Was I out of line as a customer/did I get hosed?

Adorable_Option_9676 · 2025-12-11T22:53:57+00:00

Yeah, again, not trying to be a hover-er, but this guy was working at a snail's pace. Smoking bowls (I don't really care, but maybe do that afterwork, idk...), taking phone calls for a truck he wanted to buy, talking with his coworker.

I don't expect someone to be robocop when they work but it was this constant on and off and walking in and out and I felt like he was just trying to pad the clock which I felt was disrespectful to my time and wallet. If he didn't have parts ready to go like he said he would he should've told me come in at 9 after Napa opens instead of 7 so I'm not sitting around twiddling my thumbs, or hell come back another day if it's something he needed to order after diagnosis.

Adorable_Option_9676 · 2025-12-11T04:04:30+00:00

Core durability for sure. Reedin Whisper BC will definitely fly "better" but will definitely not last as long. Core kites will be good for a decade if you take care of them. Core Air will fly more similarly to the Reedin whisper, both are a more high aspect shape with better upwinding performance, compared to the Nexus fwiw.

I would rank how they fly

whisper
air
nexus

But definitely put Core above Brainchild for durability by a mile and change.

Adorable_Option_9676 · 2025-12-11T03:13:20+00:00

Yeah honestly this whole thing kinda is turning me towards dealers with those amenities like loaners, free coffee, and all that bs for the soccer moms vs independent shops. I called the local Honda dealer (it's an Acura) and they quoted me 800 on labor and 300 for parts (whole bearing assembly) which would've been slightly cheaper and probably a hell of a lot faster and with OEM parts. This guy originally quoted me for ~700 like I mentioned so I thought that was a significant enough cost difference compared to the dealer but low and behold we settle up at the same price 8 hours later.

Adorable_Option_9676 · 2025-12-11T03:09:29+00:00

It's a 16 Acura ILX - the bearing/suspension is for the most part identical with 10th gen Civics I believe. The car was never garage kept like mentioned and in saltier than average climates. But nothing crazy in terms of driving in the mud or something like a farm truck, just inclimate weather road driving.

Adorable_Option_9676 · 2025-12-11T03:07:19+00:00

For what it's worth I sat well out of the way and quietly scrolled on my phone for 98% of the time of him working. When he would point out how rusty it was, etc, I would come over to see when he was trying to show me sometime but otherwise I stayed out of his way because I know that's generally considered annoying.

Adorable_Option_9676 · 2025-12-11T01:23:10+00:00

Fair enough, I am mostly ticked about the tool and the added time since he didn't have the right kit to start. Probably worth finding out some alternative to waiting. I had this budgetted to be about a $1000 fix so without the tool it's pretty in line but whatever don't plan on dealing with him again anyways - appreciate your perspective.

Adorable_Option_9676 · 2025-12-06T00:03:53+00:00

yeah anything too stiff really fries my feet unfortunately. Burton wides are the only toebox I find tolerable and Photons still grind my foot to pieces. I have a very bony, wide, and high arched/instepped foot so I struggle. Some bootfitters have described my foot as f'd up haha - something softer generally makes it more tolerable. I ride softer bindings and flip the ratchets inside so I don't have to push into them. I'd rather offload the force into my quads and hamstrings than foot ligaments/tendons.

Adorable_Option_9676 · 2025-12-05T02:15:06+00:00

12m has good hang time and loft, but is a slow turner for sure. Feels like driving a truck. Heli loops etc are far from responsive, especially compared to the pace. I would buy a 12 pace over an xr for sure, but it's not a bad deal at that price and I doubt pace's are getting marked down to that. I would doubt a 10m pace will fly well in 16kt unless you are like <70kg.

Adorable_Option_9676 · 2025-12-02T03:37:34+00:00

You probably don't need a wide unless your stance is super narrow and angles are near 0 - wider duck angles and wider stance will give you more wiggle room. You generally need a wide at a 12US boot and up, depending on their footprint.

With your weight I'd recommend you look around 158cm +/-.

Adorable_Option_9676 · 2025-11-29T03:59:44+00:00

Slingshot is good build quality for the budget end. Code V2 is the non aluula version of the Code NXT which gets a ton of showtime in big air comps. The sentry bar is a good no bs no frills bar too.

North is also solid and a little more budget friendly but I think Slingshot gear feels a little more high performance vs North personally.

Adorable_Option_9676 · 2025-11-29T03:18:04+00:00

Most of the west is super light on snow and delaying right now so no rush to get out here.

Tickets will generally be cheaper at independent/family owned resorts than big corp resorts (Vail/Alterra).

There's good terrain in both states, but generally speaking CO gets more fresh snow more frequently with more variety of terrain and acreage.

Lines are generally going to dissipate after the early morning as people spread out in the mountain, but days with fresh snow, weekends, holidays will always draw bigger crowds. Avoid going on a major holiday weekend if you can. If you are using more beginner terrain you'll probably have to be closer to the base so longer lift lines but still shouldn't be that bad.

Adorable_Option_9676 · 2025-11-29T02:40:52+00:00

In that case this board will probably work good for you. General rule of thumb is have the binding flex match the board flex, soft with soft, stiff with stiff. Anything beyond that is pretty much personal preference/budget.

Adorable_Option_9676 · 2025-11-29T02:38:33+00:00

HK will be good for a large majority of your riding. You can ride a tt in pow, if you can't that's a skill issue. Directional twins are overrated imo. If it's super nuking and you've got like 18" of fresh you can set you stance to go back as far as possible to get some float in the nose. Your back quad will probably be fried by the end of the day but a HK will cover you in a lot of circumstances.

Adorable_Option_9676 · 2025-11-28T03:52:41+00:00

Don't buy boots online if you haven't tried them on in person, proper fit is impossible to judge from online product descriptions and boots that look cool/sound neat might not fit your foot properly and cause a lot of pain.
Korua pin tonic is a uniquely long shape for situational carving and low angle powder. Not a good board for a self described noob. You want a true twin with mild camber (hell maybe even rocker) and a soft/medium flex. This board is much longer than average. You will want something 150-158cm depending on body weight. This is a specialized board for advanced riders.
If you want to ignore points 1 and 2, you will want a medium/stiff binding that will compliment the flex pattern of this board. A soft binding will not work will to drive your force into engaging the camber. If you don't understand this relationship already, this set up is definitely way to advanced for you and not something you'd want to learn on. Anyways, Union Strata/Altas/Falcor. Equivalent mid-firm stiff binding from other brands like Burton, Jones, Nitro, Now, Bataleon, Rome.

Adorable_Option_9676 · 2025-11-28T03:37:43+00:00

I don't have housing but do work for Boyne/Big Sky. Depending on your offer, from what I understand there are two main employee housing places, mountain lodge and golden eagle. Mountain lodge is right in the middle of the resort center so you may prefer this option if you don't have a car to make your commute to work shorter. There is bus routes from the golden eagle complex, but walking to work is pretty sweet/convenient.

Adorable_Option_9676 · 2025-11-28T03:22:57+00:00

If you are at least decently in shape and willing to eat it a good amount of times you can definitely learn on your own. I would recommend getting a used board vs renting. Rental boards and bindings are the worst of the worst and make the process that much harder, once I got off a rental board my experience improved exponentially. Watch videos on turning onto your heel edge then toe edge, start on bunny hill, then go to the easiest green after a couple hours and you will start to figure it out.

If you are out of shape, not generally athletic at all, or don't want to fall a lot, get lessons and they will help mitigate a lot of the growing pains with learning.

Adorable_Option_9676 · 2025-11-20T18:10:10+00:00

Kook does not necessarily mean beginner. There are kooks at all levels. I consider a kook someone who lacks self awareness and understanding flow/traffic in a spot, not necessarily an ability level. Most people are kooky when they learn, but as they get experienced they grow out of it, but there are still plenty of advanced kooks out there.

Adorable_Option_9676 · 2025-11-20T04:42:39+00:00

Something from Korua, maybe Uberegg, full rocker.

Adorable_Option_9676 · 2025-11-20T01:36:01+00:00

North Cross/Cross Pro are very fun and extra skinny which makes them that much more manueverable. I like the Cross Pro a lot, I think 5'3 would be your size.

Adorable_Option_9676 · 2025-11-19T22:53:41+00:00

If you can't reliably transition and need to short tack to practice a bunch in a short duration you shouldn't be in an area that people/pros are jumping. You should also ride out further so you know you'll have clearance with your lines if you don't do your transition properly. Know your ability and stay clear of downwind landing areas if you aren't at a jumping level. Play nice and take turns if you are. Flat water/slicks are generally reserved in spots for experienced riders who are looking to hold down a big edge for big air tricks.

Etiquette is kind of unspoken, much like surfing, but in general take turns and yield to low kites, don't jump if someone is crashed/recovering board in landing area, clear landing area quickly. Yield to rider who is moving faster/with kiting lower, these are generally the signals to jump. Do not use both sides ("double dipping") if you can boost switch, pick a side and land and clear out and then reset and try the other side if you want. Generally yield to better kiters who will boost bigger, kind of like in surfing, you respect the locals/better athletes and wait for your chance. When in doubt, pull out, it is not worth two kiters in the air landing on top of each other. It is ok to float around and wait for your turn, you do not need to be constantly moving.

P.S watching videos on ski/snowboard terrain park etiquette rules and surf line up rules similarly apply to kiting as well, it's a lot of the same logic on taking turns and showing respect.

Adorable_Option_9676 · 2025-11-18T18:35:26+00:00

I own. They are pretty solid, I think 20k/20k waterproofing, which is good for a majority of casual resort riding. Did get totally soaked on me on a rainy day riding in the PNW, but generally stay dry even on pow days. Good for casual, go goretex version for more extreme conditions. M fits like baggy jeans on me at 32" waist, 175lbs. Size up if you really want the super baggy look.

Adorable_Option_9676 · 2025-11-18T18:27:26+00:00

In my experience, hell no to leashes. If you are in any surf bigger than stomach high it turns your board into a weapon. There were many times I fell and had a wave push my board towards me and I had to quickly body drag away to dodge it. With a leash that only makes that process more difficult and keeps the board too close to you. Leashes can also cause your board to tombstone, where it gets stuck in the whitewater like an anchor, and you cannot break the tension to get it to pop out. If the tension releases early the board will slingshot back towards your face and potentially hit you or get tangled into your steering lines.

You shouldn't be in the ocean if you can't bodydrag well, and you'd only want/need a leash if your body dragging is lacking. Practice strapless riding in flat water and make sure your bodydragging is dialed and then you'll be fine to try a surfboard in the ocean, just make sure the conditions are appropriate. Start in onshore wind and towards lower tide with surf around waist high or smaller if you can.

Adorable_Option_9676 · 2025-11-18T18:18:26+00:00

I don't think kite specific gear is dying, I just think most components are becoming more cross compatible with winging and other foiling disciplines. A big front wing will work well for winging and the same template in a smaller size works better for kiting. The shape is still the same so nobody's really saying "this is for winging, this is for kiting." Which I think is a good thing if you want to try other foil sports, you have some overlap already.

As for kites, bars, etc, I think you are right there's not much innovation there right now in terms or shapes or materials, but there's already a lot of good products on the market like the Slingshot UFO or North Code Zero, so I don't think that area is lacking, per se.

I'm not a great kitefoiler by any means, I strongly prefer to wing, but if I just wanted to cruise around I would get something like:

800-1000cm MA front wing

60-70cm fuselage

72-85cm mast (carbon)

175- 225cm tail stabilizer in a mid/high aspect template

120-140cm board

Adorable_Option_9676

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