Snowboarding - Help

[Zeroack]

My son's the snowboarder. He's pretty decent, but I'd still rate him as a beginner. He's always rented his board and boots. Well I'd like to get him his own for a Christmas present. He's only gonna use it maybe 4-5 times a year.

Specs... he's 6'1", not sure on his weight. He's pretty thin.

So what size board? What kind? Where should I look?

Thanks..

Zero

[RogueFactor]

First thing you need to find out is his riding style. Does he prefer to do tricks and such? If so, youll want a shorter board. Or does he prefer speed and the downhill? If so, youll want a longer board.

Second, does he need to have the brand names and the newest gear? Or does he not care?

Me, I dont go all that often. And I dont care about names either. When I was in SoCal, I went and bought boards(2, 1 for the Ms.) at the swap meet.1 Lamar, 1 Kemper. Board shops sell there. At the time, sub-$200 for a new board was pretty good. Got boots too, for ~$70.

Im about the same height as your son, a little over 6'1". The board I ride is a 163. The Ms. is 5'10", and she rides a 161.

We didnt get the fancy binding and boots. Since we dont go often, we preferred to be inexpensive about it. The nice boots snap into the bindings. If I had it to do over again, Id probably get those for me and keep it the same for the Ms. The snap-ins are much easier for gettig onto and off of the lift.

[Lasrsktr]

Its definitely about the riding style.

I am a freerider more than anything - Don't want to go home strapped down in an ambulance.

If hes just a beginner go to sports chalet and buy one of those sub 300 dollar package specials as there really is no need for anything fancy as the board will end up being trashed in no time(think of it as a new paintballer using a fancy Xmag :slap: )

As he progresses the more expensive boards end up being better suited towards riding style since they start using exotic materials and the likes to justify the price.

Last year I got an Arbor board for Xmas(still unused - :wall: damn no snow at mammoth).

But my two previous boards are a K2 Dart and a Salomon Driver. Both great boards.

As far as length I am 6'1" and ride between a 160-165 as not every board is made in every length, but my prefered length is 160cm.

If his feet aren't to big a narrow waisted board will be better in the long run as they are more agile and like to carve a bit more when it is a little bumpy in the upper mountain.

hope that helps.. pm me if you have any questions.

[Mechanic79]

I've been boarding for 8 years. used to rent as well. bought a cheap board (extruded base), cheap bindings, and awesome boots. I've since upgraded a the bindings and board.

FIRST: Buy the most "comfortable" boots FIRST, FIRST, FIRST.
SECOND: Then bindings (this is something that must be experienced to believe)
LAST: The board. the board should be sized for you boot size and weight of the boarder. (DO NOT GO BY YOUR HEIGHT) boarding physics could care less about your height!

You boarding preference. regular or switch? Do you ride goofy as well?
Do you board mainly on short runs, pipes, terrain park?
Long runs/mountains?
Do you like speed or agility?


My example:
I started out with comfortable boots. then bought cheap bindings and a cheap board "pale ski sports" based off the "nose to chin". I boarded this set up for 2 years. couldn't land jumps at all, super stiff, unforgiving and was slow (due to the extruded base) This board was a directional board. which means it was designed to go down only one way.

I live in MN so there are more terrain parks and short runs. though I do go out west 2-3 times per year as well so I ended up purchasing 2 boards. I am not the best in the pipe or terrain park but do like to try.
Ride Kink: sintered base, super short, super flexible, agile and forgiving. not fast. This board also sports twin tip, which basically means the board is equal front and back for riding regular/switch or goofy.
I loved the Kink so much that I wanted an all mountain board similar, but faster and more responsive.
Capita Photo Fetish: similar to the kink but much stiffer/responsive, deeper side cut, and a touch longer. This thing snaps, not as forgiving as the kink.

I use burton cap strap bindings. These bindings even gave my old pale ski sports board more control in turns. Turns easy without much energy.

This is my experience, I hope it helps.

My GF also uses burton cap straps and has a park board and all mountain board that is fitted to her weight and boot size.

We bought our high end stuff from this place http://www.the-house.com
of course we are local, so we went straight there.

I didn't know lasrsktr and rogue boarded :cheers:

[Lasrsktr]

I didn't know lasrsktr and rogue boarded :cheers:


Haha... I've been boarding for a good 13 years...

I religiously travel to Mammoth Mountain about once a month mid week if the snows decent...

I cannot wait to make the first trip this year... :banana::banana::banana:

Thanks for hitting the bindings point... I forgot how much a difference the Cap strap has made for my riding.

The cheapest pair that burton has and still comes stock with the capstrap is the Customs.

[Zeroack]

He just informed me he has size 13 feet. I'm gonna post on craigs list and try and find him a decent all-mountain board. Hopefully I can find something that will fit size 13 boots, like what a surf board or something...

Zero