SNOWBOARDING



CHOOSING YOUR BOARD

First, decide if you're regular or goofy. Regular is left foot forward while goofy is right foot forward.

Length

The length of the board should be proportional to your weight. The more you weigh, the longer the board (refer to chart below). It also depends on your style (to be explained in a later section), as well as the terrain and conditions available to ride. 
                    BOARD    LENGTH   (cm)
YOUR WEIGHT (lbs) KIDS      FREESTYLE   FREERIDE   FREECARVE/RACE
60-80             95-120
80-100            115-135
100-120           130-140   135-145     140-150    145-160
120-140                     140-150     145-155    150-165
140-160                     145-155     150-160    155-170
160-180                     150-160     155-165    160-175
180+                        155+        160+       165+

Width

The width should fit the size of your feet. You should get a board wide enough to fit your feet at 0 degrees. So, if you have big feet, then you would need to get a wider board.

Flex

Freestyle and freeride boards are often more flexible than their freecarving counterparts. The flexibility allows the board to bend from jumps as well as adding control. Just don't try any jumps or tricks with a freecarving board. You'll likely break it and cause yourself injury.

CHOOSING SNOWBOARD BOOTS


There are two kinds of boots: soft and hard. Soft boots are more comfortable than hard boots. For a beginner, soft boots would be a good choice. Hard boots are mainly used for racing.

SNOWBOARD BINDINGS


You can choose from either strap-in or step-in bindings. Strap-in bindings are the conventional bindings that have been used throughout the years. Step-in bindings are rather new. These eliminate the use of straps by "stepping" into the binding where a mechanism connects the binding to the boot. For these bindings, you would have to get step-in boots.

Stance Angles

I recommend starting off with about 5-15 degrees on the front foot and 0-5 degrees on the back foot. However, this is entirely a matter of preference. You should experiment with it to see what works best for you.

Stance Width

Your stance should be approximately as wide as your shoulders. The range for most riders is from 17" to 21". Just make sure it's neither too narrow nor too wide.

SNOWBOARDING STYLES


Freestyle

*Freestyle means getting air, riding "fakie" also called "switch" (backwards), or spinning tricks in the halfpipe and snowboard park, or anywhere you can find a "hit" on the mountain. Used exclusively with soft boots, freestyle boards also offer solid freeriding performance, but with a special emphasis on optimum maneuverability both in the air and on the snow. As a result, freestyle boards tend to be a slightly shorter, wider, and lighter, but are not as proficient at carving turns and riding powder as dedicated freeriding boards. Other freestyle board characteristics include shorter, more turned up tips and tails which maximize effective edge length, but minimize overall length. The majority of freestyle boards feature centred stances and twin-tip shapes (identical tips and tails) for greater maneuverability, balanced feel, and easy switch stance riding. Dedicated or "Technical" freestyle boards include Halfpipe, Park and Jib models. Freestyle boards range in length from 140-160cm.

Freeriding

*Freeriding refers to all-mountain, all-terrain, do it all riding, from carving turns on groomed runs, to getting air, to riding powder. The most versatile of all snowboards, freeriding boards are designed to perform over the wildest possible range of conditions and terrain, and are used exclusively with soft boots. In its broadest sense, freeriding includes all, but the most technical freestyle boards. However, dedicated freeriding boards are a little longer, narrower, and stiffer, and as a result offer more high speed carving performance than freestyle specific boards. Most dedicated freeride boards feature a directional shape (more versatile) or directional flex (if twin-tip), consisting of a stiffer tail for more power and snap in the turns, and back of centre stance options and a longer tip for more float in uneven snow and powder. They are the ultimate all-around board and the mainstay of any board quiver. Freeriding boards range in length from 145-165cm.

Freecarving

*Freecarving boards, also called Alpine boards, are designed for carving fast, smooth turns in hard shelled boots (or stiffer soft boots/bindings). Compared to freeriding boards, freecarving models are a little stiffer for optimized turning response and high speed stability, and a little narrower for quick edge to edge transitions. Freecarve boards feature lower profile noses, and extended edge lengths for maximum holding power in the turn. They perform best on groomed slopes and are a favourite with rides who like to ride fast and crave the carve. Freecarving boards range in length from 150-175cm.

Race

*Longer, narrower, and stiffer, race boards are competition bred performers best suited to aggressive freecarving and powering around race gates. Hard boots are the only boot choice for these quick response, deep carving speedsters. Specialized race boards include Slalom, Giant Slalom, and Super Giant Slalom models. Shapes include symmetrical (more popular) and asymmetrical. Race boards range in length from 155-185cm (shorter=slalom, longer=GS)

*Taken from Snowboard Canada Magazine.


Return to Home Page
This page has been accessed times.