Snowboarding Questions

I wouldn't order these kinds of clothes online, too tight or too lose and you'll be annoyed.

 

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Buy now, or wait till your there. You may pay a little more, but comfort is worth not being frustrated on the slopes. I've got a board for sale if your interested. Can get pix later..

 

The right lens depend on the conditions. Orange on a sunny day, titanium, and most others for regular or snowing conditions.

Check out Electric goggles (www.electricvisual.com)... you can't get too much higher of quality anywhere else without the price. I only use their goggles. Depending on how big your head is, I recommend the EG2's. It's a large goggle, as you can see the world out of them unlike traditional sizes. I do know a few people over there, if you see anything you like and need help please let me know.

For Outerwear the brand I've been wearing is Specialblend, and I couldn't be happier while on the mountain clothes-wise. I just wear normal underwear beneath my pants and jacket and keep 100% warmth and comfort all day/night. Their website is helpful, but you are doing favors by trying them on as said above and definitely the same with boots! (www.special-blend.com)

Cheers, and don't forget to enjoy it!

 

my advice to anyone starting to snowboard is to wear pads...wrist gaurds, ass protection and knee gaurds. google "snowboarding pads". it's really really good advice. EVERYONE falls a lot when learning.

 

LOL Brings back memories of my first couple times. You knees and ass will be very sore. No real way around it. But once you get the hang of it, it is such a blast. I never buy any clothing online. Gotta try things on to make sure it fits right.

 

That's the truth! The biggest difference I remember from skiing was that you tend to fall the same way each time, and you snap down on the same part of your body over and over. With skiing, there's more tumbling on the learning curve. Several years ago I drove through Kitzbuhl during the summer. It's a beautiful part of the world--you'll love it.

 

A small piece of advise, you may want to consider wearing a helmet when you are learning. It's always a good idea, but when I attempted to learn to snowboard I knocked myself out for a minute or so with a helmet on, I would have hated to see the results with no helmet.

 

dogfunk.com focuses on snowboarding and carries all the good brands and their prices are usually on the lower end of the spectrum.

As for goggles I'd suggest you get a set of Oakleys, Anons or Spys, find a design you like that fits well. The orange lenses are your best bet if you'd like to save some money but I prefer a reflective lense which will cost you an extra $30-$50.

Most pants and jackets have a material rating to let you know how waterproof they actually are. If they aren't GoreTex I suggest 10,000 for pants and even more for your jacket. Don't cheap out on gloves/mitts, it's always nice when you hands are in a mini oven even if it's 0 deg outside. Never wear cotton under your snowboard outerwear.

For your first snowboard it dosen't really matter what it is, just make sure the length is right for you. Save some money on the first board b/c between the 5-15th time you will probably find out what type of riding you'll want to pursue and then buy a board specific to those needs at a high price but it can last you 10 years easy. If you have this much stoke towards your trip it seems you'll end up going fairly often in the future so you may as well spend some serious bucks on your first pair of boots, worth it.

Have fun and feel free to post up any Qs you may have....

 

I wouldn't go too crazy on anything. Truthfully I just would have bought everything on Ebay if I was you. If you aren't planning on taking up the sport seriously, its not worth dumping a ton of money into it. 8,000 is all right, I live in the Pacific Northwest and that wouldn't really cut it around here as it gets really wet. Just depends on the day. Your butt might get wet though. You will likely be spending a lot of time on it the first day.

Definitely rent a helmet and wear some protective gear. I wear full MX style body armor when I ride. Though thats probably not going to matter much on your first day. The big thing will be falling on your tailbone. You will understand this the first time you catch an edge heelside. Also, just remember when you fall to resist putting your hands down. Thats how people always manage to break their wrists. Just kinda let yourself go llimp and you won't get hurt.

Its a really good idea to get a lesson the first time. Friends are great, but frequently a real instructor can make much more progress in a quick amount of time. I pretty much refuse to teach anyone on their first day anymore until they have had a lesson. The basic stuff I just can't seem to explain very well. But after that its not so hard to pick up.

 

Where are you going boarding? I went out this sunday, first trip out this season. Was great! We have a lot of early snow here this year (near Toronto, Canada)

Chris

 

Good luck boarding if it's your first time. People probably aren't going to like this but I've never worn any pads ... ever. I remember my ass was sore for about a week after the first time I attempted the double black diamond, it was also the first time I snowboarded

 

Get some knee pads.

 

Under my snowpants I either wear polypropelene or merino wool thermals and thats it. I don't really have a preference between the two materials but found these to be better then any polyester blends.

If it's below 20 degrees I'll wear a light wool sweater over the top thermals, but never anything more. Even if it's -15 my jacket is a very high quality so this setup will keep me warm. Don't forget about good quality socks b/c that can ruin your day, polypropelene in a light/mid thickness.

A helmet will come in handy if you catch your heelside edge and in case you get hit. I have met a girl who broke both her wrists while riding so a pair of wrist guards isn't a bad idea for the first few hours while you learn to turn. The other padding really doesn't help enough to make up for more limited mobility. In case your hands go cold I'd also buy a few of those small heater pouches you can place in your gloves in case it's a cold day. If it's super cold a BellaClava will also come in handy.

Lastly since you are going to Breck there may be a rental shop that has the new banana "reverse concave" boards for rent. These were only introduced last year and if I were to do it again I'd love to have one of those under my feet on the first day. Since the tip and tail don't dig into the snow the chances of catching an edge are much smaller. A banana board will feel more natural to you from the get go versus the traditional board you will probably get stuck with.

Ps Great choice with the Oakley goggles, thats actually how they started out their business at first then moved into sunglasses. A Frame is a tested shape and lenses are easy to find and interchange in case you scratch them or want to upgrade in the future.

 

www.gearattack.com is your friend (much like woot.com)- and as a disclaimer, I am not responsible if you get addicted to that site-
enjoy the good deals!

 

get pumped, snowboarding is super fun....just prepare to suck for 6 to 10 hours of actual on-the-mountain-time...it's harder to learn than the 5 year old flying by you would have you believe. i skied for 25 years and will never go back...not even close.

wear, knee/ass/wrist guards.