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vood00
Aug 20, 2003, 6:05 PM
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Registered: Nov 11, 2002
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Ok, I snowboard and we are planning a backcountry trip. I really don't want to carry my board up and snowshoes down. I've started looking into splitboards and was wondering what are some of the better ones, and how do they work. Do you wear snowboard boots with them? tele? AT? What is actually involved in converting from touring ---> boarding, and do they have the heel lifters and all the other doo-hickies that make touring/climbing easier. Thanks
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maculated
Aug 20, 2003, 6:17 PM
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Registered: Dec 23, 2001
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I don't know crap about snowboarding, but it is my understanding that the kits are best deals around. You do it yourself. They have pivoting bindings and you are able to use your normal boots therein. They don't have any of the stuff (heel elevators, etc) that AT or Tele setups have, though.
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climbingjunky
Aug 20, 2003, 6:20 PM
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Registered: May 9, 2002
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How is this climbing related? :roll:
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jedidiah_night
Aug 20, 2003, 6:37 PM
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Registered: Aug 18, 2003
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i guess the question should be what are you trying to do.. when i am out i have chosen to hike my damn board up and hike in my snowboard boots.. that way i don't have to carry extra boots not needed.. unless you want to be one of those damn gear junkies who brings and 80 pound pack everywhere he goes just in case.. cut everything down.. if your motivation like mine is, is to get the sweetest ride you can, haul you heavy ass board up the mount.. if you are just looking for an effective way to get around and down the mountain quick.. go with the splitter.. them make some really nice ones.. i have never rode one.. but there is a reason that every board doesn't have a split in it.. your gonna get better performance out of a really long really stiff board.. not a splitter.. but like i said the splitters are great for getting around..
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killclimbz
Aug 20, 2003, 6:42 PM
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Registered: May 6, 2000
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I picked up a Voile 166 Split Decision last year. To sum it up, it rocks! Worked well in touring mode and was very solid in snowboard mode.
One of the nice things about the setup is that it works with whatever binding you like. Plates, step-in, straps. So yes you can wear your snowboard boots with the setup. You mount the bindings on slider tracks. The slider's slide over brackets (set to the angles of your choice) on each ski. Then a pin goes through the front of the slider to lock it in place. There is a touring bracket that the plate fits into on each ski. Just slide the pin through get into your binding and you are in touring mode. Check out www.voile-usa.com for more info.
I never had any equipment failure though I did buy some spare parts to carry in my pack just in case. The skins seem to be well made and climb pretty well. I noticed that I could skin up stuff quite as steep as other people on ski's. I think it has to do a little with where the touring mode binding is located. I don't think it is over the sweet spot on the ski. If you are going to climb steep stuff, get the climbing crampons with your set up. There is a riser bracket though it only has one height. It would be nice if you could select from a couple of different heights. Not that big of an issue though. The ski setup is not meant to take any serious downhill. Little short very low angle glides are okay, but if it is something you are going to have to turn on it's probably time to go to snowboard (I'm sure the brackets for touring would break) mode. It takes <5 minutes to covert the set up once you get used to it.
The real pain is getting the board ready for your first day of use. The brackets the sliders go over need a lot of adjusting and fine tuning to get system right. It took me about 3 hours to get the dang thing at the stance and angles I wanted with a solid connection. Getting the slider plate set to where it doesn't move and you can get the pin in and out easily is not a small feat.
As far as riding goes the board is surprisingly stiff torsionally. I really can't tell much of a difference from a regular board than the split. I've ridden on miles of hardpack without a problem. It takes on steeps just as good as anything I've rode on.
The Burton model is also supposed to be pretty good. The main complaint I have heard is that locking mechanism can freeze up making it very hard to get it back in board mode. The skins are supposed to be crap also. In addition you have to buy the skins as an extra purchase, where as they come standard with the Split Decision. I do not know of any other companies producing split boards at this time.
To sum it up Splits are a little pricey but you get a good bang for your buck with one of these. It sure beats the hell out of carrying your board on your back and snowshoeing.
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trbrts
Aug 20, 2003, 6:47 PM
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Registered: Nov 4, 2002
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Voile sells boards and the kits so that you can split your own board:
http://www.voile-usa.com/...rds/splitboards.html
Burton has also gotten into the game:
http://www.burton.com/...cts.asp?productID=31
word on the street is that the burton design is too complicated. The voile is very simple. Also I think the Voile is quite a bit cheaper. You can either put your regular strap snowboard bindings, or you can use plate bindings that work with hard shell boots. Some people even put their step in setups on them. Personally I like feeling of strap bindings and soft boots.
If you want to snowboard in the back country there is no better tool.
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seeking8a
Aug 20, 2003, 7:43 PM
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Registered: Sep 5, 2002
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I have Voile 182 and I love it. I would not reccomend sawing an old snowboard, you can get Voiles cheap at the end of the season. I live in SLC, UT so my main interest is deep powder and the board works great. I have not ridden it on hard pack but then again I go ice climbing when the snow sucks. I have seen people stay in split mode and ski everything except the really big runs so I disagree with the guy that said the bindings would break if you ski. The Voile boards have edges on all four sides meaning that each side is a fully functional ski. There is a lot of speculation as to the best setup for split boards as far as what type of boots to wear. I am currently using an old pair of snowboarding boots and crappy straps but I want to switch over to some sort of quick release system. If you get caught in an avalanche you want to be able to clip out.
Trent
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killclimbz
Aug 20, 2003, 8:34 PM
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In reply to: I have seen people stay in split mode and ski everything except the really big runs so I disagree with the guy that said the bindings would break if you ski.
Why would you want to ride in ski mode anyway? I know that Voile warns against this and the brackets certainly are not nearly as strong as tele bindings. All you have to do is compare. To each his own I guess.
In reply to: The Voile boards have edges on all four sides meaning that each side is a fully functional ski.
Which is really nice for side stepping up stuff and traveling over varied terrain in general.
In reply to: There is a lot of speculation as to the best setup for split boards as far as what type of boots to wear. I am currently using an old pair of snowboarding boots and crappy straps but I want to switch over to some sort of quick release system. If you get caught in an avalanche you want to be able to clip out.
This is a current worry of mine also. If you should get caught in a slide an snowboard is an anchor dragging you under. Unfortunately no binding system is releasable. Some step-in's have been rigged with a quick release cord. Looks clumsy at best. There is a releasable binding of sorts for snowboarding. www.millersnowboard.com has them. They make some safety claims that really have no basis, but in general I believe this is a solid product. The problem with this is on a split board you are already elevated on your board due to slider tracks and so forth. That part is nice, but adding these releasables to your setup would easily double the height. I am not sure if they would be compatable or not with a split anyhow.
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telluryan
Aug 20, 2003, 10:02 PM
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Registered: Sep 30, 2002
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The Burton is the only way to go. Super easy to breakdown/ assemble and stability is great. Only problem is that it is not that wide for those of us w/ big feet. That can be a drag, literally...
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madturtle
Aug 20, 2003, 11:03 PM
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Registered: Aug 8, 2002
Posts: 165
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I don't know a whole lot about snowboarding but check out this thread. bcrider is the afficianado as far as I'm concerned.
http://www.telemarktalk.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?topic=10173&forum=1&46
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killclimbz
Aug 22, 2003, 5:37 PM
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Registered: May 6, 2000
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In reply to: The Burton is the only way to go. Super easy to breakdown/ assemble and stability is great. Only problem is that it is not that wide for those of us w/ big feet. That can be a drag, literally...
I assumed that this wasn't a problem with the Burton Model but I guess it is. This is not a problem with the Voile model because you are slightly elevated off the deck which pretty much solves the toe drag problem. I wear a size 11 boot and do not have any problems with toe drag on my Voile.
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sharpie
Aug 22, 2003, 7:52 PM
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Registered: Nov 8, 2002
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I have a Burton split board, I've ridden it for one season (maybe 10-15 days in the BC).
A few observations to pass on:
Pros:
-Obviously- you can xcounty ski in touring mode, and snowboard downhill.
-They climb reasonably well, and should since the skins are super wide.
-Assembly is not that bad, unless you're doing it on the wayward side of a mountain in sub-0 temps with a stiff wind and wet gloves (then it sucks).
-Very stable when in snowboard mode, really no difference from a regular snowboard.
-Since you use regular snowboard bindings, you can use regular snowboard boots, if you choose to, I personally ride in mountaineering boots.
Cons:
-Price
-Quality, the board is solid, some of the plastic connective mechanisms have not been. Have had at least three breakage issues. Burton has fixed my problems and they tell me that these issues have been addressed and eliminated in the new split boards. We’ll see.
-In ski mode your skis are much wider than normal skis, so it is difficult to ride in established nordic tracks, which means you're pretty much breaking trail all day regardless of whether your in front or in back of the rest of your party.
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braaaaaaaadley
Aug 22, 2003, 7:57 PM
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Registered: Dec 9, 2002
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http://www.telemarktalk.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?topic=10173&forum=1&46
Ttips kicks a$$!
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camhead
Aug 22, 2003, 7:59 PM
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Registered: Sep 10, 2001
Posts: 20939
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excuse me, but I believe that this is ROCKclimbing.com, not some dumbassed excuse for an "it's all good" kind of snow chasing hippie tele split board "ewww look at me I can camp out in a goddamned yurt" kind of poopoo head to spray about his ...
what were you talking about again?
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braaaaaaaadley
Aug 22, 2003, 8:30 PM
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Registered: Dec 9, 2002
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Dont joke it untill you try it... and i am not talking about snowboarding.
If it were easy they'd call it snowboarding...
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killclimbz
Aug 22, 2003, 8:37 PM
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Registered: May 6, 2000
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In reply to: Dont joke it untill you try it... and i am not talking about snowboarding. If it were easy they'd call it snowboarding...
If it was boring they would call it telemarking...
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felixthecat
Aug 22, 2003, 9:42 PM
Post #17 of 18
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Registered: Feb 14, 2002
Posts: 59
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i have both a voile splitkit and a burton split. there are pros and cons to each model. i go with voile split if going on really long trips due to breakage issues. never had anything break. downfall is because its a splitkit it lacks an inside edge or for that matter an outside edge since you reverse them in ski mode. this can bring problems when going out with teleskiers cause they leave you in the dust on icy traverses due to superior edges. also voile models are generally not stiff which you want since the board is being split in two. it can have problems on some traverses and manuevers. however, some people really like a softer board.
the burton model i came by me this winter due to being fed up with icy traverses, early season/spring. i got a deal but if i didnt there is no way id buy it. they are a rip-off. just seeing how its made using a splitkit makes you realize this. i feel that the quality is far more superior that the voile/voile splitkits due to construction, having four edges and the ride itself. it works on hard pack but isnt the same as my own board for the mtn. the downsides: as mentioned above, the plastic is the real weaklink. and you need to spray dw40/silicone into the binding plates in order to have real easy switch over in really cold temps(15 degrees or less). I just carry x-tra parts to do the fix if need be.
overall the rewards outweigh the cons, the fact you can go places where only skiers could access in reasonable time. being able to make descents that were unaccessable by snowboards before. and by the way, sure if its easy it would be called snowboarding, but skis are for short little fat kids.
jen
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killclimbz
Aug 22, 2003, 9:47 PM
Post #18 of 18
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Registered: May 6, 2000
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In reply to: i have both a voile splitkit and a burton split. there are pros and cons to each model. i go with voile split if going on really long trips due to breakage issues. never had anything break. downfall is because its a splitkit it lacks an inside edge or for that matter an outside edge since you reverse them in ski mode. this can bring problems when going out with teleskiers cause they leave you in the dust on icy traverses due to superior edges. also voile models are generally not stiff which you want since the board is being split in two. it can have problems on some traverses and manuevers. however, some people really like a softer board. the burton model i came by me this winter due to being fed up with icy traverses, early season/spring. i got a deal but if i didnt there is no way id buy it. they are a rip-off. just seeing how its made using a splitkit makes you realize this. i feel that the quality is far more superior that the voile/voile splitkits due to construction, having four edges and the ride itself. it works on hard pack but isnt the same as my own board for the mtn. the downsides: as mentioned above, the plastic is the real weaklink. and you need to spray dw40/silicone into the binding plates in order to have real easy switch over in really cold temps(15 degrees or less). I just carry x-tra parts to do the fix if need be. overall the rewards outweigh the cons, the fact you can go places where only skiers could access in reasonable time. being able to make descents that were unaccessable by snowboards before. and by the way, sure if its easy it would be called snowboarding, but skis are for short little fat kids. jen
I'm sure on a split kit you would suffer some stiffnes and have more flex. The actual Voile boards are quite stiff and have all four edges. Pretty much the same as a Burton Split. Fact is a softer flex = easier powder riding. The nose of your board floats above the snow. Too stiff of a board and you'll have more problems submarining.
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