# Newbie looking for advice!



## Sean Dougherty (Sep 28, 2019)

i've been snowboarding a couple times before and according to the guys I've gone with I'm not bad for a beginner. I've decided that this will be the year I start going out regularly (ie once a month) and I'm looking for tips and advice to keep from falling on my azz:grin:. I'm 6'5" and 160lb so I know I've got a unique size make up going for me. The board I've got is a 163cm and my boots are a size 13 (I got them a size larger because I intend to wear 2 pairs of sockS when I'm out). I live on the east coast so I won't be near any HUGE mountains just mostly the Appalachians. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!!


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## tanscrazydaisy (Mar 11, 2013)

Keep those edges sharp for the ice coast. If you hit a rock (which is inevitable), you have to check the edges for damage and get them fixed.

Other than that... it's practice, practice, practice to get comfortable with the board and conditions, as minute shifts can mean falling on your ass.


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## WigMar (Mar 17, 2019)

Best way to stay on your feet is in boots that fit properly. Believe it or not, circulation makes your feet warmer than insulation. Properly fitting boots with a thin sock are really warm. Generally, we ride in boots that are a size or so smaller than our street shoe size. Proper fit gives you feel and response that make it way easier to stay on top of the board and not get bucked around.

Besides that, keep your knees hella bent with your back upright. Always have an edge down. Keep over the top of your board. Line up your shoulders with where you're going. And yeah, practice. There's no substitute to time spent on board.


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## Sean Dougherty (Sep 28, 2019)

WigMar said:


> Best way to stay on your feet is in boots that fit properly. Believe it or not, circulation makes your feet warmer than insulation. Properly fitting boots with a thin sock are really warm. Generally, we ride in boots that are a size or so smaller than our street shoe size. Proper fit gives you feel and response that make it way easier to stay on top of the board and not get bucked around.
> 
> Besides that, keep your knees hella bent with your back upright. Always have an edge down. Keep over the top of your board. Line up your shoulders with where you're going. And yeah, practice. There's no substitute to time spent on board.


My feet are a little more narrow than normal so when I wore the same size as my street shoes (size 12) my toes were all mashed up so I got this time I got a size 13 which is perfect for length. I tried them on with 2 pairs of thin socks and they felt great and not mushy. I'm setting up my bindings this weekend but so far everything feels good.


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## drblast (Feb 28, 2017)

Sean Dougherty said:


> My feet are a little more narrow than normal so when I wore the same size as my street shoes (size 12) my toes were all mashed up so I got this time I got a size 13 which is perfect for length. I tried them on with 2 pairs of thin socks and they felt great and not mushy. I'm setting up my bindings this weekend but so far everything feels good.


Yeah I'd say don't do that double sock thing. Your boots are way too big and you'll regret that later cause If they feel great to start you're going to be swimming in them as soon as they pack out. Return those bad boys and get proper fitting boots if you still can.

Time and again people come on here for advice and get the same advice about boots and for whatever reason completely ignore it. Experienced riders will tell you boot fit is the most important thing to get right for one very good reason: it's the most important thing to get right.

And it's wayyyy more difficult to find boards that don't boot out with size 13 boots than say, size 12.


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## Sean Dougherty (Sep 28, 2019)

drblast said:


> Yeah I'd say don't do that double sock thing. Your boots are way too big and you'll regret that later cause If they feel great to start you're going to be swimming in them as soon as they pack out. Return those bad boys and get proper fitting boots if you still can.
> 
> Time and again people come on here for advice and get the same advice about boots and for whatever reason completely ignore it. Experienced riders will tell you boot fit is the most important thing to get right for one very good reason: it's the most important thing to get right.
> 
> And it's wayyyy more difficult to find boards that don't boot out with size 13 boots than say, size 12.


Any recommendations? I don't have any ski shops within a reasonable distance to check things out. I'm also going to mention that I usually wear a pair of sweatpants under my snowboarding pants to keep snow out and I tuck those into my boots. Most times I can't find anything that fits because the length may be right but I'm only 165lbs soaking wet so no matter how tight I try to tie them I'm swimming in them. It's a pain trying to buy work boots and stuff because whatever I find is either too shot and my toes are crushed or I have to tuck everything into the upper part of the boot to keep them from falling off.


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## drblast (Feb 28, 2017)

Sean Dougherty said:


> Any recommendations? I don't have any ski shops within a reasonable distance to check things out. I'm also going to mention that I usually wear a pair of sweatpants under my snowboarding pants to keep snow out and I tuck those into my boots. Most times I can't find anything that fits because the length may be right but I'm only 165lbs soaking wet so no matter how tight I try to tie them I'm swimming in them. It's a pain trying to buy work boots and stuff because whatever I find is either too shot and my toes are crushed or I have to tuck everything into the upper part of the boot to keep them from falling off.


WiredSport is on here and has a thread where he can recommend boots that fit your narrow feet/legs. Check the boot section of the forum, and in that thread there are instructions for measuring your feet and getting the right size boot. There are brands like Salomon that work better with narrow feet than others, but as a wider-foot owner I only know that because I don't fit into Salomon's that aren't wide.

Lots of people will buy boots that feel really comfortable at first and then after five days the boots have packed out a bit and feel loose, so they end up over-tightening them or wearing thicker socks to compensate and that causes a whole bunch of additional problems. One problem with wearing multiple socks is that your foot will be slippery inside the boot and you'll get heel lift causing you to want to tighten that boot even further. Thin socks inside a properly fitting boot will let the liner grab your heel properly.

Now if you're only going once a month then you probably won't notice too much of a problem until next season, but if you're spending money on gear that you might have for a long time it would be better to get the right sized stuff early so you don't have to replace it later.


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## Sean Dougherty (Sep 28, 2019)

drblast said:


> Lots of people will buy boots that feel really comfortable at first and then after five days the boots have packed out a bit and feel loose, so they end up over-tightening them or wearing thicker socks to compensate and that causes a whole bunch of additional problems. One problem with wearing multiple socks is that your foot will be slippery inside the boot and you'll get heel lift causing you to want to tighten that boot even further. Thin socks inside a properly fitting boot will let the liner grab your heel properly.
> 
> Now if you're only going once a month then you probably won't notice too much of a problem until next season, but if you're spending money on gear that you might have for a long time it would be better to get the right sized stuff early so you don't have to replace it later.


 Thanks for the advice. I'm going to pick up a pair of Salomon in size 12 and tweak things from there. I'm only going to be able to get out once a month or so but boots are a good staring point since everything leads back to them.


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## Sean Dougherty (Sep 28, 2019)

I started to set up my bindings today (Flow Fuse Fusion Snowboard Bindings 2018) so I'm going to fiddle with binding placement a little bit to see whats comfy. I'm going to set my front binding (left foot) at +15° or +18°, my back binding (right foot) at either 0° or +3° or +9°, my stance at 23" and my bindings shaded more towards the back of the board. Binding placement might be the more difficult part due to my height. Trying to keep centered over the board might take away from where my bindings are relative to the nose and tail of the board (which is 163 cm). I'm riding mostly mountain and/or freeride. I tried on my Salomon Launch Lace STR8JKT Snowboard Boots with the same sock and sweatpants I'm going to wear with them and they fit snugly (my toes are right at the edge of the liners) but not not pushing my toes back or causing any pain.


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## Snowdaddy (Feb 2, 2018)

Sean Dougherty said:


> I started to set up my bindings today (Flow Fuse Fusion Snowboard Bindings 2018) so I'm going to fiddle with binding placement a little bit to see whats comfy. I'm going to set my front binding (left foot) at +15° or +18°, my back binding (right foot) at either 0° or +3° or +9°, my stance at 23" and my bindings shaded more towards the back of the board. Binding placement might be the more difficult part due to my height. Trying to keep centered over the board might take away from where my bindings are relative to the nose and tail of the board (which is 163 cm). I'm riding mostly mountain and/or freeride. I tried on my Salomon Launch Lace STR8JKT Snowboard Boots with the same sock and sweatpants I'm going to wear with them and they fit snugly (my toes are right at the edge of the liners) but not not pushing my toes back or causing any pain.


Did you actually take a ruler to check your feet's mondopoint?

A good thing is to try on a few different setups on your living room floor, just to see how the binding angles feel. Personally I found a small amount of negative on the rear binding made it easier to navigate and keep my upper body aligned with the board. At least in the beginning. When I ride my softish board in crowded resorts I set it up positive/negative.

I also think it's a good idea to try to keep the stance centered unless you are going to ride powder, but if you feel you need to move the rear binding a notch back I don't think you will notice that.


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