Snowboarding n00b questions

coillcam

Hi all,

I have decided to go to Italy for a bit of snowboarding with a few mates at the end of February. I have read the stickies and googled a bit of information also.

I have a few queries that I need some advice on.

My own fitness.... Reality: lack of

I'm a 23 yo guy, basically I used to be a very active guy playing hurling to a reasonable level, soccer and cycling to work etc. Now I pretty much work in front of a computer 5 days a week with NO exercise since I twisted my knee last summer and it hasn't been right in the following 6 months. 5 a side 2 times - 1st was torture and I had to stop as I was beginning to cease up (1 month after the injury), 2nd time I was just unfit and I was not 100% on my knee but it was a significant improvement (3 months after the injury). It's about 85% of what it used to be imo.

I have read that snowboarding puts a fair amount of strain on the knees even with good technique.

Would I be fine with a knee support? And I presume you don't have to have herculean levels of fitness to start out?


Equipment/Clothing

The lessons, board, boots and helmet are inclusive.

How much of a necessity are wrist guards and hip/bum padding for a complete novice? I have skateboarded in the past so I am used to the not so odd bump.

I am most likely going to get my own jacket/pants/goggles etc.
Where is the cheapest place/best bang per buck? I see aldi have some gear at the moment, is it worth trying out?

As far as sizes go I would be 36/38" Chest so small size in general fits perfect. Are small sized gear going to fit properly or do you need to allow for extra layers and buy medium?

Pants 30"/32" waist so again same as above, do I allow for layers?

Cheers in advance guys. I'll probably have more questions in the coming days.

Static M.e.

I can give you some quick answers, I'm sure everyone else will chip in their own bits.

Fitness Levels, you don't need to be super fit or anything, there is some stain on the knees, because the stance is very cowboy like and your knee's obviously absorb all the bumps and such. Just bring along and wear your knee support. Since you are a complete beginner, it will take you a day or two to get moving so you wont be putting too much pressure on them.

Equipment\Clothing.
I have never been a fan of wrist guards but some people like them a lot. The bum guard is very necessary though, you will be sitting on your ass all day and every time you fall, it will be on your ass... After a couple of days honestly you could have a lot of discomfort and pain, not to mention bruising. I know people who have stopped going up because of the fear of falling on their ass again... no joke. (I realize I'm saying "ass" way to much here.. but you get the drift.). The problem is that most of the guards cost around €50+ so they are expensive. Try to borrow as much gear as you can from friends/relations, you can also ask some of the instructors if they have spare wrist/bum guards you could borrow.

kmick

I would not do without wrist guards and bum pad. As regards your knee you will have to be careful. In the first few days you tend to have some bad falls at speed that can hurt you. Just learn to use the rails to turn and take your speed off. One big tip that took me a while to learn - as you move down a slope when you start to pick up speed your instinct is to lean back which is wrong. You have to keep all your weight on your front foot to have maximum control - if you lean back you have zero control. Once I got this concept in my brain i.e. to be able to stop I have to counter-intuituvely move forward it was plain sailing (mostly). Also keep your boots as tight as possible and your board as long as you can manage.

Borrow/Rent the clothes, mask etc if you can. You wont be going enough to justify buying them.

edmund_f

Good to hear you are going to try to give it a go - agree that you should try to borrow as much gear as you can - ask about you would be surprised what people can give you. Aldi/Lidl gear is fine for a beginner, also check out tk maxx

As far as a knee guard goes, i am not a doctor, but if your knee has healed as much as it can a guard can do more damage than it prevents by allowing you to push you knee further than you should. ASK A DOCTOR/PHYSO. One thing i noticed is to pay special attention to the binding angles, having these wrong can put a twisting force on the knee. There are loads of guides on the net, but (again i am not an expert here) imagine sitting on a bar stool, whatever angles your feet are at on the ground should be pretty similar on the board - get at least one lesson from a professional so they can show you a proper relaxed stance.

As far as guards go, the argument is that if you have them on it will give you an inflated sense of confidence and thus you will have a major wipeout instead of a little one, your choice really. When i started i just bought the skateboarding pack (elbows, knees, wrists) think it was from argos, bought a cheap set of impact shorts in the resort. I just replaced the bits of gear that were most uncomfortable as i went along. The only injuries i have ever seen have been on the nursery slopes - i erred on the side of caution

As far as fitness goes - if you can snowboard it should be pretty effortless, main effort is getting back up again - a good instructor here will help a lot on showing you correct technique. If you get an instructor and are not getting any benefit, dont be afraid to go and ask for another one

moral of the story is dont push yourself too hard, relax and dont look down at your board!

Mmmm_Lemony

You could always borrow as much as you can. As its your first time you might not like it (highly unlikely) and buying gear can really put a dent in your disopsable. I don't think you need anything like bum pads and wrist guards starting off. If you can I would suggest getting your hands on a helmet, but its not essential. You would get away with a cheap pair of plastic glasses instead of goggles too as long as its not too cold. Aldi are selling them at the moment (or last week) with interchangeable lenses, and they are well worth the fiver!

As for fitness in general and your knee, I will say this. If you are anything like me, and the fact youve played team sports and the likes of 5 aside before suggest you are, you are a little competitive and want to progress as fast as you can. Fitness plays a huge factor here when it comes to skiing and snowboarding.

Its important for you to be relaxed for snowboarding as alot is down to feel, but at the same time, you will spend alot of time at the start on your arse, pushing yourself up, and rolling back and forth. After a few hours you'll be too tired to get a feel anymore and your level of progression will be limited to your core fitness. If you really want to enjoy it and get the most out of it, get your fitness level up. Both my knees are fairly dodgy also, but I've never had a problem with them snowboarding, but as someone has suggested, go to a good physio.

I've put on some serious christmas weight and when I went for 2 days skiing recently, I could really feel the lack of fitness holding me back, and my technique felt really sloppy. Going Snowboarding in feb, and have started working on my core fitness so I can really enjoy the trip.

davmol

Id def recommend cody armour.Ive been snowboarding for 6 years now and the ease of mind of extra safety and comfort you ahve with body armour and armoured pants(as above great for sitting down in and falling after jumps/rails/boxes) gives you more confidence on the slopes.check out snow and rock or irish snowboards for good body armour.

creativedrinker

Would any one here know at what angle to put bindings?? i ride regular and on piste... if you were standing on the board the front foot face's north east and the back is more north north west.. is this normal?? i thought that the back one should be north west facing??

ShayK1

personal preference really.
Some people have them straight, some people have them both facing slightly forward but most commonly, people will have them in some version of this (\) (/) If you understand what I mean by that.

The position of the binding is usually marked out in degrees. I think I have mine turned at 15 degree angels but its really whatever you feel comfortable with.

creativedrinker

ShayK1 wrote: »

personal preference really.
Some people have them straight, some people have them both facing slightly forward but most commonly, people will have them in some version of this (\) (/) If you understand what I mean by that.

The position of the binding is usually marked out in degrees. I think I have mine turned at 15 degree angels but its really whatever you feel comfortable with.

Thanks, I thought that there was a set way that your ment to have them done, im heading to les arcs in 2 weeks so will play around with them there..

davmol

ShayK1 wrote: »

people will have them in some version of this (\) (/) If you understand what I mean by that.

As abovethats how i have mine.It is personal taste but when you come to doing a bit of freestyle and your doing switch tricks this way i find is most efficient as you get more torque.
Find your favoured angles but dont change too much or you wont actually settle into a certain position.

Shad0r

Just to clear up a couple of things that are complete nonsense in my view, that some of the other guys have said, and also I hope give you some advice that is tried and tested....

Firstly this idea that having too much protection will make you reckless is absolute rubbish. That's like saying that having a seat belt on in a car will make you drive faster. I've seen some horrific accidents happen to extremely experienced riders on beginner slopes (just ask DeVore sometime). Safety gear will reduce the fallout from your accident.

Getting good at snowboarding is about taking risks, doing things your brain is telling you instinctively are probably a bad idea. Fear is generally what controls the level or risk you expose yourself to and conquering this fear is what will give you the biggest buzz. That said a time will come when fear will hold you back from progressing your skills.

My knee acts up a bit and I've worn a knee brace and found it to be beneficial but I would agree that you should consult your doctor if you aren't 100% sure that your knee is fully healed.

Someone else said that you should keep your boots as tight as you can and your board as long as you can manage. That's complete crap. I'm guessing that person had sh1ty boots the one time they've been snowboarding. Your boots need to be tight but not so tight that you're cutting off the blood flow to your feet, which is what will happen if you get them as tight as possible. Try and keep them at a level that is as tight as you can have them without discomfort.

On the comment about having a board as long as you can manage, that's a particularly useless comment. How is a complete beginner going to know how long a board they can manage is? I've been riding for 8 years give or take, have worked on a ski hill and I don't know how long the longest board I could manage is.

The length of your board is determined by your height and what you want to do with it. For a beginner they are going to give you a board that goes from the ground up to somewhere in the region of your throat.

If you want to rock a snow park and spend your day doing freestyle stuff then you are going to want a shorter board than if your design is to ride down from the top of a mountain and get fresh lines in deep powder. For that you are going to want a nice long board.



What you absolutely can't survive without (and I agree with the guys saying borrow the kit if you can)

- Insurance!! Health, travel, every type you can get!

- Snow pants and good warm jacket, preferably a purpose made snowboarding jacket. I recommend getting thermal underwear for under these. You probably wont need any other clothing unless its really cold.

- Proper thick snowboarding socks (I'd buy these rather than borrow)

- Gloves. With or without wrist guards is up to you. I've always liked the idea of having wrist support but alot of people in Canada maintained that if you protect your wrist from the impact you are more likely to break the bone farther up your arm (sorry cant remember the name of it). If you go for wrist support try and remember when you are falling to ball your fists and fall on your protected wrists rather than your hands. (easier said than done when you are starting out)

- Shades or Ski goggles. I prefer the later but I wear lenses and sunnies dont offer me enough wind protection. That said starting out this wont be a problem because you wont be going fast enough, so if you have a good pair of shades that cover the bulk of your eye socket then they will probably do you, your first year.


Other nice to have stuff:
- Safety equipment. Eventually if you keep it up you'll probably want all of it: ass pads, knee pads, helmet, but as someone else pointed out its expensive.

Your first week you are going to fall on your ass (backwards) or your hands/arms (forwards) alot and its going to be on a blue slope which has a very shallow gradient obviously so it hurts more. Up to you if you need it or not. I would wait until after your first day to decide. I never used an ass pad until the last time I went and I found it more of a nuisance than a help by and large.

The fitter, and less overweight you are, the quicker and less hassle you are going to have getting back up on your board, which is what you are going to spend the first couple of days doing most. That said I've gone away boarding with groups of people of all levels of fitness and size, and the vast majority have had a good time. Board fitness and running a race fitness are completely different anyway: your still going to have aching muscles you didnt know you had midway through the week.

MUCH more important than fitness is stretching and being limber. I highly recommend stretching as much as possible between now and when you leave and while you are away. Even if its just 15 mins when you get up and before you go to bed. If you do a google for snowboard stretches you'll find all the info you need.

If you have a nasty tumble this could be the difference between getting back on the board or nursing a bad injury until you go home.

Dont worry about the angle of your bindings, your rental board will be configured when you get there by someone who knows what they're doing when they give it to you.

---

Because someone else asked generally speaking on the topic of binding angles most rental shops and instructors will start off with your bindings mostly straight (sort of like this: (|)(|)). Whichever way your ride (regular or goofy) the front toe will be pointed at a slightly smaller angle than 90 degrees from forward. As you get more experienced people move their bindings out more towards (\)(/) at various ratios's to each foot. The wider the angle between your toes the more bent your knees will be and as a result you will find it harder going on your legs but better when you are in the air for doing turns etc.

---

Shad0r

davmol wrote: »

Find your favoured angles but dont change too much or you wont actually settle into a certain position.

Good advice

c montgomery

Deffo get ass pads and get them on your first day. You will fall on youir ass and it will hurt arter a few falls so why wait. Knee pads are also great as when u fall backwards you fall on your ass but when u fall forwards u fall on your knees, elbows and wrists.
I use ass pads, knee pads and elbow pads never feel a thing when i fall( usually at high speeds). U can just pick yourself up, dust yourself off and go again. I have had a few falls before wothout wearing the pads and believe me i was not juping up straight away ready to go again.

Go online an buy them before ya go. Ass pads ( most have hip pads too) are about 50euro, knee pad a tenner and elbow pads a tenner. Well worth it.

coillcam

Cheers for all the advice guys. Much appreciation

Flights and everything booked anyway. Just going to see the doctor and/or physio to get an opinion.

Next up insurance and some clothes.

Hopefully I will have a good trip report when I return.

Denalihighway

I'm in a similar situation to you Coillcam (apart from the dodgy kneee thankfully...), heading away in March snowboarding.

this is some of the cheapest protection gear I've found online so far

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Categories.aspx?CategoryID=404&CurrentPageIndex=0&SortExpression=PRICE_ASC

scottyboy

Duck feet eh! Binding angles are a personal thing but these angles are usually for freestyle to aid riding switch (both ways!). The only problem is that it puts great strain on the knees when riding normally. I use an agressive front foot angle of greater than 30 deg and a more gentle angle of 15-20 deg on the back foot. I find this good for freeriding and off piste. All personal though!

creativedrinker wrote: »

Would any one here know at what angle to put bindings?? i ride regular and on piste... if you were standing on the board the front foot face's north east and the back is more north north west.. is this normal?? i thought that the back one should be north west facing??

scottyboy

When I was learning I didn't bother with a full set of pads and stuff. You are not usually going fast enough to need that sort of gear. I recommend that you get yourself a small rucksack and put a hoody or something useful in it to make it padded. This will act as a good back protector in the event of a fall. Wrist guards can give a false sense of security but will save you a major wrist injury if you have a habit of putting your hands down to break a fall so I would use them. They are fairly cheap and I would happily give you an almost new pair for free if you PM me.

Beyond this, a cheap arse protector is good when learning as you will spend most of your time falling on this. Also, hire a helmet with the board as you will crack your skull of the shallow nursery slopes. Also, take a bottle of water to your lessons as you will be knackered with the instructor pushing you to do things! And do some situps as when you are learning you are forever pushing yourself back onto your feet/board after yet another fall.

As an aside, I too twisted my knee very badly a year of so before my first snow holiday many years ago. Spent a month on crutches followed by three months of physio. Never had an issue with my knees as you tend to use your hips/waist to move your weight around the board rather than your knees. You will use your knees as shock absorbers when you go over the bumps but that is for later!

coillcam wrote: »

Cheers for all the advice guys. Much appreciation

Flights and everything booked anyway. Just going to see the doctor and/or physio to get an opinion.

Next up insurance and some clothes.

Hopefully I will have a good trip report when I return.

Serbian

I'm still a beginner boarder (I've done two weeks at this point), but this does mean that I have the falls and potential injuries in recent memory Obviously, no two experiences of boarding are the same, but this is what I'd recommend for a total novice:

• Knee pads. Not only did I spend a lot of time falling on my knees, I also spent a lot of time kneeling waiting for people, so knee pads double up and make it a lot more comfortable if you have to kneel down. Get gel knee pads though rather than the hard plastic ones as I've seen them cause more injuries than they prevent.
• Helmet. In the two years I've gone, I've landed on my head both times. I got a helmet on the first day and I honestly think I would have done some serious damage without it on both occassions. The second time I was going over a jump though.
• Impact Shorts. I didn't wear these either time I went out of sheer laziness, but both times I've come back scraped and bruised from landing on my hips mostly. I only ever fell badly on my ass once, but it was one of my most painful falls. Also, you really don't want to break your coxis and have to sit on a rubber ring for a few months while your workmates / family / loved ones laugh at you all day.

I do wear wrist guards, but I don't think they're essential. You should try and fall on your forearms if you can rather than your wrists anyway as demonstrated in this rather odd video by a woman with goggles about 10 sizes to big for her:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmwJ2eMis8A

All the other stuff? I dunno, I fell really badly on my shoulder last year and did my ligaments in on the last run of the last day. Maybe if I was wearing body armour, that might not have happened, but I still don't think it's essential as my fall was kinda weird. I also didn't wear goggles either year because every pair I've ever used fog up immediately and never seem to clear. I bought a pair of Oakley A Frames last week, here's hoping they work when I head back again in March.