Snowboard

The best wrist protection is soft enough to allow normal wrist motion, but is able to absorb loads for hyper extension of the wrist. Mercedes may refer to:. Shorts and rigid splints could cause severe forearm fractures. Mercedes, the fiancé of Edmond Dantes in Dumas's novel The Count of Monte Cristo. Be aware that wrist guards made for in-line are dangerous and not recomended. Mercedes Sosa, Argentine singer. Snowboard-related injury accounts for 100,000 of the wrist fractures in the world each season. actress.

Time not money will make a skilled, safe snowboarder. Mercedes Ruehl, U.S. It is worthy of note that many of the worlds pros began on old equipment, riding on very small hills. Eleoncio Mercedes, boxer. A professional lesson, or a day spent with a skilled friend is highly recomended. Mercedes McCambridge, actress. Beginners should start on very gentle slopes with soft snow conditions, even if they're a good alpine skier. Mercedes Lackey, fantasy author.

It is highly recomended that all riders wear a helmet. Mercedes Bresso, Italian politician. Necessary safety measures must be taken. Mercedes de Acosta, poet and socialite. Beginners are in great danger during first hours of practice. Mercedes, Uruguay, Soriano department. Injuries for snowboarders are very common, especially for upperlimb: wrist, elbows and shoulders. Mercedes, Texas, United States.

This is obviously easier with a less biased stance, such as the "duck" stance. Mercedes, Eastern Samar, Philippines. When a rider changes direction mid-run (for example a "regular" rider leads with their left foot), they are said to be riding "switch". Mercedes, Camarines Norte, Philippines. The question of how much the bindings are angled depends on the rider's purpose and preference. Mercedes, Paraná, Brazil. However, personal preference and comfort are important with regard to this setting, so experimentation is recommended. Mercedes, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The usual measurement is to position the bindings so that the feet are placed just wider than shoulder width apart. Mercedes College, South Australia. Obviously, the size of the rider has much to do with proper stance width. Mercedes (calculator), an early 20th-century computing device. Stance width is important because it determines how the rider is balanced on the board. "Mercedes-Benz (song)", by Janis Joplin. A good snowboarder should be equally skilled in riding both ways, even if they have a particular preference. Mercedes-Benz, a German brand of automobiles and trucks.

Most people have a natural stance determined by experimentation, and the two stances are roughly equally common. "Goofy" is just the opposite - the right foot leads and the left foot is at the back. A "regular" stance is one in which the rider's left foot is the front foot, while the right foot is the back foot. There are two "stances" used by snowboarders.

This is most likely to happen when the rider removes the board at the top or the bottom of a run (or while on a chairlift, which could be dangerous). Nevertheless, most ski areas require the use of a "leash" that connects the snowboard to the rider's leg or boot, in case the snowboard manages to get away from its rider. Furthermore it reduces the dangerous prospect of a board hurtling downhill riderless, and the rider slipping downhill on his back with no means to maintain grip on a steep slope. Automatic release is not required in snowboarding, as the rider's legs are fixed in a static position and twisting of the knee joint cannot occur to the same extent.

With skis, this mechanism is designed to protect from injuries (particularly to the knee) caused by skis torn in different directions. Snowboard bindings, unlike ski bindings, do not automatically release upon impact or after falling over. Strap-in, step-in, and hybrid bindings are used by most recreational riders and all freestyle riders. There are several types of bindings.

The bindings are fixed to the board, and hold the booted feet in place using a variety of systems. Though bindings are not strictly part of the snowboard, they are necessary for its use. Other boots, such as Sorel-style boots, may look like they would work with a snowboard, but are unsuitable for snowboarding. Snowboard boots differ from other types of boots in that they provide internal support to transfer the rider's movements to the board.

Hard boots have become less common and are generally only found in more specialist stores. Hard boots are very similar to ski boots and provide greater stability, increased control and quicker responsiveness on the snowboard. Generally, hard boots are used for alpine carving and racing, whereas soft boots are used in freestyle and freeride. Soft boots look similar to winter boots and have a relatively comfortable, flexible feel that provides the forgiveness necessary for landing jumps and balancing on rails.

Snowboard boots come in two main types, soft boots and hard boots. Snowboard designs differ primarily in:. The base of the board may also feature graphics, often designed to make the manufacturer recognisable in photos. Snowboard topsheet graphics can be a highly personal statement and many riders spend many hours customizing the look of their boards.

The top of the board typically sports graphics designed by board makers to attract riders to their boards. The edges of the base are fitted with a steel edge, just a couple millimeters square, which helps the board grab the snow when tipped up on edge. The base (the side of the board that touches the snow) is covered with a plastic called p-tex, which is typically sintered to help it absorb wax, which helps it slide faster. The front or "nose" of the board is upturned, to help the board glide over uneven snow; the back or "tail" of the board may be more or less upturned to enable backwards (switch or switchstance) riding.

Most snowboards are constructed of a wood core and laminated with fiberglass. Snowboards come in several different styles, depending on the type of riding intended:. Many professionals still opt not to involve themselves in the Olympic event, citing dissatisfaction with rules and with the concept of Olympic Snowboarding itself. Despite this rivalry, it is their establishment which finally convinces the IOC to declare snowboarding a new Olympic discipline in 1995.

Later, the ISF (International Snowboard Federation) originated primarily due to dissatisfaction with the new ISA rules. Due to the need for universal contest regulations, the ISA (International Snowboard Association) was founded in 1994. The growing popularity of the sport is reflected by the history of snowboarding as an official sport: In 1985 the first World Cup is held in Zürs, Austria. This opinion was well expressed in Heckler Magazine's "Declaration of Independents Snowboarding, Skateboarding and Music: An Intersection of Cultures.".

Many snowboarders are disappointed with the over-commercialization and of the sport, having viewed it as a very personal expression of themselves, similar to skateboarding, art and music. Snowboarding is now coming to terms with its popularity. Ski companies are now absorbing many snowboard companies, creating their own and, arguably, designing skis which directly borrow technology and design from snowboards (see shaped skis and twin skis). Many ski companies reacted negatively to snowboarding during the sport's infancy.

In reaction, Transworld Snowboarding created a popular t-shirt called "Answers," which included the answers to many questions posed by skiers, including: "Yes I can stop." Many resorts did not initially allow snowboards and insisted on the use of superfluous leashes and were known to insist that riders prove their ability before being allowed on the hill. Snowboarding was seen as a fad. During the early years of the sport, snowboards and snowboarders were not widely respected by the ski industry and culture. Nowadays there are millions of snowboarders around the world and a multi-million dollar industry trying to satisfy their needs.

Since its early years, the snowboard has been improved steadily and has taken the world by storm. One of the most mentionable however is Bob patent from 1972, which he sold in 1990 to Jake Burton Carpenter, founder and owner of Burton Snowboards, today's largest manufacturer of snowboard-specific products. This process included different stages and individual ideas and resulted in several patents for snowboard-like constructions. The history of the snowboard starts in Utah, [1]U.S.A., where pioneers like Sherman Poppen, Dimitrije Milovich, Bob Webber, Jake Burton Carpenter, Tom Sims, Mike Olson, and Chuck Barfoot developed prototypes mainly inspired by surfboards in the 1970s.

. A snowboard is not to be confused with a monoboard. Analogous to a surfboard or skateboard for snow, snowboards are typically about a metre and a half long by about 30 centimetres wide, with metal edges and an upturned lip at each end. Attached to the rider's feet with bindings, it is ridden down snow-covered slopes or dry ski slopes without the use of ski poles.

A snowboard is a board ridden by a rider in the sport of snowboarding. ISBN 0-393-32692-0 michaelbarnett@iinet.net.au. Norton & Company. W.W.

The Snowboard Book: A Guide for All Boarders. Hart, Lowell (1997). Patent 5190311 -- Snowboard binding system. U.S.

Patent 3900204 -- Mono-ski. U.S. Patent 3378274 -- Surf-type snow ski. U.S.

This stance is becoming increasingly popular, and is the most resilient of the three. Duck stance: Useful for tricks by removing the forward bias altogether, the feet are angled equally outwards such as 15° and -15°. Alpine stance: Used primarily for racing, the leading foot may be anything up to 70° and the trailing foot generally 5° less. Forward stance: Suitable for most purposes, the leading foot is angled roughly 21° and the trailing foot at 6°.

Alpine snowboards tend to be longer and thinner with a much stiffer flex for greater edge hold and better carving performance. The stiff bindings and boots give much more control over the board and allow the board to be carved much more easily than with softer bindings. Extreme carvers and some Boarder Cross racers also use plate bindings. Plate - Plate bindings are used with hardboots on Alpine or racing snowboards.

This allows the rider to apply pressure and effect a "heelside" turn. The HyBak was originally designed by inventer Jeff Grell and built by Flite Snowboards. Highback - A stiff moulded support behind the heel and up the calf area. In 2004, K2 released the Cinch series, a similar hybrid binding; riders slip their foot in as they would a Flow binding, however rather than webbing, the foot is held down by straps which can then be micro-adjusted for superior fit and performance.

The rider's boot is held down by a webbing that covers most of the foot. An example is the Flow binding system which is similar to a strap-in binding, except that the foot enters the binding through the back (which then clips into place) rather than the top. Hybrid - There are also proprietary binding systems that seek to combine the convenience of step-in systems with the control levels attainable with strap-ins. Another problem is the formation of ice in the step-in mechanism, which may make it difficult to get in and out of the bindings.

While much more convenient than strap-ins, they are widely considered to be inferior because they do not provide as much of an immediate response from the rider's legs to the board. Popular (and incompatible) step-in systems include Burton, K2 Clicker, Rossignol and Switch. Step-ins use a technology similar to the clipless pedals in cycling, by allowing the binding to snap and engage stiff hardware on the rider's boots. Relative to strap-in bindings, step-in bindings use a stiffer shoe sole and boot to maintain responsiveness in compensation for the lack of over the foot restraining straps and (sometimes) lack of binding highback.

Step-in - In response to the inconvenience of strap-in bindings, step-ins were created to make entry easier for beginners, allow for fast ski-lift to slope transition, and appeal to the rental market. Such companies as Salomon, Rossignol, Bakoda, Tech Nine, Ride, Flux and Burton have created different models of cap straps. Cap Strap bindings are a recent modification that provide a very tight fit to the heel cup which makes excellent edge control. Also, because there are two points of pressure, the strap locations must be adjusted for each individual rider, making it more cumbersome for rental operations.

The downside for this is they take longer to put on, usually requiring the rider to sit in the snow and bend over to adjust the straps. They can be tightly ratcheted closed for a tight fit and good rider control of the board. The foot is held onto the board with two buckle straps - one strapped across the top of the toe area, and one across the ankle area. Strap-in - These are the earliest types of bindings, but perhaps still the most popular and technical. The rider wears a boot which has a thick but flexible sole, and padded uppers.

Boards designed for powder conditions exaggerate the differences even more for more floatation on the powder. Freeride and alpine boards, however, have a directional shape with a wider and longer nose. Tail/nose width - Many freestyle boards have equal nose/tail specs for equal performance either direction. There is no standard way to quantify snowboard stiffness, but novices tend to prefer softer flex, racers stiffer flex, and everyone else something in between.

Usually a softer flex makes turning easier while a harder flex makes the board more stable at high speed. Flex - The flexibility of a snowboard affects its handling and typically varies with the rider's weight. Shorter sidecut radii (tighter turns) are generally used for halfpipe riding while longer sidecut radii (wider turns) are used for freeride/alpine/racing riding. Most boards use a sidecut radius between 8-9 meters.

The curve has a radius that might be a short as 5 meters on a child's board or as large as 17 meters on a racer's board. This curve aids turning and affects the board's handling. Sidecut - The edges of the board are symmetrically curved concavely, so that the width at the tip and tail is greater than the center. This is termed "toe/heel-drag" and can be cured by choosing a wider board or by adjusting the stance angle.

Riders with larger feet may have problems with the toes or heels overhanging the side of the board. Most folks ride boards in the 24-25 cm range. Alpine boards are typically 18-21 cm wide, although they can be as narrow as 15 cm. Freestyle boards are up to 28 cm wide, to assist with balance.

Width - The width is typically measured at the waist of the board, since the nose and tail width varies with the sidecut and taper. Another factor riders consider when selecting a snowboard is the type of riding it will be used for, freestyle boards being shorter than all-mountain boards. The longer the board, the more stable it is at high speed, but also a bit tougher to control. Rather, snowboards correspond to the weight of the rider, and a board length should be selected so the rider falls in the middle of the manufacturer's weight range for that model and size.

It is a myth that the height of the rider dictates the length of the snowboard. Most people ride boards in the 140-165 cm range. Length - Boards for children are as short as 90 centimeters; boards for racers, or "alpine" riders, are as long as 215 cm. Freestyle (pipe): waisted, semi-stiff, medium length, soft boots, either twin-directional or directional, light, deep sidecuts.

Freestyle (rails): waisted, flexible, short, soft boots, twin-directional, light. These boards are made specifically for use in powder. Swallow-Tail: Generally a wider board that as a split running down it's tail, which gives it the general look of a swallow's tail. All-Mountain: waisted, varying flexes and lengths, soft boots, sometimes slightly directional, meant to perform well as a Freeride and Freestyle board.

Freeride: waisted, sometimes flexible, medium to long length, soft boots, directional. Racing/Alpine: long, stiff to very stiff, hard boots, slightly waisted, directional.