It’s sometimes hard to buy the right snowboard. Even for people who have been riding for more then 10 years sometimes have trouble Choosing the right snowboard. It’s even harder when you are a beginner and you are wondering what the best board for a beginner would be. So That’s why we wrote this article.

CAMBER PROFILE:
Selecting a snowboard can be a complex process. A rider looking to purchase a board needed to decide according to the shape – freestyle, freeride, all mountain, stiffness, length, waist size – important for big feet, and graphics of course. Now brands are adding a new dimension: camber profiles!
Some brands offer up to 5 different profiles: classical positive camber, camber for powder, reverse camber only in between the feet, reverse with flat base under the feet, and some hybrid camber to round it up. It’s sometime summarized as S, V, U W camber shapes. How do I choose a board now? The simple rule with reverse camber / rocker snowboards is that they make all areas of your riding easier because the boards are more forgiving. Powder floats higher, Park less edge contact and Freestyle disengage the edges quicker. When it comes to Freeride, camber / rocker can be less stable at high speeds due to its reduced edge contact.

In 1985 boards were all rocker, but classical positive camber became the standard simply because it just works better, then the original rocker designs.
Lib and Gnu call it Banana Technology. Their boards bow from the middle to the tip (there are variations between models). One feature that Lib Tech and Gnu also offer on all their Banana Technology designs, Magnetraction which is like a serrated edge to increase its edge ability to cut though hard pack and ice.
Burton, K2 and Ride call their version Rocker, the difference being that their boards are flat between the bindings and rise from the binding to the tip (there are variations between models).

LENGTH:
A quick starting point for board length is to have it reach somewhere between the tip of your chin and the top of your hairline when standing the board in front of you. The board you most enjoy riding, however, may not fall within that range. Typically, a jib board for rails and flatground tricks will be a little shorter. A board intended purely for powder riding or for high speed carving down groomed runs will be a little longer. Reverse camber boards in powder are easier to keep on top of the powder, so you can get away with a smaller board in powder. A heavier set person will often be better off with a little longer board, whereas a small framed person may end up happier on a shorter board.

FLEX:
Personal preference is a huge factor in the flex of the board you select. Stiffer boards are typically used for higher speeds, carving, or pipe riding. Softer boards are preferred for beginners. It is easier to initiate a turn with a softer board, while stiffer boards will hold an edge at a higher speed.

WAIST WIDTH:
The width of the board should be fit to your boot size and stance angles. Typically, boots size 12 (mens) and larger should be on a board designated as wide. For maximum response, a width that allows the toe and heel of the boot to sit up to an inch over the edge of the board is ideal. The combination of the curve of the boot sole and the rise from the binding baseplate will eliminate the possibility of heel or toe drag.

SHAPE:
Boards come in many shapes. This may not be obvious at a glance, but there are several possibilities. The most common shapes are twin and directional. A twin shaped board is one that is symmetrical tip and tail with sidecut that is the same at either end. Twin shaped boards are great for park and pipe riding, and are easier to ride switch (rear foot first). A directional board has a longer tail than nose and often has progressive sidecut, where the radius is not one consistent curve from tip to tail. Directional boards are more often used for freeriding.
There are also tapered, swallowtail, and other shapes.

TAPER:
Taper refers to the difference in width between tip and tail of the board. Tapered boards are ideal for powder because the narrower tail will sink more easily, allowing to nose of the board to stay at or above the surface. Tapered boards also work well for carving on groomed runs, but don’t work as well for riding switch.

STANCE OPTIONS:
If you like to ride with a really wide stance or a really narrow stance, then you will want to check the stance options on the board. All boards have inserts to attach the bindings to the board, and there will be a range of widths possible using those inserts. Besides width, there is also setback to consider. Many boards come with the inserts set back 1? or more from a centered stance, but the bindings can still be mounted on center. Conversely, for boards with the inserts centered on a board, bindings can still be mounted off center.

Our clearance of all Snowboards, boots, and bindings. The sale includes Burton, Lib Tech, Ride, K2, Gnu, Flow, Rome, Arbor, and Salomon, We have literally hundreds of boards, boots and bindings to clear at 30%, 40% and even 60% off retail. Our website is live, so if you see an item, it is in stock, if you can not see it the next time you look, it is because we have sold out!!! Stock does sell out quickly, so be warned! We also have a good selection of snowboard pants and snowboard jackets in stock on clearance. Stop by our site often, because we buy closeouts from our suppliers, and will be adding more snowboarding equipment as stock become available.

Bonfire and Salomon Rookie Matt Ladley Slays Arctic Challenge
OSLO, Norway–Matt Ladley may not be old enough to buy smokes, but after recovering from a shattered collarbone in December he proved that he still knows how to get high with lofty amplitude and a variety of tricks at the Arctic Challenge where he snagged 2nd place and an award for Best Trick.

“I’m so stoked,” he said. This is the best I’ve ever done at a contest.”

Ladley stomped a huge backside Rodeo, a backside 540, backside 720 and nearly landed a backside 900, in front of a crowd of thousands in Oslo, Norway at Terje Haakonson’s annual event.

The Snowboard industry is a funny one, some times you have to just laugh at the hippies. Take this Idea of some grass root movement that is all the rage in snowboarding, yet it never went “corporate” some how keep pure to the love of the sport…if that existed we wouldn’t know about it. Corporate means cor?po?rate?–adjective
1. of, for, or belonging to a corporation or corporations: a corporate executive; She considers the new federal subsidy just corporate welfare.
2. forming a corporation.
3. pertaining to a united group, as of persons: the corporate good.
4. united or combined into one.

If there is a good idea that you want to get made and sold in market, forming a corporation is a good way to do it. I laugh at some hippy snowboarders because they seem to think these boards grow on trees.  The effort to design, make, distribute, and sell takes a whole year of hard corporate work.  A few years ago we sold gloves from a company that was so anti-corporation, that the next year when we placed our order they lost it, blame us, and never shipped us our gloves…now that is as  unincorporated as it gets.

Shoreline of Tahoe’s Presidents Day Sale, we call it the “Snoboma Stimulus Package”  All the brands you want are now marked down online at Shoreline of tahoe, Burton, Ride, Rome, K2, Arbor, Flow, Volcom, 686, and Salomon are now 20% Off. Shop Shoreline and Save!

Ryan Kronenberg from Salomon / Bonfire stop by the Shoreline gate to let us know about the up and coming Movie premiere at Divided Sky, Check out local ripper, Jamie Anderson in “What I See” Also Gigi Ruff’s new production company called “Pirate movie product” new release “Overseas” This is a Totally Free show, with tons of raffles goodies that benefit Boarding for Breast Cancer.

Salomon