September, 2009
Hey Dean
Hope you are well. Just wanted to drop you a note following first runs
with the board. It was a bit hard to set up 'action' shots as it got a
bit crowded but hopefully the notes and pics of the setup give a general
idea of how things went.
Overall the splitboard performed very well. We went to Thredbo, NSW,
Australia towards the end of August. The  splitboard was tested across
varied terrain from fresh powder, groomed hard pack and slush, and the
odd patch of ice and dirt. Unfortunately the runs with deeper powder
were a bit out of my  skill level so that will have to wait for the next
time.
On groomed runs, the ride was quite firm (as one would expect from the
board) and you’d be working your legs a bit with the bumps.
 On the icy patches, no particular problems with rigidity. Quite
impressive seeing as I didn’t have the pucks aligned flushed the first
time round and resulted in a bit of split. The plate bindings and 3
ying-yang hooks really helped hold things  together.
Most of the week was spent trying to find a binding setup to work (for
the given conditions).
 First setup was the Voile Mountain Plates with plastic mountaineering
boots (ASOLO AFS Evolucione). This setup probablywould have worked for
deep powder but on groomed runs, it’s very hard to get any edge on the
heel side … which leads to the second setup.
Second setup was the Voile Mountain Plates with plastic mountaineering
boots and a cord that clipped in from the toe bails to loop just below 
the knee. The cord setup was very ad hoc and essentially comprised of a
tea towel tied around the legs anchored to a shoelace with cable ties
and tied into a carabiner. The cord helped put some leverage on the heel
side and allowed to sit back without completely straining the shins.
Problem with the second setup was the strain on the boots. On the
heavier turns, the heel end of the boot sole would separate resulting in
the heel bail cutting into the boot resulting in a loose binding and the
 board just popping off. Having tried to superglue, and then epoxy and
gaffa tape the heel, I had to come to a stark conclusion that I will
have to get new bindings. In hindsight, the toe and heel bail setup
probably would have only worked with hard boots that have a one piece
molded construction.
 Third setup was the Voile Mountain Plates less the toe and heel bails
with softboot step-in bindings (Flow Flite). These worked very well.
Held the boot securely and were able to be attached to plates to retain
the touring mode function. As the bindings  were used on hard boots, lacing technique was particurly important to ensure the entire setup
doesn’t come off your feet on the lifts!
Hope this helps.
Pei Zhi
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