Tips from the pros on choosing your snowboard equipment

A good specialized salesperson doesn’t wait for your questions: he or she gets you talking!

“Are you a beginner? Advanced? Advanced? Did you rent your last snowboard? Did a friend lend it to you? Do you remember the model? How it felt? What do you want to do with your board: piste, small jumps, freeride, a bit of everything? What’s your budget? How much do you weigh? What’s your shoe size? How many days a year are you going to use your board?”

Before you decide on the board you’re going to enjoy the most, a snowboard specialist is going to grill you! There are no trick questions : just the information needed to understand your profile and recommend THE board of your dreams. There’s no need to use overly technical vocabulary (unless you’re already an expert): it’s the best way to get it wrong, and therefore to be badly advised…

Some examples heard in store: “I’m boofy” (instead of goofy), “I’m very good at swift” (instead of switch).

Bindings are used to transfer energy, so they’re not just a detail to be adjusted once the board has been selected. On the contrary, they must be carefully chosen to match the board on which they will be mounted. And not to be forgotten when calculating your budget!

Have you chosen a rigid board? Your bindings will need to be rigid too, to enable you to steer your board. A soft board, on the other hand, tolerates both soft and hard bindings (provided you’re sufficiently skilled).

A new pair of boots? At no point do you try them on and think “wow, great!”

On the contrary, you’re likely to think “OMG I’m going to have a bad time”… And that’s normal! Your boots need to hold you in place. Just like ski boots or climbing shoes, they’re going to feel too small when you try them on in the store. You’ll need 2 or 3 days to get them to fit properly. A pair of boots should be bought with your eyes closed, based on how you feel: you think they’re very comfortable? Then they’re too big! Feeling supported? If so, they’re made for you.

When it comes to lacing, opt for dissociated tightening. Three advantages:

1. Precision: two-part tightening allows you to adjust the ankle and calf support separately. Ideal if you have a thin ankle and a strong calf, or vice versa.
2. Speed: it’s as simple as pulling two handles – child’s play!
3. Ease of replacement: unlike a clamping wheel, which is very complicated to replace in the event of breakage (especially in the cold), laces are very easy to change.

Just imagine: you read a very negative review of a board… without knowing that the person’s physical condition is far inferior to yours, that their riding style is the opposite of yours (piste/freeride, for example), and that on top of that, they’ve already tried it out with 6 days of intense riding under their belts (and fondue every night). So it’s hard to know if this board isn’t right for you! Ditto if you read snowboard tests from pro riders…

If you absolutely must test equipment before you buy, limit yourself to three tests in two hours, for example. This will allow you to compare boards in similar conditions (snow quality, fatigue, etc.).

Advice + from two snowboard specialists

• The pop: this is the explosiveness of the board, the return it gives when you bend it.
• Camber: the curvature of the board. A board with camber has fewer points of contact with the snow than a flat board (and therefore less grip). The shape of the camber is therefore linked to the type of riding (piste, off-piste, snowpark…). Double camber? A marketing ploy to forget…
• Reactivity: a reactive board is one that, in its construction and shape, allows you to move quickly from one edge to the next.
• Freestyle: note that in the United States, the word “freestyle” is used in the sense of “all terrain”, i.e. “all mountain” (whereas in France, the word has more of a snowpark connotation).
• Jib: a jib board is a rather flexible board, with a rather flat camber, which is ideal for making small jumps, going over rails… A snowpark board!
• Wide: a “wide” board is a board that is wide enough for larger sizes.