Intermediate Snowboard Equipment- Boots & Bindings

You’re flowing to your snowboard freestyle rhythm, carving, spinning, Flowingfreeride.com, Snowboardclass.com and you’re an Level 2 RIDER. Flowingfreeride is here to take you further than an intermediate snowboarder. It’s time to buy your equipment. Look at our previous article on the intermediate snowboard:
http://flowingfreeride.com/intermediate-snowboarder-equipment-the-snowboard/

 

Boots

Snowboard boots need to be comfortable and as an intermediate snowboarder you’ve tried some different makes and models of boots. They need to be the right size. Your heel should not move much when you stand on your toes. I like the laceless system. You don’t have to deal with tying and you get a better fit but check out snowboard reviews and go with what you like. There are many snowboard companies out there so it’s nice to go to the shop and try them on. Go with what feels best to you. If you like a medium flex you might want a soft boot. Stiff boots usually last longer but take a longer time to break in and don’t allow for as much forgiveness. The snowboard boot is the first piece of equipment you should get. Snowboard boots like most shoes start molding to your foot and are custom. Renting a board and bindings is simple. Boots are more unique to every person. A lot of people like foot beds. The shape of your foot varies from snowboarder to rider. Some feet are arched and others flat or a mixture. Boots are easy to transport as well. As an intermediate snowboarder you should have your own boots.

Bindings

Stepping it up as an intermediate snowboarder you purchase your bindings. Most bindings will be fine to put on any board. There is a base plate that will need to be used. Burton makes their boards with two or three holes instead of four with other boards. This makes different pattern base plates to fit the the bindings onto the board. I prefer the standard four holes base plate. I feel that my binding is more secure to the board and I don’t have to tighten the screws. I like the ratchet system with a toe strap and ankle strap. There are binding systems that click you in or something similar but I highly caution these systems due to safety flaws or you have to wear only a certain boot. These systems can get jammed up with snow and powder so they can release on accident and cause just that a crash. Try different setups out by visiting a demo center where you can rent high end equipment and there’s the option to put the rent towards buying the deck. The highback is on the heelside and should be able to adjust the angle of lean. Make sure you get the right size of snowboard binding that matches your boot size.

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