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Need Help to pick my first Snowboard

Jdownhill

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Apr 17, 2017
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Hello Everyone.

I'm so glad I found this forum and it is great to be here! So over the past few days I was lurking around and finally decided to register.

This year I went on holiday and tried snowboarding for the very first time. And I have to say it is really addictive. So that's why I was thinking to get my own board for the next trip. I'm still a newbie, so please bear that in mind.

This week I did some research and checked out some websites classified adds and trusted shopping sites like http://www.for-sale.co.uk/snowboard. And there are so many boards for sale. I really can't decide which one to pick.

Some brands which repeatedly came up were Burton, Arbor and Yes. So here is a list of my picks so far.

* Burton Clash
* Burton Ripcord
* Arbor Foundation
* Arbor Whiskey
* YES Basic

Occasionally Capita and K2 showed up as well. Anyway, all of these broads would also roughly fit into my budget of about £300 ($400 USD).

So can anybody here recommend some brands or models which are suitable for a beginner like me? And are there any details I have to pay attention to when I buy a board.
I also was thinking about getting a used one. So is that advisable? And are there any common pitfalls to avoid?

Sorry for all these questions, but as I said before, I'm a total newbie. So therefore any feedback is highly appreciated.

Jake.
 
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mbedle

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Jdownhill - welcome to the forum and welcome to the skiing and riding. two questions for you - do you have any friends that ride? Reason I'm asking is you might want to try out their boards to get a feel for different types. Also, what board did you rent when you were on vacation?
 

Jcb890

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Feb 25, 2015
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Location
Central MA
Hello Everyone.

I'm so glad I found this forum and it is great to be here! So over the past few days I was lurking around and finally decided to register.

This year I went on holiday and tried snowboarding for the very first time. And I have to say it is really addictive. So that's why I was thinking to get my own board for the next trip. I'm still a newbie, so please bear that in mind.

This week I did some research and checked out some websites classified adds and trusted shopping sites. And there are so many boards for sale. I really can't decide which one to pick.

Some brands which repeatedly came up were Burton, Arbor and Yes. So here is a list of my picks so far.

* Burton Clash
* Burton Ripcord
* Arbor Foundation
* Arbor Whiskey
* YES Basic

Occasionally Capita and K2 showed up as well. Anyway, all of these broads would also roughly fit into my budget of about £300 ($400 USD).

So can anybody here recommend some brands or models which are suitable for a beginner like me? And are there any details I have to pay attention to when I buy a board.
I also was thinking about getting a used one. So is that advisable? And are there any common pitfalls to avoid?

Sorry for all these questions, but as I said before, I'm a total newbie. So therefore any feedback is highly appreciated.

Jake.
1st off, great name. (Mine is also Jake)
2nd, welcome!
3rd, I would also recommend another forum for you to check out which is snowboard-specific:
Snowboarding Forum: http://www.snowboardingforum.com/forum.php

That said, AlpineZone is great. Good people here who are very knowledgeable, especially about the East Coast and New England. You should check them all out, I'm on here and SBF under the same username.

What type of conditions do you anticipate riding? Did you take a trip here to New England or did you take a trip somewhere closer to you in Europe? The conditions you will ride will have an impact on your decision.

How do you plan to ride? Will you be carving on groomers, going in trees or doing jumps and rails in the park? You may not be able to do that stuff now, but give some thought to where you think you'll want to take your riding as you progress and you can probably find a board which will suit those needs and goals.

With a budget of $400 USD, you will have a good amount of options of last-year's models. Much of the technology stays the same year-to-year with only a change of topsheet or base graphics. Some years will have bigger technology changes though, it all depends on the manufacturer and lots of other factors.

There is nothing wrong with Burton, Arbor, YES, Capita or K2 and like you have seen, there are still many more brands as well.

There is also nothing wrong with a used board, especially if the price is right and it is in good shape. If you are looking at used boards, keep an eye on odd-looking "blobs" of different colors on the base - if the person does not disclose any information, this could be a sign of a core shot which was repaired. If a repair is done correctly, the board could be fine... if not, it'll deteriorate and possibly much quicker than you'd like. Your topsheet is going to get scratches, there is absolutely no way around it. So if you are looking at a used board and are turned off by a couple of scratches on the top, you might not need to be because it most likely won't have any impact on the board's performance or durability.

Craigslist is a place to look for boards (this might only be a US thing though?) but many of the people don't know what they have and the pricing might not be a good fit. With limited knowledge in your position, I'd rely a little bit on the knowledge of the seller if it comes to a used board. My suggestion along those lines would be to find the SNOWBOARD TRADERS group on Facebook and request to join. There's about 6,000 members on there who post boards, bindings, boots, goggles, etc. for sale and are all pretty knowledgeable. Once you get permission to join the group you can scroll through old and current things for sale to get an idea of what gets posted, pricing, etc.

Lastly, along with the conditions and type of riding you plan to do, your body height, weight and shoe size is important in determining the correct size of board.

Sorry to answer your questions with even more questions. Hopefully some of this helped.
 

Jdownhill

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Apr 17, 2017
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Thank you so much for this long post. Got a lot from it. For my first trip me and my friends went for a few days to Switzerland. It was so much fun! I definitely want to check out New England as well. I saw some amazing pictures. But first I need to save up some money. I guess snowboarding is - unfortunately - not the cheapest hobby.
 

Jcb890

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Thank you so much for this long post. Got a lot from it. For my first trip me and my friends went for a few days to Switzerland. It was so much fun! I definitely want to check out New England as well. I saw some amazing pictures. But first I need to save up some money. I guess snowboarding is - unfortunately - not the cheapest hobby.
Ain't that the truth?!

Feel free to post up any more questions you have as well.

You'll probably want something which will excel in all conditions, but there's still many more questions to be answered - shape of board will depend on if you plan to want to ride switch at all. You can ride switch still with a directional board, but it isn't as easy compared to having a true twin, etc.
 

Domeskier

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Oct 15, 2012
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Thank you so much for this long post. Got a lot from it. For my first trip me and my friends went for a few days to Switzerland. It was so much fun! I definitely want to check out New England as well. I saw some amazing pictures. But first I need to save up some money. I guess snowboarding is - unfortunately - not the cheapest hobby.

Have you ridden the Chill Factore? Domes are kind of my thing.
 

Rowsdower

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So this will really depend on a few things: height, weight, shoe size, and the type of riding you want to do.

If you're planning on ripping mostly local NE mountains, you will not need the same kind of board you would if you plan on mainly visiting Europe or out West. That being said, as a beginner type of terrain will not matter as much, since you will be learning the basics and that can be done pretty much anywhere.

The old rule of thumb for picking board length used to be that the board should be between your chin and nose when you stand it up in front of you. However, with newer camber and rocker profiles on many boards you can ride them a few centimeters shorter. I'm six foot and ride a 156 all-mountain and a 152 for small local PA hills, for instance. Although I am a featherweight (135lbs) but height is a bigger factor in determining board length than weight. Again, longer boards are better for floating in powder, shorter boards are generally used in terrain park. You'll see two types of board shape: directional and twin. Directional boards have a real nose, where the nose is slightly longer than the tail. Twin tip boards have no difference (besides sometimes flex patterns) between the nose and tail and are easier to ride switch. Generally twin-tip boards are best on park or general all-mountain. Directional twins excel most in powder as the extra nose length gives you extra float in soft snow. You'll also see most brands offering wide varieties of their boards. These are for if you have big feet and a normal width board is too narrow for your boots. You want your heel and toe comfortably over your edges but not sticking too far out that you get toe-drag.

A good beginner board will be one you can take into a range of conditions and ride moderately well. You aren't pushing into advanced territory so you won't need a more specialized performer. You will figure that out when you decide what type of riding you like best... or you'll end up with a quiver of boards for different conditions.

What I'd look for is a mid-flex true twin board. That should let you carve up groomers just fine and you can learn the rudiments of riding switch and try it out on jumps or pretty much take it anywhere. Most big manufacturers have a line or two of all-mountain boards at affordable price points for casual riders or beginners. These are boards you can learn to rip up pretty much anything the NE or Mid Atlantic has to throw at you in terms of in-bounds terrain. Boards like the K2 Standard or Ride Agenda would be right in your budget and will get you through all the ropes of learning to ride. Both those brands also offer lower priced bindings that should fit your budget. K2 Sonics or Indys for bindings for instance will do the basics just fine. Boots are about the only place I'd consider splurging. You want a warm, comfy boot. It's not worth saving $40-50 on a cheaper boot if it means your feet are cramped and cold.

If you want something that might last a little longer you could go for something like the K2 Raygun. I have one and its a great all-mountain and powder board. Very stable on rough terrain.

You could get all that new, in your budget range, so long as you don't mind riding a model thats a couple years old. You can get a 2015 or 2016 stick, in the wrapper, off discount sites like The House. Same goes for outerwear. You could also go for a used board if you can trust the buyer and you get a good enough deal.

Feel free to ask any other questions!
 
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Domeskier

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I'm six foot and ride a 156 all-mountain and a 152 for small local PA hills, for instance. Although I am a featherweight (135lbs) but height is a bigger factor in determining board length than weight.

Were you heavier back when you shot your avatar pic?
 

Rowsdower

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Were you heavier back when you shot your avatar pic?

I was chased out of western Alberta by a murderous cult. I had to do a lot of running so thats where most of the weight went.

Now I fight crime with the help of my kid sidekick, Troy. Next up we're taking on a band of zombie fur trappers in Medicine Hat. Right after we get done fighting evil Acadian robots.
 

Domeskier

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I was chased out of western Alberta by a murderous cult. I had to do a lot of running so thats where most of the weight went.

Now I fight crime with the help of my kid sidekick, Troy. Next up we're taking on a band of zombie fur trappers in Medicine Hat. Right after we get done fighting evil Acadian robots.


That's pretty much how I always pictured you. I have a gift for reading people.
 
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