FIND VALUABLE INFO QUICKLY AND EASILY ALL ABOUT SNOWBOARDS !
NOW UPDATED FOR THE 2011/2012 SEASON !
10/23/2011- Saw Snow on the Mountains a Few Hours from the Home Base last weekend!
Won't be long until it's snowing here too! Welcome to the New Winter Season!
So YOU want to learn about snowboards ??? Here you are gonna learn valuable information in this section all about boards, board materials and manufacturers with reviews and info about the different categories of boards
available to snowboarders around the world!
We can start with a basic review about different types of boards...
FREESTYLE BOARDS... These boards are used for tricks and for riding the terrain parks...They tend to have a softer flex and work well for slower speeds and for pulling jibs in the halfpipe or other moves like popping off jumps and riding rails etc...These boards also tend to be good for beginners as they are softer in flex and easy to turn...
FREERIDE BOARDS... These boards are used for riding mostly natural terrain and cover a wide variety of conditions.They are designed to be used in most conditions and can be used in most in bounds ski resort terrain.They tend to be a little stiffer than freestyle boards, so they can handle the differences in slope conditions and can be handled at higher speeds...
FREECARVE/RACING BOARDS...
These boards tend to be narrow and very stiff with a flat tail. They are used for high speed groomed runs and for racing slalom and downhill courses. They are NOT for beginners!!! They tend to have ski like design and are used with hard stiff boots designed like ski boots.I can't do a decent snowboard review on these boards as I never ride them, but check out the internet to get some info on this style of riding...
BACKCOUNTRY/POWDER BOARDS... These boards are designed to be used in new soft fluff and deep powder conditions. They tend to have wider profiles and wider noses and a narrow or swallow tail design...Two really good boards in this category with solid review info are the Burton Fish and the Nitro Saber P.O.W. powder boards....There are also the split boards which can be used for climbing to your favorite peak and then assembled to ride back down. Keep in mind a split board design may not perform as well in hardpack conditions as a non-split board and are designed specifically for climbing and then used to cruise pow only...
WOMENS BOARDS... These boards are designed specifically for women and come in the same categories as the above...Although it is difficult to find a backcountry or powder board made specifically for women...The best you women can do is read the snowboard reviews for each board and get a board that is sized for your weight and height... Besides everyone knows you can ride better than most guys anyways...
KIDS BOARDS... Same applies here as the womens boards...They are designed and sized for kids ...You can check out most of the boards here offered for kids by most of the shops...So do check out the kids snowboarding pages for kids snowboard info before buying a board or package from this section...Its a good idea to check out the KIDS Boards ,Clothing and Gear section first and then jump back here to check out a bunch of the boards available for kids.....
BOARD MATERIALS AND CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES
BOARD CORES... Snowboards use alot of different materials in their construction, each with PROS and CONS for each.....Wood is used alot as a basic core material as its easy to work with and has good history and reliable qualities...Alot of the higher quality boards are being built with end grain laminated wood cores which gives you a much stronger core...Some other core materials are honeycomb and foam cores for lighter , stiffer snowboards used for racing , high speed...Their flex is not as good and are used for their vibration damping qualities.Fiberglass matte and cloths , carbon fibers and other high tech materials such as Kevlar and graphite may also used in conjunction with the core materials and as are usually laminated to the core on both sides or one side depending on design with laminating resin or epoxy...The core and fibreglass sandwich are then capped with a top sheet that overlays the graphics on the top of the board...There is a whole science based around the different types of cloth and resins used for boards...You want a board that uses the best possible matte or cloth for the type of board you want to ride...
There are two basic ways to laminate a snowboard....the sidewall method or the capped method....each has its advantages for different types of design ...A capped board has the top cap wrapped over the sides to the steel rails, it allows for lighter and more responsive boards..its used in lots of freestyle boards , light weight boards, inexpensive boards.. The sidewall methods use layers of fibreglass and carbon fiber that have a tough sidewall attached between the topcap and the steel rails. These boards tend to be a bit heavier but handle well at higher speeds and have less chatter... the downside is they may not initiate turns as fast due to weight...K2 has a hybrid system that combines the best of both methods together. Check out this link to a review article about the K2 method ... K2 hybrid board construction and come on back and check out the K2 boards available below...
BOARD RAILS and INSERTS... Stainless steel is almost always used for rails and binding inserts as it resists corrosion, ...Steel rails and inserts are a must have for a good board.
If a board doesn't have steel side rails...DON'T buy it ....even for kids...see the kids boards section.
BASE MATERIALS... The bases of a board are of 3 different types, usually p-tex extruded bases for lower priced boards, because its inexpensive and easy to fix when damaged... The higher end base material is called sintered p-tex , it is way tougher and can take more punishment, but it is more expensive and alot more difficult to fix after you mess it up...The sintered base can also hold more wax and for much longer which is another reason it is popular... Theres a hybrid base called sintruded which is a newer type of base that has some abilities of both the other two types in general...I have not seen it very often... Some boards also have graphite added to the sintered base material for a very slick and fast surface. These will be found in high end and racing boards...Most snowboard review data I have read doesnt justify paying a premium price for graphite unless you are race oriented...
SHOPPING FOR SNOWBOARDS ? WHO HAS THE BEST ?
The BEST way to use this section is to check out each shop and board review and make notes on the boards you like or bookmark the boards you like...But don't bust out your card or your CASH until you get through the whole section... Wait until you see the board you want and at the right price...Lots of shops got the same board but at competive prices!!!
LETS CHECK OUT WHATS AVAILABLE RIGHT NOW FROM EACH SHOP!!!
Now the next place to scope out is Backcountry.com who almost always has free shipping to the lower 48...This season they have a full line up of almost one hundred boards...So to SEE ALL OF THEM all in one place and they look so good you can almost feel them.
Once you come back from there check out all the other boards available on the internet...
SO the new DOG is now one of the old dogs in town,Dogfunk.comThey have been around long enough now to have built up a good inventory and a younger and hard core customer base because they got a GREAT selection of gear. I expect them to be at it again this year as they take their act up another level...They are carrying boards from BURTON ,UNITY , ARBOR , K2 ,HEAD and PALMER...
The Dog has alot of the same boards as B.C.com but a few are different and there are one or two really fine hidden jewels hidden among the bunch...... To see all of Dogfunk.com's boards all in one convenient place and find out about those two boards hidden among the rest of the pack, check here at
Once you are finished checking out all the eye candy at Dog funk.com, head on back here and cruise on down the page and take a look see at some of the other shops that carry snowboards!!!
If you are on a budget,another good place to check out boards online is Department of Goods: Outdoor Gear Without the Gouge where you can pick up the best names in snowboard gear at low outlet prices. They have a decent selection of boards and gear to choose from as all their gear comes from Backcountry.com's shop and is reduced in price to move, so you know you are getting a good deal...You can check out their board shop and check the clearance corner for good deals on last years gear closeouts!!!
evo.com is the latest Online Snowboard and Wakeboarding Shop to be added to my list of good places to shop. What makes them different from the rest is that evo.com sells
used and demo skis and snowboards with savings up to 70% + FREE shipping , plus these days it's a way green thing to do!
They stock over 300 snowboards and tons of other gear too...If you are on a budget then check out the demo and used gear too.
They make their debut here for the 2007/2008 season !
HEY wanna save some CASH check out The-House.com Save up to 60% on Snowboards & Gear. Capita, Nitro, Ride, Rossignol, K2, Volcom & more because they got it all!
This shop has got more boards than I could show on 10 pages so...best thing to do is go cruise through their store and see what I MEAN!!! They got all the latest boards from RIDE ,LAMAR, K2 , NITRO , SIMS , OPTION M3 and THE HOUSE brand....It is way hard to pick out a favorite from these people as there are so many to choose from...Their selection is right on and so are the prices...Dont forget to check out some of their snowboard packages too! You might discover a steal deal just right for you and bag outta there with a whole new set-up...
One of my favorite online stores with excellent prices and and good customer service is
REI.com...REI has a good selection of boards and snowboarding gear... THEY HAVE WELL OVER A HUNDRED DIFFERENT SNOWBOARDS TO CHOOSE FROM!!!
Jam on through the
REI.comstore to see if they got anything you want...
Another really good shop isUSOUTDOOR.com They have way over 100 different kinds of boards, starting with Atomics and almost every Burton board ever made plus Forum,GNU, K2,LIB, Morrow,Option , Ride and Salomon...
ALL of the Burton boards are reasonably priced...They also have the lots of Palmer boards too...Overall, USOUTDOOR.com has a pretty good selection and really good prices on most of their snowboards and snowboard gear...
Another top shop to score good snowboard gear at reasonable prices check out is
Summit Sports - Free Shipping over $99!for Awesome deals on all new models of boards and bindings from K2, Salomon, Ride, Palmer, Lamar, and more.
Heres another shop worth taking a look at
Moosejaw.com which offers Free Shipping and 10% back in Moosejaw Rewards Points. Use points for Free Gear! So thats gotta be sweet ...so later in the season when you break your goggles or lose your gloves you can score a new pair without laying down a whole lot of cash...
If you have a chance, you outta check out the Snowboarding Gear at
FogDog.com . They have a
sweet selection of boards or you can build your own package and save 10%.It's kind of unusual for an all around sports shop to have this much gear, but they do and lots more than just the snowboards, check out the Demon body armor or stuff like battery powered heated socks all at
FogDog.com ...
OK Here is one last shop to try if you still havent found what you are looking for... Boardtactics.com might just have what you are looking for ...
Go check out all the boards this cool shop has to
offer...
They are based in the Pacific Northwest so if you live in that quadrant ,they would be one of the most knowledgable shops to help you pick out some gear for the Northwest conditions...
OK Now that I started I also was surprized to learn that Amazon.com sells boards and snowboarding gear too similiar to the way E-bay does it...
So its fast and easy to check them out especially if you have a board or snowboarding gear in mind already you can search at
Amazon.com and compare the prices...
OK OK I know I know ...Too many shops... not enough time... Try BIZ RATE.com comparison shopping for Snowboards and Snowboarding Gear from thousands of online stores.
It's a very fast way to track down and compare prices on a board or snowboarding gear that you already have on your wish b-day or x-mas list...
These guys are based in Australia and obviously if you live in Aussie you know your season is just winding down...But I know all you smart guys have already booked your winter trips to Japan Canada or Europe, so its still a good time to retire that old stick and buy a new one so you can handle the deep stuff anywhere... So here goes check out
DiscountSnowboards.com.auThey sell new and slightly used snowboards and snowboard gear ONLY...They also have build your own snowboard packages which is cool because you can choose what suits you instead of whatever they threw together... Be sure to check out
their
DiscountSnowboards.com.auSuper Specials for some sweet boards at even sweeter prices...
Now for some advice again....Shop and shop and make some notes on each snowboard review your list again before you buy, you might find the best deal at the next store you cruise through...Try to compare what kind service they offer, especially with snowboards..... free shipping is a good deal.....So shop till you find exactly what you want...There's not much daylight left and I wanna go cruising... So good luck with your shopping for snowboards and snowboard gear!!!
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Altrec Outdoors.comand the new Altrec Outlet - Up to 70% off
they got lots of killer boards in the freestyle and freeride categories. 
sells boards and snowboarding gear too similiar to the way E-bay does it...
