that1guy

My son has been working his butt off this year on learning to ride. He hated skiing the last 2 years and has really picked up boarding quickly. Well it is sale time at the board shops and my son wants a Lib Ripper. It a skate banana but it is a 115. He is currently riding an F2 112 board with Burton Freestyle Jr. bindings. He tears shit up for a 5 year old and REALLY wants this so he can do jumps and boxes. He is an animal. It is on sale for $285 at the Evo by our house.


Would you spend that much money on a board for your 5 year old? And do you think having a BTX board is to advanced for a little kid?


He is 46" and about 45lbs btw. Tall and skinny but pretty strong and great balance. He wears a size 3 boot which is almost to big for his F2 board (which is kinda narrow anyway)

john doe

There is nothing wrong with getting him a rocker. They're easier to ride and thats always a good thing for little kids. Spending that much on a 5 year old is up to you. As long as he doesn't trash it you should be able to get a good portion of that back when he out grows it.

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myschims

make him do some chores around the house and help him pay for it, my parents did that kind of stuff all the time when i was growing up and it makes you appreciate it so much more!
It will also give him some more confidence and might even make him try harder on boxes and such, if you wana get it for him, go right ahead

Hodgepodge

i would be stoked if my parents got me a lib ripper! go for it man, i ride the big person version and you can't go wrong

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that1guy

Yeah, he has been doing all his homework on time lately. He is also trying to help Mom and I around the house more. He has the snowboarding bug bad. He even gets to skip school sometimes to go riding with me. I might have him help Mom with some pre-spring yardwork and surprise him with it this weekend. He has all week off next week for mid-winter break and wants to go riding 5 out of the 9 days he is off.


Edited to add: Mom and I just got new Mervin boards this year so that is why he wants one.

Chance42

I say do it man, I started on skiis when I was 3, by the time I was 6 I was bombing down single black diamonds, by 8 I was getting silly and ducking ropes and whatnot. Was talking with my dad after getting back on the snow for the first time in a few years, and he said he really had thought about selling the business and moving to Colorado back then. He told me he wished he would have seeing how happy I am on a mountain and knowing how I used to kill it on snow as a kid. I didn't know what fear was back then, my mind and body was ripe for learning the sport. Unfortunately at most of the resorts we went to boarding wasn't allowed as it wasn't mainstream then and I didn't pick up a stick until I was 14 or so.

Anyways, you've got nothing to lose but a few hundred bucks, your boy has a passion to gain from it. Like someone above said make him earn it through extra chores and whatnot around the house. I remember when I worked my ass off with my dad during a summer to earn 600 bucks and bought my first dirtbike, an old 4 stroke 80 woods bike. That was the year I learned what fear was, broke my damn collar bone on the thing, but loved every minute of it and was back on it before I completely healed up haha. Point is, your son is enjoying the sport, embrace it.

freshy

That's awesome, get the ripper and be a happy Mervin family!
I hope my 10 month old daughter will become a ripper one day. How old was he when he started? And did he ski first?

that1guy

He skied at age 3 and 4. He hated it. We got him lessons and even had our skier friends try to help teach him. He just wasn't interested. Everyone we talked to said not to put him on a board until he is 7 or 8. The mountain instructors around here won't teach them until age 7.

We just figured this year to put him on a board so we didn't have to hear him complain about the ski's. He picked it right up. I think he just wanted to do what Mom and Dad do on the mountain. He can bomb down all green and blue runs and pass just about everyone. He hangs with us pretty well. Sometimes we have to stop for a candy break or to rest his legs but he loves to make people stare at him while he passes them. He can do everything but has a little bit of a time riding toeside for to long. I guess he is still building those muscles.

He rides switch as good as riding regular. In fact I am not sure which way he feels more comfortable. It doesn't seem like there are are to many things on a board that he can't do or won't try. He will get tired and sometimes have a little temper tantrum but those are because of his age, not because of the sport. I love to ride with him when it is just us on a weekday and we don't have to dodge any of the beginners. He pretty much kicks ass!

j3n5

My 4 year old son and my 6 year old daughter rides with me. They ride K2 MIni Turbo 90 and lil candi 100. They ride 15 -15 regular, centerd. Great boards in the perfect length for my kids. But i think the most important part is boots and bindings. Most boots are to bulky for kids, the ones without liners (i know K2 and Burton has em) is so much more comfy than most brands. That really keeps my kids motivated in the slope, longer. And bindings has to be easy on and off.

Rockerboards help kids progress as they do to most riders. My daughter grows both in skill and length and will probably ride an Lib ripper or Gnu B-mini next season. Her daddys wish perhaps, but the boards are soo bad ass! Of course kids should ride cool boards, everyone grows i confidence that way!

(excuse my spelling, Swedish...)

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TheJetCityFix

That is so awesome, dude. I just got my 8 and 3 year old into snowboarding, and they are always DYING to get back to the mountain.