Snowboarding Guy - Snowboards, Equipment and Gear Reviews, Tips and Clothing

5 Places for Early Season Riding

Mike — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 15:25:48 +0000

A new fresh season is eagerly awaited by snowboarders. There are five resorts that are open early and we are going to give you the run down on them. We are talking Pre-Thanks giving.

Wolf Creek, Colorado - wolfcreekski.com

Loveland, Colorado - skiloveland.com

Mammoth, California - mammothmountain.com

Boreal, California - borealski.com

Killington, Vermont - killington.com

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Getting your Bindings Dialed

Mike — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 22:27:25 +0000

Bindings can be often overlooked, yet provide features which many people dont end up using because they never knew they were there to begin with. We want to show you a few ways you can increase your comfort and performance

Its true you can adjust your bindings while off the board but a lot of the times its so much easier to just leave them on the snowboard. Ok put your heel into the binding, faster up the angle strap over the boot. The center of the strap should align with the center of the boot. If the padding is too far one way or the other undo the strap, remove it from the heel cup and refit it by using a different hole on the strap to reattach.

Check to see if your boots have a Gas Pedal or an Adjustable toe ramp, you will want to make sure it is right under your toe.

Now adjust the toe strap much like the ankle one. You want it to be centered over your foot but snug over your toes. A lot of bindings have what is known as a Capstrap which pulls the boots down but also back. Make sure the cap centers over the toe and fits over your boot.

Lastly adjust the fit of your highbacks for increased edge response. The highbacks should be flush against the back of the boot and parallel with the board edge

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Snowboard Buying Guide For Men and Women

Mike — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 15:51:20 +0000

The whole process of finding the right snowboard really can be quite a challenge, but it doesnt have to be. We want to simplify it for you. A good start may be too look at the top 2008 snowboards for men and the women snowboards, these were selected after being tested.

The main thing is to look at boards not just on how cool they look but based on your weight and height. Check out some of the manufactuer websites, see if their are any demos available. Ones you can try before you buy.

So lets start

Width - Its kind of hard now days to end up with a baord that is the wrong width, your more likely to find snowboards thare are the wrong length. If you have your boots, be sure to take them with you down to the shop. Be sure to find a board that fits your shoe size, so many people rush in and grab a board just on the look and price. There are Wide or Mid Wide versions, just make sure you get one that fits your boots.

Length - The deciding factor for length is, asking yourself what do you plan to be doing? Are you into hitting the slopes and mack speed?, doing sweet turns, or tricks on hard rails,. Make sure you stand the board up.. it should come up to your chin. One that comes up to your chin will let you float in the snow but be short enough to let you spin on it.

Sidecut - Basically examine the side of the board, look at the arc that the edge has created as it gets narrow betten the feet. That part is called the sidecut and this arc is what you will use to figure out how your board will turn Boards that have deep sidecuts will turn very fast and also will want to turn, where as boards that dont have much of a sidecut will go straight and slide on turns instead of carving into the snow.

Flex - Stiff boards generally will make riding quite a task until you have picked up some speed, while riding a board which is too soft will be find if you arent moving fast, when you start picking pace.. you better have nerves of steel Choose a flex based on how much you weight and how hard you ride the board. Someone who knows their stuff in a shop should be able to rule out boards which are too stiff or too soft by looking at you. Be sure to also check Rebound of the flex, basically how fast after flexing it bounces back

Type - You will see freestyle, freeride, all mountain. These should provide you a rough idea of what they are designed for, again you will need to choose what you have in mind.

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What Size Snowboard Should You Get?

Mike — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 23:31:13 +0000

Lets face it there are lots of snowboard models and sizes out there, and even more are the different sizes of people. Have you ever asked yourself the question what size snowboard should I get or buy?

Well we are here to help you with that, as a few things come into play, your weight and your height, also what type of snowboarding you plant to do and what is your ability?

There are freestyle boards, all mountain boards, beginner boards and many more.

What matter more than the board itself are your boots and bindings, as if you have bad boots you are definately not going to enjoy boarding. It has to be comfortable and fit well without any pincing or pressure points.

After that, get your board

There are

Entry level boards from $150 to $250
Mid Range Boards from $250 to $450
High End Boards from $450 and up

Rule of thumb is the cheaper you pay, the heavier the board will be, remember that. As you snowboard more you will learn what type of board you will need based on what you are looking to do, race, freestyle, go down mountains or just bunny jump.

So what size should your snow board be? Well a few things to bear in mind are. If you have an average build, the length should reach the chin or your mouth, when on the group

Heavy riders should go for longer less flexible

lighter riders, should have shorter more flexible boards

Freestyle riders is usually on shorter boards.

Freeriding, uses racing boards which are usually long.

If your into freestyling, then go for a shorter board. When it comes to width, you dont want your feet hanging over the board as you will end up dragging your toes and heels and you can be sure that is going to ruin it when you go on the edges and your carving up the slopes. So big feet = big wide board. Wider boards are good solution for most. Women go for more lighter boards, guys go for heavier.

If your shoe size is about a 12, you should go for a wide board. Its ok to have your toes stick out about half an inch from the board. If you are size 14 and above.. you will need a seriously wide board, like the Elan El Grande, though your might find it hard to search for bindings for that size.

Your board flexibility is your preference.

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What is a Snowboard Stomp pad for?

Mike — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 04:09:15 +0000

This was a question that was sent it by emai, they wanted to know what a snowboard stomp pad was for. Well here is the answer.

A stomppad is basically made of rubber or foam and its attached on top of your board so that you can stand on it, when you dont have your backfoot inside your binding. Snowboards tend to get bloody slippery so its helpful to have this when your unbuckling your back foot, or when you are going to get on a ski lift or off one. You put your foot on the stomp pad

They are mainly made of rubber and so are your boots so they grip really nice.

So who is it good for? Well beginners mainly, it just lets them control the board when the back foot is out of the binding

How do you put it on the board? Very simply with strong glue on the bottom of it. You need to be sure to mark where its going to go on your board first. It usually comes right in front of where your back binding is. So between the snowboard bindings in the middle.

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Best Snowboards 2008 – Mens

Mike — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 03:24:44 +0000

Ok 2008 is way behind us now and so its time to look at some of the boards which tore up the snow slopes in 2008. These are the best snowboards of 2008. Each board was based on boards recommended by boarders who want to do everything. The prices range from $250 to $1,200

Mens Boards Over $400

1. Lib Tech TRS MTX - $499.00 ( lib-tech.com )

2. K2 Believer - $449.00 ( K2snowboarding.com )

3. Salomon Benedek ERA - $499.00 ( salomonssnowboards.com )

4. Burton custom - $499.95 ( burton.com )

5. GNU Riders Choice MTX - $479.00 ( gnu.com )

6. Rome Mod - $550.00 ( romessnowboards.com )

7. Venue Onyx - $400.00 ( northwave.com )

8. Bataleon Jam - $519.00 ( bataleon.com )

9. Head Transit Team - $400.00 ( ridehead.com )

10. Endeavor Live - $429.00 ( endeavorsnowboards.com )

Under $400

1. K2 Darkstar - $389.00 ( K2snowboarding.com )

2. GNU CArbon High Beam MTX - $399.99 ( Gnu.com )

3. Nitro T1 - $369.95 ( nitrousa.com )

4. Nidecker Blade - $379.00 ( nidecker.com )

5. Burton Blunt - $399.95 ( burton.com )

6. Flow Quantum - $399.00 (flow.com )

7. Palmer Pulse - $389.00( palmerusa.com )

8. Atomic Hatchet $349.99 ( Atomicsnowboarding.com )

9. Forum Recon $299.99 ( forum-snowboarding.com )

10. Ride Agenda $299.95 ( ridessnowboards.com )

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Best Snow Resorts

Mike — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 00:57:07 +0000

There are Ten really great snow resorts you should check out, over the next couple of days we will look at each of them but here is the breakdown

1. Whistler Blackcomb in British Columbia

2. Aspen / Snowmass in Colorado

3. Mammoth Mountain in California

4. Breckenridge / Keystone in Colorado

5. Vail in Colorado

6. Jackson Hole in Wyoming

7. Squaw valley in California

8. Park City in Utah

9. Telluride in Colorado

10. Alta / Snowbird in Utah.

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Fix A Core Shot

Mike — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 16:36:33 +0000

If you go into any snowboard shop they will probably tell you to let them deal with it, and while that might be good advice if you want to go about repairing small core shots at home.. we are going to tell you how to go about doing it.

" The warmer the board is, the better the repair will stick " bear this in mind when you go about repairing anything on your board.

What your going to need

1. P-TEX candles in either black or clear depending on your color
A basic face mask for toxic fumes
an X acto knife
a rasp file and sand paper
matches
tin can
a heat gun

You should be able to find a p-text and metal scraper at a snowboard shop but the rest get it from the hardware place
you want a gun for melting it. not a real gun you know what i mean.

Ok lets get cracking

1.Put down a cloth and empty can, make sure your not wearing flip flops or you might burn your toes.. Clean the core shot area and soften it with your heat gun ( or a hair dryer ) The P-tex will adhere better to the material. So with the X-acto expose more of it and texture the base material around it with your medium grit sandpaper. This is very similar to a surfboard repair.

2. If the metal edge is exposed, dab superglue on the metal teeth for a more bondable surface. let the glur dry before you begin

3. Reheat the repair area with heat gun, Light the P-text candle over the tin can if you are going to drop the p-tex without the glue gun. If you get nasty carbon built up the black stuff.. it means theres too much oxygen entering in and its burning too low. Keep the lit end of the candle close to the tin can. Metal scraper or board base so less air gets under the flame. Then Roll of any big globs of carbon onto the side of tin can before they enter teh core shot. Carbon globs wont hurt your baord but they make for a weaker bond, look like crap and suggest to people that your a hack.

4. If you went with the glue gun, slowly feed the p-tex through the opening while pressing the trigger, p-tex melts slower and cools faster than glue so when your going dont stop.

5. Let the P-text cool and 15 mins later then smooth it with a rasp file and snadpaper... after if you want to get the best results take it into a shope for a base grind. or you can just wax it.

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Crazy Snowboarding Crashes Video

Mike — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 16:17:55 +0000

Here is some more crazy crazy crashes that people have had on their snowboards.

Hey what can you say.. its all part of the way of learning

Snowboard - Crashes - The most amazing home videos are here

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Amazing Snowboarding Vid by Seth Hill

Mike — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 17:42:10 +0000

Check out this action.. snowboard the way it should be done!

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