Snowboard and Bindings

Correct snowboard and bindings for your level of expertise will increase the amount of enjoyment you will get from snowboarding.
The Snowboard and Bindings resource website is a quick snowboard and bindings reference guide.
Snowboarding is a rapidly growing sport with low barriers to entry suitable for thrill seekers men and women alike. There are 3 main types of snowboard, each constructed with differing materials, differing shapes, and different flex, so choosing snowboard and bindings is a personal choice reflecting what style of riding you want to do.

Snowboards

Freeride (All Mountain)

Freeriding is the most popular style of snowboarding. This type of snowboard and bindings that complement each other will give excellent mountain with snow-park enjoyment. This type of snowboard is very versatile which will allow you to do carving down slopes, or great for getting some height with tricks.

The make-up of the Freeride snowboard is quite soft, and is well suited to beginners because of it’s ease of maneuverability. It is a cross between Alpine and Freestyle snowboarding. They are generally most suited for one direction, with the tail end being narrower and shorter and more flat than the front end. The positioning of the bindings on the snowboard will tend to be set towards the tail of the board.

Freestyle

This is best snowboard for a beginner to start with because it is the most forgiving. It has a wider surface area than the other snowboards and so is more stable. Being shorter and more flexible than the other snowboards, it is easier to turn.

As well as catering for beginners, these are the best boards for performing tricks once you become more confident with your board, and snow-parks will be full of them, especially on the halfpipes. They have little use for carving turns or picking up any decent speed down slopes.

Freestyle Snowboards are either twin tip boards or directional-twin. The bindings will tend to be placed in the center of the board, giving equal weight distribution for directing the board from both ends, and maintaining equal weight distribution for stunts. So both ends of the board will have the same shovel look to ride it regular or ‘fakie’.

Alpine (Also known as Carving, or Race Board)

These snowboards are the least forgiving of all the differing snowboard and bindings setups. They are the most narrowest, longest, and stiffest of the boards, making them perfect for maximum downhill speed and carving. They enable quick edge turns, and dig-in well into hard snow.

They only tend to have a shovel on the nose, so like freeride boards, they are one-directional.
Alpine Snowboards are selected for racing down slopes on typically fresh snow. Doing tricks are not what it was designed for. Typically hard-style boots are used with the Alpine board, which gives delicate control and response to the board.

Boots

Snowboarder’s boots tend to be soft in manufacture, with the general exception of the hard boot for the Alpine snowboard. The soft boot gives flexibility for freestyle movement as well as protecting the rider with slack when taking a tumble, and helps transfer the rider’s energy into the board. Hard boots tend to be less forgiving. A good fit is very important. Your foot should not move around inside the boot, as this will not give you instantaneous movement of the board when you need it.

‘Standard’ soft boots that fit ‘flow’ and ‘strap’ bindings and the most common. The boot is attached to the bindings on the snowboard. No part of the boot specifically attaches to the board. You have to re-strap yourself back into the bindings every time you want to get going again.

‘Step in’ soft boots click into the binding have a metal clasp on the bottom to attach to “step in” bindings. The boot must match the binding. They are great for quick release.

Hard boots are used with special bindings. These are also quick release.

Bindings

The bindings of the snowboard are separate components from the actual snowboard. The bindings are used to hold the rider’s boot in place tightly in order to transfer weight and movement to different parts of the board. The snowboard bindings are attached to the board with screws, enabling the bindings to be adjusted to the boarder’s preference. Your preferred snowboarding style will influence the type of bindings suitable for the snowboard. Boot and bindings will typically come as a complimentary pair.
Bindings tend to come in small, medium and large sizes. Take your boots with you when you want to choose a binding.

There are basically 2 main types of bindings:

‘Strap-on’/ Flow-In bindings

This is the most used system and most suited for beginners. Any soft snowboarding boots can be used with this binding system, and also is the most comfortable to use.

‘Step-in’ bindings

You will need to choose step-in boots if you want to use step-in bindings for your snowboard. Step In systems makes it easy for you to get on and off your board. Step-in systems tend to be used by carvers and the more advanced snowboarders.