Holiday Fun on the Slopes

Snowboard designers aim for ultimate ride for the adventurous opting for cool sports

You've had your fill of turkey and stuffed yourself with stuffing, so now it's perhaps time to think about how to shed those extra pounds you've managed to gain - quite happily - this Christmas weekend. With any luck, there's a layer of fresh snow outside which will give you an opportunity to demonstrate your deft skill with a shovel. That's one way to exercise, but a better outdoor option to consider at this time of year is the popular sport of snowboarding.
Snowboarding has really only been with us for the past 15 years or so, and its beginnings as the sport of rebellious youth is a perception that is starting to fade - it's now a sport for adults and entire families as well.
Snowboard designs vary in shape and length depending on riding styles, but the basic board design follows a set of accepted elements. Its construction is sandwich-like. The bottom layer is the board's running base, made of a ultra high molecular weight polyethylene. Like a ski, the base of a board requires waxing for optimal performance. Steel edges give the board its required bite into snow and the snowboard sandwich is built up with layers of fibreglass, a wood or foam core (which holds the boot binding mounts), an additional layer of fibreglass and a plastic topsheet which enables the application of often colourful graphics, a signature of the sport's culture.
Though these are the design basics, not all boards are created equal. There's naturally a huge gap between the performance capabilities of entry level boards and higher end models. Entry level boards tend to weigh more and lighter weight boards reward more accomplished riders. Performance boards are also stiffer and all boards should have at least some capacity for vibration dampening which should improve a board's durability and minimize "chatter" caused by riding on rough snow. Design modifications to a board's nose and tail also affect its riding character.
Materials development is an important factor in snowboard design. Fibreglass made the first boards possible and a successful mix of light yet strong materials such as carbon with a board's wood core continues to drive product development. American manufacturer Ride, for example, mixes an aramid laminate with carbon to produce strong, lightweight models. Other major snowboard manufacturers include Burton, K2, Rossignol and Salomon. True to its outsider roots, the industry is full of smaller companies, such as Vancouver's Option, which maintain a loyal rider following.
This winter sport is relatively young. The first resemblance of today's snowboard appeared only in the mid 1960s with the invention of the "snurfer" board. In the 1970s, American pioneers Jake Burton and Tom Sims upped the ante on snowboard design and a decade later the sport was booming. Whether you prefer freestyle, or trick, riding or the comparatively languid pace of all-mountain cruising, there's undoubtedly a snowboard design available that fits any individual style.

Publication Date: 2004-12-26
Story Location: http://tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=4752