The winter season is approaching.
Here are some “tips” for you who are a beginner and would like to snowboard with the right board!
We will write in a simple and comprehensive way!
If you want to try snowboarding for the first time and don’t know where to start or have little time to devote to it, rent the equipment!
A tip, which could be useful, before arriving in the resort, is to do research on the web, to find and book the equipment in a quality rental where you can find what you need and is most suitable for you!
If, on the other hand, you have already tried snowboarding, you like it, it makes you feel emotions and you would like to make it yours, you can consider buying the snowboard.
What do you need to know to rent, buy or check the board you have?
The first thing to know is that there are different boards on the market, in this case there are boards for women, men, boys and children!
Remember, in snowboarding, this difference is very important!
If you can’t choose between these types of boards: you’ve got the wrong rental or shop!
Now we explain why.
The size of the foot is the first fundamental thing!
Obviously, the discourse of gender diversity inevitably affects the size of our foot.
Since in snowboarding, the foot is placed sideways on the equipment, it is important that it is not too much inside and not too much outside compared to snowboarding.
This feature is called “waist width”.
For this reason, men’s boards have a different width from women’s, boys’ and children’s.
There are exceptions, however.
For example, if you are a man with a “large” foot (such as 28 cm and up) you will have to stay in your gender category (i.e. men’s boards), but look for wider boards.
These are identified with the letter W which means WIDE in English.
If, on the other hand, you are a man with a small foot (such as from 25 cm down) you will have to pay more attention and choose instead boards belonging to the gender category (men), but much narrower or opt for a women’s or boys’ board.
Otherwise, but according to the same principle, you could also be a woman who opts for men’s boards if – for example – you have an “important” foot or boy’s boards, if – on the contrary – you have a very small foot.
Second thing. Very important, your weight.
In fact, the board will feel it the moment you are on it!
This rule applies whether you rent the equipment or buy it.
In fact, those who provide you with the board, in order to be able to prepare the equipment correctly, must know your weight. As if you buy it, it will be essential to check the technical data sheet and then consider the entry in English “WEIGHT RANGE”, literally WEIGHT RANGE, normally expressed in kilograms.
Your weight should be included in the written values.
Obviously, there are exceptions for these cases as well, for which it is also important to know the height.
For example, it happens that, for very tall people who weigh little (or vice versa, short but with a few extra pounds), it may be better to choose a board with a weight range for which you are at the “limit” or for a range not included (even for a short time).
Of course, it might seem obvious but it is always better to remember that you must opt for a beginner or intermediate level board, where you will find the writing in English: “BEGINNER, INTERMEDIATE”.
Usually in quality rentals you can find this subdivision, as well as find tables for experts.
On the web or e-commerce, on the other hand, it will be more difficult to find this subdivision quickly, you can easily insert filters or the wording that distinguishes the tables based on your experience as well as the genre.
In this way you can make a first skimming.
Then, depending on the models proposed, you will find filters relating to foot number and your weight.
At this point you have found the right board for you.
If the selection is not made automatically or with filters, you can also find it manually by analyzing, for example, the characteristics of the tables and selecting them according to what is described above.
Another thing to consider is that very often you are asked: “ALL MOUNTAIN? PARK? FREESTYLE? FREERIDE? POWDER?”
They are asking you what you want to do with snowboarding!
The most immediate answer could be: “stand”, “learn”, “improve”, etc….
Right!
But let’s also learn some terms.
ALL MOUNTAIN: easily understood, a snowboard suitable for a little bit of everything.
PARK: board purely recommended for those who want to stay in the snowpark
FREESTYLE: both snowpark and jumps and games on the slopes.
FREERIDE: off-piste
POWDER: off-piste with lots of powder snow
P.S: park/freestyle very similar as freeride/powder
Most of the time the ALL MOUNTAIN category is the one that best suits most people.
Sometimes even the FREESTYLE one could be.
But WARNING: these are the terms most used by most brands/rentals/snowboard shops but you could easily find other terms as well, very similar to those used above.
FANTASTIC! 😃
At this point, if you have followed all the tips written so far, you can start snowboarding or improve, with the right board!
It is always better to start with a teacher. With arrears and friends it is better to meet later at the aperitif!
The shape of the board (shape), types (bends), flexibility (flex) and much more are starting to be unimportant for now or rather they could create, at this stage, a bit of confusion.
But this is an aspect that we will explore together shortly.
In the next articles “TIPS OF THE MASTERS” we will address the topic of EXPERTS and consequently we will also talk about these elements.
SUMMARIZING
The three important things to observe are:
– GENDER DIVERSITY: man/woman/boy/child
– SHOE SIZE, WEIGHT AND HEIGHT
– LEVEL:beginner or intermediate
If you want you can fill out the form and let us know your snowboard preferences (one/two or all) so you will receive information about your passions by email!
For more advice contact us or you could participate in our snowboard camps or lessons.
Master 6point9
Matteo Mentasti