telemark boots / teleboarding ?

[teleman!]

I'm a snowboarder. I've got a Burton Supermodel 181 with Clicker bindings and clicker boots. The boot setup is a little soft, but it works. I can carve the board a bit, but nothing like one could with hardboots. I've wanted hardboots for a long time.

I'm also an ex telemarker. I want to get back into it using T2X or TRace boots. I just bought some tele skis.

And then I found this stuff:

http://www.telemarktips.com/Teleboard.html

http://www.teleboardusa.com/productlist.cgi?prodtype=boards

http://www.teleboardusa.com/

So, the question becomes, can I use tele boots with or without a free heel on my Supermodel or on a carving board like a Burton prime ?

Has anyone done anything like this ?

I'm guessing it would depend on the angle the boots were mounted at ?

I can see it working on heelside turns with no problems. I think toeside turns would be the issue because the toe would just flex and the boot heel would lift off the board and not put it on edge.

If the boots were mounted at nearly forward angles, then moving the boots side to side would put the board on edge. But would there be enough leverage and would the binding be strong enough to get such a wide board on edge ?

I guess one could use race plates but again the boot angle would have to be nearly straight or the toe drag would be severe. For those that aren't aware, tele boots have a bit toe that sticks out to clamp it to the ski.

I like the idea of the heel being free on the snowboard to allow more rider movement.

What is the steepest angles that are used with conventional hardboots on a wider board ? How well do nearly forward angles work ?

My Supermodel is about 300-244-300 tip-waist-tail.

Any thoughts on this ?

Thanks.

[Skwalleur]

I just think anything loose go against the concept of carving...

[Phil]

Go to epicski.com and post this question on the snowboard forum. You should get a response from Telerod. He experiments with a bunch of this stuff.

[teleman!]

Thanks for the tip ! I'll try telerod at epicski.

[patmoore]

Interesting thought. I'm guessing it would be very difficult to use but who knows. Try it and let us know.

I demoed a Teleboard about four years ago and found it fun but I have enough toys. The one inviolable rule - you had to keep the front of the rear knee far enough forward where it made contact with the back of the front knee. Otherwise the the tip of the board wouldn't get enough contact with the snow and the you'd get sort of a shimmy effect.

When I used it properly it could carve well.

[bobdea]

are about as wide as a squal
they do carve!
not sure where you are but if you're on the east coast demos are easy to get on since they are in Conn
on top of that Martin and Eric are top notch guys!
try one!