Forums › Advice Q&A › *sigh* another newb
- This topic has 18 replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 12 years, 11 months ago by Frosty.
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January 3, 2011 at 2:05 am #592
As the subject says, I'm another newb looking to get into snowboarding. I went snowboarding for the first time on Friday and fell. Alot. I took a lesson course on Saturday and was taught the basics of carving, the problem is, I don't trust my heelside so I will go switch to turn right on my toes. My distrust for my heelside was strengthened when I went to carve and started out decent until I went for my second or third “s”. I was going to swerve right on my heels when something caught and I fell, breaking my wrist. So, my question is, how can I gain trust in my heelside turns so I can carve? Thanks in advance and sorry for the pretty long read, i couldn't think of any other way of explaining my situation.
January 3, 2011 at 3:03 am #3653Welcome PAboarder. First of all, sorry to hear about the wrist. I hope is gets all better soon. Are you from PA? What mountain you go to? Also, are you a bigger person? I can offer some pretty extensive advice for you but I just want to learn a bit more about you and your situation first. I bet I (and other members) have something for ya to get to trust your heelside with confidence.
January 3, 2011 at 3:08 am #3651Yeah, I'm from PA and I went to a place called Ski Round Top. I guess you could say I'm bigger, about 6 foot and 194 pounds last I weighed. I did use the calculator on here to see what board would be right and it said 159-161 and they had me on a 155. That might have been part of the problem, I don't know.
January 3, 2011 at 7:44 pm #3673Thanks for the reply PAboarder. Yes, the problem as you outlined is common in guys 6ft and taller. With a longer inseam and higher center of gravity, you guys often find it too difficult to easily stand up from sitting position. Since you are standing up to ride more often from kneeling, toeside riding becomes much more comfortable from the get go (which is opposite for most others).Now, the smaller board may have a little bit to do with your trouble, I wouldnt be quick to place most of the blame on that. It is most likely an issue with the bindings than the board. Let me explain a little bit.If you are turning from toeside to heelside and finding that the board is then “slipping out” from underneath you, then you need to adjust the bindings' “forward lean” adjustment. It is the most important adjustment to be made on snowboard bindingThanks for the reply PAboarder. Yes, the problem as you outlined is common in guys 6ft and taller. With a longer inseam and higher center of gravity, you guys often find it too difficult to easily stand up from sitting position. Since you are standing up to ride more often from kneeling, toeside riding becomes much more comfortable from the get go (which is opposite for most others).Now, the smaller board may have a little bit to do with your trouble, I wouldnt be quick to place most of the blame on that. It is most likely an issue with the bindings than the board. Let me explain a little bit.If you are turning from toeside to heelside and finding that the board is then “slipping out” from underneath you, then you need to adjust the bindings' “forward lean” adjustment. It is the most important adjustment to be made on snowboard bindings. This can be done on almost all bindings including most rentals. (Of course the beauty of owning your own gear is that you can “dial in” all the adjustments to your preference and have it be the same each time you go out to ride.) If you are still renting, you will find it well worth the few extra minutes to check the adjustment of the bindings while still in the rental shop. In fact I recommend having one of the employees advise and assist as most will be eager to do that for you.How do you know if it is right?When strapped in to the board with your boots on and laced up good, perform a mock heelside riding position. (You might want to be near a counter or wall or something to help with balancing here.) Your center of weight should move to balance over the heel edge of the board, and you knees should be slightly bent. If your weight shifts too far back and past the heelside edge of the board and your knees are able to lock out, you need to make the adjustment to the forward lean. I MEAN you NEED MORE LEAN![smg id=26]In addition to forward lean, binding position is also a factor. When strapped in to the board with your boots on and laced up good — take a neutral stance on the board and look down. Your toes and heels should hang slightly and equally over the toe and heel edges. Personally, I prefer a quarter inch on each side, but everyone has their preference, but too much or too little or an imbalance can lead to poor performance, imbalance, undue fatigue, and more. Of course too much overhang can cause boot drag and cause some nasty wipe-outs.Well I hope this advise helps you. I recommend learning more about this by searching this site for the term “forward lean” as there is more knowledge out there on this subject. Let me know what you think!Peace,Frost-EJanuary 3, 2011 at 9:15 pm #3674Alright, thanks man. I'll definitely look into forward lean also, what is a decent board to start with? The instructor told me that their boards are absolute crap so I'm trying to get my own so I can get consistent with my own instead of worrying about differences between each board when renting.
January 3, 2011 at 11:51 pm #3677Good idea to look into your own stuff. What size foot you got?
January 4, 2011 at 1:35 am #3678I've a size 11 foot and I found out that the rental that I had, had no forward lean and after reading a bit I found out that it can cause a lot of falling but that's old news now. It does give me reassurance that it wasn't completely my fault that I was falling.
January 4, 2011 at 4:58 am #3679For real. There is so much shame in a rental board bindings having zero forward lean! Unfortunately it happens :embarrassed: Here are my recommendations for you…Burton Farm Snowboard 161 (Find it)Completely awesome mid-wide freestyle board (3-hole binding pattern requires burton three-hole or compatible binding)Salomon Pulse Snowboard 160 (Find it)A great quality board for really cheap.
January 4, 2011 at 9:48 pm #3683Thanks for all the help man, I think I'm going to get the Salomon because it's cheaper and I can't find the Burton farm 161 :/. I imagine that I have to buy bindings for it though as it doesn't seem like it comes with them, could you suggest some? Or are all bindings pretty much the same?
January 5, 2011 at 12:06 am #3684You're very welcome! Salomon = Good choice. Yes, you will need bindings. My favorite bindings are Flow due to ease of use and speed of latching. Otherwise K2, Ride, and Salomon are all winners for bindings (and boards too).Burton makes some really nice bindings too, but they continue their rediculous strides away from industry standard with their retarded 3-hole and EST/ICS (channel) systems. Now Burton DOES offer SOME of their bindings with standard 4-hole compatibility, but if you are mail ordering you might get receive the wrong ones. Personally I don't risk it, just buy a different brand — also it is a mini personal protest! LOL!
January 5, 2011 at 12:37 am #3686I'm a fan of Ride bindings. They have very comfortable footbeds and aluminum heel cups, so they're suppose to be stronger (who really knows, but for safety sake it makes me feel better).
January 5, 2011 at 12:44 am #3688Ride bindings are my favorite as well. About your wrist, if you are nervous about hurting it again there are lots of options for gloves/mittens with wrist guards built in. Wrist injuries are quite common when learning to snowboard. Good luck to you! 😛
January 5, 2011 at 12:47 am #3689Thank you both for your input, I'll definitely look into them and I'll make a new thread on my choices for them. One other question, have you guys thought of anyway of promoting your site? like do you have any shirts or stickers that i can get because I'd sport one on my board (when I get it) just to help get the name out there.I'll look into that Rowan, thanks.Also, what are some good, comfortable boots?
January 5, 2011 at 2:33 am #3690I can't figure out how to edit my post again so sorry for the double post. Anyway, are world industries any good? I ask because there's a pair on the-house.com (I think) for $60 if buying a board at the same time
January 5, 2011 at 5:52 am #3691PAborder, We are always looking for creative and effective ways to promote frostyrider.com. One thing we are doing is, by partnering with the-house.com, offering free stickers and swag for those who order from their online store. Just PM me the order number and total and I can hook you up.Another thing we are doing is offering sponsorships for competitors, mountain employees, and influential people on the mountain. See the link on my signature for the details on that.As for the bindings, I would recommend spending the few extra bucks for the nicer bindings. For a good bargain, consider the Rossignol HC 2Fifty (M/L) for like $75. And for boots, I got K2 Maysis and they RULE! (I am going to do a formal review on them soon)
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