Snowboarding Blog & Snowboard Reviews » Beginner’s Guide

Buying Your First Snowboarding Jacket & Pants Guide

Rami — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 17:37:59 +0000

Even though I had no plans to purchase anything at this year’s Ski & Snowboard Show (the board I wanted was not going to be available at the show), I still went since attending the show has become the official unofficial kick off to the season (side note: I have goosebumps just thinking about what an awesome season this year is going to be!). I met up with a few friends, 3 of them being beginners. Long story short, I spent about 4 hours helping them pick out what they needed and man was it a lot of fun! More importantly, that experience made realize how hard of a time it is for a new rider buying his/her first snowboard and set of gear. Given how popular my ‘Buying Your First Snowboard: The Most Comprehensive Guide‘ article was, it made sense to write a similar article about buying your first snowboarding jacket and pants (this applies to both Men’s and Women’s gear).

Snowboarding Jacket

Finding a good jacket is essential. Not only do you want a jacket that will keep you warm and dry, you also want a jacket that will last a few seasons and can be worn in different weather conditions. Essentially, there are two types of jackets that you can consider:

Snow Jacket: This is your traditional thick jacket that requires minimal layers to be worn underneath it. They can vary in thickness, but typically speaking, these jackets are thick and can keep you very warm. The warmest kind are made with Goose Down feathers. The advantages of this kind of jacket is in its ability to keep you very warm. The downside is, you are going to sweat your ass off if there’s any sun or if it’s not cold enough. Also, the warmer ones are usually pretty expensive. It’s a good option for those extremely cold conditions, but on not so cold days, you’re stuck with an overpriced jacket that’s going to make you uncomfortably hot.
Shell: As the name would imply, this is a thin shell jacket that would be worn as the outer most layer. These wont keep you warm by themselves given their thin construction, but they are designed to keep you dry (water resistant) and block out as much wind as possible. The advantages of this kind of jacket is in its versatility. Worn as the outer most layer, all you need is a warm flees and thermal worn underneath to keep you warm, even under extremely cold conditions. I personally wear a shell jacket with a flees and a ‘stay dry’ thermal – this is what is known as a 3-Layer System. If you find that it’s an exceptionally cold day, all you need is a thick flees and you will stay warm. If it’s an exceptionally warm day, go for a normal flees and simply keep your shell jacket air vents open – you can even unzip the jacket if it’s too warm.

The Features of a Good Jacket:

Windproof: Wind greatly affects the temperature within the snowboarding jacket, so you need a shell jacket that keeps as much wind as possible. Your body generates a lot of heat while you ride and you want to make sure that heat stays trapped underneath your shell jacket. I’m sure I don’t need to say this, but for clarity’s sake, if any of that cold wind makes it into your jacket, the heat your body generated is going to be lost. The easiest way to tell if a jacket is windproof to check whether the jacket is made with fully taped seams (basically every seam, regardless of whether it will come in contact with wind, is fully taped). You will want to avoid jackets with ‘critically’ taped seams. This basically means, only seams that are expected to be most in contact with wind are taped, while other seams will not be.
Waterproof: It goes without saying, you need a jacket that is waterproof. Whether it’s rain, falling snow, or snow from the ground, the dryer your jacket, the warmer it will keep you (and the lighter it stays). The easiest way to figure out how water resistant a jacket will be is by checking its water resistance measure (how much water, measured in mm, can be suspended above the fabric before water seeps through). Mid-range jackets will have water resistance between 5,000 mm and 10,000 mm. You will want a jacket that is no less than 10,000 mm, but preferably 15,000 mm. Generally speaking, the highest measure is about 20,000 mm, but that’s overkill for snowboarders.
Breathability: A good jacket should be able to resist liquid water while allowing water vapour to pass through. This basically allows the sweat generated by your body to evaporate and escape through the jacket. The easiest way to figure out a jacket’s breathability is by checking its breathability measure. Mid-range jackets will have breathability measures between 5,000 g and 10,000 g. Anything between 5,000 g and 15,000 g is good, but obviously, the higher the better.
Air Vents: Make sure you find a jacket with easily accessible (remember that you will have gloves on and nothing is worse than trying to fetch that tiny zipper grip) air vents. These will prove very useful if it’s a bit warm but not warm enough to justify unzipping the jacket or even using a thinner fleece. With these air vents, you can just open them up as much as you need to allow a little cool air to enter. These are usually located on the sides.
Gore-Tex: You will undoubtedly come across products with Gore-Tex. Gore-Tex is basically a type of fabric that is extremely water proof, wind proof, and overall considered as a high grade type of material. Many different brands use Gore-Tex to ensure the buyer that they are buying something of excellent quality. While this may be true, Gore-Tex products are much more expensive and more the most part unnecessary, especially for beginners. Gore-Tex fabrics have the equivalent of 20,000-25,000 mm water proofing. You can read more about their technology here.

Snowboarding Pants

For the most part, pants are very similar to jackets as it relates to things to consider when buying one. You can purchase pants that have a built-in thermal layer to keep you warm, or you can buy ‘shell’ pants and wear a separate thermal layer underneath. I’ve tried both options, and personally I prefer the two-layer system for pants. One other thing I would point out is to avoid tight pants. When trying them out on the store, just keep in mind that you will want something loose so that you don’t feel restricted on the slopes.

The Features of a Good Pair of Snowboarding Pants:

Windproof: As with jackets, you need pants with fully taped seams.
Waterproof: While with jackets you could get a way with 10,000 mm waterproofing, you will want nothing less than 15,000 mm for pants. Pants come in contact with the snow a lot more than your jacket (every time you sit to do your bindings) and nothing is worse than wet pants and boxers/thermals.
Breathability: This is much of a concern for pants, so anything above 5,000 g is good enough.

Layering

As suggested above, the ideal set up to use different layers. For jackets, a 3-Layer system is best. As you may know, the ideal way of clothing for every activity is to use different layers. Generally, it is advisable to follow the Three layer system. The first layer is your base layer and consists of thermal/’stay dry’ underwear. The middle layer is generally a fleece or anything else that keeps you warm. And the outer most layer will be your shell jacket as described above. The advantage of the layer system is in its flexibility. Typically speaking, your shell jacket and base thermal layer don’t change much, but the middle layer will be more of a variable depending on the weather and temperature.

For pants, you can go with 1 layer, but make sure the built-in thermals are warm enough. However, I would recommend a Two-Layer system, to accommodate for extra warm or extra cold days. With a Two-Layer system, you can find a water and wind proof pair of pants as the outer layer. For the base layer, you will need a good pair of thermals. I have a set of two; a slightly thicker pair for those extremely cold days, and a normal pair for all the other days.

In case you’re curious, my set up consists of the following:

Jacket: AK 2L Softshell Jacket, which I am VERY happy with (link goes to my official review).
Fleece: AK Fleece, which is no longer available.
Base Layer: HH Dry; this is more of a ‘stay dry’ base layer than a thermal (link goes to Helly Hansen’s product listing page)
Pants: Ripzone Trilogy Pants (link goes to Ripzone’s pants listing page)
Pants Thermals: Old school 100% cotton long johns.

In summary, I wanted to keep this as simple as possible so I didn’t go into too many other details. As long as you watch out for the above things (and make sure you get a set of gear with the above requirements), you will have yourself an excellent jacket and pair of pants. Brand, design, and features like pockets, etc… will depend on your preference and budget. Honestly, you don’t need to spend too much for a good jacket, but it won’t hurt to buy a high quality one from the beginning. Good jackets last 4-5 seasons (even more if you really want them to), so don’t skimp out too much. As for pants, they are typically less expensive, and you should be able to find an excellent option for no more than $200. Just make sure it has at least 15,000 mm water proofing!

As always, please feel free to leave your suggestions or questions in the comments section.

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. The hope is that with this information, you’ll be able pause playing online poker for a bit (or whatever else you do to keep busy) and get yourself properly setup before your next snowboarding trip!

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.