There’s a lot of information that gets thrown at you when you’re looking for new equipment, so how do you work out what’s true and what’s just marketing nonsense?
1) You don’t need the ‘Bindings Designed For This Board’
It’s very common for a company to make a claim that a certain piece of gear was specially designed for a certain snowboard or boots. Don’t be fooled! They may actually be telling the truth, but that doesn’t mean it’s actually any better than another similar piece of gear.
Feel free to mix and match your gear and don’t be afraid to mix gear from different companies.
2) New ‘Greatest Rocker Fantastic Double Backwards Camber’
Ever since snow companies started experimenting with changing camber (flex direction of a snowboard – see our snowboard buying guide), many companies are suddenly claiming that they’ve created the greatest hybrid camber ever.
Try before you buy. Or at the very least, read some honest reviews first. Ski/Snowboard camber is still an area that companies are new to experimenting with and many hybrid cambers don’t live up to the claims.
Sites such as shayboarder or angrysnowboarder are a good place to start for snowboard reviews.
3) Pro model of ‘Insert Awesome Skier/Snowboarder Here’
You may be tempted to buy a snowboard/skis because a big pro rider uses them. Wait! You need to think about more than just the name on the gear.
Always remember that a pro model is designed for the pro who uses it. This means if you aren’t a similar weight and riding style to the pro who it was designed for, you may not be a good fit for that snowboard/skis.
I’m not saying that pro models are bad, but you do need to remember who it was designed for.
For example:
Shaun White’s pro model snowboard is amazing for him, but do you ride park and pipe 99% of the time? It’s a very thin, lightweight snowboard with a slim width, so do you weigh 150 lbs (70 kg) and have small feet?
- Too heavy? You’ll end up breaking the snowboard.
- Foot size bigger than 9-9.5 US? You’re going to start getting too much toe drag/heel drag from your boots.
Not to mention, there are many pro models which are just another board with a special graphic on the bottom and with an extra $50 slapped on the price tag.
This is why pro models can be a real mixed bag. Do your research before you buy a pro model snowboard.
One last thing…
Remember, you’ll be getting lots of things thrown at you when you go shopping for new gear. The main thing to remember is that things a company claims or says about their product may not always be true, so keep an objective mindset when shopping.
Happy Shredding!