Gear is expensive, and it doesn’t seem like there’s any end in sight. Some Burton snowboards — just the stick — cost $900 or more! But I suppose that most people buying $900 boards couldn’t tell the difference between a fall line and their own ass-crack. If they want to spend $900 on a board, let them. You don’t need to.
You can get excellent boards for under $500, and you can get very good boards for $400. If you’re a total n00b, you can get a decent freestyle board for $300 or less. Hell, I've found packages that include Burton boots, Burton bindings and a Burton snowboard for $400-450.
If you want to buy your gear à la carte, it’s possible to spend far less than $900 for an entire setup: a $350 board leaves you $450 to spend on boots and bindings. You can get respectable bindings for $150. Spend the balance on your boots: if you must have top-of-the-line anything, it should be your boots.
Let me make this clear: Unless you are Shaun White, there is no snowboard that is worth $900. Anywhere. Ever. A $900 snowboard is not going to tweak your grabs for you, those $500 boots are not going to stomp landings on their own, and the $400 bindings sure as hell aren’t going to keep you from bailing if you're still doing the "falling leaf".
David Zemens blogs about shredding gnar & snowboarding from the Suburbs of Detroit, Michigan.
You can get excellent boards for under $500, and you can get very good boards for $400. If you’re a total n00b, you can get a decent freestyle board for $300 or less. Hell, I've found packages that include Burton boots, Burton bindings and a Burton snowboard for $400-450.
If you want to buy your gear à la carte, it’s possible to spend far less than $900 for an entire setup: a $350 board leaves you $450 to spend on boots and bindings. You can get respectable bindings for $150. Spend the balance on your boots: if you must have top-of-the-line anything, it should be your boots.
Let me make this clear: Unless you are Shaun White, there is no snowboard that is worth $900. Anywhere. Ever. A $900 snowboard is not going to tweak your grabs for you, those $500 boots are not going to stomp landings on their own, and the $400 bindings sure as hell aren’t going to keep you from bailing if you're still doing the "falling leaf".
David Zemens blogs about shredding gnar & snowboarding from the Suburbs of Detroit, Michigan.
