Cheap Snowboards, hire or buy?

Hi all
Just booked our winter snowboard trip, now looking at buying my first board as I normally hire. Hire cost for a week is usually around 120-150 euros. Wondered if I could buy a new board for around £150 – £200 inc bindings?

where are you based and how tall are you?

If funds are limited I’d buy boots, then bindings, then snowboard.

Hire boots…euuuuugh… plus having comfortable feet makes a huge difference to your riding.

(oh and I’d buy a helmet if you like to wear one, for much the same reason: hire helmets…euuuugh!)

I’d buy boots before the board too if it was one or the other. Also, when looking at cost don’t forget the fee that most airlines charge to take snowboards (assuming your flying?).

This must be my tenth board trip and have boots, helmet etc. It’s just I’m tight and I spent all my money on my wife’s topline Nitro board last season.
Phil, I’m in North Wales and measure up at 5’ll in my socks. What u thinking??

Yes, you probably could but will be well used or no better than a hire shop in resort. I would just hire, unless you are radcore and taking it to the max with some sick half pipe slam downs!

don’t forget the fee that most airlines charge to take snowboards

This is a good point to remember, plus the hassle getting around either end of your trip.

Been away most winters for the last decade and always hired or had the kit included in the price. Never had any issues, though I might have just been lucky.

Sure someone will be along with some horror stories shortly!

ahhhh my plan isn’t going to work then, dammit!

(my plan was to offer you mrsconsequence’s board and bindings for the princely sum of 50quid to the bullheart charity fund, but its a ladies board and is a bit short/stiff for someone who’s 5’11” !)

Ah 10th trip? Yeah I’d get a board and bindings then.
But you may have to splash out a bit more than £200 unless you go second hand or very cheap. I’d say go for last season stuff but you’ll struggle to get much this time of year.

Try http://www.bargainboards.co.uk/ and consider joining SCUK for 10% at quite a few shops.

If you can’t get a full package then just get bindings and hire a board at resort.

You should get something very decent 2nd hand for that amount. I sold two boards with bindings a few years ago for less than that and they were very good packages.

So much better IMO to have your own as you get used to it and don’t run the lottery of hire quality.

Plenty on FLEABAY and some new for less than £200

Buy s/h and sell on the way out of your hotel on the last day, then next year do the same until you enjoy it enough to buy new, then buy new.

Yuo must have a pretty good idea of what kind of riding you want to do more of? Park or powder or bit of everthing?

If you know what you’re after, get it as cheap as you fancy, if you’re not, go to a shop which sells as well as hires, and demo a shortlist. might work out a bit more than weekly hire, but might not if you love the board you start with. probably get teh demo cost off the cost of buying the board, and you might find a deal on ex demo, maybe even the one you’re riding if you’re past mid-season

I’d echo what they say above about getting boots first. A board isn’t essential, but it’s good to have an idea of what size/stance you like so the hire shop can’t fob you off with any old junk. the hire shops can be really bad at tuning/detuning edges too which makes more difference to the way a board handles than anything else. April is the time of year to buy a board, just like November is the time to buy a bike

spend as much as you can on buying the best fitting boots you can afford, they will make more difference than anything else.

try having a look on http://www.snowboardclub.co.uk/

Dave.

oops double post

Phil, if you are serious about selling the snowboard I would more than happy to make the required charity donation. Email is skippy00@hotmail.co.uk

I’ve always rented the best kit in the UK and taken it over. Boardwise in Cannock is where I go.

It’s best if you are still learning or progressing to own your own board. All your receptors are having enough problems ‘learning’ the new skill, a degree of consistency helps.

Snowboards vary such a lot, variable flex, variable sidecuts, not to mention the new trends with variable rockers and cambers.

If you only go once or twice a year for a week, then it still works out (given the board always has some residual value)better to buy than rent.

Boots, agreed first purchase and change them if they go too soft and lack ankle support and/or you start getting heel lift.

Right now there are lots of shows where there are inevitably deals, wether you’ll get a board and bindings for your target budget without buying s/h off ebay I’m not sure, funnily enough I’m changing mine this year and it’s about to go on ebay, but it’ll be board only, I’m keeping the bindings, they’re step in rapid fires from Shimano, you can’t get them anymore and I’m a lazy rider, like to ride on and off my lifts.

given the board always has some residual value

You’ve never seen my old boards! 😆

To the OP: virtually no chance of buying new board & bindings for £200. You’d be lucky just to get the board. Best chance is probably bargainboards.com as above – I think there’s a similar site called Cheap Snowboards as well.

I have some Burton Cartel bindings that will be ebay’ed shortly if that’s of any interest. Gone to Flow due to working beside an Xscape. In north Wales every so often to see my sister’s family – Penmaenmawr way.

I sold a really nice Palmer on eBay last year and it only did £60! Do some research and buy 2nd hand. Servicing is a doddle!

There was a report on this in one of the German newspapers I sometimes read over here. The general consensus was that unless you go skiing/boarding less than twice times a year then renting was the cheaper option (and that is without the cost of flying). I would concur that buying boots would be my first port of call. I myself have a board and boots but then I can get to a ski resort within 90 minutes from where I live. 8)

I’ve always rented the best kit in the UK and taken it over. Boardwise in Cannock is where I go.

The mind boggles! why would Cannock be the best place to buy a snowboard in the UK??? I can’t say I have seen many boarders hitting the slopes on the Chase. 😉

I sold a really nice Palmer on eBay last year and it only did £60!

😯

That’s sad but not surprising. My Never Summer Ltd Edition cost me £80 and was virtually new. There are some real bargains out there.

email sent skippy 🙂

What a good friend of mine does is buy a new board every year. Buys something in the sale in the Autumn (i.e. last years model). A £400 board can be had for £250 if you do some searching. He then rides it for a week in the Alps and Ebay’s the board as soon as he’s back in the middle of the season. The biggest loss he made was about £30, but sometimes he actually gets more than he paid for it in the first place. Hence he pretty much gets a free new board for free every year.

By the way if you’ve been riding for 10years why on earth would you want a £200 beginners board. Also why on earth are you still hiring boards? You really need to spend £350 – £400 for a good board and using crummy hire boards all the time can really hold back your development as a rider.

Daisy duke

I have a nitro board and binding set up as well as some burton boots size 9.

I need shot of them so drop me a mail for details

Probably looking for £100 for the lot

I bought my kit from here, http://www.118.com/biz/558850.mvc/dundee-skiing-equipment-winter-shack-ski-and-snowboard-equipment

, when I was learning to board. The board, boots and bindings all came to about £180 and did me just fine. I even took it all away on my first snowboarding holiday a couple of years back, and everything worked flawlessly.

I’m heading back to the same resort this winter (Bansko, Bulgaria), and have upgraded my board and bindings as I felt I needed a longer board for speed, and to get across those big flat traverses on the slopes. Grrr!

I got my new board, a 2009/10 model Forum Symbol from these guys, http://www.S2AS.com for £150 (original RRP £390), and a set of matching bindings for £110 (RRP £150). I can go so fast now, I nearly overtook my mate who’s learning to Ski and has just about mastered the Snowplough! Next time, I’m gonna do it with my eyes open!

RudiBoy
Sorry couldn’t find yourr email in profile. Let me know and I’ll be in touch.
Thanks a million

daisy

give me an e-mail on

j_kriewald ( at ) hotmail (dot) com