To buy or not to buy....

Outsidethebox

Hi folks,

I have a question, is it worth buying your own snowboard? I have skied for a few of years but went snowboarding for a week in April and will never go back. Now, I'm going to be boarding a week in Feb 2010 and will be travelling to NZ in the summer of 2010 for 4/5 weeks boarding. After that it will be 1 maybe 2 weeks a year. Trying to weigh up should I buy one. Would it be financially beneficial to me? How much is a run of the mill board? Is it costly to transfer them with say Ryanair? Is there much you have to do in maintening a snowboard?

Lot of questions I know! Any responses are greatly appreciated.

Cheers,
OTB.

FruitLover

If you know you're going to be boarding at least another couple of times, it's worth getting your own. Some rental places will let you rent a new board for a week, with the intention to buy (and then your rental price will be subtracted from the purchase price). Have a look for the previous year's models - practically as good as the current ones, but cheaper. As you're a beginner, you might be better off buying second-hand, as you might find that you want to change later (as you progress and learn how different boards feel different).

Absolutely buy one. You can't go wrong with your own gear - it's just much better on so many levels. You save time, money, you improve quicker, it's all pros from where I'm sitting !!!

If you were to rent - I worked it out at something like after 10 days, you'd have had your own decent board in that time for that money.

Static M.e.

Agree, get your own gear if your going to be that much boarding.

Costs involved
Board - * up to €500 for latest
Bindings - very important to get a decent set, something like the Burton Mission's will cost ~150
Maintenance - You can learn to wax your own board and get it down in the resort, its about 30-40 euro for a full service.
Travel - Swiss Air fly snow boards for free, everyone else charges about €60 - 80 I think, make sure however to check how much they allow you to carry. The small print might say 15 or 20 Kg, my own bag weights 19Kg so if they sting for the extra few kg's it hurts.

Its all worth it though having your own gear makes such a difference

Rhymenocerous

Yes, owning your own gear is defo the way to go.

Start with boots. These are the most important piece, as if you get ones that don't fit correctly, they'll effect all aspects of your riding. Go into a shop and try on as many pairs as you can. Everyone has different feet, and snowboard boots fit differently, which is why you need to try on as many different brands/models as possible. You can cheap out on all your other gear to some extent and still get good stuff, but boots should never be where you cheap out. Get the ones that fir the best no matter the cost.

Outsidethebox

Cheers for the responses guys, appreciated. Don't mean to come across as really clueless (well, I suppose I am!) but would I get boots in Ireland? Would Mahers in Cork City do them? I'm imagining there's very little places that do. GRMA.

Why on earth would you do that ?

Wait till New Zealand where the currency is weak against the Euro (1 euro = 2.18 NZD) and you can get an excellent pair of boots for cheaper than you would in Ireland for an average pair.

Get over here, get down to Small Planet Sports on the main road in Queenstown (Shotover Street) and get your feet sorted, I got these bad boys for 499 NZD http://www.langeskiboots.com/#/products/boots/ref=lb73000/

I'm delighted with the fit and precision etc.

Get your boots in NZD, there are a couple of excellent boot fitters here.