The Official quiver thread

[benjinyc]

I did not like solid pucks feel, but I ride mostly hardpack and ice. karakorams felt better

tbf I dont know if that's because the spark binding I used was metal baseplate versus the plastic/nylon Karakoram

[casjcade]

Canted pucks on backfoot makes it better, but that's an investment too. Karakoram has those bushings and the active joining that is just better for riding than pucks, but otherwise, pure alu foot trays feel the same.

[kieloa]

I'v ridden my split on piste last winter and it was ok. Just wondering if I could save weight and travel only with one bindings..

[casjcade]

Could take two different highback flexes, different straps if needed and those foam pads too to have some options. But yeah, it works fine, besides cosmetic 90-00's marks from the pucks.

[sunokeru]

I have kind of fallen out of the habit of trying lots of new boards and turning over the quiver - in fact, I have shrunk my core quiver down to these 4 boards which have probably accounted for >90% of my riding over the last two seasons.
Ultracraft has been replaced with a Gentemstick for this year but I do not see myself making any other big changes.

Nice quiver! How's the solid pucks? Wondering if I should buy for travelling.

Solid pucks kinda dig into the topsheet laquer. Karakoram version is better, besides stacking boards on those spikes. If you have puck bindings and want to save weight, it's ok. I've traveled with a split and two solids like that.

Never had the problem of the solid pucks digging into the top sheet - the edges are nicely rounded, so there is no stress concentration/riser.

Issue is more the board feel and flex...or lack thereof. You are putting a stiff, all-metal binding on top of a pretty solid lump of plastic that is attached to the board with a rigid aluminium disk that has almost no flex.
The whole contraption is pretty responsive and can be precise but can also feel clunky, not very playful. Also lacks any type of shock absorption unless you have the footbed foam in the Sparks (which is still quite minimal).

Overall it works very well in that it lets you easily and quickly share the bindings between different boards, without having to worry about stance angles, etc. But the the ride feel that it works far better with a stiff, plankish board that you want to get onto the edge, rather than something flexy and playful.

[Shredder]

if @Shredder is anything like me; bring several boards and if conditions are good then grab the same one as always that I know I'll have fun on.

If conditions are meh, I'll do the A,B,C testing back to back on boards to try and sort out the differences in how they ride. I typically give a board a couple different rides. If a new board doesn't spark more joy than the one I already love, then pretty often I'll move it along, buy something else and repeat the process.

Once in a while I hit on something that just does the damn thing and is hard to beat. Those are a keeper until something unseats them.

Typically then the keepers get used and abused until they're beat into retirement and then hang up in the rafters.

But that's just me.

@benjinyc

Yeah it’s a hard one.. I really don’t need all these boards, but having a fair bit overlap, I can just grab what I want depending on the conditions and be pretty happy. I somewhat agree with what @cfuzzy says above!

[sunokeru]

I did not like solid pucks feel, but I ride mostly hardpack and ice. karakorams felt better

tbf I dont know if that's because the spark binding I used was metal baseplate versus the plastic/nylon Karakoram

I think the Sparks and metal Karakorams are pretty similar in many ways. Metal cages/prison cells for the feet... Pretty much inevitable for good touring performance.

I think an advantage of the Karakorams is that they sit closer to the board because the binding attachment happens within the baseplate, while part of the baseplate of the Sparks sits on top of the pucks.