Buying a snowboard?

Question

i want to buy a snowboard, but i dont know what i should get. what are good brands to buy from? i know most of you will say Burton, but there mad expensive. please help?

Answer 1

Cliffnote: My first board was a k-2 and it was awesome! Honestly though, I've used good boards and cheap boards. Spend your money getting good boots and bindings and don't worry too much about the board

The board should be about the height of your nose they say. I own 3 boards though, and the longest is only to my chin. I l love a shorter board, as it makes it easy to control, and gets plenty fast for me! Even when I go straight down a blue square. I like it easy to handle when I'm carving up a black or double black. I'm pretty tall though (6'1)

I think between chin and nose should work be fine for you, and not make much of a difference. I have had no bad experience with cheaper boards I've used.

Weight doesn't effect what you're looking for in a board in my opinion. Only if you were a huge person or had humongous feet that hung over the side, then you would want to look for a wider board. A normal width board will work just fine for you though. you don't need anything specialty.

Do: Try to get one that has an edge around the whole board though, tail and nose, instead of just on the sides. You can get a much nicer board for cheap if you check out pawnshops though and I think that goes with everything gear-wise. They usually have alot of snowboard stuff right now. infact, I was just at a pawnshop and saw about 10 board setups there.

I bought my first board setup in 6th grade. Now I'm 22 and still use the same K-2 strap in bindings I got back then. I can't say if other brands hold up as good as mine have, but I'd say they probably do. I love the support of binding with straps! Those K-2's have been so great for me!

Other than that, I have some click in boots and bindings. They can be great for snowboarding around your house on short hills, because of the quickness you can just step into them, but you ahve to watch out for some types. When they fill up with snow and get iced over it makes it very time consuming to get back into your bindings!

I wouldn't ever use my step in clickers at the mountain. I just like the support of a strapped binding. Not to mention, sometimes you think the step in bindings are attached, but as soon as you start going down a hill you realize your foot is still not clicked in! That's no fun!!!

Boots, make sure you get a good brand. I have used cheap ones when I first started, and they have just added unwanted stress onto my feet and legs. They were a no name brand I got from Gart Sports (which has since changed its name to sports authority). My feet got cold in them too.

Now that I use Burton boots, I have never been more comfortable. I could never go back. Being so comfortable in a boot makes skiiers jealous. ha ha But that's just how it should be. If you're going to spend more money on anything, I'd make sure it's the boots! Then the bindings, then the board. Again, try to find it used, because you will get better quality brands for same price as brand new lesser quality stuff.

Tip: a good boot with an inner shell is so much better insulated! You should only need one pair of thick socks, so size accordingly! My Burton boots ARE a little big, but another benefit of strap in bindings is that everything feels realy supported. You could still buy something a little big if you think your foot size might still grow a half to a full size.

if you want more advice, feel free to get ahold of me!

Answer 2

Don't buy the cheapest one there is.  That's a good rule with pretty much anything ever.  Go to a few stores and take a friend who boards with you and talk to their employees, go home with the information and make your decision.  A snowboard is a pretty good investment because you can use it for many years (unless you still have growing left to do).

I'd recommend buying in person rather than online because if anything isn't right with it then you can take it to someone and say "I bought this here" rather than have to email some company located who knows where and have to deal with a delay in service.

Brands?  Don't be too picky about name.  As long as it's not $50 at WalMart it'll probably be a decent ride, if you're a beginner.

Answer 3

atomic

morrow

k2