Rental Shop Quandary
"Are you standard or goofy?" Goofy? What’s that, I must be standard. Wouldn't you expect goofy to be for advanced snowboarders like a hip guitarist that tunes in the key of D instead of C? So I marked my rental form “standard” and handed it to the technician. He glanced it over and asked… “Are you standard? Or goofy?” He must have read my ignorance. I hadn’t a clue what he was asking. …”How do you ride your snowboard? left foot first or right foot first?” A pensive pause – before I stated the obvious, “I’ve never ridden a snowboard before.” …”o.k., what foot do you put forward when you shovel snow? …or when you ride a skateboard?” Simulating snow shoveling didn't help. But skateboarding - I thought back to my 45-second ripstick ride - I envisioned myself riding a ripstick, coasting along the street, and trying to stay straight so I wouldn't land in a ditch. It became clear to me – “I'm right foot forward and goofy!” Apparently, it really matters so he asked me if I was sure. …”is that your final answer?” Well, not quite like Regis. But, yes, ‘goofy’ was my definitive answer, for better or for worse. And, yes, I feel rather special to be non-standard and goofy just like a person with an unusual blood type. I was also happy to learn that my intuition was right: my ripstick efforts were already being helpful, and I hadn’t even gotten out of the rental shop.
The Debate
Alright, I sense you are not with me. Most people (right handed/footed) I tell this to do a double take, think a moment then reply, don’t you want to be left foot forward so you can steer with your right foot? Yes, steering is important. But I contend that you want your stronger leg forward as most of the stress will be on the forward leg. Playing soccer, my power kick was always my right foot, my right leg also felt a little more coordinated than my left leg. I am a novice, but I say you might also find that the front leg has the more coordination intensive role in starting the turn. Since we are discussing the legs and not the arms, my end thought is that the choice you make is not nearly as important as making a decision, and getting out of the rental shop.
Decisive Decision
Are you and innie or an outy? No, we’re not discussing ones navel. So are you an innie or an outy? Your answer I contend is the most important equipment decision you have to make. Do you prefer inner laced boots or outer laced boots? Actually, your answer should not be a matter of preference. The correct answer is innie! Just like everyone’s navel should be an innie (No offense to anyone.). You will find that it is absolutely essential to have boots that fit tightly around your shins in order to have any control while snowboarding. I discovered that only the inner laced boots get the tight shin-fit that’s required. I’ve had both. I was miserable with the outer laced boots. They didn’t feel snug in the shop. While on the slopes I couldn’t get the board to turn to save my life. I tried everything to turn the board, nothing worked. I even went to the extreme of whipping my shoulders around to try to get some turning action, nothing. No turning action - I had no success. Finally, I aborted the slopes, returned to the rental shop, and politely asked for the inner laced boots. All went well from then on. Inner laced boots are the way to go. Be obstinate but polite with the shop personnel when they attempt to press you with an outer laced boot because it’s readily available – politely say “No thank you, I prefer the inner laced boots.” … “but these boots have more padding” – “No thank you, I prefer the inner laced boots” (End of discussion). It matters! Inner laced boots are essential.
The Board
What about the board itself? I’ll state the obvious. A sharper board is better. How sharp? You’ll have to ask one of your fellow snowboarders to inspect your board while on the slopes. Now, how about a nice wax job? If you can peel the wax off like I could, not good. An off-resort rental shop will have an absolutely better wax job. I recommend off-resort rental shops once you’ve mastered the beginner slopes and are making good headway on the intermediates. What size board? You can trust the rental shop to size your board up right for a beginner.
Snowboard Mathematics
You have to love snowboarding equipment compared to skiing equipment. Instead of six pieces of cumbersome equipment to worry about (two skis, two boots, and two poles) you only have three (two boots and one board). Snowboarders - the math is on your side, one-half the equipment. Snowboarding is more fun and less hassle. Yeah, it’s that cool. So cross-over to the cool side, and learn to snowboard.
