Snowboarding Blog & Snowboard Reviews » Beginner’s Guide

Helmets Reduce the Risk of Head Injuries by 35%

Rami — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 15:44:22 +0000

Some suggest that helmets may increase the risk of neck injury in a crash or fall, particularly in children because of their greater head to body ratio.

Skiing and snowboarding are popular winter activities. Did you know that head injuries account for up to 19% and neck injuries up to 4% of all injuries reported by snow patrols and emergency departments? Traumatic brain injury is the leading cause of death and serious injury among skiers and snowboarders. I know a lot of riders don’t like helmets because they’re uncomfortable or they don’t look cool, but trust me, hospital beds are pretty uncomfortable and very uncool!

An analysis of 12 studies conducted in Europe, Asia, and North America, found that helmet use in recreational activities is beneficial. However, the authors were unable to determine the effect of the design, quality, or fit of the helmets.

“The use of helmets significantly protects against head injuries among skiers and snowboarders,” write Brent Hagel, Alberta Children’s Hospital, and coauthors. “Risks of head injury can be reduced by 35%…and between 2 and 5 of every 10 head injuries among helmet users could be prevented.”

I don’t need a study to tell me something so logical, but for those in denial or are on the fence about buying a helmet, I hope this is a good wake up call. Here’s a link to the scientific study on helmets and head injuries.

Ski and Snowboarding Goggles: Buying Guide

Rami — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 16:34:12 +0000

Ask and ye shall receive. Or something along those lines. I’ve gotten quite a few emails asking about ski and snowboarding goggles (say goggles 50 times…), what to get, what to look for, etc… So I put together this handy buying guide to help you find a good pair of snow goggles.

Generally speaking, your choice of goggles is pretty straight forward. Regardless of your riding style, how low hanging your snow pants are, or how funky your head gear is, goggles are goggles. Things to watch out for in snow goggles are:

Fit
Frame Features
Lens Features
Lens Colors Explained
Tips
Recommended Brands

Fit

Just like snowboarding boots, fit is very important. In fact, so important, brands have created ‘racial’ fit types for e.g. the ‘Asian Fit’.
Make sure there are no uncomfortable pressure points from the goggle outline pressing against your face. Generally speaking, good quality goggles use better designed foam lining that eliminate these pressure points.
Make sure there are no gaps between your skin and the goggle foam outline. Good goggles have air vents designed into them for a reason.
If you wear a helmet, make sure you try on the ski/snowboarding goggles with your helmet on. I didn’t do this with my first goggle purchase and ended up with goggles too big to fit with my helmet on – money down the drain.
Same goes for riders and skiers who need to wear prescription glasses under the goggles. Though, I highly recommend contact lenses or prescription snow goggles. It’s just so much more comfortable that way.

Frame Features

Good goggles have well designed foam outline made from good quality foam (Yes, there’s good foam and there’s bad foam!) The test: 1. Press on the foam outline with your thumb, hold for 5-7 seconds, and release. If the foam reverts back to its original shape in 2-3 seconds, then that’s good foam. If your thumb’s outline doesn’t disappear quick enough, then that’s bad quality foam.
Make sure your goggles have well designed and enough vents. These are foam covered air portals, to let air flow through the skiing goggle to keep them fog-free. Generally speaking, the more expensive a goggle is, the better their ventilation system is.

Lens Features

Double lenses prevent fogging and create a thermal barrier to keep you warm.
Cylindrical double lenses provide good optics for a reasonable price.
Spherical double lenses provide superior optics and fog-free vision.
Polycarbonate lens material is generally the most durable.
Look for an anti-scratch/anti-fog coating on the lenses.
Make sure the lenses provide 100% UV and blue light protection.

Note: Look at the packaging to tell which of the above the goggles have.

Lens Colors Explained

Clear lenses are best for extremely stormy conditions or for riding at night.
Lemon/yellow lenses are best for stormy conditions and overcast days since they increase contrast and brighten up the landscape.
Vermillon/pink lenses increase contrast in most conditions. This lens with a silver mirror is ideal for most riding conditions.
Citrus/orange lenses also increase contrast and are great for bright days. Choose an option with a mirror to get a darker lens for the brightest conditions.
Purple lenses are good in low-light conditions such as overcast and snowy days, because they bring out shadows and contours in flat light.
Modulator or photochromic lenses change from a light pink/orange to a dark pink/orange depending upon the light conditions. They are a very light, high-contrast color for stormy weather and dark enough for the brightest days.
Polarized lenses can cut the glare that reflects from snow or ice.

Tips

The better quality goggles are more expensive and a good pair will run you anywhere between $100-150. But it’s a good investment. You’ll just regret getting cheaper goggles, as you’ll just pay more in the long run having to replace them more frequently.
If you do a lot of park riding, considering investing in a cheaper goggles so you don’t worry too much about them getting knocked around.
Always store your goggles in their protective pouch.
Clean the outside of your goggle lenses with fresh water and a soft cloth
Never wipe the inside of your goggle lenses; it can damage the anti-fog coating. If you get snow/ice on the inside, shake them out, put them back on and keep riding. As you ride, the lenses will air-dry.
To keep your goggles from fogging, keep them on your face. Removing them while waiting in line for example can cause them to fog up, but don’t worry about that too much if the line is too long.
If you’re goggles do fog up, just keep them on, and ride. The ventilation system will clear them up in seconds.
Goggles with replacement lenses provide the benefit of being able to replace damaged lenses without having to pay for a whole new goggle.

5 Recommended Snow Goggle Brands

Spy Optic – www.spyoptic.com
Anon (currently using) - www.anonoptics.com
Oakley (currently using) – www.oakley.com
Smith Optics – www.smithoptics.com
Bolle – www.bolle.com

Snowboard Stance: The Ultimate Guide

Rami — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 19:13:41 +0000

Whenever I’m trying out a new snowboard I always like to play around with the stance. Whether I change the stance angles, width or setback, it can prove quite rewarding testing out new ‘settings’. There’s really no right or wrong snowboarding stance, because it really depends on what works best for you. It’s not like we’re all built alike and the same applies to different snowboards. More importantly, what feels right for me will be different from what feels right for you. This guide will show you have to determine the best stance setback, width, and angle for your riding style.

How to set your snowboard stance?

As alluded above, there are 3 elements to a snowboard stance (listed in the order they should be adjusted):

Stance setback
Stance width
Stance angle

Snowboard Stance Setback

What is it: Stance setback is simply the distance between the center of the two snowboarding bindings is from the center of the snowboard. Zero stance setback means the center of your bindings align with the center of your snowboard.

Most snowboards come with metal inserts that have several holes, which are used for mounting your bindings onto the snowboard. That means they are not centred in the middle of the snowboard but set a little towards the tail of the snowboard. As a result, even if you put your bindings in the center holes, they will be a little closer to the snowboard’s tail. For example, most freeride snowboards come with some setback to give you a longer noise for added speed stability.

Note: The new Burton ICS snowboards and EST bindings don’t come with metal inserts as they are differently designed, but the idea is the same.

Why stance setback? Depending on your riding style you’ll need some setback. Essentially, the more stance setback there is, the more a snowboarder’s weight shifts toward the back of the snowboard. The longer nose provides better stability at higher speeds and control in powder. Freeride snowboards will usually have stance setback while freestyle snowboards wont.

When to have stance setback? Since stance setback is designed into the board, simply mount the bindings in the center holes. If you need to change them, the general rule is: 0 setback for freestyle riding, and negative setback (i.e. closer to the nose than the tail) for freeriding. You should never have a stance setback such that your bindings are closer to the nose than the tail.

General Stance Setback Options:

Zero stance setback or centred stance – snowboard turns easily and you will have a good board control.
1 inch/2.5 cm stance setback – snowboard will have a shorter tail allowing more aggressive turns, higher ollies, and better float in the powder.
2 inch/5 cm stance setback – snowboard will have an even shorter tail allowing for deep powder riding but turning will be a bit harder.

Snowboard Stance Width

What is it: Stance width is the distance between the two bindings (i.e. how far apart they are). Stance width depends mostly on your height and should roughly be about 1 inch/2.5 cm wider than your shoulders. As long as you make sure you choose the right snowboard size for your height, then the default stance width will be just right.

Changing Your Stance Width?

Wider stance – more stability, harder turn transitions, better for freestyle riding.
Narrower stance – less stability, easier turn transitions, better for freeriding.

Snowboard Stance Angle

Regular or Goofy? First you need to find out whether you’re stance is Regular or Goofy. This is essentially which leg you have forward. If you put your left foot in front when you go downhill, you are regular and if it is your right foot you are goofy. Most of the snowboarders are regular. It’s important to have the correct foot forward as this will make snowboarding a lot easier to pick up.

How?

The leg you naturally kick a ball with will be your forward leg.
The leg your naturally use to stop yourself from sliding in your socks will be your forward leg.
Finally, the leg that feels most natural having forward while snowboarding, will be your forward leg (duh). So feel free to try out both legs forward and see which feel more natural and easier.

Stance Angle: Stance angle is the angle at which the binding is mounted on to the snowboard.

Zero Stance Angle: When the snowboard binding is completely perpendicular to the snowboard.
Positive Stance Angle: When the front of the binding (your toes) is angled towards the nose of the snowboard.
Negative Stance Angle: When the front of the binding (your toes) is angled towards the tail of the snowboard.

Snowboard bindings usually have different stance angles. The angles are normally written like +15°/+6°, meaning the front binding is set at 15 degrees (positive stance angle) and the back binding is set at 6 degrees (positive stance angle). One rule to keep in mind is that the rear binding angle should never be larger than the front binding angle as this will put strain on your knees!

Different Stance Angle Options:

Alpine stance is a setup used for race/carve snowboards, that are so narrow that small angles will cause overhang. Large angles combined with hard boots allow you to carve aggressively. For better control in short turns, there should be some angle difference between the two bindings.

Forward stance is the stance used by most of freeride snowboarders. Both snowboard bindings have positive stance angles but they are much smaller than with alpine stance. Since these snowboards are much wider than alpine boards, overhang isn’t an issue.

Duck stance is a stance where the front binding angle is positive and the back binding angle is negative, thus each foot faces a different direction – kinda like duck feet. Duckstance gives you more stability as your body is aligned with the snowboard and is useful for park and freestyle riding. With duck stance, the front angle is anywhere between 30° and 0° degrees while the rear angle is negative, between -1° and -20°. Keep the angles apart by at least 8-10 degrees. Personally, I use this and my stance angles are +12° and -12°.

Which Stance Angle to Choose?

There is no right or wrong snowboard stance, as long as you don’t over do it. Start with a forward stance angle and adjust the angles on the slope to feel out for the best combination.

If you have any questions, leave a comment or contact me and I’ll respond right away!

5 Things You Must Do Before A Snowboard Lesson

Rami — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 16:10:22 +0000

I’m sure you’ll agree that getting a snowboard lesson can be a bit stressful. You’re spending serious coin to go through what many point out as a frustrating experience. I work as a snowboard instructor everyday and I see people turn up in all sorts of states.

Here are the 5 most important things that you should do before your snowboard lesson.

1. Get the best fitting boots: Because rental boots suck, here are some tips:

Tie the boots up and walk in them for 60 seconds before you decide they’re too small/big.
Make sure that your toes are touching the end when they are tied up.
Make sure that your toes aren’t being crushed.
Make sure there’s less than a cm of heel lift.

2. Make sure your board is the right length

As a general guide, when you stand the board on its end, it shouldn’t be higher than your eyes or lower than the base of your neck.
Somewhere just below the chin is good for a beginner (longer boards are better for more experienced riders because they are harder to turn).
Try this calculator.

3. Make sure you have the correct clothing and layers on:

A dry base laser – go for something that keeps you dry rather than warm.
A Fleece to keep you warm.
A water AND wind proof shell jacket.
For more tips, read this.

4. Do the 180 second snowboarding stretch:

60 second seated hamstring stretch: 1. Sit on the floor with your legs stretched out in front of you and straight knees. 2. Maintaining straight knees, slowly slide your hands up your legs to your feet. 3. Extend as far as you can, and hold for 30 seconds, release and repeat 1 more time (visual aid).
60 second hip & lower back stretch: 1. Start in a forward lunge position and drop your left knee to the ground. 2. Place your right elbow on the inside of your right knee. 3. Press the elbow into your right knee and twist your torso to the left. 4. Reach your left arm behind you until you feel a gentle stretch in your lower back and right groin. 5. Hold for about 30 seconds, release and repeat with the other leg (visual aid).
60 second standing quadriceps stretch: 1. Grab onto something if you need, and stand on one leg. 2. Bend your knee and bring your heel toward your butt. 3. Pull up on your ankle and straighten your posture. 4. Hold for 30 seconds, release and repeat with the other leg (visual aid). Make sure you don’t strain your knee by maintaining a slow stretch.

5. Arrive to your lesson early

Everything is going to take longer than you expect. If you don’t get there early then the chances are that you will be late.

Enjoy your shred!
“Shredding” is the technical word for “snowboarding with purpose”. I always make sure I “shred” as much as possible.

About the author: David Raybould is a Writer, World Wonderer and Founder of a website specifically for anyone interested in snowboard instructing. You can visit his website www.SIC-World.com or connect with him on Twitter@SICWorld.

Understanding Snow Reports

Mo — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 17:08:46 +0000

You might feel like you opted for the wrong major in college when trying to read your local snow report. It’s the only thing standing between us and the lifts and we’re always waiting for that “new snowfall”. It’s important to keep in mind that there’s a language to this and that it’s important to understand exactly what fell. Resorts aim solely to sell more tickets and have invented terms like “packed powder” to get you on the slopes. Below is a summary of the basic terms and conditions to help you get through the BS when looking at your local snow report.

Type: Powder
AKA: Pow, blower, chowder, balls deep, piddly pow pow
Official Line: Cold, new, loose, fluffy snow that hasn’t compacted
True Meaning: The reason most of us get out of bed in the morning or find living in a van for a whole winter to be perfectly acceptable.

Type: Packed Powder
AKA: Tracked out, schralped, previously pow
Official Line: New snow that’s been packed down
True Meaning: Seems like an oxymoron, no? Usually means it hasn’t snowed in a while.

Type: Hard Packed
AKA: Gnar, groomers
Official Line: When natural or machine-made snow becomes firmly packed.
True Meaning: Hard and fast but can still edge into it.

Type: Frozen Granular
AKA: Golf balls, death cookies
Official Line: Hard surface of old snow formed by granules freezing together after rain or warm temperatures.
True Meaning: Snowboarding on ball bearings sometimes accompanied by shin whacks.

Type: Corn
AKA: Slush, mash potatoes, peanut butter
Official Line: Large semi-loose granules, which freeze during the night then loosen during the day.
True Meaning: Slushy and possibly choppy. Classic spring ripping.

Type: Variable Conditions
AKA: Anything and everything
Official Line: No primary surface condition can be determined. A wide range of various surfaces can be encountered.
True Meaning: A blanket term for resorts to cover their ass. Could mean lots of rocks, bare patches, and/or sheer ice.

Type: Icy
AKA: Boiler plate, cement
Official Line: Hard-glazed surface, ice spots
True Meaning: Consider staying home unless you grew up riding the ice coast or enjoy donning a spandex one-piece.

Don’t fall for it folks!

Snowboarding Stance 101

Rami — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 20:40:37 +0000

You might find yourself “asking what makes them better riders than me?” A lot of factors affect your snowboarding abilities and skill level. One that is commonly overlooked is your stance. Stance can make a world of a difference to your riding, and making sure that you’re properly setup for YOUR style of riding will make your life much easier. For those wondering, stance is the angle at which your bindings are set to.

What To Do
1. Figure out whether you are a regular (left foot forward) or goofy (right foot forward) rider. My favorite method (also the funnest one) is to run across a smooth floor with socks on and try stopping yourself. The foot that creeps its way in front of the other will be the foot you place at the tip of your board.

2. Angle the front binding outwards a bit and set the back one at zero.

3. After you’re no longer falling on your ass every few meters, start testing out different stances. Two things to focus on are stance width and angle.

Stance Width
Stance width affects your ease of turning and board control as you go down a hill. Riding too narrow or to wide will just make you uncomfortable and you’ll feel the pain in the side of your legs (one too many friends have complained about it, so I feel I must point this out). A good starting point is roughly an inch wider than your shoulder width and then feel free to adjust if you need. Theoretically, go wider for more stability.

Stance Angle
There are two main variances in stance direction that are used:

Forward stance – this is where the front food is angled forward and the back is just slightly angled forward or not at all (this is most popular with free riding where the board is primarily facing one direction).
Duck-footed – this is where your front food points outwards towards your tip (similar to forward stance) AND your back foot points out towards the tail of the board, thus forming a crude V (this is most popular with freestyle riders).

Tip – Center yourself on the board, put your feet where they feel the most comfortable and squat and stand up like you would if you were turning down the mountain (at this point your bindings should not be mounted on your board). This will give you a good idea of what is a good width and angle for you, but feel free to change it up as your riding gets better.

5 Great Reasons to Take Snowboard Lessons

Rami — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 00:15:08 +0000

A guest post by Dave, a rider, snowboarding instructor, and author of SnowboredInstructors.com all the way from Australia.

I know you’re probably thinking “Why do I need to take lessons, I can teach myself how to snowboard”. Most people know a guy who taught himself, hell, most people teach themselves.

I teach people how to snowboard, and I see how much you can improve in a short space of time when you take lessons. I can think of a lot of reasons why you should take lessons, here are 5 great ones:

1. Build a solid foundation

Imagine your snowboarding skill like a building. At the moment your still doing the groundwork and figuring out how to install the cement foundations. You want to build a 90 floor skyscraper – why wouldn’t you – the skill for spinning 900’s lives on the 90th floor. Teaching yourself is like using the wrong mixture of cement. It looks ok, but if you put any weight on it, it’s gonna collapse. Sure, some people are naturally talented at mixing cement, they get the right mixture and they get a great foundation quicker than most. But only about 5% or less of people that learn to ride are like that, believe me. Think of taking snowboard lessons as giving yourself the tools, skills and knowledge to create a foundation worthy of the Willis Tower. You don’t want to demolish a 20 story building due to sloppy foundations, building a new one takes a lot longer.

2. Learn quicker

Having a solid foundation makes it 10 times easier to build things on top. You can add a new movement, new trick or just build some confidence. These will help you reach your potential faster.

3. Have more fun

The saying “the better you get, the better it gets” is massively true when it comes to snowboarding. Have you seen “IsenSeven – Lets Go Get Lost” yet? Well, if you haven’t, go and buy it and watch it right now, see how much fun they have whilst snowboarding.

4. Impress your friends

Whilst your friends are crawling around, trying to build foundations out of sand, you go away, learn how to make concrete and come back with a 10 storey palace, complete with swimming pool and hot girls (or guys) lounging next to it. If your friends aren’t impressed, go and find some new ones.

5. Look cool

It goes without saying that the most important reason to ride a snowboard is to look cool. Otherwise, what’s the point, right? Taking lessons will help you look a lot cooler than if you don’t.

“Shred the Knar”

So “get your knarly boots on”, get some lessons and start paving your way to becoming the next Shaun White, or Jenny Jones.

Toe and Heel Drag 101

Mo — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 23:15:30 +0000

Chanel Snowboard

The Culprit

A major issue many riders will face when hitting the slopes is toe or heel drag. The problem arises when the size of your boot from toe to heel is larger than the width of your board at the waist. What ends up happening here is you have the front part of your boot hanging over the toe edge of the board and/or the back of the boot hanging over the heel edge of your board.

This is a snowboarder’s nightmare since you experience a sort of “draginess” feeling when you use either edge of your board to carve or stop. Instead of pulling nice and tight S-shaped turns down the slope, it takes a little more effort to put your board through the turn since the overhang from your toes or heel is preventing the board’s edges from making proper contact with the snow or ice. Stopping also becomes more difficult since you need to press harder with your toes or heel to make the most of the decreased board edge-snow contact.

One of my first boards was an ’05 Burton Raven 152. A short, stiff board with deep sidecuts that gave it a very narrow waist. I wear a size 9.5 boot, so right off the bat there was some serious toe AND heel overhang. I would never really come to know how much toe and heel drag limited by snowboarding experience until I purchased my first proper board that was a 156 and had a much wider waist. I did my research, seated the bindings properly onto the board, and strapped in with my booths, there was zero overhang. It makes such a huge difference on the snow. Turning became much smoother and seemingly effortless. Stopping on either edge was a breeze. For the first time, I was letting the board do most of the work than having to dig the edge into the snow with every muscle fiber in my body. The best part about having no drag was that I wiped out much less. With my old board, sometimes either edge wouldn’t catch the snow properly at higher speeds and I would end up having to bail or being tossed across the slope like a rag doll.

The Solution

Make a purchase decision on a new board while taking the size of your feet into consideration. A lot of companies are now offering their same boards in a “wide” version for people with larger feet. If you’re a first time buyer, make sure the person helping you out is aware of all these issues, so they can fit you with the best boots/bindings/board setup.

My recommendation would be to choose a board then pick your boots/bindings combination. Strap the boots into the bindings and place them on top of the board where they would sit if they were mounted. A lot of bindings will have a few options that lets you move them around a bit when mounting. Play with this a little and see if there is any way to mount the bindings without having the toes or heel from the boot hanging over the edges of the board. Now it’s important to keep in mind that it’s normal for the front part of your boots to hang slightly over the edge but no more than 0.5 to 1 inches. What you really want to avoid is having any exposed grip from your boot hanging over the edge. This all applies to your heel edge as well. If the overhang is just too much no matter how you position the bindings, then it might be time to consider a wider board or a wide version of that same one.

Unless the sizing of your board with respect to your boots/bindings is all wrong, then you really shouldn’t have any drag. Most people experience drag from not positioning their bindings properly. The most common thing you see is people pushing their bindings all the way forward and creating a lot of toe overhang. Educate yourself on your equipment and see what options you have when it comes to mounting. Seat the bindings properly on the board with the boots strapped in to visualize how to minimize or completely eliminate overhang.

Surf’s up bizatches!

Common Snowboarding Mistakes Video

Rami — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 00:07:54 +0000

I thought this was a good video to share with the readers about some common snowboarding mistakes. I’ll quickly summarize them here, but watch the video for a better feel of what these mistakes are:

Leaning backwards off the front of your board when trying to make turns, when instead you should be leaning forward.
Looking downwards at the board, which throws your balance off by having to hunch your back in the process.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Customizing Your Snowboard – What Are Your Options?

Rami — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 14:55:59 +0000

Customize Your Snowboard

As you probably might already know, snowboarding is a very popular sport. Many aficionados of snowboarding view their snowboard as an expression of their own personality. Because style and individualism is emphasized in snowboarding, an athlete’s snowboard is almost always highly customized.

There are tons of websites on the Internet that will allow a person to customize their snowboard. In addition to the colors and the design scheme of the board, you can personalize such options as the binding mounts and the flex and base type. However, having a snowboard professionally customized can cost you hundreds, even thousands, of dollars.

It is also possible to customize your snowboard yourself. One of the simplest options for customizing a snowboard yourself is stickers. This may not seem like the flashiest option; however, with the wide variety of options available to you, it is an easy way to customize your board. There are also full top sheet stickers that a snowboarder can use. These stickers completely cover the existing graphics on your board. There are pre-drawn designs to choose from or you can design your own graphics.

If neither of these options sound appealing to you, it is possible to refinish your board yourself. This will involve removing the bindings on your board in order to strip it of its current design. Bindings are usually professionally installed, and it is important that you note the precise position they were originally in. Do not choose this option if you feel that you may cause harm to your snowboard. This is definitely not recommended to beginner or intermediate riders.

As you can see, there are are few ways you could go about getting your snowboard customized. You should check out a couple of online websites that will let you customize a board from the ground up. You wouldn’t believe how cool it is to easily design your board right online. Many of these websites will let you choose a design, or even let you upload your very own custom pictures to be placed on your snowboard. You can’t go wrong if you plan on designing your snowboard online. This will also give you an overall picture of what you would like to do.

These kinds of services will let you create that one-of-a-kind board your friends will all admire. You’ll be entertained each step of the way trying to pin point what kind of design you like. Whatever option you do choose, your snowboard will be the ultimate expression of who you are through its unique design.

When you get your board customized, feel free to send us some pictures and we’ll possibly feature it on our front page!