Snowboard Sizing - How To Size for a kid

Get details on how to buy your kid snowboard. Snow board-sizing guide provided by the top brand companies. Online sellers and package deals.

Find and Compare Snowboarding Products - View All Snowboard Links

Kid snowboards mirror the adult world, coming in varying sizes subject to the age, size and experience of your child. Buying your board for 'today' means that you must consider how your buy affects 'tomorrow's' usages, when your child continues on her or his growth plan.

Snowboard sizing reduces to key fundamentals, whether for a kid or an adult size boarder. You've got to know your height, your weight, your shoe size and your experience as well as general athletic demeanor.

Let's look at height and weight and see how the impact a kid snowboard selection. Remember that a board's functioning, especially its balance and control for carving and tricking, reflect some basic physics related to the down ward thrust or force exerted by the boarder through the stomp plate or center point of the board. The board's internal construction, especially its overall rigidity, deal directly with this rider-to-board relationship in the matter described as board flex. Too much weight focused on too light a board results in a 'flattening' and mis-shaping of the board, which will result in your kid snowboard losing it's 'play' or balance necessary for turning.

Both online sellers as well as your local sports store guys should know about the weight-to-performance issue. All you need to truly know is your child's weight, plus some reasonable projection of her or his growth trend for the next year or so. Intermediate boards generally reach "nose" height.

Shoe size is another key in correctly fitting a kid snowboard. Although many of the step-in snowboard bindings have the extended heel-ankle support piece for creating heel side leverage, you need to make sure that your child's boot toe does not extend unduly over the toe side of the board. Over-hanging toes could create a drag factor on any toe side maneuvers, plus you create some safety and control problems if a boot toe suddenly "grabs" on a snow outcrop or some immovable object. The objective is to place your feet on a comfortable angle across the plane of the board, in order to maximize leverage, with your boot toe coming just up to the edge.

Boot choice is directly connected to your kid snowboard selection. If your child is new to the sport, but intends to free ride, then you'll go for a soft boot construction. On the other hand, if your child is already an experienced boarder and intends to enter the youth racing scene, then you'll want to direct your snowboard sizing to stiffer boards supported by hard shell boots and step-in bindings.

A number of great online snowboard companies offer further technical assistance as well as special package deals.

Vans snowboard equipment can be researched at Vans, Inc. at Santa Fe Springs, CA 90677 or Tel: 800.826.7800

Burton snowboard gear can be researched at Burton, Inc.

K2 snowboarding gear can be researched at K2 Corporation

32 snowboard equipment can be researched at Life Lounge of St. Kilda Road, St. Kilda, Victoria Australia 3182

Salomon snowboard gear can be researched at Salomon, Annecy-Le-Vieux, St. Maurice, SA

©2004-2008 Wise4Living | Contact | Advertising Info | Legal | Privacy | Directory |