Bulgaria Ski discussion board

Dona - Its all down to height and weight. For a kid or a beginner usually up to their nose is the right height as a bench mark.

Weight is a factor as when on an edge the more weight you can apply the greater the control. If you are light you will need to longer board to compensate. If you are heavy then a shorter one.

So if he is a very light 115cm then I would defo say up to his nose. I have a few boards and the one up to my nose has noticeably more control than the one to my chin but I caan do more with the one to my chin as its smaller.

Hope that helps!

Was replying to this just as I got an email from Dona, so Dona ignore the next bit, but it might be relevant for others...

To be honest I'd say 8 was too young to go snowboarding as the proper muscles aren't really developed yet and there's not enough weight to control the board properly ... but the two slopes I worked at had two different sets of rules, one took boarders at 7, the other at 10 or 11, so I've got a wee bit of experience with very young riders.

And, Dona, you say, "Dunno if it makes any difference but he’s a very good skier and has really strong legs. Any help would be much appreciated." It makes a HUGE difference at that age ... the muscles I'm talking about are also used in skiing, albeit at a different angle.

We used to have a range of boards at 1 metre and 1.1 metre ... I've changed jobs now to the comfy indoors and can't remember what make they were but looking online the Burton Chopper looks as close as makes no difference.

Different board lengths and different flex give varying degrees of control depending on what you're doing with it, mountain riding, carving, whatever, but if I know 8 year olds he'll want to be in the air a lot! Again, the Burton Chopper 1 metre.

You keep getting told different things as there's no real answer, it's all trial and error and depends on the rider, according to some my board is far too big for me and my bindings are too far apart, but after years of tinkering I've found what works for me.

Go for a 1metre board (the Chopper if you can get it ... $50 used in the USA but can't find a UK dealer at the mo), between his nose and chin, give or take a few cms but also, think hard about paying for something that'll be too short next year when you can just hire it!

Thx Robert ....completely understand I also thought he was too young when he started last year but he's been desperate since our 2nd ski hol. This is his 5th ski hol and he skis black runs easily and can stop dead on a slope I won't even look at so am glad his skiing ability helps.

I believe this was the only reason the snowshack contemplated taking him on last yr at 7. In 3 lessons he managed to get to the standard where you do turns where you actually turn the board rather than just changing direction which is what I learnt the one and only time I went ( was far too hard for little old me). He was managing the back blue at pamps pretty well last year. Not sure if this was good, average or poor progress but he loved it and thats all that counts. As I say he is a dink and doesn't grow much only a few cm's since last year ( still in same ski wear he started out in in 2005) so was hoping a board would last a couple of seasons. Have been offered a 2nd hand chopper thats 110cm which sounds like it will be too big and some boots with liners that should last a couple of years too but may invest in the board for the future as its a bargain. Think I will therefore hire either from the Edge over here to take with me or from the snowshack when I get there.

The main reason I was looking at buying is cos last year the snowshack didn't cater for dinks and I hired through the edge and the board was a bit big but the bindings on it didn't fit the boots and it all ended up being a bit of a disaster so thought it would be easier to just buy what he needed. Like you say for 1 wk a year its not a great investment.

Thx for all your help am sure it will all work out in the end.

I'd go for the 110 chopper (if it's in fairly good condition and around the £50 mark - a wee bit more if it comes with boots n bindings) and try it out at a dry slope or a snow dome to see if he can handle it and to make sure everything fits before you go. At first he might take some time to do a full turn with it, which means longer in the fall line and more speed ... which might be a bit scary (probably moreso for you watching) but you can used to any board with a bit of practice.

That blue in Pamps is big and wide enough to get away with most things especially at the top, but if he's too wee for it this year you've got it for the future. The extra wee bit of length and weight might ground him a bit more too! But then again, remember what I said about more speed!

Thx Robert the chopper is £30 with some boots not sure which not Burton for an extra £20 plus postage. Only prob is can't take him to a dry slope for a go as I can't board, he is not at recreational standard ( not my idea of safe enough to go on his own anyhow) and they only do lessons for over 12's any ideas on how to get round that one?? As I said the deal for the board and boots seems brill just need to get the bindings which the snowshack can do when we get there.

As for the speed he is a speed freak just ask Tufty and I just don't watch anymore .... wouldn't last the week otherwise.

Thx for all your help.