Comments on: The no-back experience

By: Fred

Fred — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 11:15:08 +0000

I been riding without highbacks this season and I went a step further I cut my boots so they are almost shoes. The reason for all this is because I’m a surfer and HATE the cast-like feel of snowboard boots! I won’t be going back the highbacks of normal snowboots EVER. Sure I work my legs more but the feel is so my freer.

By: HotCarl

HotCarl — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 21:23:44 +0000

Man i love snowboarding, but i cannot stand snowboarders.
Take the highbacks off, try it once, do whatever you like, jeez.
Quit overthinking everything.

By: Lobackmemories

Lobackmemories — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 01:29:32 +0000

the only thing i would say is watch out for your knees. If I remember correctly, everyone back in the lo-back era had more knee problems. It’s easy to hyper extend your knee and land on it locked if you don’t have a high back. That being said, our boots were way looser back then too. The burton stumpy’s and all that were like sorels.

By: PedroDelfuego

PedroDelfuego — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 18:06:58 +0000

Hallelujah Sister!!

I am late the thread, but early to the party. Its about comfort! The more comfortable you are, the better (and longer) you can ride. No-backs / Low-backs don’t change much when it comes to your riding. And the person who said you have to move your hips around doesn’t know what they are talking about (please reference where your “center” is with any martial artist or yogi). To turn without backs or w/ low-backs, you lean your shoulders back, not your hips. I have been riding this way for well over a decade. Inbounds, backcountry and anywhere in between. I currently rock Low-backs on all my boards including my split-board (see URL link). You are the pilot (thank you previous poster), and like Lance Armstrong says: “Its not about the bike.” The old guard of snowboarding did it all on very sketchy gear; try to ride a 20 year old board/binding/boot setup. They created the sport we love, and they did it without all the fancy bells and whistles.

And for any clowns out there with an opinion on my riding… Bring it. I have been riding steeps, crud and pow for a very long time. I have introduced countless people to the sport. We live in Colorado and ride all terrain and big mountains like Silverton too.

High-backs are a joke! Low-backs for life! Long live Ranquet!!!

http://splitboard.com/talk/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=8058&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&sid=fd194a3636277ee76afc83d8ba2696b2&start=13

By: A look back at my 2009-2010 season so far – Shayboarder.com

A look back at my 2009-2010 season so far – Shayboarder.com — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 14:36:16 +0000

[…] The no-back experience: How often does a snowboarder take off their highbacks and ride without them, just to try it out? For me it was twice this year to experiment with the no-back experience. The second time was doing it on camera to show that you can still snowboard like that. […]

By: Martin Beran

Martin Beran — Thu, 13 May 2010 16:25:42 +0000

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^like 🙂 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

pilot, airplane whatever man, im still getting some contrabands for next season

By: So Awesome

So Awesome — Tue, 11 May 2010 19:33:36 +0000

Shay, your lazy style is not conducive to flowing with the board or terrain. The words match your style. Not flowing, man. Your words treat this subject as if it’s a new fad. Many of us rode with no bindings for a long time…..bungee binders or nothing at all, imagine that…..”no boarding” well over 20 years ago. Whoop Dee Doo. I’ve discussed this topic with Ranquet ad nauseum. I’m no lucky leaner and it’s not that tough or different to ride with no highbacks. Why do all of you want to “try” it in the powder? You can’t tell any difference in the powder and you can easily compensate for lack of high backs in most conditions. People are way too uptight about their equipment and style to just go for it. Make whatever equipment you have work for you. It’s the pilot, not the plane. I’m too old and lazy to ride with no highbacks. I like being a pussy and not forcing my muscles to do the work.
Keep this in mind: there was a time when you needed to modify your snowboard in some way or you wouldn’t ride for very long. These days, people seem worried about changing color ways, forget about actual equipment changes or modifications. Admit it, it’s become a total pussy sport. Bunch of fucking cry babies looking for the right colors and steez, sideslipping their way to oblivion.

By: Shay

Shay — Sat, 08 May 2010 23:31:31 +0000

Wow interesting to hear all the different comments on the experience.

My best piece of advice is try it, on a easy run and see for yourself. I ride with no highback forward lean so it was an easy transition for me since I prefer not having that feeling doing the work for me.

By: Marcus

Marcus — Fri, 07 May 2010 11:56:30 +0000

The no-back experience was a great one for me. I rode 4 days straight without hibacks and I will never turn back. I ride hard and really love to dig deep into turns and frankly I had no problems adjusting to the great, looser feel of having no hibacks. Unfortunately I had no opportunity of riding powder but I really look forward to trying it out next season.

Being a devoted freerider I have always used a lot of forward lean to get the right response from the binding but taking the hibacks of is a totally different thing. The hell turn technique is obviously a bit different but when you have it dialed in you can carve just as good without hibacks as you can with them.

By: Christian

Christian — Thu, 06 May 2010 21:44:43 +0000

@lisevolution: I figured you would lose some of the shock absorption, I thought it might be cool to feel every little bump of the snow, and the flex of the board. I guess not so much.