Downhill Snowboard

Downhill Snowboard Thrilling Rides

These days downhill snowboarding has become one of the most popular winter sports in the world. 20 or so years ago you may have been one of the few people in the snow attempting to awkwardly go down the hill on that one extra wide looking ski. Today however you may find more boarders than skiers on the slopes and courses. Downhill snowboarding has come along way since it first began to get popular in the mid 90's, now it has moved from not only dominating in the recreational snow sports arena but advanced into Olympic and Professional levels as well and is becoming a big business, big money sport more and more every day.

Basically when it comes to downhill snowboarding there are many different styles of snowboarding and many different boards and board manufacturers and companies to fit these styles. The two basic style are freestyle and freeride. Both of these downhill snowboarding styles offer specific boards to fit the particular style. Lets look at the difference in the 2 styles and the difference in the boards that are used in each snowboarding style.

First the Freestyle downhill snowboards are designed to work any where on the hills. This is a great first board for first time snowboarders. Look for an all mountain variety of snowboard for freestyle snowboarding. These boards are made much shorter and are soft so that allows the boarder to be able to turn and control much easier in the beginning stages of learning downhill snowboarding. As you advance you can get into more advanced designs and styles of freestyle boards suited to perform more stunts, tricks and maneuvers but requiring much more skill in the design.

Next are Freeride downhill snowboards which are designed to have more length and are made to go in one direction – like straight down a hill – so they are built mainly for speed in one direction, down steeper hills and more straight lines than the freestyle boards. You will find much more stability in the freeride board with higher speeds and they are built more for a soft powdery snow to glide through versus the freestyle board that is made to cut hard snow and ice for more agility and trickery, stunts, etc..The wide and longer design of freeride snowboards allows for more control and flow.

Both styles of downhill snowboards require sizing specifically to the user. This is normally based on ability and skill level as well as the individual weight of the snowboarder. Now a days there are many charts available to make sure your are properly matched up for your board size dependent on your own skill level and weight.

The next decision you will have to make is the type of snowboarding boot and binders you want, there are many options available and you can go with what best fits your board style and your own comfort, plus determine you budget when you select your boots and bindings for downhill snowboarding. Specific snowboards have specific boots designed for them to maximize the users comfort and the performance of that particular snowboard. As a rule if you are going with a freestyle snowboard then go with a freestyle boot and if your going with a freeride snowboard then you want to match it up with a freeride designed boot, for maximum performance and board compatibility.

There are some great all mountain boots on the market that fit universally with both freestyle and freeride snowboards, so check around to see what best suits your needs and budget.

Be sure to check out the rest of the pages and links on this web page to find great deals and discount resources available through out this website. Many time a downhill snowboard and boots package can be found that matches up the proper snowboard and boots for a great discount deal when you purchase them together. We have many of those package deals and incentives listed for you through out this website for your convenience.