Calling all snowboarders

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totalburnout

totalburnout

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Okay, I went snowboarding for the first time the other day and although there were far more spills than I'm accustomed to when trying to learn something new, I loved it.

I skated back in another life for a good 6-8 years with skateboards/rollerblades, but I'm completely out of my element when it comes to snowboarding.

I'm seeing all these used setups posted on forums and I don't know where the best place to go for a good deal is. I want to go hit the slopes again and possibly rent again just to get a better hang of it, but if I can pick up a setup for relatively cheap I'd be interested in doing so during the season when I can.

For skating I used to order out of the CCS catalogue and they just started selling snowboards when I was getting out of skating years ago, so I suppose they're still around. They had pretty good deals on skateboards, but I don't want to drop $800 on a snowboard setup.

A ebay search for Burton brings back 32089325098636 different items and I don't even know where the hell to begin.

I believe asmallsol snowboards so if he or anyone else can provide some light on the topic, since I'm completely out of my element it would be appreciated.

I need a board, bindings, goggles, and pants.
 
Although I haven’t bought new equipment in a few years, the consensus I hear from friends and on forums is to go to a good retailer and figure out what you want, then buy it off ebay.

Since you don't have much experience, try to find some place where you can get some advice as to what best suits your needs. I'd recommend local boardshops over big chain retailers.
 
your first time is probally one of the most depressing sports moments you will ever face. Trust me everyone is on their ass their first time for sure, don't worry about that.


For your first boad, look for a board that is designed for an all around board. This means that you can take it out on the back country but still take it to a park and do alright on the jumps there. The more expensive boards like in the 400+ range are going to be lighter and made of more exotic material like kevlar and carbon fiber. Some of the better brands out there are Ride, Burton, Forum, Rossignol, some k2 board, Palmer, and capita. there are some other brands out there too, but I can't remember them right now. For a good breakdown of diffrent board technologies like cores, angles, sidecuts, ect, go to ridesnowboards.com and click boards, then board tech. Personally I really like ride boards. They offer alot of nice technologies and good quality for alot less then burton.

A real good place to look at for snowboards other than ebay is http://www.the-house.com

For bindings, stay away from step ins. The boost will be more expensive and wear out quicker because the stiffeness is mainly dependant on your boots instead of the bindings. There are a few companys now making a rear entrance binding where it looks like a traditonal binding however the back has a lever that makes the rear boot support come down. K2 and flow make some and I have heard alot of good reviews about them. However k2's are rather expensive. If you search around every once in a while you can find the flows in the lower 100's. Traditonal strap in bindings are the most comman. They can range in price from 50-350 dollars. The biggest diffrence is weight and stiffness as you move up in price. I am not the biggest fan of traditonal strap ins because the lower strap ends up adding alot of pressure to the foot during longer rides. Burton and now a few other companys have modified the traditonal strap in and made toe caps or toe masks. These make it so when you strap in, you get very little feet movement without having to really crank on the ratchet straps. They are SOO comfortable. I have the burton cartels and I LOVE them. Here is a link to a pretty affordable set at thehouse. (I searched for like 2 minutes so I may have missed some other pairs). In the next few years these will become more of the standard.

http://www.the-house.com/tn1de06wzztechnine.html

For boots, alot of it is prefrence. More expensive ones will be lighter. Make sure you try them on in person. I really have no clue on what size mine are, I just tryed a bunch until I found one that fit well. I went to one of my local smaller snowboard shops and bought the last years model of some really nice pair of northwave boots for half off.


For pants, check out the house on that too. For me, right now, I am just using a cheap pair of columbia Convert or what ever there snowboard targeted line is. I just want something that is pretty warm and will hold up to falls and twigs (I do a decent amount of back country riding).

For goggles, get a dual lens because that will help prevent fog build up. I recomend trying these on before you buy since for me, I have a smaller face and its kinda hard to find ones that fit right. If you were a helment, make sure that the goggles are helment freindly because bigger ones sometimes will hit the bottom of the helment.


For me, my setup is a 2002 Burton Custom (heavy as hell compared to the new one and now pretty beat up) Burton Cartels Bindings (love them) and northwave boots (don't remember the name of the line)

Then for cloths, I use a Columbia 2 peice jacket, columbia snowpants and Oakley a frames goggles.

My next board is probally going to be the Ride Decade board. Its a really bad ass light board for about 100 less then a comprable burton board (I compare it to a burton custom)
 
Hmm... I ski, but I have snowboarded on many occasions.

The other day actually I took up one of my friends with me and it was his first time. First run of the day I took him an intermediate chair then down to an expert chair and man he was pissed. But by half way through the day he litereally could make it down some intermediate runs and not fall once. So tip of the day, try your hardest to conquer your fear and go on the hardest runs where you won't die.

But shit for
Board--Burton or Ride
Binding--Burton, RIde, or Flow(expensive)
Goggles--Oakley's. I've had my pair since I was 8 years old and seriously I've never had them fog on me one time. Best goggle for the buck in my opinion.
Pants--These are a variable. Since you're a boarder you can get many different kinds. I have Freeworld pants from zumiez and really they're quite awesome. I've never been wet, but they come unbuckled once in a while. Before I sized up to these I had helly hansen's for the better part of my life and I never really had a problem at all.
 
asmallsol @ Jan 1 2006 said:
Quoted post[/post]]
your first time is probally one of the most depressing sports moments you will ever face. Trust me everyone is on their ass their first time for sure, don't worry about that.
Click to expand...

Well, slick as me figured since I could ride a skateboard like none other and I was good back in the day that it would all fall into place within the first half hour. I spent a good couple hours on my ass and only actually went down real slopes, other than the bunny slope, twice. The first time I was on my ass quite a few times not because I couldn't keep my balance but because I had a hard time stopping and I didn't want to build up so much speed that I'd be S.O.L. if I needed to bail. I spent most of the day on a smaller beginner board and found that it was so small that it was extremely difficult to stop with, until I hopped up to a larger board and fared much better.

Second run down the slope and I was going extremely slow, going down the slope sideways for the larger majority of the time but it gave me some super practice stopping. My girl was trying to learn as well and kept falling, so I had to stay with her the entire time and make sure things went well. I don't think I fell once other than back on my ass on purpose so I could go back up the hill for her.

I'll have to look into these ride boards. I was always a whore for lightweight setups because it just makes life that much easier. After riding the other day, it brings me back to a childhood love and now I'm really amped about it and I want to go again. My jacket worked fine and its a big puffy thermal jacket, I'm not sure of the brand but it was something from LL Bean or the like that was one of the top of the line jackets awhile back. I need pants though because I have no snow pants whatsoever and goggles probably would make life a lot easier as well. I might still have my old skating helmet that might still fit, I'd have to see.
 
im teaching my girl to snowboard sometime in the next week. god help me. and no diamonds for me all day, maybe an intermediate towards the end.

i just got a new setup. ltd board, fifty one fifty boots, and morrow bindings. not top of the line, but for the 10-15 times i go in a season it should work out just fine.
 
if you really want a good ass raping and a light board, check out the burton Vapor. Like an 900 dollar board lol.

Burton's lightweight boards start at 500 with the custom, then 600 for the custom X (bad ass stiff board) where rides lightweight board start at 400. My favorite looking ride board is the DH but its more of a park board. I want something like my custom where its a middle of the road were its good for both backcountry and park.

How big are you? What is your weight and height. How big was the second board you tried? For me, I am 150-155lbs and 5-11 and I ride a 156cm.

Last time I tought someone to snowboard, I told the person the basics then since I rarely ever ride fakie, I just rode fakie and learned that better and tought her that way. I saw a huge improvement by the end of the night.


As for going down the hardest hill, it depends on where you ski at. At the hill that I go to right by campus that would be fine, but the one thats a little drive from campus unless your a GOOD snowboarder, I wouldn't even recomend going since its that intense. http://mtbohemia.com They have 20 foot cliffs in the middle of runs through the woods, and on some of the actual out in the open runs have blind cliffs spanding the whole run. Its seriously the best snowboarding in the midwest, and if you buy the season pass on the first saturday of december, its only $99
 
asmallsol @ Jan 1 2006 said:
Quoted post[/post]]
if you really want a good ass raping and a light board, check out the burton Vapor. Like an 900 dollar board lol.

Burton's lightweight boards start at 500 with the custom, then 600 for the custom X (bad ass stiff board) where rides lightweight board start at 400. My favorite looking ride board is the DH but its more of a park board. I want something like my custom where its a middle of the road were its good for both backcountry and park.

How big are you? What is your weight and height. How big was the second board you tried? For me, I am 150-155lbs and 5-11 and I ride a 156cm.

Last time I tought someone to snowboard, I told the person the basics then since I rarely ever ride fakie, I just rode fakie and learned that better and tought her that way. I saw a huge improvement by the end of the night.
Click to expand...

I'm 5'8, and vary in weight but I'm around 160lbs right now and at max I'll probably be another 15lbs. I'm unsure of the exact measurement of the second board but I figure that I would fall somewhere around 156-160cm's.

I'm definately not going to drop $400 on a board. I was looking to buy the board, bindings, and boots together for around $200-$400 used and then go on to buy goggles later on.
 
A goos board to go look for is a GNU the have an exceptional base model board that is just as good if not better than 300-400 boards out there. All there board are a wood cor comp. I recomend you check ebay for bindings and crap hell if you need I will go see what crap I have here and you pay the shipping. I'm sure I have atleast a board and binding I could give you, and maybee boots? As for googles, go spend 60-100 bucks. Why so much? because you will notice the diffrence, get a cheap pari in the powder and they foog right up. Good googles have dual layers and anti fogging built right in.


One piece of gear you did not mention is a bucket? For the first couple season I would recomned ridding with one. Hell I still carry one and srat it on before I doo dumb shit.
Also If you smoke allitle before it will help lossen you up and believe it or not you wil learn faster.
 
New2TheCarScene @ Jan 1 2006 said:
Quoted post[/post]]


I'm 5'8, and vary in weight but I'm around 160lbs right now and at max I'll probably be another 15lbs. I'm unsure of the exact measurement of the second board but I figure that I would fall somewhere around 156-160cm's.

I'm definately not going to drop $400 on a board. I was looking to buy the board, bindings, and boots together for around $200-$400 used and then go on to buy goggles later on.
Click to expand...


yea, I defently agree for a first board, there is no need to drop 400 on a top of the line carbon reiforced board. 156ish would probally be a good board for you. 160 is a little on the bigger side.
 
Ya man, Ride boards are where it's at. I've been boarding for somewhere around 11 years. The past 4 I've had 3 new boards. They were all the same board (Ride Timeless), but just updated models. Burton has always had great stuff, but the price point is a bit high. Not to say that you cant pick up a Ride business for $750-800.

Burton bindings have always been my choice. Basically because they're comfy as hell and the base is NOT made of aluminum, which I can argue about the downfalls of for hours. I've ridden on countless other bindings over the years and they just didn't impress me.

Boots are a prefrence. I used to ride on burton boots, and they do fit like a glove into the Burton bindings, BUT, they're pretty heavy, unless you get into the really expensive ones. I picked up a pair of Limited boots. They are lighter than my normal shoes. I paid $100 cdn. for them. No complaints at all. I think they're definately the best value for the dollar in terms of boots. Here is a link to a bunch of them:
Limited Boots

In terms of all the rest of the shit you want to pick up, just dont skimp out on the goggles. Pants, jackets, ect... who the fuck cares.....just ride in whatever you have. If you have a warm and semi-waterproof winter jacket then your set. Just dont be that dude on the hill, drunk off his ass wearing an old Oakland Raiders jacket and acid washed jeans....brutal.
 
yeah, but its the shit.

i bought that off bill back in high school.... 1997 i think... and he had it for a few years, and he bought it used from a buddy of his.

go on the mountain with it, and everyone who sees it asks to buy it. its very rare.
 
asmallsol @ Jan 1 2006 said:
Quoted post[/post]]
if you really want a good ass raping and a light board, check out the burton Vapor. Like an 900 dollar board lol.

Burton's lightweight boards start at 500 with the custom, then 600 for the custom X (bad ass stiff board) where rides lightweight board start at 400. My favorite looking ride board is the DH but its more of a park board. I want something like my custom where its a middle of the road were its good for both backcountry and park.

How big are you? What is your weight and height. How big was the second board you tried? For me, I am 150-155lbs and 5-11 and I ride a 156cm.

Last time I tought someone to snowboard, I told the person the basics then since I rarely ever ride fakie, I just rode fakie and learned that better and tought her that way. I saw a huge improvement by the end of the night.


As for going down the hardest hill, it depends on where you ski at. At the hill that I go to right by campus that would be fine, but the one thats a little drive from campus unless your a GOOD snowboarder, I wouldn't even recomend going since its that intense. http://mtbohemia.com They have 20 foot cliffs in the middle of runs through the woods, and on some of the actual out in the open runs have blind cliffs spanding the whole run. Its seriously the best snowboarding in the midwest, and if you buy the season pass on the first saturday of december, its only $99
Click to expand...
im 5'11", 185lbs. and i ride a 154. works for me. and where is a season pass 99 bucks? especially for what your describing? i mean shitty mountain creek is like 275.
 
this place is in the middle of nowhere and pretty much as north as you can go and still be in michigan. The town that is like 15 minutes north of it, copper harbor (most northern tip of the UP of michigan) there is a sign when you head south that says Miami Flordia, 1990 miles. The normal lift tickets are $40 I think so if you plan on going more then twice in a year, you might as well pick up the season pass, and as I said, they only offer that price once a year, any other time during the year, its $340. The hill that is right by campus is 225 a year for a student and isn't even 1/3 the fun of Mt. Bohemia.

If you live anywhere around the UP, I highly suggest you make a run up there once around feburaryish (they don't make snow there, nore do they groom since you can't really groom in dences forests) so its all about when the last snowfall was. I made it out there twice last year where I woke up to 18inches of powder. In fresh snow, you can barellel through the woods and its SOO much fun. Its a damn workout too since your constantly leaning back. Your quads get sore as hell but its worth it.


Also, if you buy a new board, don't forget a stomp pad. When you unstrap a binding and coast, you need the stomp pad for friction between your boot and the board.
 
asmallsol @ Jan 1 2006 said:
Quoted post[/post]]
Also, if you buy a new board, don't forget a stomp pad. When you unstrap a binding and coast, you need the stomp pad for friction between your boot and the board.
Click to expand...
shit, idk how i forgot to get one with this new board. ill have to get one before i go later this week.
 
sLuShBoXtEgGy @ Jan 1 2006 said:
Quoted post[/post]]
im 5'11", 185lbs. and i ride a 154. works for me. and where is a season pass 99 bucks? especially for what your describing? i mean shitty mountain creek is like 275.
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I've never been to mountain creek, but I've been by it before and it was a damned mad house.


B, I highly doubt if that board is selling for $330 that you're going to let it go for cheap - I want to get into something relatively cheap.


Asmallsol, if you see any boards that you think might fit on sale on ebay if your journeys across the web - let me know.
 
If you do a search for one of my threads back in maybe September or October, these guys gave me a LOT of helpful information. I've been snowboarding a few times before this year, but this is the first season I bought a pass and got my own setup, and I'm LOVING it. I got really lucky because Preludebuddy hooked me up with his board, bindings and pants. It's a Burton Seven, I'm thinking a 154, however I'm not too sure. I went to Gart Sports around the time of the Sniagrab (huge fucking sale here in CO), and I picked up an Airwalk jacket, originally $170, for 50 bucks. I went around to a lot of different shops here in the area, and got fitted for various brands and sizes of boots. Then I ordered my Burton Viking boots off ebay for under $50 shipped. One thing some of the people at the board shops were telling me, is that some boots have Thermal linings, and some have Stitched. Apparently, the Thermal lined boots will be more comfortable and warmer as well. ThirtyTwo makes some good and light boots. Get some GOOD ass gloves! That's my piece of advice. You won't really notice it all that much when you're riding, but even with my gloves (which I LOVE) my fingers get pretty cold on the lift. One board I was looking into was the Ride Cue 156.
RideCue.jpg

RideCue2.jpg

I was able to find it pretty cheap browsing a couple ebay stores. (I think around $190 + shipping.) I read some pretty good reviews about it. I got Quicksilver pants, and they work very well. I like to put on a pair of sweatpants under them :thumbsup:. As far as goggles go, I spent around $30 on a pair of Quicksilvers, and they have worked out great. They've never fogged up, even when I was getting a shitload of powder in my face.
 
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