Snowboarders in here please: Where and what kit to get...

UnknownSoldier

UnknownSoldier

UnknownSoldier

Associate
Joined
29 Jul 2005
Posts
230
Location
London / Nottingham
I have always ridden Rossignol boards and worn Rossignol stuff as I can get it pretty cheap (I know the guy who imports it into Bulgaria) but I am going to Courchevel in feb and I need to get some equipment from the UK.

I need to get a board, bindings, boots, pants, jacket, googles and probs helmet.

I am a pretty good boarder. Comfortable going down most pistes and I can do a few basic freestyle tricks. I am looking to expand my freestyle repetoire but I also enjoy freeridiing so I need a general board I guess.

Does anybody know of a big snow sports shop in London?
 
There's a large shop in the center of london but I've forgotten it's name - it's on several floors... Whites rings a bell...

Google it!

I checked my Malolo out on friday night - looks all good after being in storage apart from the wax due to environmental heat. Needs a good rewax and she'll be fine.

I used Burton's retailer section on their website to find the small place near Heathrow - now the proud owner of a malolo.
 
definately have a look at stepchild snowboards, they are new to the UK this year but produce some of the finest boards i have tried. the corporate (~ £300) is their most all mountain orientated board. as for bindings, my favourite bindings this season are definately the Rome 390s (£150) - worth a try for sure. boots are far more individual and depend a lot on the size/shape of your feet.
 
NickK said:
Needs a good rewax and she'll be fine.
Click to expand...

How rude!! :p


Anyway, depends on how much you want to spend when it comes down to what you want to buy. The Burton Custom is a well developed and popular all round board which is reasonably priced. If you look at the boards section of the Burton website it actually displays the boards from freeride through to freestyle and then by price so you'd be able to have a look and see what'd be more suitable for you.

The Ride Timeless is also a decent board if you don't want to go down the Burton route.

Prior would be worth a look too although I'm not sure if there are British dealers so they're probably a no go.

Boots wise, again depends on price and is down to what you personally find comfortable. Vans have a BOA closure system on some of their boots which means you don't have to deal with laces and if you find their shoes comfy you'll no doubt be pretty pleased with the way their boots feel.

When it comes to goggles I've only ever used Oakley products and never had a problem but I know some people who hate them with a passion.

If you're still at a complete loss then there's a product chooser on the Burton site but that obviously limits you to Burton products although it would maybe be a good starting place.
 
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i'd stay away from both the burton custom and the ride timeless:

burton custom is way overpriced in comparison to the competition, a rome solution is the equivalent rome board nowadays and is £100 cheaper. The ride timeless is a good board, but far too stiff for allround use, a Ride DH would be a better choice (and is cheaper).

Goggle wise, the best goggles out there imo are ISDesign goggles, but they aren't available in the uk, adidas are also excellent, with probably the best lenses on the market, but very expensive. Anon are excellent for the price and are pretty damn stylish.

the best helmet i have found so far is the pro-tec B2 snow, really comfortable, good looking and cheap as ****.
 
Like I said it's down to personal preference, personally I wouldn't have a Stepchild board but that's not to say it doesn't work for you, in the same way that my boyfriend would never ride Burton now but I've got nothing but praise for them.

Burton boards are more expensive however the Custom isn't one of the most popular boards out there for no reason and with the length of service it's had it's obviously doing something for its users out there.

I don't ride a Custom now so I can't really comment but I know a few people who are more than pleased with theirs and are reluctant to move on to other boards so I would always recommend it as one to have a look at.

To the OP, go out and have a look at different boards, there's a possibility that you could line up all the boards mentioned in this thread and none of them would be what you want to ride... it just depends on what is right for you.
 
I have quite a bit of armour.

A helmet is a must - I've concussed myself more than once. Nothing worst than on the ice feeling like your not sure if your going to be sick or pass out..
Getting a helmet means you must try it on in person. The helmet has to fit snugly round then entire of your head. This is trickier than it sounds as it's everyone's head is different and so what is right & cool for one person isn't for another.
Also take your goggles when you try them on. I didn't the first time and with Oakley Wisdoms the helmet wouldn't fit. Wisdoms have an odd plastic pivot connecting the band to the eyemask.
Took the helmet back and got a different type - mine is made by Gyro. It's comfy and warm with the added knowledge that it's the same manufacturer that makes my mountain biking helmets (which have seen worse crashes!).

I also always wear wrist protectors and knee protectors. Infact this is my second set of wrist protectors after snapping the metal in the previous ones.
Knee protectors are good as you can kneel if your butt's cold as an added bonus.

My biggest chunk of armour is a Dainese top that has neoprene feel thermal top with built in segmented armour back protector, hard plastic elbow pads and think padding on the shoulders.
Have I worn it.. yes once at -12degC after one run it was back to the chalet (ski-in/out thankfully) to take it off - it was too hot!

I've tried on the dianese back protector (ie not built in to a top) and I have to say it was uncomfortable and wouldn't stay put for me.

Goggles - I would put these under armour! I have a scratch on the lense of my wisdoms from the cut off of a branch through the ice. Scared the crap out of me to think the branch was long enough to go well into my eye.. money well spent as the goggles are best thing I've bought.

What I will say is every manufacture has different forms of armour for each joint and the padding/method of securing is unique too. So have a look around for the best for you.

I guess I'm going to be dragged over the coals for my selection of components, usual riding gear:
Board: Burton Malolo 162 '05 model (nicer graphics than this years ;))
Bindings: Flow Pro 11 '05 + Burton Elevators (big feet!)
Boots: Burton Hail '05
Bag: Dainese Rollerbag 165 - rollers+airport are bliss!
Pants: Bonfire (matt dark green)- these must be a good 3-4 years old!
Top: Helly/Hanson (matt green) - 3 years and still going!
Helmet: Giro 99
Balaclava: Peter Storm
Goggles: Oakley Wisdoms - great lens!
Kneepads: either some french ones (best) or Solomon
Wrist guards: Solomon (hard plastic doesn't suffer from fatigue as the previous metal set did)

Yup I wear a balaclava, goggles and a helmet... infact here's a piccy of me at Big White Canada, the trip before I bought my own gear:
IMG_4730.JPG


IIRC that was a Rosingol hire board.. a bit pants compared to the Malolo it has to be said!
 
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So this body armour...apart from making you look like a video game character keeps you really toasty eh? Hmmm...I dont want to be sweating my ass off and wearing only the armour would look so...well...I want to say cool but I have feeling that many would disagree.

NickK do you do any freestyle stuff? Half pipe etc? I want to get into this if I can this season. What are the most common injuries danger zones? I would imagine wrists and back but I have no idea really.
 
i do mostly freestyle, and only really wear a helmt, other than that, nowt. loads of my mates wear ass protectors, as they can take some of the shock out of an impact, but i don't bother. most common injuries for me seem to be whiplash and concussion (even with a helmet) and winding yourself really badly on a big fall.

the injuries get a bit more exotic when you start riding lots of rails, i have quite a lot of scars from where i have cut myself open on them and lots of grazes abd skinloss from dryslope riding.
 
UnknownSoldier said:
So this body armour...apart from making you look like a video game character keeps you really toasty eh? Hmmm...I dont want to be sweating my ass off and wearing only the armour would look so...well...I want to say cool but I have feeling that many would disagree.

NickK do you do any freestyle stuff? Half pipe etc? I want to get into this if I can this season. What are the most common injuries danger zones? I would imagine wrists and back but I have no idea really.
Click to expand...

You can get non-thermal versions of the top but it has a string vest look lol.

Wearing just the armour without a top isn't a good idea as the snow gets between the segments on a fall, the snow melts and you get cold very quickly. Also conditions change quickly on moutains so don't get stuck without a top.

I do freeride with whatever bumps, curves and jumps nature puts in the way. I've done a half pipe once so I'm not the best person for freestyle advice.

For park I'd get helmet, wrist protectors and knee protectors as a minimum.
 
NickK said:
I have quite a bit of armour.

A helmet is a must - I've concussed myself more than once. Nothing worst than on the ice feeling like your not sure if your going to be sick or pass out..
Getting a helmet means you must try it on in person. The helmet has to fit snugly round then entire of your head. This is trickier than it sounds as it's everyone's head is different and so what is right & cool for one person isn't for another.
Also take your goggles when you try them on. I didn't the first time and with Oakley Wisdoms the helmet wouldn't fit. Wisdoms have an odd plastic pivot connecting the band to the eyemask.
Took the helmet back and got a different type - mine is made by Gyro. It's comfy and warm with the added knowledge that it's the same manufacturer that makes my mountain biking helmets (which have seen worse crashes!).

I also always wear wrist protectors and knee protectors. Infact this is my second set of wrist protectors after snapping the metal in the previous ones.
Knee protectors are good as you can kneel if your butt's cold as an added bonus.

My biggest chunk of armour is a Dainese top that has neoprene feel thermal top with built in segmented armour back protector, hard plastic elbow pads and think padding on the shoulders.
Have I worn it.. yes once at -12degC after one run it was back to the chalet (ski-in/out thankfully) to take it off - it was too hot!

I've tried on the dianese back protector (ie not built in to a top) and I have to say it was uncomfortable and wouldn't stay put for me.

Goggles - I would put these under armour! I have a scratch on the lense of my wisdoms from the cut off of a branch through the ice. Scared the crap out of me to think the branch was long enough to go well into my eye.. money well spent as the goggles are best thing I've bought.

What I will say is every manufacture has different forms of armour for each joint and the padding/method of securing is unique too. So have a look around for the best for you.

I guess I'm going to be dragged over the coals for my selection of components, usual riding gear:
Board: Burton Malolo 162 '05 model (nicer graphics than this years ;))
Bindings: Flow Pro 11 '05 + Burton Elevators (big feet!)
Boots: Burton Hail '05
Bag: Dainese Rollerbag 165 - rollers+airport are bliss!
Pants: Bonfire (matt dark green)- these must be a good 3-4 years old!
Top: Helly/Hanson (matt green) - 3 years and still going!
Helmet: Giro 99
Balaclava: Peter Storm
Goggles: Oakley Wisdoms - great lens!
Kneepads: either some french ones (best) or Solomon
Wrist guards: Solomon (hard plastic doesn't suffer from fatigue as the previous metal set did)

Yup I wear a balaclava, goggles and a helmet... infact here's a piccy of me at Big White Canada, the trip before I bought my own gear:
IMG_4730.JPG


IIRC that was a Rosingol hire board.. a bit pants compared to the Malolo it has to be said!
Click to expand...

What lens do you have in your Wisdoms?
Im looking to buy some right now but cant choose a lens, id prefer an iridium lens to prevent glare, but they mostly seem to be 16% transmission or less and im not sure how good this would be in europe where in can be a bit cloudly (i dont really want to buy two lenses)
 
Burned_Alive said:
What lens do you have in your Wisdoms?
Im looking to buy some right now but cant choose a lens, id prefer an iridium lens to prevent glare, but they mostly seem to be 16% transmission or less and im not sure how good this would be in europe where in can be a bit cloudly (i dont really want to buy two lenses)
Click to expand...

Hmm bought them in Killington. Looking at Oakley's site they're the Karki/Gold Iridium (02-780).
The lenses are decent for the majority of riding, low light at the end of the day or really closed in conditions cause loss of terrain detail. At this point a clearer lens is better (a mate's addidas iridium equivilents/look-a-likes are too bright for me normally).
To be honest I've not found these lacking until the last run of the day.

I would re-iterate the goggle and helmet problem. The plastic strap joint does collide with the majority of helmets I've tried. joint visable here as it doesn't move outwards. The good effect is that it pins the goggle into the corner of the eye preventing any gap there so you get a nice snug fit with no cold air.
 
NickK said:
Hmm bought them in Killington. Looking at Oakley's site they're the Karki/Gold Iridium (02-780).
The lenses are decent for the majority of riding, low light at the end of the day or really closed in conditions cause loss of terrain detail. At this point a clearer lens is better (a mate's addidas iridium equivilents/look-a-likes are too bright for me normally).
To be honest I've not found these lacking until the last run of the day.

I would re-iterate the goggle and helmet problem. The plastic strap joint does collide with the majority of helmets I've tried. joint visable here as it doesn't move outwards. The good effect is that it pins the goggle into the corner of the eye preventing any gap there so you get a nice snug fit with no cold air.
Click to expand...

Where do you normally board? (europe, canada, etc)

Checking the Oakley website Gold Iridium are only 12% tranmission, with blue and fire iridium being 15% and 16%, so obviously slightly better in low light than what you have, might go for them. Just noticed you said Killington though which i think might be brighter conditions, argh its so hard to choose!
 
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