So, I Am thinking about Buying a Snowboard - Tell Me What I need to Know....

[Northendzone]

OR - Any Snowboard Nerds Here?

Title says it all, I am thinking I'd like to start getting into Snowbaording with my son. He is 10 and I am 47.

What do I need to know about gearing up?

[DFO]

I'd say put money into a good pair of boots and worry less about the board/bindings setup when starting out.

[undercoverbrother]

Buy a good Helmet as well.

Trust me on this.

Oh and a pillow, a big pillow.

[TheGrimm]

First few days can be painful, if you've never ski'd it will possibly be a bit more difficult. It was about 15 years ago when I took it up, I spent the better part of a day watching people who knew what they were doing go down the hill at COP, just watching how they shifted their weight and overall movements. Be patient, it's kind of like riding a bike, once you get the balance, you just get it.

The biggest threat the first few times out is "catching" an edge which can send you flying pretty good, and if it's a front edge you will instinctually throw out your hands to protect yourself, can be pretty hard on the wrists, or inversely on a back edge, the butt.

It's fun, once you get past the first few days I'd say it's easier to master than skiing (which I did for about 10 years prior to snowboarding).

edit.. If you have size 10.5 or so feet, check the buysell forum I have some brand new boots for sale

[Northendzone]

My son is pushing hard to go snoboarding, and I took a lesson many years ago, and can ski at a moderate level - so I have a somewhat of a sense of what to do.

My roadblocks to getting into this are that currently both my son and I play hockey and he is a goalie - so we have a lot of hockey expenses and we have a lot of weekends that are tied up right now - even to the point where it would be difficlt to get out to COP.

On the flip side, just going for a day and renting gear is not cheap and it would nto take many visits to the hill for the gear purchase to become cost effective.

I am somewhat confident my son will enjoy the sport, just need to figure out if the women folk at my house (wife & daughter) would also enjoy skiing/boarding as well, and how we could work it into the family schedule.

I am thinking for christmas of gettig the son a boarding lesson at COP and then going from there.

Son also wants some new goalie equipment for christmas, which makes trying to figure all of this out a little harder.

What should I look for in when/if I buy a board?

[burn_this_city]

Buy wrist guards to wear under your gloves for the first while.

[GoinAllTheWay]

Get ready for pain. Man...I tried learning to snowboard once. ONCE. That night I felt like I had been thrown into fight club and lost 10 fights straight.

[DownhillGoat]

- COP is not a good hill to learn on
- get a helmet
- get wristguards
- a spine/tailbone protector isn't a bad idea
- as noted, if buying equipment, allocate the funds to a good set of boots vs board/bindings
- if renting equipment, buy boots. Rent the board/bindings
- don't take lessons the first day. Get on a board, get a feel for it. You should know if you're goofy/regular and at the very least get on/off a lift (both t-bar and chair) prior to lessons. Otherwise it's just a huge waste of money
-the learning curve for boarding is different than skiing. Skis are easy(er) to put on and enjoy for the day with little/no experience, but much harder to master. Boarding is much harder to get on and have fun for the first day (or 3), but easier to get good at.

Generic board buying advice :
-a shorter (than recommended) board is easier to manuever. Not a bad idea to rent a shorter board for a while, then buy a board a bit longer (once you learn shorter boards are easy to oversteer, and less stable). However the youngling will outgrow them anyways. Lots of shops in the city have trade-in programs on jr gear.
- don't be afraid to buy used. Lots of guys get pro-deals and sell at the end of the season. Don't worry about surface scratches, just make sure the base is decent. I wouldn't however buy a used helmet or boots

[cam_wmh]

I've been snowboarding for 20 years.
Snowboard & Bindings, come behind your purchase of boots.

Don't look at boot price tags, just get the ones that feel best. Nowadays, the differences for a learner between the various bindings and boards are nominal enough that you can get away with lower end.

There are various sample sales, and year end sales that come in handy as well. Kijiji for the board/bindings.

Take lessons those first days. Developing improper habits on your own, greatly affects your learning curve, & equates to wasted lift ticket dollars and days.

[Northendzone]

Originally Posted by kunkstyle

- COP is not a good hill to learn on

Why is COP not a good hill to learn on?

What is a good learning hill for a young lying and his greaser hipster dad?

[TheGrimm]

Originally Posted by Northendzone

Why is COP not a good hill to learn on?

What is a good learning hill for a young lying and his greaser hipster dad?

I think mostly because it is pretty icy. It's less forgiving on the body when you fall, but the flip side is that it's a lot cheaper to go there than the mountains.

Anyone else miss Fortress? Cheap and close and decent terrain, albeit small.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by Northendzone

Why is COP not a good hill to learn on?

What is a good learning hill for a young lying and his greaser hipster dad?

COP is a great learner hill. If you can board/ski on that crowded ice mound you can board/ski on anything.

[DownhillGoat]

Originally Posted by Northendzone

Why is COP not a good hill to learn on

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

COP is a great learner hill. If you can board/ski on that crowded ice mound you can board/ski on anything.

I've seen more people turned off of skiing/boarding because of COP than learn on it. It's ridiculously icy/hard packed and not forgiving. Not to mention crowded with people also just learning (read: not paying attention to where they or anyone else is going).

Don't get me wrong, I think COP is an awesome thing to have in the city and I would have killed to grow up with access to it. It's a great place to let the kids go after school with buddies, or to play around in the terrain park. However it's not a learning hill. Possibly after getting a feel for things, doing a lesson or two, use COP as a 'second turns' kind of learning. But I wouldn't start there.

For learning I strongly recommend Nakiska. Challenging enough runs to keep everyone entertained for the day, easy enough runs to learn. You're not waiting in line for half an hour for a 30 second ride down. You can spend more time on a single run to actually get a feel for things. No major flats to hamper boarding.

Panorama is also a good hill to learn on, albeit it's more suited to a weekend getaway. I first learned to board at Marmot, but that's definitely a weekend getaway.

[sun]

Buy skis instead.

Just kidding

[DownhillGoat]

Originally Posted by TheGrimm

IAnyone else miss Fortress? Cheap and close and decent terrain, albeit small.

Aren't they opening again thanks to Christopher Nolan? I thought I heard they were cat skiing out there at the end of last season.

I loved that place, especially on a good powder day. Not so much the second time around though. Half of it was shut down with no amenities. However getting a university pass for $100 was unreal. I've never got more skiing in than I did that year.

[3 Justin 3]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

COP is a great learner hill. If you can board/ski on that crowded ice mound you can board/ski on anything.

True. If you can board on that icy hill, then proper snow hills will be much easier.

Also, go to Kijiji to buy a board. There are tons for cheap.

[OffsideSpecialist]

As someone who has both skied and boarded (albeit crappily), and used crappy boots at one point in my life, don't cheap out on the boots. The boots are more important than the rest of your equipment. You can't enjoy yourself if your pain trying to stand up on your board.

[Nammer403]

Buy used.
COP is a good place to learn, lessons are worth it

[username]

I'd have to say that all this stuff about wrist and butt guards is nonesense. Ya, your first day is going to be a little painful but it's not as bad as most people indicate. By the end of your first day you should be able to turn both ways - from there you'll find that after each run you're getting better to the point where you have no problem getting down groomed runs.

I would get on Kijiji and get an old board with bindings and some decent boots. Boots are critical since you don't want to be riding for 5 or 6 hours with sore feet. Comfort is the key.

As for hills - the best hill to learn on is without a doubt Sunshine. They get great snow so your falls don't hurt as much. It's wide open with very few trees so you don't feel like people are going to smash into you and it gets you out of the city.

[Hockeyguy15]

Tip to find out if you are goofy or not...When he isn't expecting it stand behind your son and give him a little push, which ever foot he steps forward to brace himself is the foot he will want infront. Have someone do it to you and you are ready to go.