Looking for some advice. In the market for a new Splitboard and considering Yes OptiSplitStic 159 and Jones solution (162w).

What are peoples views on which is better. I’m 6”2, 87kgs and US12 boots.

The backcountry guide I go with swears by the Yes board over the Solution (as a close second).

Appreciate views from those that have tried both and sizing also.

Has anyone been up in the last week or so deeper into the bowl? Or any good spots still going that aren’t on rainier?

Used only one season 27.5-28, 300$ let me know if you want pictures.

My current ride is an Orca split which is so great in pow but for a variety of reasons I could write an entire post about, very "meh" elsewhere. Also hardboot compatibility with shifted boards is suboptimal. I'm looking to add something to my quiver for spring corn and shit volcano hardpack. If it can do pow/trees and be a do it all too, hey why not. 5'11, 215 lbs, 29 mondo hardboots (slippers).

From my research (and yes I've looked though all the posts similar to this one) I'm looking at:

• Weston Backwoods
• Cardiff Bonsai
• Cardiff Goat pro (probably carbon)
• Chimera Hermit

My first choice would probably be the Hermit but sadly it's sold out this season. It looks great for a volcano board and has ski tech toe compatible mounts which is awesome. Though it's huge (165w) and while I'm sure stable as hell I'm still a little concerned about quick turns on steeps and god help me if I get into trees. Its also wide which helps with one of my current issues with the phantom setup of the phantom bindings extending over the ends of the orca.

The other three all have excellent reviews online and from what I've found in this sub. I probably couldn't go wrong with any of them and the Cardiff's are currently on sale. But if anyone has some salient advice on my list choices I'd like to heard them.

One more thing is that the ride down is more important to me than the uphill. The Orca is notorious for being crappy on the uphill but with hardboots I've had zero issue (despite some crappy traverses that was probably more a skill issue than a board issue). I'm sure whichever board I get next will be fine too.

Has anyone had experience in modifying disruptive boots for extra stiffness? I know they offer a stiffer tongue which is no longer in stock and does not ship to my region. Any advice would be great, thanks

Hey Everyone,

I'm new here, but have read up on a lot of things because I wanted to switch to a hardboot setup from softboot touring. Today was my first tour with the freshly baked Phantom Slippers HD together with the Spark tech toe and binding. I already have a softboot binding setup from spark and used the same pucks. The experience was great, especially uphill, but I need some advice for downhill. 1. I have a back 6+ and front +22 stance, but I felt a lot of pressure on the outside of my backheel and on the front side along the small toe of the front. Should I reduce the angles? 2. Do you tighten the clips od the shoe before riding down? And loose on the uphill?

Thanks in advance for your help. Cheers Deschuele

Howdy. Interest in hardboots only seems to be growing, but not too many opinions out there from people who have tried both of the major options at the moment, so after owning a pair of Disruptives and demoing a pair of Slipper HD's I figure I would throw my hat into the ring.

To preface, I am firmly in the intermediate camp, So no hardcore objectives or particularly long uphill days yet on either boot. I am enjoying hardboots enough that I ride them exclusively in and out of bounds now, and I had the chance to lap a resort a couple of times before returning the Slippers.

With that out of the way, here is the rundown:

Fit: Both were tolerable out of the box as someone with a relatively neutral foot. The Disruptives are definitely wider, particularly in the toe box. The instep of the Slippers felt a little more forgiving(I'm assuming due to the cloth section) so my feet did get along better in that regard. Overall I think the difference in fit is not dramatic enough that it is a deciding factor, unless you have particularly wide feet that a bootfitter could not adjust for.

Function: This is a clear win for Phantom IMO. The Slippers just feel like a more legit finished product. The walk/ride mode of the Disruptives is manual, which does not sound like big deal until you try to flip them with cold fingers. The slippers by comparison are effortless due to the spring in the lever. The forward lean is also more adjustable on the Slippers, and the buckles offer a much more straightforward operation. The Velcro straps of the Disruptive do offer limitless adjustment, but at the cost of being finicky. It definitely takes a couple of tries to get the right amount of tension. The straps are also prone to to getting caked with snow, which does not effect function, but is annoying nonetheless.

The Up: I'm also gonna have to give it to Phantom on this one. The buckles make it easier to adjust if you don't want them wide open, and the lower weight is worth noting. While the additional weight of the Disruptives is not noticeable right away, the longer the day goes on the more apparent it becomes, especially when maneuvering on switchbacks.

The Down: The Disruptives ride better in my experience. The extra weight and the thicker liner make for a damper ride, and they offer more of a progressive feel in terms of flex. If you are trying to find a hardboot that rides more like a softboot, I think Disruptives hit closer to the mark. The Slippers have alittle more of a mechanical feel to them; The flex is much more linear...which is not a bad thing, just a different feel that I did not have enough time to decide whether or not I liked. The real problem I had with the demo Slippers is they came with medium weight(gold) springs, and at 190 lbs without gear and a preference for stiffer boots, I'm afraid that even the stiffest springs would not give me the stiffness I was looking for. Because the flex is reliant on the tongue with the Disruptives, I felt like the straps had more of an effect on how stiff the boots felt.

Availability: Phantom did the work to make these boots available to demo through a couple companies, as well as events like Splitfest (I know for sure that they were at FrontRange and Silverton splitfest, not sure about other states). This is a smart move as I think the price is a limiting factor for many, and getting to try them first is a big selling point. I don't think Key has any demos stateside at the moment, but one advantage of the Disruptives is they are available in some brick and mortar stores. To me this is a pretty big deal, as hardboots require a specific fit for some, and getting support for fit after purchase is something skiers harp on for good reason. The Phantom team is awesome and seem to be very responsive, so I am sure they can answer a lot of fit related questions, but the value of being able to get physical assistance with fit before you walk out of the store cannot be overstated, IMO.

I think that covers it for the most part. For now I'm sticking with the Disruptives with the intention of modding them and fine tuning the fit. I wish I had more time to experiment with the Slippers as I only had two days of light touring with them, but don't have the cash to invest in both atm. I also have spent some time riding the Phantom bindings and the Spark Dyno DH, but debating on whether or not that comparison is worth its own post. If yall have any specific questions I did not cover feel free to ask!

Hi y'all! The heel risers of my Charger leave marks on the board. I can live with it (so far), but be glad for input on how to protect the topsheet (besides buying Sparks or Kara). TIA!

Question first, then backstory: Any tips on skiing out in technical, rolling, and/or exposed terrain? Specifically narrow, roller-coaster trails that you can't simply ride down.

We skinned in about five of the six miles in to hit a gloriously long and steep line in a to-be-unnamed national park. It didn't freeze the night before and we got sent packing by rockfall and rollerballs.

Heading out, the trail was overall downhill but roller-coaster up and down the whole way, too much to just ride out. Skiing down was hell. Without skins it was way too technical, exposed, and fast, followed by duck walking up every 100m or so. With skins was worse, as they were herky-jerky on the down with the warmer snow.

I ended up riding out, unclipping every uphill section to post-hole to the next downhill. Hell. On. Earth. My crew was waiting for 45 minutes to hit the dirt and I was smoked.

Hi folks, I'm planning to update my splitboarding setup for next season and the benefits on the uphill combined with supposedly descend ride quality of Phantoms or Key Disruptives draws me to going hardboot.
I really enjoy getting some air too so I was wondering how this sort of setup would handle dropping cliffs and doing simple tricks like 360s or the occasional flip. Any experience would be much appreciated. Sorry if this was answered already somewhere.

I need some Colorado local splitters to give me some recommendations on a board. Decided not to buy a lift ticket next year so I'll be riding mostly low angle at Berthoud/RMNP in the early-mid snowboard season. What do you ride for stuff like upper 110s (not cliff section), perfect trees, banana bowls... etc. during these months. Been looking at stuff like the Hovercraft, mind expander, powgoda. Are these boards the right tools for the job? Currently on a Jones Frontier which while not ideal, gets the job done for shitty snow and dont feel the need to replace that just yet.

Hey everyone,

I just linked up with a group of experienced backcountry riders who are going to take me out next year. I want to use this summer to gear up and get prepared and need some advice.

What’s the best way to prep for avalanche safety courses, and do you have any course recommendations? I have my avalanche safety kit, but I still need to pick up a board, boots, bindings, and skins. Let me know if I’m missing anything!

Also, I’d love to hear about your go-to places for end-of-season deals and any cool second-hand shops. I’m near Seattle, for reference.

Thanks all! 🙏🏻

Anyone have any leads of a digital copy of the Craig Kelly let it ride movie?

I've splitboarded for two seasons now, and really wanted to get some bigger traverses done this year, so I switched to... skis.

And man, I was in over my head. I'm sure with more time I could get better, but as it stands I'm not great, and I don't enjoy it much either. Ended up doing two multi-day traverses on skis with some spicy downhills and decided that I much prefer snowboarding, and I'm at least pretty decent at it.

So I started exploring hardboots as an option. Would have loved to test them out before somehow, but that proved to be challenging up here in BC - not really anywhere to rent/demo. So I scoped out some end of season deals and ended up getting a full setup with the goals of getting something lightweight that I can do bigger days and traverses on.

Ended up going with Amplid milligram 163, spark dynos and canted pucks, spark toe pieces, and 2022 atomic backland carbon boots (no mods yet). Pretty sure I saved about 5lbs under foot on the way uphill from my soft boot setup.

First I took it to the resort yesterday to familiarize myself and fine-tune things, and it was a bit of a learning curve - but a few runs in I was actually getting pretty tuned in. Today I went into the backcountry with a bit of pow and some variable conditions. I loved the setup on the way up, and even on the way down I just felt like I was gaining more and more confidence. We had to exit through Whistler resort today, and ripping through the resort on the way out was an absolute blast.

Honestly, kind of bummed that the season is ending soon. Can't wait for next year!

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Anyone have any experience with a Burton hometown hero split (regular not the X version)? I found a good deal on one and I’m ready to pull the trigger.

Hey All,

I was wondering if anyone had insight into either of these boards. I am currently riding an Amplid Milligram, which I overall have been pretty happy with, but it is trashed and in need of a replacement. I am looking to replace it with either a Weston Carbon Backwoods or G3 Axle. I ride all types of terrain, but ski alot of couloirs and other technical terrain. I also value uphill performance as I do alot of traverses and longer trips. I am willing to sacrifice to go with a heavier board if there are significant differences in durability (although I know there is already a durability tax with carbon boards. Additional info: I am a heavy (200 pounds, probably 235 kitted out) aggressive rider. I also ride hardboots.

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Thanks for your thoughts!

Is there any pole out there that can perform well for splitboarding AND trail running? I have too many hobbies and am looking for ways to consolidate gear where I can.