Whether you’re thinking of picking up skiboarding or simply want to know what the hell this is all about well then this is the guide for you. We’ll do our best to let you know the in’s and out’s of skiboarding basics.
What is a/are skiboards?
There is no definition per say of what is a skiboard, and there are many schools of though, here is what we think is most appropriate; Skiboards are skis which are roughly one meter in length, and generally are wider and more symetrical than regular skis. What do you do with these? Well you slide down snowy hills, runs or mountains of course. There short length makes them quick and nimble which makes them particularly great in glades and in the terrain park, but they can be used anywhere.
Is it easier than regular skiing?
Because of the short length the learning curve for the basics is definatly easier to get down than skiing. But once you get into more high performance areas like big jumps and deep powder riding, its actually a little trickier because of their short lenght. Beginner’s should be really careful, statistically, most accidents happen in skiboarding during your first day of skiboard, when over confident people try to go over their limits from the false impression they get that the sport is “easy”.
Is this a safe sport?
Any sport you do comes with its risks for injury. Some people get a false perception that skiboarding in unsafe because of the wide spread use of non-releasable bindings, and myth and stories they hear of people trying them out and getting hurt. Truth is, statistically, skiboarding is the safest snow sport, with less injuries percentage wise than other snow sports. Like mentioned before however, beginner’s are especially suceptible to injuries, because they feel over confident from the short learning curve, and ride beyond their abilities. The most common form of injury for skiboarders are lower-leg injuries.
Non-releasable bindings?
Because of the short lenght, skiboards give less leverage, and therefore use of non-releasable bindings is generally safe, and widespread. If you are concerned about twisting a leg and getting injured, there are releasable binding options, just ask your dealer.
4×4 and 4×10
This is the standard insert pattern (where the screws are placed) for skiboards and skiboard bindings. Most skiboards will have these, but not all. Lower end skiboard ussually won’t have this. 4×4 means the screws are set 4 cm apart from each other, and are used for non-releasable bindings and on skiboards under 110 cm long. 4×10 is used by skiboards over 110 cm, for use with releasable bindings. This is because over 110 cm there is a bigger risk of injury with non-releasable bindings.
What does “setting back” mean?
Most skiboards generally ride best when the center of your boot is aligned with the center of you bindings, which is aligned with the deepest part of the sidecut of your boards. However, setting the bindings back, by moving the boot towards the rear of the skiboards is going to provide some more “lift” when riding soft snow and powder. You can set back the bails on your bindings, some bindings also have a set back feature on them. The new Revel8 KTP also have and extra set of inserts, so all you have to do is mount your bindings on the rear inserts. Some people have said that some boards ride better with a slight set-back, regardless of the center of the sidecut. The best way is to find out is to experiment a little yourself!
More to come in the future!
Is this the same as snow blades?
Snowblades are a brand of skiboards made by Salomon. in the skiboard world, we usually refer to inferior skiboards as “snowblades” because Salomon’s Snowblades where inferior in many ways compared to traditional skiboards.
Why are Salomon snowblades inferior to skiboards? – whats the difference?
snowblades use much lower quality material and technology. snowblades have low grade plastic bindings, foam core, and use 8 screw mounting system.
skiboards use the standard 4 screw mounting system (which allows them to flex naturally), generally use metal (or sometimes high grade plastic), are generally wood core. skiboards also tend to be much wider and more symmetrical in shape than snowblades, making them much more versatile in all conditions, and better for high performance riding.
Dude wtf?
You write about filling the gap for skiboarding but the huge gap still exists. There are so many sites that a person can go to for info on basic beginner techniques in skiing and snowboarding but none that I’ve found that give that info for skiboarding. I thought your beginners guide would cover that but it doesn’t even attempt to.
i’m sorry you feel that way pov. at the moment this is more of an introduction to skiboarding.
please note the last sentence of the article.
and please learn constructive criticism.