Questions about Splitboarding, gear, durability

[Sombeech]

So I was chatting with @tmartenst on facebook yesterday about his preseason vid in this forum.

But facebook is blocked at work so I thought I'd post here.

@abirken was also talking about converting a snowboard into a splitboard, which I didn't really think of. Are they usually converted, or manufactured as a splitboard?

How's the durability of a splitboard during the season? Would you rather ride a regular board for fear of hardware coming apart? Is it pretty solid or can it get tempermental?

I guess I'm thinking of carving hard and if that would wear on the joints of the splitboard. Would you suggest strictly using it for backcountry / pre / post season stuff where the hiking is needed?

[Sombeech]

And another.... How do they work as just keeping them in Ski form if you just feel like skiing back down rather than boarding?

[ibenick]

I had a Voile split for a couple years and ended up selling it and did a split conversion to an Arbor A-Frame which I still have. I pretty much use it as glorified snowshoes which it is great for and WAY funner/easier than actual snowshoes. I typically just go kick around in the trees with the dogs and then have a short but fun powder run to finish the day. Nothing beacon-worthy or anything.

They feel just as durable as any other board when in the board configuration but I would keep it solely for the backcountry and hiking runs. I imagine riding hard packed snow might be be weird on it but I've never done anything but powder on mine.

As far as whats better, factory split or conversion split, I think the conversion is best solely because it's so much cheaper. You won't have a metal edge on the inside which I've been told can be an issue but I don't really see how if you aren't trying to ski in them. And speaking of skiing in them, don't plan on it. It might not be too bad in small doses for someone who can telemark but I found it to be extremely difficult to just drop down small hills. But then again, I don't ski at all so....

[tmartenst]

I agree that you should plan to only use the split when in the backcountry or sidecountry that requires uphill. I've only used it in the resort once (last year) at Snowbird since we were heading out sidecountry through the White Pine gate and we were skinning back up after our first run. I accidentally left my helmet at the ski patrol shack and had to take resort turns after I picked it up. It wasn't horrible but definitely not as good as a board made for resort riding. There are ways to reinforce your deck if you need more stability as well. My buddy has a solution he but together from the hardware just using a long screw and bolts.

I also agree that skiing on a split is horrible. I skied for years so I know what to do but it is very awkward on a split. It has to do with your bindings hinging and also with one side of your edges being completely straight.

As mentioned above, the do-it-yourself option is much cheaper so if you aren't committed to getting out often, that is the way to go. If you are using an old board which you aren't including in the cost, your difference is probably $200 (splitting, hardware, skins) vs. $800-$1000 for a factory split ($300-$800 used).

Posted the FB conversation below for reference :).

[LIST][*]Thomas Martens One of the best investments I've made. Bootpacking sucked!Yesterday at 10:40pm

[abirken]

?

I guess I'm thinking of carving hard and if that would wear on the joints of the splitboard. Would you suggest strictly using it for backcountry / pre / post season stuff where the hiking is needed?

The guys I know that use split boards that they've converted themselves are hardcore back country boarders. Deep carving, crazy jumps and speeding through trees. They are out about 3-4 times a week, all season long. They also do rounds; hiking up, coming down, hiking up, coming down sometimes up to 3 times a session. But then again, they've used their old boards to convert or have purchased old, used boards at the end of the season for the purpose of converting.

The board I used last year felt great and I boarded down the mountain with no problem; it felt solid. I can say that I wasn't a fan of having to put it together and also peeling the skins off once I arrived at the top of my destination. I was by myself and didn't realize how hard skins are to get off. UGH! My hands were cold and having to also get my boots on, pack on, etc....I guess if I were to do it more often, I would get a method down. But it was a whole new concept to me the couple times I went. Good luck!

[stefan]

for a bit of utah/snowboarding trivia, the splitboard was invented by brett kobernik aka cowboy who's an avalanche forecaster for the utah avalanche center and he worked with voile to further develop the prototypes of it.

i thought this was a very cool bit of history when i learned about this from kobernik who talked about it a bit at an avi course i took a while back with friends of the utah avalanche center. but i thought it was great that the powderwhores' included this in their recent film which i've embedded below

[Dr. Nebz]

I'll be up on my brand new split this morning. TR coming soon!

[skiclimb3287]

I'll be up on my brand new split this morning. TR coming soon!

Hope you were safe out there today!

I counted 10 avalaches listed on the avy website today . I thought about getting out, but instead just took a drive up to Alta (uh-oh...I said the four letter word in a snowboarding thread ) to pick up our passes. It was INSANE how many people were out. Two injuries reported while we were there. One was the skier caught on Gunsight who broke his femur. Apparently people were dropping in after watching slides break away. there are even accounts of people being injured in slodes and then having others drop in on top of them only to set off additional slides. It is backcountry people, there is no avy control yet!!!!!!!

[tmartenst]

It wasn't a smart day to be in the backcountry at all....but I also made the mistake of going. Witnessed a slide (and got video) of a single guy dropping in from the top of Stonecrusher at Alta which is a steep gully. We were on our second lap and my skin was giving me issues so I got off the trail and he passed us. At which time we told him to play it safe because we had heard whumphing and propagated small cracks ourselves on the first run. We backed away from our intended run and did something safer but in retrospect we should have just left the mountain.

Video here:

[Dr. Nebz]

Hope you were safe out there today!

I counted 10 avalaches listed on the avy website today . I thought about getting out, but instead just took a drive up to Alta (uh-oh...I said the four letter word in a snowboarding thread ) to pick up our passes. It was INSANE how many people were out. Two injuries reported while we were there. One was the skier caught on Gunsight who broke his femur. Apparently people were dropping in after watching slides break away. there are even accounts of people being injured in slodes and then having others drop in on top of them only to set off additional slides. It is backcountry people, there is no avy control yet!!!!!!!

Jaime Pierre died today in Gad Valley at Snowbird. He was caught and killed in a slide.

Story here: http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148...essional-skier

I saw the forecast on the UAC site at 7 am this morning. We were originally slated to tour Collins, but moved our plans to the Sugarloaf. More of a west-facing descent than Collins which is due North in the gut, and both shoulders are NW and E facing which were forecasted as "considerable" with faceting and poor bonding above 10,000 feet. Up to 10,000 ft west facing was green lighted. Plus, the trails have been machine worked up by the Sugarloaf. So we toured up just below the Sugarloaf and rode west from there. It was a great day, but sad to hear of an avalanche death this early in the season. Condolences to Pierre's family.

It was my surmise back in October with our early snowfall and then the warming we had, and long days with no new snow, that hoaring was going to occur, and this would weaken any new snow we got once winter decided to get its ass here. I would be very careful out there and watch that forecast on the UAC and travel appropriately. I image you are gonna see, until the layers heal, a lot of activity everywhere this season.

[Dr. Nebz]

Jaime Pierre died today in Gad Valley at Snowbird. He was caught and killed in a slide.

Story here: http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148...essional-skier

Here is the preliminary report from the UAC site of the accident:

http://utahavalanchecenter.org/accid...alley_11132011

Looks like they were either in the north section of Gad Chutes or Wilbere Bowl. 16" deep slide, 200 ft wide slab.

[tmartenst]

Good deals on KSL right now. A few options at $400 is solid.

http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=231...rch=splitboard

[dentedvw]

No doubt, some good deals there. I am sorry I didn't wait longer.

[Dr. Nebz]

This is the one on that list that I would scoop up if I were shopping for a splitboard.

http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=218...rch=splitboard

[tmartenst]

This looks like a good local option for help splitting an old board.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/RPs-C...80651591971043