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EXCELLENT INFO ON ALL KIDS SNOWBOARDS
KIDS SNOWBOARDING GEAR AND CLOTHING TOO!
UPDATED FOR 2007/2008 WINTER SEASON
This page will give you lots of really good first hand information about kids snowboards. Snowboarding gear and clothing and some good resources on where to buy kids snowboards and gear.
Most kids gotta have fun 99% of the time! If they are cold or wet... thats it for the day...for the KIDS...and YOU TOO! BELIEVE ME I been there and it' no fun for anybody!
Of any age group, kids can be the hardest to please...especially when it comes to keeping WARM and DRY...
This means you need to pay EXTRA SPECIAL attention to their snowboarding clothes and gear...and less attention to the kids snowboards...
So lets deal with their clothes first and the kids snowboards after...
Starting from their heads to toes...
SNOWBOARDING HELMETS... 2 GOOD REASONS
My own experience is that kids should wear snowsports helmets...Period...No IFS..No ANDS..NO BUTS..Why?
THE #1 reason is snowboard helmets protect their heads from serious injury if someone bigger crashes into them or they get going too fast and crash and burn....My own kids learned to ski and then snowboard real fast...The problem was that they could go much faster than their skill level allowed them to stop quickly and sooner than later they would take a high speed wipe out. If they are lucky, its only snow, if unlucky...maybe a tree, a pole or a rock... YOU GET THE PICTURE...
Reason #2...SNOWBOARD HELMETS are perfect for kids because they are much WARMER than most hats......Especially helmets with insulated ear flaps...My own kids prefer their helmets for this reason alone..They rarely have a problem with their helmets being TOO warm.Remember.. it is way easier to cool off than to warm up....This can be as simple as removing their helmet for a minute or two on the ride up the lift..
Make sure your kids helmet fits very well.
DO NOT buy them a size bigger thinking they will grow into it..Their heads don't grow in size nearly as fast as their feet! There are a number of good places to buy kids snowboarding helmets on the net...
HATS
DO NOT BUY YOUR KIDS A HAT FOR SNOWBOARDING!!! Buy them a hat to use before or after snowboarding...Buy your kid a nice and warm hat, get as thick a hat as possible...Ear flaps are a good idea...Make sure its not wool...they get itchy and even if warm when wet....Kids won't tolerate it for too long.A wool hat with a wicking fabric liner IS OK and works very well...
MASKS & NECKWARMERS
Make sure they have a neck warmer and or a good facemask...
MAKE SURE THEY DO NOT WEAR SCARVES
instead of a neck warmer or facemask...
EVERY year there are always accidents related to scarves catching on trees, moving chairlifts ,etc. They are easy to lose and a hassle to wear usually...They always seem to slide off, get bunched up or tangled at the wrong time...Plus they catch and hold a large amount of snow...which melts when you go inside and then you have a soggy heavy cold and wet mess...
Scarves are fine for the city , town or school playground
SCARVES are NOT for the snowboard slopes...
GOGGLES & SUNGLASSES
Goggles are a NECESSITY for snowy, windy and colder days.Goggles should be double lens and have anti fog coating...Make sure they fit your kids face well...It is a very good idea to buy snowboarding goggles and helmets at the same time...
Make sure to ask that they are compatible, if possible check the fit on your kid with helmet on and off...Dont settle for less that a firm comfortable fit....that will not allow snow to enter between your kids face and goggles...
Sunglasses are a NECESSITY for the warmer sunny days....Make sure kids sunglasses have a headband to keep them in place on their head and or a neck strap to keep them from getting dropped or lost if not in immediate use...
You can get more information about goggle and sunglass technology and features at the
Snowboard Goggles page ... and at the Sunglasses page ...
THERMAL BASE LAYER
A thermal base layer is the first part of the 3 layering system designed to keep
people warm and dry when its cold and wet outside...Ok so what exactly is the 3 layer system...It is simple.
Layer #1... is a NON-COTTON layer of clothing that soaks up body moisture and moves it away from the body....Good examples are thermal underwear made of silk or polartec or any other fabric designed to wick moisture away from the body...
THE BEST PLACE to get schooled and buy thermals for kids and adults is WICKERS.com ...You can learn real fast all about thermal technology and their fabric called...
AKWATEC...I HIGHLY RECOMMEND... THIS SITE...FOR BOTH KIDS and ADULTS !!!
Layer #2... is one or more layers that insulate the body from cold...a good example would be a fleece longsleeve shirt and long legged bottoms...The colder it is the more insulating layers can be added as needed... avoid cotton...If you snowboard in areas that are more wet than cold, smart wool or natural wool can be a good choice...You want a thicker material that holds air but wicks moisture...
Layer #3... is the outer layer, that is waterproof and windproof...It is waterproof in one direction... water cannot get in, but water vapor can disperse out....The best example is GORETEX...Goretex is expensive but well worth the extra cash if you spend alot of time outdoors in the cold and wet...Unfortunately, there are very few kids snowboarding jackets and pants made with goretex due to the high cost...
Everyone needs to wear a thermal base layer including kids...DO NOT wear cotton as a base layer,DO NOT dress your kids in a cotton base layer!!! Cotton gets wet easily from kids sweating and does not wick water and moisture away from the skin, and it feels cold when wet, IT IS COLD when wet!!!
Always buy your kids a thermal base layer made specifically for winter wear or snow sports...Cotton can be worn for intermediate layers but its better not to wear it at all...Try fleece or other fabrics made for snowsports ...Some of the best are Capilene, Polartec,Cool Max, Helly Hansen Lifa ,Patagonia and many more...
You can find out good info about Capilene versus wool at PATAGONIA.com If you can... try to find GORETEX outerwear, Goretex is the absolute best, but is one of the most EXPENSIVE and very difficult to find in kids sizes and styles...
MITTENS VERSUS GLOVES
Now my advice for GLOVES versus MITTENS... MITTENS are warmer but they can be but more difficult to use to adjust gear or other clothing items... Still you can wriggle your fingers in mittens more easily and I have always found them to be easier to get on and off than gloves, but they take practice to learn how to adjust your gear with them on...
My own personal experience is that a pair of goretex mittens are the best way to go...2nd choice is a goretex pair of gloves...The choice whether to use gloves or mittens is personal...My advice is to try on both at least at the store and ask your child which feels more comfortable,see if your kids can zip up their jacket or some other function with the gloves or mittens on and then pick the most favorable from your kids comments...
SOCKS,SOCKS,WARM SOCKS...
DO NOT DRESS YOUR KIDS IN COTTON SOCKS!!!
BUY socks made of smartwool, polartec, or any other fabric used for snowsports, even natural wool socks are ok, although they can be itchy....
Natural wool is the ONLY fabric/cloth that will keep you warm when soaking wet.....proven fact....Although that may change in the near future as technology creaps toward a material better than natural wool...
It is a good idea to have an extra pair of dry socks that your kid can change into at lunch!
WHERE TO BUY KIDS SNOWBOARDS AND OTHER GEAR...
So now lets look at all the kids snowboards and snowboarding gear available for kids... I have tried to divide this page up into easy and fast to use sections so YOU can easily and quickly find and buy what you need...I know if you have kids and YOU are shopping for kids snowboards and kids snowboarding gear for them , you need to make good use of your time...Oh I almost forgot...!!!!Take my advice and go through this entire page and check out all of the kids snowboards and gear your kids need first.
Take a few notes on kids snowboards price , sizes available and get some input from your kids too..Then go back and buy only what you need...You will find that many of the snowboard shops have the exact same products, but offer free shipping or excellent service as well as competive prices...Good SERVICE is just as important as PRICE...GO check out my section NOW about SNOWBOARD SIZING to get schooled about sizing snowboards before buying your kids snowboards.
KIDS SNOWBOARDS
Lets start with kids snowboards, snowboard boots and bindings and a few of the kids snowboards packages available ...Some of the best places to find good quality kids snowboards and gear is Dogfunk.com
 and
who both offer Free Shipping on ski and snowboard gear and at
BackcountryOutlet.com
 who has FREE SHIPPING on orders over $50... Make sure that you check out Dogfunk.com's live help section and their size charts before you slap down your card to buy your kids snowboards!!!
You can check out all the Kid's snowboards and other snowboarding gear
by DogFunk.com and BackCountry.com AND BackCountryOutlet.com here at the...
OK NOW ITS TIME to check out Altrec.com...They do NOT have a large selection of kids snowboards or packages, although they do have a dedicated kids section that makes it easy to shop just for the kids in your life...BUT what they do have is good quality and price...It is their customer service which shines...They have good sizing charts , free shipping on most larger orders, a real good LIVE HELP section, and price matching plus!!! So check out the kids snowboards, snowboarding boots and bindings that I can show you here...We will be talking about Altrec's other kid snowboard gear farther down this page!!!!
OH One Last thing...If you are using Internet Explorer: make sure to allow blocked content (scripts) or you wont be able to
see the Altrec kids snowboards offerings directly below this paragraph...If you dont see snowboards IE is blocking you !!!
NOW TAKE A PEEK IN...... The-House.com  to check out all the cool stuff they have to offer...They have complete Snowboard Packages from $199...They also have a YOUTH section with Kid's Snowboards and Snowboarding Gear - Save 60% on Boards, Boots, Bindings, Clothing, & More!
 and they carry
some good kids snowboard packages
A T... R E A L L Y...G O O D... P R I C E S !!!
A really good selection of kids snowboards, snowboarding boots and bindings...The House.com also has good sizing charts, so be sure to use them before you decide what to buy...
SummitOnline.com also has one kids snowboard package and other snowboard gear for kids SummitOnline.com Snowboard Specials slide on over to see what they have to offer...
Well I havent checked out REI.com for a long time but I was surprized to see that this year that REI.com
 has a very large selection of kids snowboards and snowboarding gear with just about everything you would need to set up your kid with the best gear...Special mention goes to the Burton Support Mittens which are reasonably priced and have removable wrist guards...REI.com
Two other shops to check out are USOUTDOOR.com and Moosejaw.com which offers Free Shipping and 10% back in Moosejaw Rewards Points. Use points for Free Gear!
you should also give a quick look over at the Snowboard Gear at Boardtactics.com
 they do have some kids snowboards and boots there that might be of interest...
You can also find lots of snowboards and snowboarding gear for kids on e-bay too...
I have used e-bay alot to buy kiteboarding gear but havent used it much to buy snowboarding gear, but there's lots of good deals to be had...
Well I learn something new every day...Today I learned that Amazon.com sells alot more than just books, and DVDS and CDs...I just happened to surf my way there and see that they have kids snowboards and kids snowboarding gear too...
Plus the prices are pretty really reasonable, but the con was it was a little harder to find them than at a dedicated online snowboarding store...
I tried to make it easy so just type in the words or cut and paste the words KIDS SNOWBOARDS or KIDS SNOWBOARDING GEAR into the search box and check out all the goods...
KIDS HELMETS,GOGGLES, HATS and NECK WARMERS
Of all the places I have shopped online...for kids snowboards and snowboarding gear... THE SNOWSHACK.com has the best selection of KIDS snowboarding gear...They have a "STUFF FOR KIDS" section that has most of everything a kid needs to be well equipped and stay warm on the slopes..Snowshack carries more HELMETS for kids than most other shops. with OVO, Briko, Giro, Boeri and Rossignol helmets in stock...They also have a good selection of kids GOGGLES by Bolle and Smith...They also stock a good selection of warm hats, but please only use the hats off the slopes...A special mention goes to the TURTLE FUR brand combination neckwarmer,facewarmer and hat...A must have for any young snowboarder, it can be used in 3 different ways and is helmet and goggle compatible....The price is way reasonable too..The only thing they do not carry is kids snowboards...
Well lets see...DogFunk.com also has a few helmets for kids... They also carry kids goggles....and sunglasses....but not alot of selection for any of these items....So lets move on to SierraTradingPost.com which also carries kids snowboarding helmets...
KIDS SNOWBOARDING CLOTHING
Well the BAD NEWS is that most of these shops online DO NOT have a very large selection of Kids Snowboarding jackets , pants, thermal base layers, gloves, mittens and socks...But here is what is available today...
a minimal selection of Burton and Foursquare snowboarding jackets and only the Burton expando and cargo snowboard pants... The only Mittens I can recommend are the Burton Vent mittens...Be sure to check out the Red impact wrist guards, they are cheap insurance to avoid wrist injury for kids just learning!!!
The-House.com  has an OK selection of Blackdot, World, Sessions and Bonfire snowboarding jackets and pants... but not much else....If your kid is a bit older check out the SESSIONS Goretex mittens....You might be able to get the XS or S size to fit him or her and it is an excellent mitten for the price...
Again THE SNOWSHACK.com has the best selection out of the bunch ...with some very very good products....They have snowboarding jackets by SPYDER for both boys and girls and they also carry the PHENIX suku suku expandable snowboard jackets and pants...The PHENIX snowboarding jackets and pants expand up to 8 inches to allow your kid to wear them for a couple of years and then can be resized for the passdown to little bro or sis....Snowshack also has a pretty good selection of thermal base layers by TURTLE FUR and HOT CHILLY'S and SPYDER...Plus they get extra bonus points as they carry a good selection of gloves and mittens...THE SWANY and KOMBI are good value good quality...My own KIDS have used the KOMBI mittens before and liked them alot....at least until they lost them....SPECIAL MENTION goes to the L-BOWS line of mittens...They have extra long cuffs that really work well and have some other real cool features...
SOCKS! SOCKS! SOCKS! Snowshack has got them too...by SPYDER, HOT CHILLY'S and SMARTWOOL...My own kids have used the HOT CHILLY'S and rarely get cold feet...
OK...now for
SierraTradingPost.com They really only have a few jackets and only one gets special mention which is the RED LEDGE 3 in 1 jacket...Plus a jacket by OBERMEYER and a COULOIR snowboarding jacket for girls and a MARKER jacket for boys...They also have some socks made from Polartec by ACORN and WYOMING WEAR plus SMART WOOL socks too. But thats all she wrote for these guys...
Now it's time to mention USOUTDOOR.com They carry a decent amount of gear...I didnt mention their helmets as they only carry the GIRO Ricochet and the Burton Red Buzzcap...But they DO have NORTH FACE snowboarding jackets and pants with free shipping, plus my #1 pick ...the BURTON snowboarding pants and jackets....They also got a very very good selection of DAKINE MITTENS.....I can say for sure that DAKINE MITTENS are top of the line as I have worn them myself for the last 3 seasons, my hands rarely get cold unless it gets really cold like 20 below C... #2 and #3 choice are the Burton and Salomon mittens....I also know they have Patagonia capilene base thermal base layers a very good product.....and Spyder polar fleece...But I did notice they also have COTTON shirts and I gotta warn you DO NOT wear cotton as a base layer... Although it can be used as a intermediate layer it is not recommended...
Last but not least drop in to Altrec.com again and see their snowboarding jackets by NORTHFACE and MARKER...GORETEX Mittens by GORDINI and MOLEHILL Polartec thermals.....
KIDS SNOWBOARDS AND CLOTHES FOR
CANADIAN AND UK KIDS
If you live in Canada there is probably a Sportmart shop near you, even better you have one right here right now with out the driving...SportMart.ca is the largest sporting goods chain in Canada.  SPORTMART.ca has a few snowboards, bindings, and boots for kids to choose from , PLUS a kids apparel section with kids snowboarding jackets and pants...
If you live in the UK one UK shop that has some kids snow clothing is OutdoorGear UK They do have an fair selection of kid's jackets , salopettes ,trousers and gloves...Only few base layers but a good selection of goggles...The GOOD news is their prices are very reasonable...
Laters ALL from the SNOWBOARDING MASTER.......
Top of kids snowboards page
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