Snowboard

A snowboard is a board ridden in snowboarding to descend a snow-covered slope. It is often thought as a winter form of a surfboard or skateboard, except that the rider's feet are bound to the board with bindings. Snowboards generally have a length between 140-165cm, a width of around 25 cm, and are constructed with a laminated wood core with a steel edge. A variety of snowboards exist to suit specific body types and riding preferences.

History

See Snowboard

Types of boards

Snowboards come in several different styles, depending on the type of riding intended:

Racing/Alpine: long, narrow, rigid, hard boots, and directional shape. Best during machine groomed slopes.
Freeride: longer in length, soft boots, semi-directional. Used for fast-big-turn type of snowboarding.
Freestyle: Rigid, average in length, light, soft boots, twin-directional, deep sidecuts. Used in pipe and park.
Freestyle (rails): flexible and short, soft boots, twin-directional. Used for skateboard-like snow parks.
All-Mountain: A hybrid between freeride and freestyle boards that uses soft boots. All purpose board.
Swallow-Tail: Generally a wider board that has a split running down its tail. The split tail is designed to sink the tail lower then the nose. This is preferred in powder/backcountry conditions. This is a niche board for use in powder.
Split: Not to be confused with the swallow-tail, the split board consists of a stable powder board that can be broken down into two touring skis, used when hiking in deep backcountry conditions.
Fish Shape: A shorter, wider board with a tapered tail designed to eliminate leg fatigue in deep powder

Snowboards are constructed of a wood core and laminated with fiberglass. The front or "nose" of the board is upturned, to help the board glide over uneven snow; the back or "tail" of the board may be more or less upturned to enable backwards (switch or switchstance) riding. The base (the side of the board that touches the snow) is covered with a plastic called p-tex, which is typically sintered to help it absorb wax, which helps it slide faster. The edges of the base are fitted with a steel edge, just a couple millimeters square, which helps the board grab the snow when tipped up on edge. The top of the board typically sports graphics designed by board makers to attract riders to their boards. Flite Snowboards, an early and often underquoted designer, pressed the first closed-molded boards from a garage in Newport, RI in the mid-80's, well before Burton did it. Snowboard topsheet graphics can be a highly personal statement and many riders spend many hours customizing the look of their boards. The base of the board may also feature graphics, often designed to make the manufacturer recognisable in photos.

See also: Board Construction

Snowboard designs differ primarily in:

Length - Boards for children are as short as 90 centimeters; boards for racers, or "alpine" riders, are as long as 215 cm. Most people ride boards in the 140-165 cm range. It is a myth that the height of the rider dictates the length of the snowboard. Rather, snowboards correspond to the weight of the rider, and a board length should be selected so the rider falls in the middle of the manufacturer's weight range for that model and size. The longer the board, the more stable it is at high speed, but also a bit tougher to control. Another factor riders consider when selecting a snowboard is the type of riding it will be used for, freestyle boards being shorter than all-mountain boards.
Width - The width is typically measured at the waist of the board, since the nose and tail width varies with the sidecut and taper. Freestyle boards are up to 28 cm wide, to assist with balance. Alpine boards are typically 18-21 cm wide, although they can be as narrow as 15 cm. Most folks ride boards in the 24-25 cm range. Riders with larger feet (US size 10+) may have problems with narrower boards, as they have substantially less surface area along the edges. As a result, a rider's toes and/or heels may extend over the edge of the board, and interfere with the board's ability to make turns once it is set on edge, or 'get hung up on the snow.' This is called toe/heel-drag, and can be cured by either choosing a wider board (26cm or more), adjusting the stance angle, or a combination of the two.
Sidecut - The edges of the board are symmetrically curved concavely, so that the width at the tip and tail is greater than the center. This curve aids turning and affects the board's handling. The curve has a radius that might be a short as 5 meters on a child's board or as large as 17 meters on a racer's board. Most boards use a sidecut radius between 8-9 meters. Shorter sidecut radii (tighter turns) are generally used for halfpipe riding while longer sidecut radii (wider turns) are used for freeride/alpine/racing riding. The newest development in sidecuts was the introduction of Magne Traction by LibTech which incorporates seven bumps on each side of the board which LibTech speculates will improve edge holding.
Flex - The flexibility of a snowboard affects its handling and typically varies with the rider's weight. Usually a softer flex makes turning easier while a harder flex makes the board more stable at high speed. There is no standard way to quantify snowboard stiffness, but novices and boarders who mostly do rails tend to prefer softer flex, racers stiffer flex, and everyone else something in between.
Tail/nose width - Many freestyle boards have equal nose/tail specs for equal performance either direction. Freeride and alpine boards, however, have a directional shape with a wider and longer nose. Boards designed for powder conditions exaggerate the differences even more for more flotation on the powder.

Established Snowboard Brands include: Burton, Salomon, Ride, K2, Nitro, Rome, GNU/Lib Tech, Forum.

Smaller Brands Contribute to Snowboarding as well. Examples of smaller brands would be: Never Summer, Signal, Prior,|The Lucid Notion Snowboard Company], Stepchild, Capita, Snowboards Automaton, Forcast and Endevor

Board construction

The various components of a snowboard are:

Core: The core is the interior construction of the snowboard. It is typically comprised of laminated fiberglass around wood. Beech and poplar are the most common woods, though other woods are used such as bamboo and birch. There have been continued experiments with aluminum, composite honeycomb, foam and resin to change, or substitute, the standard wood core. Desired properties of the core include dampening, rebound, strength, flex and reduced weight.
Base: The bottom of the board that is in contact with the snow surface. It is generally made of a porous, plastic material, that is saturated with a wax to create a very quick and smooth, hydrophobic surface. P-Tex is a brand name that has become synonymous with base material. It is important that the base be "slippery", with respect to the snow surface and board interaction. Wax is an important finishing product for all base materials. Not only does it allow the snowboard to have a smoother glide, but it also allows the rider to change the characteristics of the base and adjust the board to the snow conditions. Different base waxes are available for different temperatures. The base, when maintained, will have a designed pattern to channel snow and water. This pattern is created with a stonegrind machine ata the factory or a local ski shop. If the base is damaged, it is common to have it repaired in order to protect the core from exposure as well as reducing friction.

Extruded: The P-Tex is cut from a large sheet, or squeezed out of a machine much like "play-do". A low maintenance base, it is the least expensive and easy to repair. Extruded bases are smoother and less porous than other bases. They do not saturate with wax well, and tend to slide slower than other bases. But left unwaxed they do not lose much overall performance. Extruded P-Tex is also cheaper than sintered P-Tex
Sintered: P-Tex base material is ground to powder then reformed with pressure and heat, and cut to shape. A sintered base is very porous and absorbs wax well. Sintered bases slide faster than extruded bases when waxed, but will be slower if unwaxed for a period. They are more expensive, and harder to repair.
Sintered Hybrid: Sintered bases may have graphite, gallium,indium or other materials added. These materials are used increase glide, strength, "wax hold" and other desired characteristics.

Edge: A strip of metal, tuned normally to just less than 90-degrees, that runs the length of either side of the board. This sharp edge is necessary to be able to produce enough friction to ride on ice, and the radius of the edge directly affects the radius of carving turns, and in turn the responsiveness of the board. Kinking, rusting, or general dulling of the edge will significantly hinder the ability for the edge to grip the snow, so it is important that this feature is maintained. However, many riders who spend a fair amount of their time grinding park rails, and especially handrails, will actually use a detuning stone or another method to intentionally dull their edges, either entirely or only in certain areas. This helps to avoid "catching" on any tiny burrs or other obstructions that may exist or be formed on rails, boxes, and other types of grind. Catching on a rail can, more than likely, result in a potentially serious crash, particularly should it occur on a handrail or more advanced rail set-up. In addition, it's relatively common for freestyle riders to "detune" the edges around the board's contact points. This practice can help to reduce the chances of the rider catching an edge in a choppy or rutted-out jump landing or similar situation. It is important to keep in mind that drastic edge detuning can be near-impossible to fully reverse and will significantly impede board control & the ability to hold an edge in harder-packed snow. One area where this can be quite detrimental is in a half-pipe, where well-sharpened edges are often crucially important for cutting through the hard, sometimes icy, walls.

Laminate: The snowboard's core is also sandwiched on the top and bottom by at least two layers of fiberglass. The fiberglass adds stiffness and torsional strength to the board. The fiberglass laminate may be either biaxial (fibers running the length of the board and more fibers 90 degrees perpendicular to it), triax (fibers running the length of the board with 45 degree fibers running across it), or quadax (a hybrid of the biax and triax). Some snowboards also add carbon and aramid (also known as Twaron or Kevlar) stringers for additional elasticity and strength.

Boots

Snowboard boots are mostly considered soft boots, though alpine snowboarding uses a harder boot similar to a ski boot. A boot's primary function is to transfer the rider's energy into the board, protect the rider with support, and keep the rider's feet warm. A snowboarder shopping for boots is looking for a good fit, flex, and looks. Snowboard boots differ from other types of boots in that they provide internal support to transfer the rider's movements to the board. Some boots that look like snowboard boots, but are not real snowboard boots, are unsuitable for snowboarding.

Bindings

Bindings are a separate item from the snowboard deck though they are a very important part of the total snowboard interface. The bindings main function are to hold the riders boot in place tightly so the rider can transfer their energy to the board.

There are several types of bindings. Strap-in, step-in, and hybrid bindings are used by most recreational riders and all freestyle riders.

Strap-in - These are the most popular and technical. The rider wears a boot which has a thick but flexible sole, and padded uppers. The foot is held onto the board with two buckle straps - one strapped across the top of the toe area, and one across the ankle area. They can be tightly ratcheted closed for a tight fit and good rider control of the board. The downside for this is they take longer to put on, usually requiring the rider to sit in the snow and bend over to adjust the straps. Also, because there are two points of pressure, the strap locations must be adjusted for each individual rider, making it more cumbersome for rental operations. Cap Strap bindings are a recent modification that provide a very tight fit to the heel cup which makes excellent edge control. Such companies as Salomon, Rossignol, K2 Sports, Rome, Tech Nine, Ride, Flux, Burton, Union and Forum have created different models of cap straps.
Step-in - In response to the inconvenience of strap-in bindings, step-ins were created to make entry easier for beginners, allow for fast ski-lift to slope transition, and appeal to the rental market. Relative to strap-in bindings, step-in bindings use a stiffer shoe sole and boot to maintain responsiveness in compensation for the lack of over the foot restraining straps and (sometimes) lack of binding highback. Step-ins use a technology similar to the clipless pedals in cycling, by allowing the binding to snap and engage stiff hardware on the rider's boots. Popular (and incompatible) step-in systems include Burton, K2 Clicker, Rossignol and Switch. Burton and K2 Clicker step in binding systems are no longer in production with both companies focusing on traditional strap in bindings.
Rear Entry - There are also proprietary binding systems that seek to combine the convenience of step-in systems with the control levels attainable with strap-ins. An example is the Flow binding system which is similar to a strap-in binding, except that the foot enters the binding through the back (which then clips into place) rather than the top. The rider's boot is held down by an adjustable webbing that covers most of the foot. Newer Flow models have connected straps in place of the webbing found on older models; these straps are also micro adjustable. In 2004, K2 released the Cinch series, a similar rear entry binding; riders slip their foot in as they would a Flow binding, however rather than webbing, the foot is held down by straps.
Highback - A stiff moulded support behind the heel and up the calf area. The HyBak was originally designed by inventor Jeff Grell and built by Flite Snowboards. This allows the rider to apply pressure and effect a "heelside" turn.
Plate - Plate bindings are used with hardboots on Alpine or racing snowboards. Extreme carvers and some Boarder Cross racers also use plate bindings. The stiff bindings and boots give much more control over the board and allow the board to be carved much more easily than with softer bindings. Alpine snowboards tend to be longer and thinner with a much stiffer flex for greater edge hold and better carving performance.

Snowboard bindings, unlike ski bindings, do not automatically release upon impact or after falling over. With skis, this mechanism is designed to protect from injuries (particularly to the knee) caused by skis torn in different directions. Automatic release is not required in snowboarding, as the rider's legs are fixed in a static position and twisting of the knee joint cannot occur to the same extent. Furthermore it reduces the dangerous prospect of a board hurtling downhill riderless, and the rider slipping downhill on his back with no means to maintain grip on a steep slope. Nevertheless, some ski areas require the use of a "leash" that connects the snowboard to the rider's leg or boot, in case the snowboard manages to get away from its rider. This is most likely to happen when the rider removes the board at the top or the bottom of a run (or while on a chairlift, which could be dangerous).

Stances

There are two types of stance-direction used by snowboarders. A "regular" stance is when the rider's left foot is at the front of the snowboard. "Goofy", the opposite stance direction, is when the right foot is at the front of the snowboard. Although one is called "regular", it does not imply that one stance is more common or normal than the other. There are different ways to determine whether a rider is "regular" or "goofy". One method used for first time riders is to observe the first step forward when walking or climbing up stairs. The first foot forward would be the foot set up at the front of the snowboard. This is a good method for setting up the snowboard stance for a new snowboarder. Most experienced riders are able to easily adapt to either stance direction. This is called "switch" riding.

Stance width

Stance width helps determine the riders balance on the board. The size of the rider is an important factor as well as the style of their riding when determining a proper stance width. A common measurement used for new riders is to position the bindings so that the feet are placed a little wider than shoulder width apart. However, personal preference and comfort are important and most experienced riders will adjust the stance width to personal preference.

A wider stance, common for freestyle riders, gives more stability when landing a jump or jibbing a rail. Control in a wider stance is reduced when turning on the piste. Conversely a narrow stance will give the rider more control when turning on the piste but less stability when freestyling. A narrow stance is more common for riders looking for quicker turn edge-hold (i.e. small radius turns). The narrow stance will give the rider a concentrated stability between the bindings allowing the board to dig into the snow quicker than a wider stance so the rider is less prone to wash out. Most riders choose a stance width somewhere in between a wide and narrow stance.

Binding Angle

The question of how much the bindings are angled depends on the rider's purpose and preference.

Forward stance: Suitable for most purposes, the leading foot is angled roughly 15° to 21° and the trailing foot at 0° to 10°.
Alpine stance: Used primarily for alpine riding, the leading foot may be from 50° up to around 70° and the trailing foot generally a little less.
Duck stance: Useful for tricks by removing the forward bias altogether, the feet are angled outwards in opposite directions. This stance is becoming increasingly popular, and is the most resilient of the three. The feet do not actually have to be angled equally outwards to be considered duck stance. The back foot simply has to be angled less than zero degrees. These angles give the rider a dominant front foot angle at all times which makes it easier to for a rider to change the board direction mid-run. This change in board direction mid-run is called riding "switch".

Important People in Snowboard Industry

Jake Burton, Tom Simms, Steve Derrah (Flite Designer), Shaun Palmer, Terje Håkonsen, Craig Kelly

References

Hart, Lowell (1997). The Snowboard Book: A Guide for All Boarders. W.W. Norton & Company. ISBN 0-393-31692-0