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The Snowboard Buyers GuideJan 16 '06 (Updated Sep 05 '11) Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line Pertinent information about snowboards.
The notion of purchasing a snowboard can be intimidating for the first time buyer. With the rising cost of a snowboard (and bindings, boots, lift tickets, ect), being educated is a step in the direction of a smart choice matching the snowboarder with the best value as well as a board built for their abilities. During my long time snowboarding, I have purchased several snowboards and would like to share some of the knowledge I have gained from these purchases with you. From materials to construction, this guide will cover the important points of selecting a new snowboard. First off, what is a snowboard? Well, I'm glad you asked! A snowboard is a multi-component, technical product make to glide over frozen water. They come in sizes made for children as young as three years old to the tallest adults. One of the first things to think about when looking for a snowboard is your budget and the manufacturer. Many lesser-known manufacturers will sell their boards for low prices in an attempt to gain a hold on market share. I would generally advise avoiding products from these manufacturers unless you find some credible reviews or personally know someone who has had a positive experience with their products. An important piece of info to look at is warranty, which varies in length from one year to lifetime depending on the manufacturer and what types of damage the warranty actually covers. For the first-time snowboarder, a lower priced board may be a good choice, as not every person who begins snowboarding sticks with it through the tough initial learning curve. When you spend less on a first board, upgrading to a more advanced model as your skills advance is slightly less painful. Board Type The two basic categories of snowboards are freestyle and freeride, but there are quite a few sub-categories that specialize the snowboard further. Freestyle boards are generally shorter, have more flex, and are wider. The flexible characteristics of freestyle snowboards make them great for rails and small freestyle obstacles, but not exactly great for going fast. Freeride boards are typically longer, stiffer, and narrower than freestyle boards. These characteristics provide more stability and control to the rider at high speeds. Powder and carving boards are examples of extreme freeride boards. Unless you have your sights exclusively on one aspect of snowboarding, chances are the best choice for you would be an all-terrain board, essentially a tweener category with medium flex characteristics. Into the Technical Info Core The vast majority of snowboard manufacturers utilize wood as their core of the snowboard. You will find many different types of wood being used as core material such as poplar, birch, ect. Some low cost snowboards will feature material such as foam or plastic as the core. It's best to avoid these if possible as such materials are neither as flexible nor as resilient as wood. The core is where the snowboard will get its flex pattern, so make sure you physically test the flexibility of a snowboard if you’re purchasing in person at a shop. Camber and Shape Since the beginning of snowboard design until just a few years ago, snowboards had what is becoming known as conventional camber. If you placed a snowboard with conventional camber on the floor and looked at from floor level you would notice that the center of the board is raised off the floor with the ends both touching the floor. Lib Tech took the first step away from this with their Skate Banana model, which introduced reverse camber. Now the center of the board would be touching the floor with the ends of the board in the air. Fast forward a few years, and I would estimate that a little less than half of all snowboards produced are built with reverse camber. In general, a reverse cambered snowboard is easier to manipulate on the tip and tail and floats in powder more effortlessly. However, they produce a different feel under your foot and don't produce the snap of cambered snowboarders. Some companies produce the same board in both cambered and reversed cambered configurations. It is largely down to the preferences of the rider to determine which camber is more suitable. A shape of a snowboard will often be referred to as directional or twin. A directional snowboard will have a different tip and tail, with the board optimized for riding with the tip forward. A twin flex will be symmetrical on both ends to accommodate switch riding. Edges Edges are fairly uniform across the snowboard industry. The best material for them is stainless steel because it won't rust as must as other materials and stays sharp longer. Be careful to inspect the tip and the tail of the snowboard to see if they have edges, which are left off some snowboards in order to reduce swing weight. This is made at the sacrifice of durability, as edgeless tips are quite susceptible to damage from rocks, stumps, and other snowboards or skis. Very few snowboards are not equipped with any edges at all, as these are made exclusively for rails are not suitable for resort snowboarding. Topsheet/Mounting System In the early days of snowboard design, the topsheet was simply a strip of material that kept the wood core from being exposed. When designing today’s snowboards, companies are experimenting with different materials in the topsheet and snowboards are performing better because of it. One example of a material used in topsheets is Quadrax, which stiffens the overall flex of the board. Found on the topsheet is the mounting system, which is how you attach your bindings to the board. Most companies use pre-drilled holes with metal inserts which you use to connect your snowboard and bindings with screws. This system between snowboard and binding is universal in which you are not required to use the same brand of bindings as the snowboard, with the exception of Burton snowboards which uses a different pattern of drilled holes. Base The two most common types of base materials are sintered and extruded. Extruted bases are essentially hot plastic poured into moulds and cooled, while sintered bases are ground into tiny pieces before being melted. Extruded bases are more resistant to damage and are low maintenance in terms of waxing. Sintered bases require more off-snow care and are easier to damage, but are faster than their extruded counterparts with regular waxing. Choosing A Snowboard Size You could ask ten snowboarders how to select a snowboard that will be proper for their body size and get several different methodologies from them. The most common piece of advice I hear from many is to stand the board next to you and see if it measures in between your chin and nose. This works in many situations, but a more accurate way is to look at a chart that is often provided by manufacturers that recommends a size based on weight. If the snowboarder is anticipating park riding more often, a shorter size is often more desirable. Conversely, a board to be used for freeriding and powder riding will perform better if longer in size. Snowboard sizes are given in centimeters. For example, I am 5’11” and about 160 pounds and ride a board that is 155cm. Final Thoughts With this information in mind, you, the consumer, can go forth and make a good educated decision. Snowboarding can be a frustrating skill to learn, and renting a snowboard is advisable until you're sure this is a sport you can stick with. However, it seems a large number of rental snowboards are in below average condition as a result of their heavy use and are often constructed for durability rather than providing top notch performance on the hill. If you've ridden a rental board and enjoy the sport enough to continue, owning equipment of your own can help in your progression, not to mention advantages in sanitation.  |
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