference. You also have to be careful because the non-rounded heels of a regular boot will stick out further, and can catch when you ride on the heel side.

Finally, I had to shorten my bindings to get this to work at all - otherwise they were too loose, and/or the excess strap length stuck into the snow and acted as a brake. I was lucky enough that the shortened bindings still work (barely) now that I have snowshoe boots, but YMMV.

Ok, I am really set on using mountaineering boots (Lowa Mountain Expert currently, maybe LS Baruntse)... so is there another binding system that could work with those boots? I don't ski that much and am mostly thinking of these for approaches and some descents. I'm willing to accept the decrease in performance, though the decrease in support does concern me.

Andrew Rankine wrote:Ok, I am really set on using mountaineering boots (Lowa Mountain Expert currently, maybe LS Baruntse)... so is there another binding system that could work with those boots? I don't ski that much and am mostly thinking of these for approaches and some descents. I'm willing to accept the decrease in performance, though the decrease in support does concern me.

AFAIK the traditional setup for this is Silvretta plate AT bindings, which fit almost anything with toe and heel welts, and shortish skis.