Snowboarding Tutorial - Equipment basics

Winter is here and so is the wintersport I like the most.
Snowboarding is a way to get in touch with your senses and body responses while experiencing a sensation close to flying.
Learning to snowboard is easy as long as you understand the dynamics of the board.

A snowboard is usually made out of a wood core and different matrices of raisin. There are many types of snowboards, from unidirectional, wide, powder or snowpark.

Snowboards can have different stiffnesses, some of them being soft to follow the terrain features while others are stiff to provide enough "pop" when making a jump. Some are flat bottomed, some have a camber or some have a rocker profile or a mix.
On the edge they have a metal lining to cut into the snow and on the bottom they are usually waxed.

Attached to the snowboard you have the bindings, having their own stiffness and response features.
Some of them are created to be worn with a hard boot or close in the front or in the back( fast on ).

Inside the binding you must always use a specialized boot usually reinforced at the toes and ankle to prevent damage. Boot also have their own stiffness rating, softer are less precise but more forgiving to the newbies and stiffer for more control.

The other equipment is not mandatory for the first session but is strongly recommended.

A helmet is the most important piece of protection. a good helmet should have good vents and fit just right.
Some helmets feature a chin protection or a sliding visor. Some hi-tech helmets have a bluetooth system for audio but if snowboarding on the piste it is recommended to be aware of the surroundings.

The snowboard bindings can be fitted to the snowboard at different positions and angles.

Placing the bindings should be done by holding the legs sligtly parted, a position that you feel it gives good stability.
Legs too close together and you will habe trouble maneuvering, too far and you will get tired very fast.
Bindings to the front will push the snowboard tip down and brake it. In contact with powder snow this will make the snowboard dig deep and throw you over it.
Bindings too much in the back means less control over the direction of movement and a greater speed.

Binding angles are used to help you perform certain tasks. If you ride with both legs forward, alternating you should go with either a symerical binding angle or no angle at all.

If you ride without switching, you can set both of them in the same direction.

The usual angles range is from 0 to 27.

An usual beginner setup would be a balanced combination of boots, bindings and board, my advice would be to rent from the resort different types of boards with different characteristics or to just buy a balanced setup and after learning to do the basic movements you can upgrade specific items.

Follow and tomorrow I will write about the basic movements and your first snowboarding day. I am trying out steemit from my phone as I am currently in the middle of my snowboarding vacation.

Have a wonderful day!

Sources:
Original text
Pinterest, https://www.michigan.org and personal photos (from Straja, Romania )