The sexy shape of a snowboard

Snowboarding
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The sexy shape of a snowboard
Author: Jakob Jelling
Everyone knows that an hourglass figure turns heads. Not as many people know that the same figure is also behind the design of modern snowboards. While the hourglass figure on a snowboard doesn't turn heads as fast as a women's figure does it does help you to turn faster than any head can.

The degree of side cut on a snowboard does effect its performance on the hill. The side cut radius is the size of the circle that is cut out of your snowboard. To put this into perspective, most skateboarding ramps have a radius of 9' and professional ramps as seen on TV will have a radius of 11'. As you can imagine, there is a definite curvature to the snowboard but it is subtle enough that it isn't always easy to spot.

When a person first thinks about the side cut they may feel that it is a ploy by manufacturers to reduce the materials and thus cost of producing the snowboards. This can not be further from the truth. To understand side cuts you must think of why the map of the world has slices in it. A flat object can not proportionally represent a round object. For this reason a snowboard with a curve, or side cut, can turn faster and more aggressively than a snowboard that is straight along it's length.

The reason that this is true is due to the way that the snowboard tries to bend and comfort to the surface that it is on when riding. When you turn your snowboard your weight and twisting causes the snowboard to flex and bend. The key to turning is to have the effective edge bite into the surface that you are riding on while being flexible enough to twist so that you can control the movement. A long straight line does not like to deviate from its basic shape but a curved line will meld with the hill and still have enough flexibility to bite into the surface as needed.

When it comes time to purchase your snowboard you must think of its use and how it will react to the environment that it is exposed to. Proof of this fact comes when we think of surface area on a snowboard. A small side-cut radius means that more of the material has been cut out of the center of the snowboard. A large side-cut means that the cut is shallower thus leaving more surface area.

So what difference does side cut make to the rider? Simple, more surface area means more pressure is spread out over a larger area, which leads to more potential energy and thus greater speed due to reduced friction. Basically if you want to go fast, and reduce your maneuverability, than you want a large side-cut in your snowboard. However, if you seek more control and sharper turning than you want a small side-cut in your snowboard.

To many people snowboarding seems like an easy and simple past time that can be mastered in a very short amount of time. While it is true that snowboarding can be learnt in fairly short order there are many fine details that a snowboarder must pay attention to in order to achieve their peak performance. As you can tell from this even the seemingly minutest details can have a big difference.

About the Author

Jakob Jelling is the founder of http://www.snowboardinghelp.com. Please visit his website to discover the world of snowboarding!

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The history of snowboarding

Snowboarding
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The history of snowboarding
Author: Jakob Jelling
How a piece of wood changed world history.

Many times someone doing something a little different and having his or her ideas catch on has changed history. The pasteurizing of milk to prevent spoiling and contamination is a perfect example. Snowboarding was also the result of someone doing something a little different. In a few short years we have taken a crazy idea and turned it into a household word and created a culture and language around it. Snowboarding has become an Olympic event and has even forced us to ask ourselves questions about our society when we use the phrase "Smoke a fatty for Rebagliati".

The history of snowboarding officially begins in 1929 with a man named M.J. Burchett. For some unknown reason, perhaps a dare from friends or the result of drinking, Mr. Burchett changed history when he cut a plank of plywood and secured it to his feet using a clothesline and horse reins. This humble beginning changed history forever.

Not much changed for snowboarders until 1965 when Sherman Poppen invented a toy for his daughter and eventually marketed it. His "Snurfer" consisted of 2-ski bound together with a rope at the nose of the skis to hold on to. This idea caught on fast and Mr. Poppen sold half a million of his Snurfers by 1966. Mr. Poppen helped create demand for his product by holding contests for Snurfers. Jake Burton took part in many of these competitions until he broke his collarbone in a car accident.

Snowboards as we know them came into existence in 1969 when riding down snowy hills on a cafeteria plate in college inspired Dimitrije Milovich. Mr. Milovich decided to make snowboards that where based upon the design of a surfboard but worked the same way skis did. In 1972 Mr. Milovich started a company called Winterstick and really fired up the idea of snowboarding until 1980 when he left the industry. To this day Milovich is seen as a very important pioneer in the industry.

In 1977 Burton came back to his first love, the Snurfer. After completing university, Burton moved to Vermont and needing to make some money, started to produce Snurfers again. Burton's snowboards where made of laminated wood and he shocked the world when he won a Snurfer competition on his own board. One major reason for Burton being able to win the competition was the skiing styled binding that he added to his boards thus allowing him to control them much better.

During this time Burton had on major competitor, Tom Sims. Sims borrowed from skateboarding technology to create his own version of the snowboard. Sims snowboards came from an idea he had in shop class when to glued carpet to the top of a piece of wood and aluminum sheeting to the bottom of the board.

In order to showcase their innovations, Burton and Sims held the first ever snowboarding competition in Vermont in 1982. This competition was more of a survival contest as the runs where icy kamikaze runs. This event helped to launch the magazine Absolutely Radical that became the International Snowboarding Magazine.

Snowboarding technology continued to improve, as did the fame of its competitions. The competitions became so popular that the International Snowboarding Federation was formed to help judge competitions. In 1998 snowboarding made its grand entrance into the world of the Olympics at Nagano, Japan.

This too was a controversial time. The IOC dismissed the ISF and instead had the Federation Internationale de Ski over see the events. While this policy is still in effect to this day, tensions are easing between the two factions and things are running much smoother.

Of course no history of snowboarding would be complete with out mentioning Rebagliati in the 1998 Olympics. Rebagliati, a Canadian from Whistler BC, won the gold medal that year but later tested positive for trace amounts of marijuana and was stripped of his gold medal. Rebagliati appealed the ruling and won since marijuana is a controlled substance, not a banned substance and is not a performance-enhancing drug. This event helped to decriminalize marijuana in Canada and caused many people to rethink their position on marijuana. "Smoke a fatty for Rebagliati" was a common phrase to show support for Rebagliati and show support for the reforming of the Canadian laws.

Snowboarding has come a long way in 70 odd years. Snowboarding started as a crazy idea that only fools would try and has become an accepted Olympic event due to its popularity. Arguably, snowboarding is the fastest growing sport and industry. Few other innovations have caught on this fast or have become an Olympic sport so soon.

About the Author

Jakob Jelling is the founder of http://www.snowboardinghelp.com. Please visit his website to discover the world of snowboarding!

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Snowboarding Pants

Snowboarding
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Snowboarding pants
Author: Jakob Jelling
Baggie pants can be more than just fashionable.

Do you remember the days of having to put a snowsuit on in order to go out sledding or skiing? No matter what you did the snowsuit would always climb, let snow in, get wet and usually was uncomfortable because your pants where bunched up inside. Fortunately for those of us who can remember that, those days are long gone.

Modern snowboarding pants, and even regular snow pants, have vastly improved over what we might remember. Snowboarding pants are now worn like regular pants, thinner, lighter, tougher and warmer than ever before. Of course this is only possible thanks to demand and technological advances.

When thinking about snowboarding pants it helps to understand how they work. Generally snowboarding pants use a three-layer system. Some may only have two layers and are either inteended for very mild climates or to be worn over some type of underpants.

The first layer is the base layer and it is in direct contact with your skin. When riding outside you will heat up very quickly and then cool down while on the lift before repeating the process. The purpose of the base layer is to ensure that this can be done without you getting cold. The main reason you get too cold is because your sweat gets caught in the base layer against your skin and begins to freeze. A modern base material will prevent this by wicking the moisture away while providing some temperature balancing benefits.

The next layer is the insulation layer. The purpose of the insulation layer is to retain your body heat and the best way to do so is by trapping a layer of air around your body. This air will greatly decrease the heat exchange between your body and the outside world.

Generally the insulation layer mostly consists of polyesters. The most popular materials are fleece, bunting and pile. Fleece is the most common material and is a dense fabric that has been raked on one side to make the ends of the fibers stand up and trap the air. Bunting is a fleece that has been raked on both sides creating a tight solid weave with wooly air retaining surfaces on both sides. Pile is a single-sided fleece that has undergone more raking and has been processed further to create a much thicker open fabric.

The final layer is the outer shell, which is the only layer with direct contact to the outside world. The purpose of this layer is to protect against wind, rain and snow while letting moisture escape and protect the wearer from cuts, scrapes and chaffing. This layer is made from a material, such as Gore-Tex, which has holes that allow water vapor from your body to escape but are too small to allow a large drop of water in.

Now that you know how the products works you can begin shopping. After determining the number of layers you require you must look for other features. If you like to ride at night or in the dusk you may want reflective strips. For security you may wish to have inside zippered pockets. Large pockets are great for packing around food and water and a see through pocket is great for you lift pass.

If you keep in mind your snowboarding style, needs and what products are available you are sure to get the correct snowboarding pants. Having the correct gear goes a long ways towards maximizing your comfort and enjoyment while snowboarding. Have fun and stay warm.

About the Author

Jakob Jelling is the founder of http://www.snowboardinghelp.com. Please visit his website to discover the world of snowboarding!

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Snowboarding Jackets

Snowboarding
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Snowboarding jackets
Author: Jakob Jelling
Winter jackets have changed a lot over the years as technology has improved. The best solution used to be those big, puffy, down filled jackets. While they where warm they really didn't stand up all that well to wear and tears, moisture or active movements. Once again technology has come to our aid with the invention of new materials.

The new materials available have resulted in jackets that are warmer even when wet, lighter, more compact, tear resistant and fashionable. The most important area of improvement is the functionality of these new products. The main areas of improvement are in waterproofing, wind proofing and breathe ability.

Waterproofing is perhaps the most obvious idea and potentially the most important as well and is linked to your jackets ability to breath. Your body heat will be drained off very quickly if your clothing is wet make you cold much faster. Waterproofing has moved way beyond a simple chemical coating. Now it is at the point where there is a standard for waterproofing that is measured by how many centimeters of water can rest on top of the material before leaking through. The best fabrics can support tens of meters of water before leaking!

Waterproofing is more than just the type of fabric used since the final product is only as strong as its weakest link. What good is a waterproof jacket of water can pour through the zipper? A good quality waterproof jacket will have many extra features built into it that may not be visible. For example a jacket should have all of its seams sealed with a waterproof tape, the zipper should be covered, the inner layer must not absorb water and the entire jacket should be made of waterproof materials not matter what the section is.

The next area to consider is wind proofing. Wind proofing is almost becoming a thing of that past. Of course the wind will greatly effect how fast you loose body heat but is a non-issue if your jacket is highly waterproof. A jacket that can with stand a column of water tens of meters high is wind proof. The only time wind proofing is an issue is if your jacket is either entirely fleece or not fully waterproof.

The final thing to consider, and arguably the most important, is the breathe ability of your jacket. As we work and ride we create heat that translates into sweat. Of course a build up of sweat is a bad thing since it will allow cold to be conducted through to us so it must be dealt with. In order to deal with moisture we must use layers of clothing. The purpose of the first layer is to pull the moisture away from our skin but it must go somewhere. A breathable cloth will allow the moisture that is pulled away from our skin to escape outside our jacket without letting water seep in.

One option that you may find when shopping for a snowboarding jacket is something called a shell. A shell is a relatively special purpose adaptation of the snowboarding jacket in that it is intended for those who live in mild climates or who are not bothered by cold very much. A shell is a stripped down version of a full jacket in that it still provides wind and water protection but does not provide much, if any, climate protection. A shell is intended to be worn in relatively warm climates where the rider may only need a little water proofing and will add their own insulating layers as needed.

After deciding the amount of protection that you require you must then think about options available and if you want them. Things commonly available include removable hoods, over sized pockets for snacks and drinks, lift pass pocket, cooling vents, waist pull cords and reflective materials. Then of course you need to consider the style of the jacket if you haven't already decided.

Putting all of these elements together will ensure that you have a good jacket for all of your snowboarding needs. While you may not need to know all of the details, being well informed will help you make a better decision that will enable you to enjoy snowboarding even more.

About the Author

Jakob Jelling is the founder of http://www.snowboardinghelp.com. Please visit his website to discover the world of snowboarding!

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