emg

I tried snowboarding for the first time the other day, and pretty much all I did was take a lesson (which lasted almost 3 hours). I think I spent more time on the ground than riding (and I'm certainly feeling it now), but I haven't been discouraged yet, and I'll probably try again in a few weeks. But I do have some questions.

- My feet naturally point out a little. In the rental I got, the bindings were straight, and I kept feeling like I wanted to turn my feet out. I've been reading that there are different ways to set up bindings. The next time I get a rental, should I request a certain binding angle? And if so, what?

- How are boots supposed to feel? I was in a size 10 or so, but my toes were hitting the end. Also, my heels kept lifting up inside the boot. I don't know if they're supposed to do that or not.

- I don't think I got the nuances of turning. I either wouldn't push down enough or I'd push too much and fall. The instructor wasn't very good in explaining heel turns and toe turns. Are you supposed to push down with both feet, just the front, or the front and then the back? Also sometimes I felt like I was standing on my toes (my heels were lifted inside my boots, so I was basically standing on my toes) but I wasn't turning. Any suggestions?

- Since I fell a lot, what type of knee pads, wrist guards, etc would you recommend? Would regular skating ones do?

The limited amount of time I was actually standing up and riding (mostly straight before I tried to turn and fell) was fun, so I'm willing to give it a couple more goes in hopes I'll eventually get it.

Jenzo

1) Yep, get them to set it duck try +15 -6 to start ... or bring a screw driver and set em yourself until you find a comfortable position

2) Sounds like the boots could have been too big causing your feet to slide forward. Some heel lift is normal and itll happen when learning until nyou learn that you shift your weight, not twist your feet, to get on your edge.

3) Ideally the instructor should get you pushing down on your edge, then as you go to turn you raise up (like youre a ballerina doing pliés) then back down, raise up and so on, while keeping your arms balanced like youre holding a basket. You use weight to shift, do not force the turn with your feet.

4) Yes regular skate wrist guards work but are kind of bulky under gloves

jmacphee9

what he said^^

more help on turning though, i teach my friends quite often. i always find it best to tell em lift and push. i would work on your heelside turns first since there easier and its nice to have some board control quickly so you arent running people over...so in that case, lift your toes and and push your rear foot forward. the way i learned was alot of heelside sliding, not so much riding my board straight down the mt. i would literally put my board even to the slope just slide if i started going to fast, but i really got a feel this way even though i wasnt riding too much. thats how ive taught my friends and thats how i taught myself, im no expert but it worked for me. snowolf is a genius with this stuff, and he roams the tutorial section so head over there and ask him for some help or check out his stickied tutorial threads..

kyle16

First off emg, congrats on your first day! Do not get discouraged. Most people will spend their first day or 2 on their butt (or knees). There are better days ahead. I have no idea what is good out there for the knees, but hey, if you got some knee pads from days of rollerblading, that will surely work. One thing that the guys above me did not mention (or I missed reading it) that helped me learn is to make sure to keep your knees bent and to make sure your shoulders are always square to the direction you want to go. As they were saying, you shift your weight to turn, not move your feet. When you turn your shoulders the direction you want to go, it forces your body weight to shift.

And yes, go find Snowolf. He knows his stuff.

Flick Montana

Rental bindings SHOULD be set up to accommodate a standard beginner. Something like +12/-6 or +12/0 would probably suit you well. Don't be afraid to try one set of angles, then go back to the shop and ask them to adjust it. There's no better way to find out your best angle than to experiment.

Boots should fit tight and snug, but should not pinch. The problem with your rentals was likely, well, that they were rentals. They were probably heavily used and ill-fitting. That's why you should not buy used boots. All of those problems are typical with rentals. If your toe was hitting the end, that's ok. You should not feel pressure, but you won't have as much room as street shoes.

Head to the videos Snowwolf posted for this info. He's an instructor, so I'm confident he can help you more than the rest of us. Knowing what to do is one thing, but conveying it to others is different. Not everyone is good at it. Sorry your instructor wasn't top notch.

Regular skate pads will work. You can just do a general search for snowboard pads as well. Butt and knee pads will be the most useful to a beginner. Wrist guards are almost necessary if you find yourself catching your falls with your hands. Broken wrist is the most common injury with snowboarders.

Don't get discouraged and have fun. It gets better!

Nixtro21

If you eventually get into snowboarding and start to go alot i'd suggest getting gloves with built in wrist pads, you barely even notice them and theyll save you alot =D

good luck, keep at it, it gets better!

emg

Thanks for the tips. I will check out the tutorial section.

I started out in a size smaller boot, and my toes jammed the end of the boot just from standing up :-/ So I asked for a larger size.

Hopefully I'll try again some time in January.