How to choose the perfect snowboard

The pleasure of skiing, snowboarding and speed of learning depends not only on your abilities, but also on the equipment. Layfhaker will explain how to choose the perfect board for the length, width, hardness and other parameters, as well as to find boots and bindings that will provide good control and comfort.

How to choose a snowboard on purpose

As in the case of skiing, snowboarding when choosing first and foremost is to decide where and how you ride.

Carving, hard snowboards (Carving, Alpine)

Long and hard snowboards designed for riding at high speed on the prepared slopes. These boards are used only with hard bindings and boots, suitable for professionals and athletes progressing.

Universal snowboards (All-mountain)

The name speaks for itself: these snowboards suitable for skiing on prepared tracks, and lung freeride. They are less rigid, with a narrower waist (the narrowest place of snowboarding), riding them easier: perfect technique is not required. Beginners should choose such boards.

What to buy

• Snowboard Termit Helios, 13,499 rubles →
• Snowboard kids Burton Burton After School Spe, 21 599 rubles →
• Snowboard Termit Chance, 7999 rubles →

Snowboards freeride (Freeride)

This is the board for the unprepared slopes suitable for skiing in deep snow. They are longer and wider than the universal. Often the nose of the wider tail.

What to buy

• Snowboard Head The Day, 30,999 rubles →
• Women's snowboard Burton Day Trader, 44,999 rubles →

Snowboards freestyle (Freestyle, Park & ​​Pipe)

Such boards are shorter and softer universal, often the geometry of twin-tip, that is the same ends, due to which the rider may continue after jumping horse as a person, as well as backwards.

snowboard appointment can be found on the label or ask the consultant. In online stores, as a rule, you can set the option to filter products.

What to buy

• Snowboard Head Architect, 26,799 rubles →
• Snowboard Salomon Craft, 22,499 rubles →
• Women's snowboard Burton Talent Scout, 44,999 rubles →

What is the length and width must be snowboarding

The next important selection parameter - the length of the board. Snowboard riders selected for growth in view of the appointment of the board.

1. Universal carving or snowboarding must be 15 cm shorter than your height. To find the right board on the eyes, put her next to him: the upper edge should be in the area of ​​your nose or chin.
2. Snowboard Freeride must be 10 cm shorter than your height.
3. To choose snowboard freestyle, Subtract 8-10 cm from its growth.

If you weigh little, subtract from the value obtained for 5 cm. If you have an impressive build, on the contrary, add 5 cm.

Also, the length of the selection depends on the riding level: beginners worth buying snowboarding 2-3 cm longer than the advanced riders.

Often manufacturers of snowboards have special tables where you can find your height and weight and learn how to choose the length of the board. The table may be the manufacturer's website or even on the snowboard, but rather on a sticker on the sliding surface, which specifies the characteristics of the board.

snowboards are divided into widths:

1. narrow (Narrow): the width of the waist up to 250 mm.
2. standard (Regular): waist width 250-260 mm, the width of the ends to 300 mm.
3. average (Mid-wide): waist width 250-260 mm, width 300 mm from the ends.
4. broad (Wide): waist width of 260 mm.

Pick up the width of the snowboard depending on the foot size. If the size is greater than 44, it is necessary to take a mid-wide, or wide.

Structures and materials snowboards

There are two basic designs snowboards and combinations thereof:

1. Cap (CEP). Core snowboard on top of a monolithic closed lid, and bottom - the sliding surface. These boards easier to make (well, repair, too), but because they are cheaper. However, unlike the sandwich, while the cap can fall split: cover depart from the moving surface.
2. Sandwich (Sandwich). The core, the sliding surface and the upper cover are pressed decorative molding. The result is a robust construction of several layers. If you can break a snowboard, it will be harder to fix. In addition, the sandwiches are more expensive.
3. composite structures. Often used in the manufacture of snowboards both technologies. Due to puff all sandwiches snowboarding becomes more robust, and mid-cap ensures ease.

core snowboard

Snowboard cores made of different materials:

1. wood beech, ash, poplar, oak, spruce, pine. The core of the wood resists shock and vibration. Some companies Mervin snowboards are manufactured with a core of genetically modified wood without rings. It is believed that this is good for flexibility and strength.
2. Wood and foam. Due to the foam snowboards become easier and cheaper. However, it reduces their elasticity and resistance to vibration.
3. Combinations of different materials. The combination of wood, carbon and aluminum provides a snowboard rigidity and lightness. There are many combinations there are always new developments.

sliding surface

There are two variants of the sliding surface:

1. The surface of the extruded polyethylene (Extruded). It is more cheap, does not require special care, as if damaged - costly repairs.
2. The surface of the sintered polyethylene (Sintered). Polyethylene powder is sintered under high temperature and high pressure. In such a surface porous structure, which absorbs ointment and slides better. Besides, she is not afraid of scratches and small ice chips. However, it will be more difficult to repair.

What should be the deflection in snowboard

An important parameter in the selection - kind of trough. From it easy control snowboard depends directly.

1. classic or weight deflection (Camber). Such a raised central portion of the snowboard. When the rider stands on the board, the pressure is evenly distributed over the entire surface. Learning to snowboard is difficult with a classic deflection: driving requires good technique, mistakes are not forgiven. Therefore, for the beginners a better experience another kind of depression - a rocker.
2. Rocker (Banana, rocker). The central part of the snowboard with the ground and the ends are curved. The arcuate shape facilitates learning: at the expense of a single point of support board more docile and easy to control, it turns on you with any movement of the housing.
   Snowboard with a bend often selected freestyle: rocker good for big-Air (jumping) and jibbing (sliding on the rails and other surfaces). Suitable rocker and freeride.
3. zero deflection (Flat). The central part of the snowboard completely flat, and the ends are raised above the ground. It is well suited for a relaxed skiing beginners and freestyler tricks.
4. combined deflections. There are a large number of hybrid curves: camber-rocker-camber (as shown above), rocker-camber-rocker (deflection freeride), rocker-flat-rocker and many others. Due to the combination of certain characteristics of bends increases snowboard. For example, the speed or ease of control.

Chants

Edgings - narrow steel strips on the edges of the snowboard, which allows the rider to make sharp turns, - can be divided into two types:

1. Straight - the most common edge. It can be long (on the whole board length) or shortened when the front or rear part are not protected piping (often encountered in snowboarding freeride, reducing the weight of the board).
2. Magne Traction - special development company Mervin. This wavy edge, resembling a knife for cheese.

Due to five or seven points of edge supports, you can rotate without problems on any surface, even on icy crust.

Geometry

Snowboards differ in the placement of mortgage - steel mounting holes. There are three types:

1. Directional (Directional). In mortgages directed snowboarding offset so that either the nose or tail of the board is longer. You can go in only one direction - down the mountain. To increase the strength and stability, snowboard nose usually is softer than the tail. Directional snowboards are used for carving and freeriding.
2. Room type (Twin-tip). It is absolutely symmetrical boards, which are often used for park riding. As the nose and tail of the same length and stiffness, can be ridden in any direction.
3. Directional twin-tip (Twin-tip directional). Such boards have a slight offset mortgages and differences in stiffness of the nose and tail. More rigid tail provides stability, and an elongated nose gives advantages when driving over the snow. Snowboard with a geometry selected for trass and piste skiing at high speed.

Relative to each other, too, mortgages can be arranged in different ways.

1. 4 × 4. Filling located 4 cm from each other horizontally and vertically.
2. 2 × 4. Embedded vertically positioned 4 cm from each other, and horizontally - 2 cm.
3. 3D Pattern. It mortgages placed in the form of lozenges. These are only used on boards of Burton.
4. Infinite Channel System (ICS) - is the development of Burton. The screws are not screwed but inserted into a special chute on the board. This makes it easy to change the position of the attachment.

ICS boards for special mounting needed, ideally from EST Burton. Some conventional fastening are sold with a special disk-adapter, with which they can be used as a regular board, and with the ICS snowboarding.

How to choose a mount

To begin Let us examine the main elements of attachment, and then talk about how to choose the option to suit your needs.

1. Base - the basis of attachment.
2. highback - heel fixing the heel of a shoe.
3. Arc - thrust bearing.
4. strap - two straps that secure the front of the shoe.
5. Buckley - two clasps.
6. The gas pedal - retractable strap on the toe attachment that allows you to adjust the length.

fastenings

With two fastening buckles (Strap-in)

This is the most common attachment. To put on such fixing, it is necessary to detach the two strap, insert the leg and fasten Straps.

There are also options with special lower Strap - kepstrepom (capstrap). He covers sock shoe not only in front, but also from above, pressing firmly to the base.

With folding highback (Rear-entry)

This model, which can be buttoned easier and faster. In such anchorages Straps are connected together to better secure the shoe. To put them, you need to tilt the highback, insert foot, and then put it back in place.

Step-in mounting

It is a system in which the boot is latched when the rider steps on the mount. On the one hand, it's easier to fix shoes, on the other - in the attachment may nabitsya snow and then fasten it to be problematic.

In addition, for the Step-in bindings need special hard shoes, so it is better not to buy them if you want a quiet and relaxed skiing or you get up for the first time on a snowboard. Newcomers better to choose a soft mount with not too strong fixation Strap feet.

fixing EST

This model for the IST board with channel system from Burton. Unlike conventional fasteners, EST Unique visitors are lightweight base and on it instead of the usual openings - runners and ears.

It was in these tabs and inserted the two screws that secure the EST on the board and allow the adjustment of the fasteners.

Another important point: fixing definitely need to pick up along with shoes.

How to choose snowboard boots

Rigidity

The main criterion for selection of shoes - it's hardness. It was from her will depend on your comfort while riding and how easy it will be to manage a snowboard.

Hardness is determined on a scale of 1 to 10. Above the five - boots for advanced and professional riders, for those who have supplied equipment and plans to ride at high speed on prepared tracks.

More rigid shoes provide good management, but are quite uncomfortable, especially if you are a novice rider.

Models with a hardness of between three and five are suitable for beginners snowboardersAs well as freeride and freestyle specialists. In these rather soft comfortable shoes to walk without a snowboard, you need during ascents on the wild slopes. Plus they make it possible not to damage the feet while jumping.

There are also shoes with changeable rigidity. They are special plastic inserts, due to which and changes in the stiffness of a given range. For example, without the rigidity inserts shoes - four, and with them - seven. These shoes come in handy for those who want to ride and the wild, and prepared slopes.

With the rigidity of one to three are available in the main children's shoes.

type lacing

Classical lacing

This is the most common lacing, which should be tightened by hand. Despite its simplicity, many professional athletes choose these shoes because they consider them more reliable.

Boa system

This wheel, which automatically tightens the laces when turning. With such a system on the lacing it takes much less time.

toke

The speed and convenience of a cross between the classic and the Boa. You do not spend a lot of time, but do not rely on a complex mechanism.

Trying on shoes, pay attention to how they behave when walking. If the full lace up boots when lifting off the heel-to-toe, it does not suit you. Shoes should be good to fix the leg: it allows you to avoid injury when riding.

That's all. If you have tips for choosing a snowboard, bindings and boots, write comments.