Buying Your First Snowboarding Jacket & Pants Guide

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.

Ski and Snowboarding Goggles: Buying Guide

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

Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics Snowboarding Guide and Schedule

A lot of people are aching to watch the snowboarding portion of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics so I thought I’d explain the various competitions taking place and provide you with the snowboarding schedule so you don’t miss a thing.

If you have any questions or comments just let us know by leaving a comment or contacting us directly.

Schedule

February 15 2010:

• Snowboard – Men’s Snowboard Cross Qualification
• Snowboard – Men’s Snowboard Cross 1/8 Finals
• Snowboard – Men’s Snowboard Cross Quarterfinals
• Snowboard – Men’s Snowboard Cross Semifinals
• Snowboard – Men’s Snowboard Cross Finals

February 16 2010:

• Snowboard – Women’s Snowboard Cross Qualification
• Snowboard – Women’s Snowboard Cross Quarterfinals
• Snowboard – Women’s Snowboard Cross Semifinals
• Snowboard – Women’s Snowboard Cross Finals

February 17 2010:

• Snowboard – Men’s Halfpipe Qualification
• Snowboard – Men’s Halfpipe Semifinals
• Snowboard – Men’s Halfpipe Finals

February 18 2010:

• Snowboard – Ladies’ Halfpipe Qualification
• Snowboard – Ladies’ Halfpipe Semifinals
• Snowboard – Ladies’ Halfpipe Finals

February 26 2010:

• Snowboard – Ladies’ PGS Qualification Run
• Snowboard – Ladies’ PGS Elimination Run
• Snowboard – Ladies’ PGS 1/8 Finals
• Snowboard – Ladies’ PGS Quarterfinals
• Snowboard – Ladies’ PGS Semifinals
• Snowboard – Ladies’ PGS Finals

February 27 2010:

• Snowboard – Men’s PGS Qualification Run
• Snowboard – Men’s PGS Elimination Run
• Snowboard – Men’s PGS 1/8 Finals
• Snowboard – Men’s PGS Quarterfinals
• Snowboard – Men’s PGS Semifinals
• Snowboard – Men’s Parallel Giant Slalom Finals

Competitions Explained

• Parallel Giant Slalom: two snowboarders race head-to-head down a course while turning through a series of gates. The fastest of the pair goes through to the next round.
• Halfpipe: one competitor at a time performs a routine of jumps, tricks and twists while moving from one side to the other in the half cylinder-shape halfpipe. They are judged on the height, style and perfection of their routine.
• Snowboard Cross: the race starts with four competitors in a pack riding down the course while coming up against a series of jumps and ramps. The fastest two from each heat go onto the next round.

Reigning Olympic Champions:

Men’s Parallel Giant Slalom: Philipp Schoch (Switz)
Men’s Halfpipe: Shaun White (USA)
Men’s Snowboard Cross: Seth Walcott (USA)

Women’s Parallel Giant Slalom: Daniela Meuli (Switz)
Women’s Halfpipe: Hannah Teter (USA)
Women’s Snowboard Cross: Tanja Frieden (Switz)

Useful Snowboarding 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics Links

• Official 2010 Vancouver Olympics Website
• Official 2010 Vancouver Olympics Snowboarding Page
• Official 2010 Vancouver Olympics Snowboarding Schedule
• 2010 Winter Olympics Wikipedia Page

Snowboard Stance: The Ultimate Guide

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!

Snowboarding Tips for Beginners

Snowboarding Tips for Beginners

As a passionate snowboarder I tend to get into the subject of snowboarding with just about anyone. But I also find myself forgetting how frustrating it was when I first got started. With that realization, I decided to create a Snowboarding Tips page which will feature articles like these and one-liners that readers can vote up and down. The goal? Well to create a single reference page for all beginners to benefit from. So let’s kick things off with this general snowboarding tips article.

Choosing to undertake the hobby of snowboarding is often done at an early age — but really, it can be done at any point in someones life. Regardless of when it is decided that one would like to learn how to snowboard, it is still a daunting and oftentimes painful decision. In the interests of helping out anyone out there who is reading this and happens to be somewhat of a beginner in the world of snowboarding that we all know and adore, here’s some tips to ensure that it becomes a fulfilling, lifetime hobby and not just some spur-of-the-moment decision.

1. First and foremost, ensuring that you always have the appropriate layers of clothing on for snowboarding is absolutely essential. Seriously — this sounds like a no-brainer, but always doing so will ensure that you can focus on actually learning to be a good, safe snowboarder and not on whether or not you might have hypothermia  yet. Beginners should also watch out for packing on too many layers. Keep in mind that as you start out, you’ll be spending most, if not all, your time on the green hills which are usually warmer given their lower altitudes.

2. Next, you’re going to want to get used to having your feet fixed to the board before you go down a double black diamond snow mountain. So, as much as possible, even before you go down the not-so-steep slopes, strap your feet in and get used to the feel of the board while strapped in. Feel free to wobble/shuffle around, jump up and down, and bending at your knees.  This might be ridiculously boring, but just remind yourself that it will be a lot less painful to get used to this feeling now then when you’re en flight down the mountain.

3. Although you’ll be getting a new-model snowboard if you ever at all get really serious about snowboarding, start off with just an all-mountain free-ride snowboard instead of any other. These snowboards are specifically made for beginners and will help make for a much less painful learning experience as well. Although you’re going to be on a mountain in the winter and not at the beach in the summer.

4. If you’re learning on a sunny day (and hopefully it is) you’re going to want to make sure that you are always properly sunblocked at all times. Don’t let the season fool you — you can get quite the sunburn while shredding the snow in December (contrary to popular belief). Nevermind wind burns — so make sure you remind yourself about our first tip as well.

5. Lastly, don’t push it! New snowboarders are known for their failure to keep themselves together after they try and prove themselves worthy or brave while on a slope. You’re excited and I get it, but nothing’s worse than a major fall that knocks the wind out of you. Take it easy and don’t do anything stupid like jumps before you’re well and ready — and if you go by when you’re properly ready and not just when you THINK you’re ready then it is going to be quite some time.

6. Be confident. You’re legs are locked to a board and you can’t move. It’s going to feel very awkward and make you think you can’t really do this. You can bet that everyone felt that way when they first started, but the difference between those who gave up the sport and those shredding serious mountain powder is the confidence they had and accepting the fact that it’ll take a few tries before you get the hang of it.

Be safe, enjoy yourself and most importantly — have fun! It’s a great and lifelong hobby that will most likely turn into an obsession very quickly, so be careful with that as well!